[Ze_Blitzkrieg]

I'm still absolutely loving these K601's to death here at home.  Currently have another amp (Shanling PH100) on it's way here to try on these bad boys to see how well they will sing.  I have tested the PH100 in the past with the K702's, and I like what it did with those headphones, albeit I did not care for the K702's (at the time).  
 
That brings me to my next comment. . .I am now wanting to try out the K70X's again after having "refined" my listening tastes.  I use the word refined here as that is how I view my transition in sonic senses since I first tried those headphones out.  I used to not like a flat response, but rather one with some color.  I was coming fresh off of the HD555's for a good while to testing the K702's and found them to just not suit my tastes, with an epically massive sound stage. . .or so it seemed at the time.  On top of it all, I used to always EQ my output from my HT Omega sound card.
 
So what is the point in all of this in this post. . .I guess I am just saying that I love the very balanced presentation of the K601's and feel that I might owe it to the K70X's to give them a second chance now that I use a perfectly flat EQ and love a very natural, true to life sound (in my opinion).  I am sure the K702's will still sound quite large in the sound stage. . .but perhaps my overall view of them will change slightly. . .who knows. 

 

[fishski13]

Quote:

So what is the point in all of this in this post. . .I guess I am just saying that I love the very balanced presentation of the K601's and feel that I might owe it to the K70X's to give them a second chance now that I use a perfectly flat EQ and love a very natural, true to life sound (in my opinion).  I am sure the K702's will still sound quite large in the sound stage. . .but perhaps my overall view of them will change slightly. . .who knows. 

sounds like you know what you're doing.  i also rate the K271mkii with Beyer DT770 closed pads.
 

 

[Ze_Blitzkrieg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishski13 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
sounds like you know what you're doing.  i also rate the K271mkii with Beyer DT770 closed pads.
 

Thanks, and it was quick work on finding a pair. . .ended up just buying a set about 10 minutes ago.  A few month old pair of K701's, should have them later this week along the same time that the Shanling PH100 should arrive.  I will post some impressions on how the K601's sound with this amp compared to un-amped and also vs the Fiio E9 I currently own.  But now it is late and my body will be hating me when I roll into the office in less than 7 hours. . .

 

[Marximus]

I got the HD598s yesterday...and promptly returned them.  I found the K601s to be superior in terms of both sound quality and comfort.  The HD598s were a bit fatiguing after two hours (watching a movie), but I wore the AKGs for four hours the other day and had no issues.  I also think instruments sound slightly more natural with the K601s.  Fantastic pair of headphones.

 

[tdockweiler]

Same here. They're my most used headphone still. Right ahead of the HD-598.
I was in the same position as you when I had the K601. I wanted to give the K701/K702 another chance and I was going to keep the winner.
I've found that comparing them both and keeping only one was a mistake for me.
 
When I got my K702 I came to the conclusion that it was more clear and detailed and ended up selling the K601. So stupid! I think it was because my amp was not a good match for them.
 
After thinking about it later on I think one reason I regretted getting rid of the K601 is that it had the more upfront experience and a warmer sound. Definitely less treble and less fatiguing than my K702.
 
I've found that my K702 is rarely on my head because I think I don't always like the speaker-like experience and how I feel as if I'm 3 rows back from the stage. Often things sounds distant, but that was fixed a little with my amp. It's especially annoying with movies and games. The K601 pads on the K702 might help this, but I doubt it.
 
When I just want to relax I use my K601. The K702 for me has more treble and it took 80 hours to smooth out it's sound. They're still kind of fatiguing, but not too bad. The K601 always comes across as far more natural sounding despite what seems like more forward sounding mids. I also prefer the K601 due to how it presents vocals a little bit better. I imagine people who love a lot of treble couldn't stand the K601. Definitely has more than enough for me.
 
As you can see I've sold and bought both headphones again. K702 is technically better to me, but I still prefer music by far on the K601. Everything always just seems "just right".
 
I do think I prefer the K702 for specific genres though. Mainly ambient, classical and soundtracks, but that's about it.
 
Quote:

I'm still absolutely loving these K601's to death here at home.  Currently have another amp (Shanling PH100) on it's way here to try on these bad boys to see how well they will sing.  I have tested the PH100 in the past with the K702's, and I like what it did with those headphones, albeit I did not care for the K702's (at the time).  
 
