[tdockweiler]

Quote:

So AKG claims that they had Quincy Jones voice a headphone for them and that voicing sounds so close to a model they already make that all they have to do is slightly tweak that existing model?  This tweak also happens to by mere coincidence be a little more midbass which would also make it a more consumer friendly (i.e. marketable) sound.
 
Is anyone supposed to buy that?  If you do I've got an R10 I'll sell you for the low, low price of 2K and an Orpheus and HEV90 I'll sell you for just 7.5K.  Send PayPal too...
 

 
Seriously now.  Yes it sounds a little different.  Yes some people think its worthwhile upgrade.  Yes its still 99% marketing...

 
What the heck are you rambling on about? I don't even really know what I just read there. Feels like this issue has been beaten to death hundreds of times by now. Where have you been? It's amusing how some on here are so dead set on the idea that two headphones are the same, yet haven't even heard both! I don't even care what AKG has claimed about the Q701.
 
IMO saying the Q701 is 100% marketing BS would be OK, if it was in fact exactly the same as the K702/K701. I believed this too at first. Unlike you two, I actually heard them.
 
How the heck is a 10-15% improvement, 99% marketing? Actually don't tell me. Just adding more mid-bass isn't a 10-15% improvement.
 
The whole idea of 99% marketing is non-sense...then this idea of it being a "mere coincidence" of there being being more mid-bass.
 
To me, AKG fixed a long list of issues people had with the K702...yet, it's all marketing. Err, 99% marketing. Whatever you say.
 
Sometimes I wish people would just not comment about the Q701 unless they've actually heard it.
 
 

 
 

 

[maverickronin]

I already accepted your premise about how it sounds...

 

[Gwarmi]

 
 +1 there tdockweiler - Q701 and K701/K702 are not the same headphone, it's interesting in meet like conditions,
 someone always brings a K701 to the party and if there happens to be a funky green Q701 present then many
 are quite skeptical at first.
 
 Until they hear the Q701 that is and realise that it's more than just Quincy's face on the box and a green cable.
 
 I'm a Q701 guy over the K701.

 

[estreeter]

tdockweiler, is the T1 only a 10-15% improvement on the DT880 ? Did Sennheiser work from the HD650 as the basis for the HD800 ? Did Stax settle for another version of the SR-007 when they sat down to design their 5K flagship headphone ? I honestly dont know, but I'm eager to hear your thoughts. 
 
This isnt about the Q701's sound sig - its about the willingness of AKG management to sign off on a 'clean sheet' project. project86 has a review here somewhere about a group of former Asustek employees who left to build their own DAC/amp when their design input into the standalone version of the Essence was rejected on the basis that it was too expensive to put into production. I don't doubt that AKG have the engineering talent to build a phenomenal headphone - the problem is the beancounters. Its the same story at Sony, and the reason I believe there wont be another Qualia line in my lifetime. Harman has shareholders - Sennheiser and Beyerdynamic are both family owned. They all have to make a profit, but only one has to report to public shareholders. Esoteric is owned by TEAC, yet somehow they have been allowed to continue to develop and sell high-end audio - clearly, there is a market for kit that costs more than $250 ........ 
 
I salute AKG for being able to sell their top-level phones at such attractive prices (in the US, if not necessarily here in Oz), but I'd like you to consider a very successful company which has little to do with (good) headphones or boutique audio. When Logitech acquired Slim Devices, I suspect that many would have thrown their arms in the air - surely a company known for el-cheapo computer speakers and budget mice wasn't going to foster ongoing Squeezebox development. Not only have there been several cheaper models since the takeover, all very well received by audio enthusiasts, but they continue to sell the Transporter. 
 
http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Transporter%C2%AE-SE-Network-Player/dp/B0011YZ1R6
 
I still look at that price and pinch myself - who would pay anything resembling $1200 for something from Logitech ??  Twelve hundred dollars ? At a time when many are looking very closely at their budgets - What ? I expect that the beancounters at Logitech have pencils every bit as sharp as those at Harman, but somehow this project has been allowed to continue. Granted, someone at AKG signed off on the K3003, yet they dont seem to have the same confidence in the fullsize market. For all I know AKG could have a giant-killer in the works, but for the last 5 years they have been happy with 10-15% improvement on the K70*, I've owned the K501 and the K601, and both had their moments, but I really think AKG are capable of so much more than incremental improvements. Particularly at a time when their competitors seem hellbent on upping the ante.
 
http://www.headfonia.com/the-sennheiser-hd700-journal/
 
 
 
 

 

[Ishcabible]

Quote:

 
What the heck are you rambling on about? I don't even really know what I just read there. Feels like this issue has been beaten to death hundreds of times by now. Where have you been? It's amusing how some on here are so dead set on the idea that two headphones are the same, yet haven't even heard both! I don't even care what AKG has claimed about the Q701.
 
IMO saying the Q701 is 100% marketing BS would be OK, if it was in fact exactly the same as the K702/K701. I believed this too at first. Unlike you two, I actually heard them.
 
How the heck is a 10-15% improvement, 99% marketing? Actually don't tell me. Just adding more mid-bass isn't a 10-15% improvement.
 
The whole idea of 99% marketing is non-sense...then this idea of it being a "mere coincidence" of there being being more mid-bass.
 
To me, AKG fixed a long list of issues people had with the K702...yet, it's all marketing. Err, 99% marketing. Whatever you say.
 
Sometimes I wish people would just not comment about the Q701 unless they've actually heard it.
 
