[vid]

So I was thinking about the comfort factor of the K 601.
 
I read so many people say the clamping force on the K 601 is light. Yet for me it's quite uncomfortable, as were the K271S and the K 501. I've carefully loosened up the headband a little bit, like I did with the other two headphones, and I find it's still a slight bit too clampy.
 
I took some measurements of my noggin. A circumference of 58 cm – 22.8 inch – and a rough diameter between the base of each ear was 13 cm – 5.1 inch. From a quick googling, it seems to be a more or less normal head.
 
I do use earbuds most of the time because they're very light and don't clamp at all, but even so I find it hard to imagine how so many people would find the 601 to be light on clamping.
 
I do remember, years and years ago, the Beyer DT231 was the comfiest headphone ever as far as clamping is concerned. I don't have them anymore to compare against, but ever since I gave them up I've had an issue with headphones clamping too much – not just a little bit too much, way too much.

 

[rehabitat]

My head is size 62 and i find that my k601s are a fairly loose fit. I bought mine second hand so yours may need time to break in.

 

[vid]

I'll give them a while to adjust. The headband for my K271S looks a bit squarish after I've loosened it up by hand over the years. The clamping on those is just about right now, but it would be a shame to kill the 601 aesthetics like that – not to mention the resale value.

 

[vid]

Well, I've been listening to the 601s occasionally for a coupla days. They're pretty good, but their role is a bit unclear.
 
The 501 was a classical music can. The 271 for studio/isolation. The 601.....? Someone here on head-fi said they seemed like AKG's attempt to capture the mass-market audience, and that doesn't seem too far off.
 
The 601 are pretty warm, they make the 271 sound tinny if you switch them real quick. They have an excited kind of sound, not very analytical, and don't seem to be limited to any specific genre.
 
Still, I can't help but feel the AKG sound doesn't work all that well as a mass-market thing. The 601 have the typical airy quality of AKG, but at the same time they try to sound warm and even intimate. It sounds good when it works, but can come off really ambiguous in other situations.
 
Anyways, just some thoughts from along the road. I've done some minimal burn-in, maybe ten hours or so. So far, I've best enjoyed the K 601 for Station by Russian Circles (post-rock/metal) and Rasluka Part II by Nargaroth (black metal). Not something you'd expect from an AKG phone, but there you go.

 

[tdogzthmn]

Quote:

Well, I've been listening to the 601s occasionally for a coupla days. They're pretty good, but their role is a bit unclear.
 
The 501 was a classical music can. The 271 for studio/isolation. The 601.....? Someone here on head-fi said they seemed like AKG's attempt to capture the mass-market audience, and that doesn't seem too far off.
 
The 601 are pretty warm, they make the 271 sound tinny if you switch them real quick. They have an excited kind of sound, not very analytical, and don't seem to be limited to any specific genre.
 
Still, I can't help but feel the AKG sound doesn't work all that well as a mass-market thing. The 601 have the typical airy quality of AKG, but at the same time they try to sound warm and even intimate. It sounds good when it works, but can come off really ambiguous in other situations.
 
Anyways, just some thoughts from along the road. I've done some minimal burn-in, maybe ten hours or so. So far, I've best enjoyed the K 601 for Station by Russian Circles (post-rock/metal) and Rasluka Part II by Nargaroth (black metal). Not something you'd expect from an AKG phone, but there you go.

I think it's role might be similar to is older counterpart the K400, with that role being to sound more "fun" and work better with a variety of genres.  The K500, K501 leans toward the more neutral side.

 

[vid]

Quote:

I think it's role might be similar to is older counterpart the K400, with that role being to sound more "fun" and work better with a variety of genres.  The K500, K501 leans toward the more neutral side.

Do the K 400 and K 500 have that much of a difference, though? I've heard neither of them, but I read some opinions here and there was at least one guy who thought the pads one uses contribute more to the sound than the model number does – yet some people had a preference between the two.
 
From the limited time I've now spent with the K 601, it doesn't quite have the wow factor of the 501. Every time I'd put the 501 on, even after owning them for more than a year, and crank up some classical, it would just blow me away. The 601 doesn't really do that, with any genre, but it's still a lot of fun to listen to. I wouldn't buy it for classical music, but it seems to be good for casual enjoyment of quite a few genres, yeah.

 

[luckybaer]

Funny how interest in the K601 is still pretty strong.  I remember a few years back, they were kind of forgotten in the AKG line-up.  I read lots about the K501, and, as the long-time head-fi'ers can attest, the K701 endured a long, long stretch as FOTM - you could say FOTY!  
 
