[rawrster]

Thanks tdockweiler for the info. I just hope the AKG pads are not ridiculously expensive. Do the new pads come with the ring that enables the pads to lock? I did see an ad on ebay but it didn't look like it had that.
 
On another note I just bought the DT880/600 off Amazon for $269

 

[Ze_Blitzkrieg]

Quote:

Thanks tdockweiler for the info. I just hope the AKG pads are not ridiculously expensive. Do the new pads come with the ring that enables the pads to lock? I did see an ad on ebay but it didn't look like it had that.
 
On another note I just bought the DT880/600 off Amazon for $269

My brand new pair of K601's ear pads still take the quarter turn or so to "lock" or "unlock".

 

[rawrster]

I've sent an email to Frank and I got a price of $19.19 for each pad with free shipping so ~$40 for a pair isn't too bad for the pads. It's much better than the price of the K701 pad I see on headroom for $40 each side. I'll get myself a pair once my next set of headphones come in the mail so I have an extra set just in case.

 

[evgenrave]

Can be described roughly as in the K601 broad scene? My after100 hours of burn without changes. more air in the music but the scene is similar to my K530. The source is not fully disclose k601,whether it affects the depth of the scene ?.... thanks

 

[Marximus]

Just got my K601s today.  They're basically the complete opposite of my Markl-modded D1001s:  clean, tight, and lean, with a wicked soundstage.  It's nice to have headphones with some good soundstage again.  Detail and instrument separation are fantastic.  I did add some bass, and they're currently a bit fatiguing; a bit sharp, if you will.  They're also a lot hungrier than the Denons; I usually don't turn the Denons' volume past 9 o'clock on my E9, but with the K601s, they're about 10:30 or 11.  But the soundstage and the comfort alone make them keepers, if only for movies.  And orchestral stuff sounds fantastic.  Yo-Yo Ma's cello is eargasmic.  I've got HD598s coming in next week, so I will determine then if I want to keep these.  But they are a fantastic, super comfortable pair of headphones.

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

Just got my K601s today.  They're basically the complete opposite of my Markl-modded D1001s:  clean, tight, and lean, with a wicked soundstage.  It's nice to have headphones with some good soundstage again.  Detail and instrument separation are fantastic.  I did add some bass, and they're currently a bit fatiguing; a bit sharp, if you will.  They're also a lot hungrier than the Denons; I usually don't turn the Denons' volume past 9 o'clock on my E9, but with the K601s, they're about 10:30 or 11.  But the soundstage and the comfort alone make them keepers, if only for movies.  And orchestral stuff sounds fantastic.  Yo-Yo Ma's cello is eargasmic.  I've got HD598s coming in next week, so I will determine then if I want to keep these.  But they are a fantastic, super comfortable pair of headphones.

 
It'd be interesting to know what you think of the 598 compared to the K601. Both I love so much that it's hard to keep just one. Strangely my first pair about a year ago was fairly fatiguing with my Asgard. The lower treble was so boosted on that pair (or because of the Asgard?) that very poorly mastered, bright recordings would give my ear a fit. It was a pair with a very low number.
 
The next pair I tried on the E9 and I didn't have that lower treble peak. They're still fairly non-forgiving of very bright recordings, but not as annoying as my last pair. Do you have a lower numbered pair? I doubt there is any difference between the two. My new pair is around #19700. With my K601 I've had to weed out a few bad tracks.
 
The biggest difference between the two for me was how each presents vocals. I prefer vocals on the HD-598 slightly, but prefer the soundstage/instrument separation on the K601. K601 had the edge in sound clarity with stock cables. Recabling the HD-598 did improve it in that area, but it's too much of a risk.
 
 

 

[Marximus]

Interesting.  Mine is #19733.  We're really close.  I don't think I'll be too picky about which I choose.  The Denons are comfortable, but after three or four hours (movie + music, etc.), they hurt a little bit.  The K601s are more comfortable than the K701s I had, mainly because of the lack of headband bumps, and the K701s were already pretty comfortable.  I think maybe the higher Denons are slightly more comfortable, but it's pretty close.  I have no reason to suspect that the HD598s will be uncomfortable, so it will come down to sound (and the possible cracking issue on the 598s).  It's really refreshing to have a completely different signature, though.

