AKG K601 & K612 Pro Owners... UNITE!!
Jun 3, 2011 at 6:46 AM Post #571 of 2,435
 
Quote:
So much for not picking up an amp anytime soon. I got myself a PPAv2 amp and based on the reviews it seems like a good DIY amp so I'm happy. Hopefully I don't get any temptations from the FS section anytime soon for another amp :)
 
I think the K601 has fallen behind the HD600 in terms of enjoyment for me. I really like the HD600 and it took me some time to truly appreciate them and I think they are pretty close to a W4 in headphone form which is what I wanted. The K601 offers a different signature and different signatures are always good. I was a bit concerned than the PPAv2 amp might be too bright with the K601 but luckily I didn't hear that when I plugged them into the amp earlier today. It was only two songs but they both passed. I think the real test is when I get my DT880 back. It was supposed to be this week but it got delayed until Monday which is fine.
 


I'll be interested in reading what you have to say after you receive your DT880's back.  I don't think I will even try them, as that is just how happy I am with the K601's now. . .but still interested in your opinion none the less.
 
Jun 14, 2011 at 11:14 PM Post #574 of 2,435


Quote:
People will like 601 if their player and amp fail to  provide resolution good enough.


...and if the amp/source resolution is good enough
wink.gif
.
 
Jun 15, 2011 at 11:39 PM Post #575 of 2,435
This post is not directly related to the K601's really, but just AKG (Harmon Kardon) in general.  I received a pair of K701's recently, and for the life of me could not believe how unbalanced the volume seemed to be between the R and L channels.  I contacted the support team there and began communicating with a extremely great individual who always responded surprisingly quick (just sent responded to an email I sent him less than 10 minutes ago at 11:15 here on the east coast of the US).  
 
At first, even though I did not have the original purchase receipt he was going to do a return/replacement free of charge.  Later, through my own experimentations with putting the K701 pads on my K601, I determined that it was in actuality the ear pads somehow causing the issues.  There was obvious differences between the two without anything even playing through the headphones, as the external sounds were blocked much more so in one side compared to the other.  So I returned to the support rep with my findings and he promptly shipped me a new pair of ear pads which completely solved my issues!
 
I can not speak high enough praise, or express how much gratitude I have for their customer service in this situation.  I thought that customer service was a dying art so to speak, but my eyes have been opened up to the fact that it does still exist out there, and AKG (Harmon Kardon) are on their game!
 
k701smile.gif

 
As an interesting side note from all of this, I now have two sets of K701 pads sitting here in front of me.  I actually had to mix the new and the old to make the two sets, as there was somewhat of an imbalance in the new set as well.  So now I have seemingly "transparent" set along with a set which seems to be "darker".  I am amazed at the differences between the two sets to be completely honest, and it really makes me wonder just how much, something as simple as a set of stock ear pads, can control the impressions of someone who were to buy a new pair of these headphones.  If I were to receive a K701 with the "transparent" set of ear pads, I would be left saying, "wow, those are extremely sparkly headphones," while on the other hand with the other ear pads I would be left with, "wow, these are pretty balanced headphones.  The highs are not as prominent and sparkly as I have read others mention."  I know that may sound like some sort of exaggeration possibly, but it really is that much of a difference between the two sets.  So now I highly question all of this talk about, "I listened to a set with 1,000 hrs on them and they sounded so much more tame than my 300 hr set!"  How much of this is actually something as simple as some sort of variation in the ear pads?  
blink.gif
  I doubt that most stop to think about possibly swapping the ear pads between one set and the other to see the differences.  This is with all 4 ear pads being in new condition by the way.
 
-Blitz
 
Aug 1, 2011 at 10:06 AM Post #576 of 2,435
K601 #5205 here. Also have a HEARO 999 #0253 and a no-number K301 XTRA.
 
Since I have two 999 headsets, I have the pleather earpads on one and the velour earpads on the other. With the pleather earpads the 999 leans toward the K601 sound, and with the velour earpads the 999 leans toward the DT880 sound, but in both cases it doesn't go that far, just somewhat in that direction.
 
The K601 is my current monkey bone reference cans, which replaced the Grado SR200 cans that I bought in 1995 and the Grado SR60 cans I bought in 2000. Neither the sound nor the comfort of the Grado cans equal the K601. The K601 is very near the best you can get in both categories, and for $210 it was a far better deal than the SR200 for $200 back in 1995.
 
Grado cans had more issues with manufacturing defects than anything else I had owned before.
 
I was replacing the cables on my Sennheiser cans about every year, and now one of the drivers is blown. This was the 3rd set of Sennheiser cans with a blown driver for me. Nearly 4 years with my AKG cans, and so far not a single failure from 4 sets.
 
Aug 1, 2011 at 2:42 PM Post #577 of 2,435
Hello guys,
I've had my K601 underused for quite a while now, those poor sexy babies. I found a sweet deal in a Gilmore Lite amp and couldnt let it pass, so, anyone have thoughts on the K601 coming out of the Gilmore Lite?
 
hopefully I made the right choice.
 