Upon reflection, I remember a lukewarm write-up given to the K601 by Headroom.  Typically, they gush over everything, or tell it like it is, but I remember something like a death knell for the K601.  The gist was that the K601 was missing something that would take it into the upper-echelon of headphones.  I can't recall exactly, but compared to write-ups it did for HD600, DT880, etc., it was a flat, not-very-encouraging write-up.  I wonder if that is why the K601 never enjoyed the FOTM status that other headphones enjoyed at that time?

 

[elwappo99]

As soon as I get a new driver from AKG, I'd love to do a comparison between k501, k601, k701 which I will have in my possession. 
 
Quote:

Funny how interest in the K601 is still pretty strong.  I remember a few years back, they were kind of forgotten in the AKG line-up.  I read lots about the K501, and, as the long-time head-fi'ers can attest, the K701 endured a long, long stretch as FOTM - you could say FOTY!  
 
Upon reflection, I remember a lukewarm write-up given to the K601 by Headroom.  Typically, they gush over everything, or tell it like it is, but I remember something like a death knell for the K601.  The gist was that the K601 was missing something that would take it into the upper-echelon of headphones.  I can't recall exactly, but compared to write-ups it did for HD600, DT880, etc., it was a flat, not-very-encouraging write-up.  I wonder if that is why the K601 never enjoyed the FOTM status that other headphones enjoyed at that time?

 

[vid]

I decided to sell my 601. In the end, I'm not a big fan of the K x0x style cups; it feels unnatural to have big, circular things press around my ears yet nothing touching the ears themselves. Also, I thought the 601 had a bit too much bass (yes).
 
Otherwise, the 601 was quite good. Nice detail, good imaging and, well, great mids. I wouldn't pay $270 (Amazon) for them, though.

 

[Kukuk]

New K601 owner reporting in.
 
Can't wait to listen to these bad boys. Gotta wait for the previous owner to send me the 4-pin XLR to 1/4" adapter, as he forgot to include it.

 

[vid]

I suppose you let the K 271 S go then, Kukuk? I thought the K 601 sounded muuuch better than the 271.
 
I'm kinda sorry I had to sell the 601. They're very nice, despite being a bit confusing as well.

 

[misformatt]

Has anyone done a comparison of the different versions of the K601?  I ended up with two K601s, and they sound very different from each other.  One has the cardioid style buttons, while the other has the AKG style buttons.  The cardioid buttoned model also has a blue ring around the driver housing (under the pads) that is absent from the other version.  The cardioid model sounds much more similar to the K501 or HD 600, whereas the AKG buttoned version sounds much more similar to the K701.  I'm not sure if anyone else has had a chance to compare the two, but I'd say the sonic differences aren't slight. 

 

[Omega17TheTrue]

By blue ring do you mean a blue glue around the internal plastic housing ? if yes then i have one, my serial is #11047 and i can take pictures but it seem i have "AKG buttons".

 

[REDH0RN]

Quote:

 
it feels unnatural to have big, circular things press around my ears yet nothing touching the ears themselves. Also, I thought the 601 had a bit too much bass (yes).

 

 

After a fishing trip a couple years back that resulted in severe sun burn on the lobes and now with the requirement of corrective eye wear the non-contact factor is a comfort virtue to me. Like they say, "one man's trash is another man's treasure" 

 .

 

 

 

[tdockweiler]

This makes no sense at all. I sell my HD-600 once I get my K601 and prefer that. I even returned a Denon D2000.
I love the K601 so much but find it kind of fatiguing. I think it was either the upper mids or lower treble. During some music it feels as if the headphones are shouting at me and my ears are ringing. I still love them and buy a K702 to compare them.
 
The mids are clearly less forward on the K702, but the level of detail and clarity of the K702 is a huge jump up over the K601. I also find the K702 LESS fatiguing. What the heck? What detail the K601 DID have was more forward and not lost in a huge soundstage. Sometimes the K702 felt as if it had recessed mids, but it does not apparently.
 
So I loved the K702 and got rid of my K601 too fast. Only after gaming did I figure out the K702's weakness for ME. It's soundstage is almost phony and not very accurate to my ears. Tiny details seem lost and distant.
 
So now I sell both and get a HD-650. It's nice at first, but now I end up with a DT-880. I love it and find it's signature near perfect, but it's not as comfortable as the K601.
 
Now I want a K601 again. When does this end?!
 
To think that my first favorite headphone was a K701 I owned and loved for over 3 years! I keep going around in circles it seems. Now I've tried two old favorites 5 years later and no longer like them. Seems a bit strange.