 

[rawrster]

The K601 is easily the most comfortable headphone I've owned. I haven't used them in a while but I've been using the HD600 lately. I'll have a DT880 in a few weeks when I get them back so those should be comfortable a well.

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

The K601 is easily the most comfortable headphone I've owned. I haven't used them in a while but I've been using the HD600 lately. I'll have a DT880 in a few weeks when I get them back so those should be comfortable a well.

Same here. My HD-598 is quite comfortable, but the K601 is more secure on my head. I actually attempted to do some light exercise with my HD-598 the other day and it kept falling off, but who the heck is dumb enough to use an HD-598 during exercise? I guess I am! The HD-650 can often still feel like a vice in comparison. For me it had much more clamp than the HD-600.
 
I don't know why, but there are some things about the K601 that remind me VERY slightly of the HD-600, but they of course sound different.
 
Sadly I'm probably the only one in the world who finds the DT-880 uncomfortable. I have a small head and still had to fully expand them. I never had any problem with my DT-990 in the past, so it's strange.I was able to bend the metal a bit, but then they were too lose with no clamp.
 

 

[Ze_Blitzkrieg]

Quote:

I don't know why, but there are some things about the K601 that remind me VERY slightly of the HD-600, but they of course sound different.
 

I have found that comment to be very true.  My friend and I just spent the weekend comparing my K601 with his HD600.  He has used that headphone for a good while now on a regular basis, which I have found makes it easier to spot the differences in another headphone, if not make the differences seem more exaggerated than they really are (more on that last bit in a moment).  We both found the K601 and HD600 to be very similar in sound.  What truly surprised me was the fact that he could not make a definite decision on which one he felt was "better", but rather said he would be perfectly happy with either one in the end.  There were obviously differences, but they were small enough to where it just comes down to listening preference, but not with one being "better" than the other.  I equate the HD600 to sitting in say. . .row 10, while the K601 is like sitting somewhere in rows 12-15.  The HD600 seems to have a slight be more in the upper bass region, and the highs are slightly less than they are on the K601's.  The midrange on both headphones present something great in my opinion.  My friend likes to refer to his HD600's as being slightly more "intimate" (which gives them the edge in his mind/preference), which I could agree with as a decent explanation.  As you can see, I use the word "slightly" through out this just as you did tdockweiler, as I agree that they are not that different in the end.  
 
With that being said, I still find the HD600's to feel like I have a thin "veil" between me and the source of the music.  That brings me back to the "make the differences seem more exaggerated than they really are" comment.  When I came from using the DT990's on an everyday basis to comparing them to his HD600's not too long ago, I felt the HD600's to seem even more "veiled" due to the DT990's having such bright/harsh highs.  This is actually what ultimately drove me to finally buy the K601's to try and find a headphone which was somewhat of a balance between the DT990's and HD600's.  They have nice details, great midrange, and extended bass.  The extended bass obviously speaks for the depth of the frequency range and not the "weight" with which those notes carry.

 

[rawrster]

There are some similarities between the K601 and HD600 but I'll need an A/B to tell for sure since I haven't used the K601 in a couple of days. The HD600 will probably replace my FA-003 in due time and it is open which is better suited than closed since I don't need a closed can at home.
 
Also I don't get any of that veil with the HD600 so not too sure where that is coming from and I'm used to phones that have plenty of clarity in the upper regions.

 

[Ze_Blitzkrieg]

Quote:

Also I don't get any of that veil with the HD600 so not too sure where that is coming from and I'm used to phones that have plenty of clarity in the upper regions.