Aug 1, 2011 at 5:25 PM Post #578 of 2,435


Quote:
Hello guys,
I've had my K601 underused for quite a while now, those poor sexy babies. I found a sweet deal in a Gilmore Lite amp and couldnt let it pass, so, anyone have thoughts on the K601 coming out of the Gilmore Lite?
 
hopefully I made the right choice.

 
First off, what is that avatar?!? we have young, impressionable minds on this forum, and this may well scar them for life. CANNOT UNSEE 
eek.gif
 
eek.gif
 
eek.gif



 
FWIR, the GIlmore Amps have great synergy with the K601, And will pair well when connected to a great source. I'm thinking of getting a Warm-sounding DAC, possibly one with a Tube output to feed into my Lovely Cube Amp, which has a somewhat clinical nature to power the K601 and the SR225.
 
 
Aug 9, 2011 at 8:57 AM Post #579 of 2,435
Hi, I'm owning a K601 #003846 made in China for 18h so far.
There are several AKG phones on my shelf, mostly K240 variants (lovely K240 Sextetts + .etc) but I felt like selling my K701 which was way too bright for my comfort... so I decided to move on and climb the ladder downwards, from 701 to 601.
 
So far it feels like a K501/K701 hybrid with tamed highs and a lack of bass compared to the K701. Compared to these phones the K601 sounds a bit warmer even though it lack the K701 bass extension (so far). Burning them in for the past 18h had some effect but coming from the K701 I know there is still plenty to do.
 
I have to use a bass-boost so far, and I guess I will still need one after 300h but... this is till better than the harsh K701 upper mids and tremble spikes.
How do you guys experience the low end of your K601?
Will it change like the K701s do after a while of burn-in?
 
(my experience so far burn-in is not a myth, but the results are highly overrated here at head-fi.)
 
Aug 9, 2011 at 9:59 AM Post #580 of 2,435
@roBernd
 
My experience is pretty much in line with the 300 hour ritual. They change over time, they also benefit from various EQ set settings like most headphones but I rarely find myself upping the lower ranges with my other headphones like I do with the K601. Currently listening to some 'House' - Benny Benassi (Electroman) and surprisingly it sounds great with barely any EQ.
 
Low key electronic ambient is as far as I like to take the K601's with the electronic genre. For example, they fall very short of the mark even with EQ for anything out of the Daft Punk back catalogue. Dub and reggae are not much better apart from the odd Lee Scratch Perry track that takes advantage of their sound-stage which is pretty cool.
 
Can I ask what you are driving them with amp-wise?
 
 
 
Aug 9, 2011 at 10:18 AM Post #581 of 2,435


Quote:
@roBernd
 
My experience is pretty much in line with the 300 hour ritual. They change over time, they also benefit from various EQ set settings like most headphones but I rarely find myself upping the lower ranges with my other headphones like I do with the K601. Currently listening to some 'House' - Benny Benassi (Electroman) and surprisingly it sounds great with barely any EQ.
 
Low key electronic ambient is as far as I like to take the K601's with the electronic genre. For example, they fall very short of the mark even with EQ for anything out of the Daft Punk back catalogue. Dub and reggae are not much better apart from the odd Lee Scratch Perry track that takes advantage of their sound-stage which is pretty cool.
 
Can I ask what you are driving them with amp-wise?
 
 

thank you, this comes close to what I'm experiencing atm. I'm just surprised because I read that the K601 had more bass quantity compared to the K701 which had plenty imho.
Running them out of several amps. A portable 18V cmoy on steroids, a regular reciever and my beloved amb m³.
 
 
 
Aug 9, 2011 at 12:16 PM Post #582 of 2,435
Keen to try the K701 myself. I will say this regarding the K601's bass quantity
- it is occasionally very sufficient, tight and clean on some very familiar tracks and
yet very under whelming and distant on other tracks of the same genre. I usually
compare with my M50 to ensure that it is not the fidelity of the track and sure
enough the M50's robust bassy end reveals what the K601 could not render 
with EQ. Same with rock, I sourced some SACD quality best of Bon Jovi and
the K601 delivers with decent impact but it sounds thin and congested with a best
of Oasis compilation in 320kbps that plays with authority on my Grados.
 
End of the day, I can see how some call these 'all rounders' but they can
be very picky with recordings. 
 
Aug 9, 2011 at 10:05 PM Post #584 of 2,435
Here's a question for those fortunate enough to have tried out the previous 'Made in Austria' models versus the new K601 model 'Made in China'
 
I wonder if AKG simply changed the location of production or if they made small changes to the driver along the way?
 
I hear Sennheiser recently updated the HD 650 and did so by stating this in the information booklet. No such luck for us K601 owners since they don't even come with one!
 
Aug 10, 2011 at 3:32 AM Post #585 of 2,435
I would like to know that too. I like them a lot, but was a bit dissapointed to read 'Made in China' instead of 'Austria'.

I wonder why I like the AKG 601 without an amp so much? Especially because everyone highly recommend one. I wonder if the Fiio e9 will do it any good. Any experiences? Seems to have good synergy.
 
Maybe I like less quality music..
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top