That brings me to my next comment. . .I am now wanting to try out the K70X's again after having "refined" my listening tastes.  I use the word refined here as that is how I view my transition in sonic senses since I first tried those headphones out.  I used to not like a flat response, but rather one with some color.  I was coming fresh off of the HD555's for a good while to testing the K702's and found them to just not suit my tastes, with an epically massive sound stage. . .or so it seemed at the time.  On top of it all, I used to always EQ my output from my HT Omega sound card.
 
So what is the point in all of this in this post. . .I guess I am just saying that I love the very balanced presentation of the K601's and feel that I might owe it to the K70X's to give them a second chance now that I use a perfectly flat EQ and love a very natural, true to life sound (in my opinion).  I am sure the K702's will still sound quite large in the sound stage. . .but perhaps my overall view of them will change slightly. . .who knows. 

 

 

[tdockweiler]

Too bad you didn't like the HD-598. I think for the price and how easy they are to amp, they're quite good. The K601 needs a powerful amp and not everyone has one (even the E9 will work though).I also prefer the K601 now I think, but the HD-598 does female vocals slightly better it feels like at times. When I listen to them on the K601 I don't even feel like I'm missing out though. Basically the K601 is hard to beat and if the K601 didn't exist, the HD-598 would be what I'd be using. I'd never sell my HD-598 though. Biggest difference for me was how better the soundstage of the K601 was (not larger though).
 
I'm sensitive to specific frequencies, but I'm lucky that nothing on the HD-598's signature bothers me. The only time the K601 bothers me is when I listen to extremely bright recordings. They're a bit worse on the K601, but I can't blame the headphone! I'd much rather my headphone not tame them.
 
I also find the K601 more comfortable. I could probably fall asleep with them on my head. I've used them for up to 5 hours without any problems.
Quote:

I got the HD598s yesterday...and promptly returned them.  I found the K601s to be superior in terms of both sound quality and comfort.  The HD598s were a bit fatiguing after two hours (watching a movie), but I wore the AKGs for four hours the other day and had no issues.  I also think instruments sound slightly more natural with the K601s.  Fantastic pair of headphones.

 

 

[Ze_Blitzkrieg]

 Not sure how. . .but double post. . .sorry 

 

[Ze_Blitzkrieg]

Well I am not looking to replace the K601's. . .it was simply to try them again.  I more or less just wanted to see if my views of them have changed any since a little over a year ago just because I listened to my music differently back them.  I feel that my initial impressions of the headphones back then will still hold true to a certain extent, but I feel somewhat bad when I post something on here describing the K70X's. . .even if it is a slightly vague description.  The only reason I bought a K701 is because I have the Shanling coming, which really made a difference when I tried the K702's in the past.  I don't plan on keeping the headphones for any real length of time unless they blow me away for something and possibly warrant their $200 price (basically what I paid for a few month old pair).  
 
I went through several headphones recently as I finally had the means and opportunity to do so.  I wanted to test basically all relevant open back headphones (company wise. . .not every single headphone) in my target range of $200-$300ish.  My foray into the world of Grado was rewarded (punished?) with a great disappointment as my favorite music genre by far is rock & metal.  The SR225i's did surprise me just a touch, but overall just found myself thinking, "seriously?"  My best friend was quite anxious to finally try a pair of Grado's, which was one of the main reasons I bought the pair (so he could ultimately try them), and I felt bad because he was also greatly let down by the experience.  Obviously to each his own, but they were nothing special in any way, shape, or form in my book or his.
 