It's not a matter of clarity, as the HD600's are still very clear. . .it just sounds like. . .hmm. . .maybe best way to describe is how I explained what I was hearing to my friend the other day.  Imagine sitting there and listening to people play just in front of you. . .now then imagine a thin piece of fabric being dropped down in between you and the source of sound.  This is what I am describing when I say "veiled" at least.  It was no where near as apparent/present when switching between the K601's and HD600's, but was very much there after having used the DT990's for a regular basis.  The best thing I could put my finger on as to why this was occurring was based on how the headphones present the high frequencies in the sound spectrum.  If you sit down and listen to the HD600's, the veil will disappear over time, as you get used to them.  It happens with every headphone, small negatives begin to fade away as your ears become accustom with the acoustics of that headphone. . .hence me not finding the DT990's highs to be harsh until after using the K601's on a regular basis for a week solid.  Just my take on it all. . .

 
Edit:  Oh, and I meant to say that the "veil" is only really apparent to me on rock/metal such as Evanescence, etc.  It seems to really happen in the upper mid/lower treble range to me.  When it comes to classical music, or anything of that nature, there is no such "veil". . .same goes for gaming and movies.

 

[tdockweiler]

 
Quote:

 
With that being said, I still find the HD600's to feel like I have a thin "veil" between me and the source of the music.  That brings me back to the "make the differences seem more exaggerated than they really are" comment.  When I came from using the DT990's on an everyday basis to comparing them to his HD600's not too long ago, I felt the HD600's to seem even more "veiled" due to the DT990's having such bright/harsh highs.  This is actually what ultimately drove me to finally buy the K601's to try and find a headphone which was somewhat of a balance between the DT990's and HD600's.  They have nice details, great midrange, and extended bass.  The extended bass obviously speaks for the depth of the frequency range and not the "weight" with which those notes carry.

I always had that impression too on my first pair. This was even with the Asgard I had. My first pair was purchased in early 2010 and somehow was the old version without the silver screen. It was very muffled sounding like the detail and mids were being covered by a piece of cloth. I sold them and bought the K601. Later on I missed the HD-600 so I bought another pair! This time around I was surprised at how different they sounded. Not a huge difference, but a lot more clear and less muffled than my last pair for sure. This one was the silver screen version.
 
Maybe the version you tried was the older version? I'm going to not think about the HD-600 much because then I'll want to buy them again! I switched to the HD-650 and it seems lately I've been EQing the bass down. I normally dislike to EQ and the HD-650's are not as good for gaming and movies. I felt the HD-650 was technically better, but I prefer a more neutral headphone like the HD-600 usually.
 
 
 

 

[Marximus]

My early impressions of the HD600s didn't include a perception of large soundstage, whereas that was instantly apparent with the K601s.  From what I remember (I only owned the HD600s for about a month), they also weren't as energetic as the K601s in what I guess is the midrange (still having trouble nailing down what exactly "midrange" encompasses).  However, I didn't find them to be lacking in detail or clarity.  I would describe them as really close to neutral, but I've found I don't really like neutral.  I've put about 8 or 9 hours on the K601s, and I don't know if they've changed any, but I see them as a near-perfect complement to my Denons.  The Denons are fun, and they're great for rock or other bass heavier pieces.  But I would describe the K601s as beautiful, so that I find myself wanting to listen to orchestral and other um, milder pieces (Simon and Garfunkel, etc.).  I think I'll have a listen with the HD598s when I get them, but something tells me my mind is already made up as to which I'll be keeping.  The Sennheisers will have to really impress me.  I guess it's the cracking potential that bothers me, as well.

 

[Ze_Blitzkrieg]

 
Quote:

I always had that impression too on my first pair. This was even with the Asgard I had. My first pair was purchased in early 2010 and somehow was the old version without the silver screen. It was very muffled sounding like the detail and mids were being covered by a piece of cloth. I sold them and bought the K601. Later on I missed the HD-600 so I bought another pair! This time around I was surprised at how different they sounded. Not a huge difference, but a lot more clear and less muffled than my last pair for sure. This one was the silver screen version.
 
Maybe the version you tried was the older version? I'm going to not think about the HD-600 much because then I'll want to buy them again! I switched to the HD-650 and it seems lately I've been EQing the bass down. I normally dislike to EQ and the HD-650's are not as good for gaming and movies. I felt the HD-650 was technically better, but I prefer a more neutral headphone like the HD-600 usually.
 

My friend's HD600's are the newer version with the silver "screen", as that was the first thing I checked this weekend after having been looking at HD580 threads.