AKG K550 VS. AKG Q701
Jan 10, 2013 at 9:54 AM Post #4 of 19
...and reviewers
 
Jan 10, 2013 at 9:55 AM Post #5 of 19
I went with the AKG K550. First Audiophile headphones. Sounds great! I wanted the sealed/closed style so I wouldn't bother anyone around me.
 
I will be hooking up the E11 AMp and Ti-Hd sound card when they come in this week. However even on the onboard card on my Rampage Iv extreme I noticed a difference in sound quality and things in songs I didn't notice before. I do not however have a trained ear like the veterans on here.
 
Listening to standard MP3's
 
Also I would like to note after 6 hours of use it barely felt like they where there and suprisingly my ear wasn't on fire like a lot of close cans will do after hours.
 
Jan 10, 2013 at 11:01 PM Post #6 of 19
They're very similar. The q701 has a larger and higher soundstage, and more hollow center image. They sound a little less forward up top but they're a more brittle frequency response over all.

The k550 has more sub bass, but still not much compared to competitors. The have a large soundstage for closed phones. They sound pretty darn neutral too.

I tried the k550's two days ago and decided to play around with the q701's today a bit. By memory, these headphones are more similar than different.
 
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Jan 11, 2013 at 12:55 AM Post #7 of 19
Quote:
dleblanc343 said:
They're very similar. The q701 has a larger and higher soundstage, and more hollow center image. They sound a little less forward up top but they're a more brittle frequency response over all.

The k550 has more sub bass, but still not much compared to competitors. The have a large soundstage for closed phones. They sound pretty darn neutral too.

I tried the k550's two days ago and decided to play around with the q701's today a bit. By memory, these headphones are more similar than different.
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Gonna have to disagree with you on that one. I own the DT990, A900X, UE6000 as well as the K550. After a lot of comparison, the K550 has the best bass out of all of them IMO, and it comes in a close second in terms of quantity to the DT990. As a side note, I compare the UE6000 in passive mode otherwise it sounds bad.
 
As for the initial question, I've never had a chance to hear the Q701. Wish I did though.
 
Jan 11, 2013 at 1:26 AM Post #8 of 19
Never tried Q701 but I really like how K550 sound! It's extremely clear with minimum grains! I even prefer K550 over HD800(Please don't hurt me xD ) as I can still hear grains with HD800 paired with Beyerdynamic A1 ampfier. As for bass on the K550, it depends if you have good seal or not. I find it has good amount of bass for me. 
 
Jan 16, 2013 at 6:39 PM Post #9 of 19
Quote:
tony6225 said:
Gonna have to disagree with you on that one. I own the DT990, A900X, UE6000 as well as the K550. After a lot of comparison, the K550 has the best bass out of all of them IMO, and it comes in a close second in terms of quantity to the DT990. As a side note, I compare the UE6000 in passive mode otherwise it sounds bad.
 
As for the initial question, I've never had a chance to hear the Q701. Wish I did though.
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Hmm, well, the DT990 has more sub bass for sure. I wouldn't be surprised if the k550 has the best bass detail of the phones you mentioned, but in terms of pure impact; it's not like a denon or dt770/990 in the price range. There are many more headphones that have more bass quantity in the price range, I'd say the k550 is below average in this regard; but it's way more balanced than most.
 
But AKG in general are very linear sounding headphones; unless we're looking at their current line of noise cancelling/blutooth headphones.
 
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May 23, 2013 at 8:17 PM Post #10 of 19
Acquired Q701 recently in addition to K550
Both used with E17.
 
For general music listening:
Q701 - Treble +2
            Bass +2
K550 - Treble 0
            Bass +2
 
Movies:
Q701 - Treble +2
            Bass +4
K550 - Treble 0
            Bass +4~+6
 
Q701 in general is more up front and wide.
K550 is less wide but has more sense of depth.
 
Love both! Also use ATH-WS55 during workout. Serves as a reminder on how good these AKGs are.
Without some inferior cans to fall back on to, one might be too easily spoiled and forget you are already listening to pristine sound belongs to the upper echelon. : )
 
Aug 17, 2013 at 5:38 AM Post #11 of 19
I just got both and I agree that they sound quite similar. Excellent headphones both! I am now using K550 at the office and Q701 at home - for obvioous reasons... :)
 
Mar 30, 2015 at 4:24 PM Post #14 of 19
jacobenchile said:
  So from what I have heard the AKG 701's are fantastic! How do the k550s compare?
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I own the AKG K550 and AKG K7XX.
I'm fairly sure most would take the Q701 over the K550, the K550 do have good sound quality, maybe a touch on the boring side.
I would say the AKG K7XX would be better then the K550 or Q701.
Headphones like the Q701 and K7XX need to be used with a decent headphone amplifier to sound their best.
(the K550 work fine without a dedicated amp)
 
Mar 30, 2015 at 7:28 PM Post #15 of 19
I received my K550's today on offer and I love them already. They're light and comfortable (at least for me, I have a big head) but not very portable.
 
They're just so neutral and musical. I've only used the bass boost on my E11K a couple of times, the bass is sufficient for me. There's a few bad reviews on here mainly pointing at the (lack of) bass but I just don't get that, honestly. They're not bass heavy by any means but I wouldn't consider them bass light.
 
I put them on for 20 minutes initially and they've been on for 4 hours now. I'm not just listening to the music, I'm really feeling it, toe tapping away (always a good sign 
biggrin.gif
)
 
I can't comment on the Q701's, never heard them, I'm really happy with the K550's though, especially as I had them for £99 here in the UK.
 
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