Anyways, point of the story here is. . .I'm just wanting to get another taste of them (K701's), but not necessarily planning to "invest" in them so to speak, and I find the K601's to be the best of the bunch in my opinion.  I could only really see the HD600 being the other option for myself at least, but with the higher price tag and the larger amping requirements (supposedly, but I have no clue beyond the fact that the few amps we have tried have done absolutely nothing to the HD600) I feel the K601's to ultimately be the best "bang for the buck".  That means a lot in my book, as I feel I have one hell of a headphone for an excellent price.  I feel dollar for dollar they are very tough to be at their particular price point (my opinion obviously, feel free to disagree)
 
EDIT:  Also, the last pair of headphones I am planning to test out are actually the HD598's.  I will not buy a pair however as one of my friends happens to have a pair.  I will simply bide my time until I get to finally try them out, sadly he lives about 2.5 hours away at the moment (possibly down to only about 1 hour with the possibility of a new job for myself 

) and we have conflicting work schedules (he's non-traditional and rather works 3 on, 2 off, 4 on, 3 off, etc etc)
 
Quote:

Same here. They're my most used headphone still. Right ahead of the HD-598.
I was in the same position as you when I had the K601. I wanted to give the K701/K702 another chance and I was going to keep the winner.
I've found that comparing them both and keeping only one was a mistake for me.
 
When I got my K702 I came to the conclusion that it was more clear and detailed and ended up selling the K601. So stupid! I think it was because my amp was not a good match for them.
 
After thinking about it later on I think one reason I regretted getting rid of the K601 is that it had the more upfront experience and a warmer sound. Definitely less treble and less fatiguing than my K702.
 
I've found that my K702 is rarely on my head because I think I don't always like the speaker-like experience and how I feel as if I'm 3 rows back from the stage. Often things sounds distant, but that was fixed a little with my amp. It's especially annoying with movies and games. The K601 pads on the K702 might help this, but I doubt it.
 
When I just want to relax I use my K601. The K702 for me has more treble and it took 80 hours to smooth out it's sound. They're still kind of fatiguing, but not too bad. The K601 always comes across as far more natural sounding despite what seems like more forward sounding mids. I also prefer the K601 due to how it presents vocals a little bit better. I imagine people who love a lot of treble couldn't stand the K601. Definitely has more than enough for me.
 
As you can see I've sold and bought both headphones again. K702 is technically better to me, but I still prefer music by far on the K601. Everything always just seems "just right".
 
I do think I prefer the K702 for specific genres though. Mainly ambient, classical and soundtracks, but that's about it.
 

 

 

[Marximus]

Admittedly, I have the Bass Booster EQ in iTunes activated for the K601s, so my impressions are a little off.  What was interesting to me was that at first, with no EQ for the HD598s, and the Bass Booster for the K601s, it was difficult to pick out differences.  But as I listened to them more, I started to hear the differences.  The differences in tone of instruments (used cello pieces for A/Bing) and soundstage were noticeable.  I couldn't really discern any appreciable difference between female vocals on the HD598s and the K601s.  To me, it sounded as though the HD598s had a very slight v-shaped signature in comparison to the balanced signature of the K601s.  I'm not saying they're neutral, but balanced, rather.  The Sennheisers sounded a little more um, Ultrasoney to me:  better bass, but also slightly more trebley.  Very slightly.  The difference was small, but there.
 
Quote:

Too bad you didn't like the HD-598. I think for the price and how easy they are to amp, they're quite good. The K601 needs a powerful amp and not everyone has one (even the E9 will work though).I also prefer the K601 now I think, but the HD-598 does female vocals slightly better it feels like at times. When I listen to them on the K601 I don't even feel like I'm missing out though. Basically the K601 is hard to beat and if the K601 didn't exist, the HD-598 would be what I'd be using. I'd never sell my HD-598 though. Biggest difference for me was how better the soundstage of the K601 was (not larger though).
 
I'm sensitive to specific frequencies, but I'm lucky that nothing on the HD-598's signature bothers me. The only time the K601 bothers me is when I listen to extremely bright recordings. They're a bit worse on the K601, but I can't blame the headphone! I'd much rather my headphone not tame them.
 
I also find the K601 more comfortable. I could probably fall asleep with them on my head. I've used them for up to 5 hours without any problems.


 

Ooh, post #700!
 

 

[Ze_Blitzkrieg]

Just wanted to check in here and give a brief impressions of the K601's with the Shanling PH100.  Coming from the Fiio E9, I feel like the layers to the songs are more well developed, no space gained or lost however in the soundstage (which is absolutely fine for me).  The overall tone of the K601's are "smooted out" even more, and given a great tonal balance (which is already really good on these headphones IMHO). The bass is given some more impact and the highs are very "liquid" in their qualities.  The few songs that were bright in my collection are bit easier to listen to, as one thing these headphones will do are produce what was recorded/mixed. . .if it was bright, it will sound bright.  
 