 

 
 

He was being sarcastic/sassy. I found it funny... 
 
Would it be possible that they just changed the damping between the two versions? It'd be awesome if someone that has both could open them up, but from what I remember, they're a pain to open. I hated the K701, but it had a few redeeming qualities that would make me reconsider them if they fixed some of the issues (like the infamous upper mids/lower treble) the original had with the Q701. Plus I really want a green one because of reasons.

 

[estreeter]

Quote:

 Plus I really want a green one because of reasons.

Your Honor, I rest my case. This man is either a comedian or a lunatic, but either way I'm going to recommend that he be remanded in custody for his own protection. 
 

 

[maverickronin]

Quote:

He was being sarcastic/sassy. I found it funny... 
 
Would it be possible that they just changed the damping between the two versions? It'd be awesome if someone that has both could open them up, but from what I remember, they're a pain to open. I hated the K701, but it had a few redeeming qualities that would make me reconsider them if they fixed some of the issues (like the infamous upper mids/lower treble) the original had with the Q701. Plus I really want a green one because of reasons.

They probably changed the doping on the driver.  Someone swapped out the damping foam between the the K702 and Q701 without changing the bass.  Tyll''s graphs show some differences in the THD that look like they may have addressed the "plastic mids" issue as well.

 

[Doubting]

Hoe good/ bad is the k550 with techno music?

 

[thermalboyz]

returned mine last week after testing for few days. Design is great and isolation, but sound is not my type. I can't stand flat music. 

 

[electropop]

Quote:

returned mine last week after testing for few days. Design is great and isolation, but sound is not my type. I can't stand flat music. 

Flat? A drastically colored headphone makes the music flat and lifeless in my experience. When there is a good bass-boost a-happening, there's no room for dynamics or separation of notes. I hope this is not the case with the K550

 

[thermalboyz]

[size=10pt]In my opinion compared to Fidelio L1. The soundstage of K550 is great but not as good as Fidelio. Vocal voice of K550 is louder and sounds like in front of all the instruments (Vocalist stand very close to you), in the meantime, fidelio vocal voice is somewhere in the middle in line with the musical instruments (I can easily listen to vocal, musical instruments, etc). Therefore I said K550 it is flat maybe is the vocal covered up all the instruments.[/size]
 
[size=10pt]K550 Headband a bit loose for me, it won’t fall down if i walk or move around but if i shake my head the headphone is easily moved. Making the ear cup fit take a bit of time too. [/size][size=10pt]Quality of K550 no questions from me and its well build. Design is great and very comfortable to wear it all day. Apology if i make someone misunderstood but for my taste i prefer better imaging (Like 3D sound), K550 doesn't work that well compare to Fidelio especially when you listen classical and with vocal. Bass of K550 consider alright and i know some will find it too much, what i found missing in K550 is the punch. Maybe i am wrong to compare this with an semi-open because closed headphone do not have better air circulation and giving bit vibration for the punch.[/size]
 
[size=10pt]Basically i am going to mod it to detachable cable but i decided not to because it sounds like not my type for its price. Everything is perfect but the "Flatness" / "Dimension" / "Imaging" changed my mind with the price i am paying. I may get it again in the future if their price will be between £100 - £150, but not over £200 for this. [/size]
 
[size=10pt]Hope this will help some who stuck between Fidelio L1 and K550. [/size]
 

 

[tdockweiler]

K550 has a flat sound signature? This is news to me. That's not what my ears heard. Doesn't matter to me much. It seems very few headphones these days are perfectly flat. Not the V6, KRKs, SRH-840 or K240 Studio etc.
No, not even the HD-600 to me. Crazy as it sounds, the 598 sounds more balanced than my HD-600, but I wouldn't use it in a studio!!
 
Don't mind when a headphone is slightly colored as long as it doesn't majorly mess with my music. I'd rather take slightly forward mids over extra bass any day.
 
IMO K550's focus was treble, bass and then mids. Kind of like the Superlux HD-668B. If you love the mids of the 668B, you'll probably also love the mids of the K550

 
 

 

[Ishcabible]

Quote:

Your Honor, I rest my case. This man is either a comedian or a lunatic, but either way I'm going to recommend that he be remanded in custody for his own protection. 
 

 
Granted, if it was a less...neon shade of green, it'd look a lot better, but this is coming from someone who thinks Jecklin Floats actually look good. I might have some problems. Green definitely is more interesting than black or white.
 
Cantscareme, you say that the K550 would be welcome in the hands of a K271 owner, but everything I've read makes it seem like the K550's sound is the opposite the K271's sound. How exactly do they compare? (This was probably made a while back but I must have missed it) I'm actually somewhat interested in these, but getting a pair blind/deaf would seem involve more stupidity than...buying a green Q701.

 

[R-Audiohead]

Quote:

K550 has a flat sound signature? This is news to me. That's not what my ears heard. Doesn't matter to me much. It seems very few headphones these days are perfectly flat. Not the V6, KRKs, SRH-840 or K240 Studio etc.

 
 

Care to elaborate on which part(s) of the spectrum the KRK 8400 emphasizes to your ears?  To me it was one of the flatter headphones I've heard, although admittedly I remember the treble extension to be modest... so maybe the roll-off is enough to where you do not consider them pretty flat?
 
I realize you said "perfectly flat", and not "pretty flat" so this is just for conversations sake.

 

[idletime1213]

No headphones are perfectly flat