Overall my initial impression after a few hours is that the bass and treble are now on the level of the excellent mids that I feel that these great headphones present.  I would say that the mids are still the best quality of these headphones to me, but it is now harder for me use the bass or trebles as any sort of negative towards these cans.  Obviously I need a good bit more time to go through all of my music to get a good sense of how these play with the amp as a whole.  One thing in the negative side so far is that with Evanescence, Amy Lee's voice gets lost a little bit with the Shanling compare to the Fiio E9.  It is not totally lost or anything, but can tell that her voice is slightly more forward from the E9.  I actually picked up the Shanling used btw, for only $30 more than I paid for the Fiio E9 

, very happy. 

 
I am still int he process of compiling information and "data" for my larger review of these headphones which I have another thread mentioning around here somewhere.  I have been in the process of trying out several different/new headphones recently which has really delayed my process of the review, as the plan was to compare the K601's to a few other headphones.  Originally it was just going to be with the DT990's and HD600's, but now I will probably include the SR225i's, K701's, and HD598's. . .

 
-Blitz

 

[rawrster]

I'm still enjoying my K601 as well It's still much more comfortable than the HD600 and I should get my DT880 back next Monday. I'm still doing some reading on some amps and checking the FS section daily (I probably shouldn't do that for my wallets sake). I do have a decent amp inside my D100 so not in any real rush but would like to get something better down the line.

 

[Ze_Blitzkrieg]

Quote:

I'm still enjoying my K601 as well It's still much more comfortable than the HD600 and I should get my DT880 back next Monday. I'm still doing some reading on some amps and checking the FS section daily (I probably shouldn't do that for my wallets sake). I do have a decent amp inside my D100 so not in any real rush but would like to get something better down the line.

Really the only reason I picked up the Shanling is because I had previous experience with it and a pair of K702's.  I knew what it did with them, and was impressed so I wanted to see what it would do with a pair of K601's and am not disappointed by any means.  It is a noticeable improvement over the Fiio E9 imho.  Really is just a matter of taste and if you want true "transparency" in your amp.  The Shanling PH100 is not a truly transparent experience, but what it does do is what I was looking for it to do. . .if that makes sense.  I was wanting to bring everything to an even par across the board in the frequency range and feel that this accomplishes that task.  So by this statement, I mean the bass is now up on par with the mids as opposed to being slightly behind (based purely on "impact" of the bass), and what few/occasional sharp trebles there were are now neatly tamed which just gives a truly nice/smooth sound to the already pretty smooth sounding headphone.
 
On another note not related to your post 

. . .the K701's are supposed to be here tomorrow and am oddly looking very much forward to it.  Anxious to try them out with a specifics in my music and like I said before, give them a fair 2nd chance and reappraise them in general as well obviously.

 

[REDH0RN]

I will never part with mine. Can not give comparisons since my only other phones are several states away (HD-595). Last night I listened
to Slacker radio with BlackBerry instead of my usual iPod/LOD as source. The 601's were still very enjoyable, but I find they need a lot of 
juice to boogie. My LD I+ output is between 75-85% max.
 
What other amps would drive 601's nicely for <$220? A great bang for the buck amp is my target.

 

[Ze_Blitzkrieg]

 
Quote:

I will never part with mine. Can not give comparisons since my only other phones are several states away (HD-595). Last night I listened
to Slacker radio with BlackBerry instead of my usual iPod/LOD as source. The 601's were still very enjoyable, but I find they need a lot of 
juice to boogie. My LD I+ output is between 75-85% max.
 
What other amps would drive 601's nicely for <$220? A great bang for the buck amp is my target.

 
You should be able to pick up a Shanling for something around that neighborhood ($200-$225) if you are patient.  I just posted a wanted add in the amplification section and got lucky myself.  Beyond that amp, which I know it does a great job, I do not have any personal experience with any other amps other than the Fiio E9.  I would guess that SS amps would be the primary candidates however, but am not entirely sure as the K601's kind of fall in the upper end of the "lower" impedence headphones at 120Ω's.

 

[JamesMcProgger]

Im in!
 
now recommend me an amp please.