[tdockweiler]

S/N: 19714 (Made in Austria)
 
 
I had a very early pair and it had this awful lower treble peak that drove my ears bonkers. I don't know if it was just bad synergy or what.
I think so.
 
This is the only headphone i'd never ever sell.
 
This is the one headphone that seems to throw a fit with portable amps. Even my Q701 does fine with my Total Airhead, but not this so much.
I can crank the volume on my Airhead to 70% and it clips (blinking red light). That never happens on any other headphone. The Airhead even sounds good with my 600 ohm Sextett, but doesn't have enough volume for classical music sometimes.
 
This is also with power from my player. If you use a LOD cable, it's totally not going to work out well. I find the Q701 is horrible with most portable amps and a LOD cable. My E11 can only drive it (and sound good) if I use the headphone out.
 
Best amp I've heard with the K601 is the Headroom Micro Amp. With that and the HRT MSII it's just about perfect to my ears. I hated the K601 with the Asgard. I don't know if it's lack of power or what. Asgard is nice with my HD-600 though.

 

[Dutchi MerenGue]

how does the akg k601 compare to the q701? i personally love my 601's and cant honestly imagine music sounding better (could do with a bit a bass, but for that i just listen to my pro700mk2's or xb500's)

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

how does the akg k601 compare to the q701? i personally love my 601's and cant honestly imagine music sounding better (could do with a bit a bass, but for that i just listen to my pro700mk2's or xb500's)

 
Q701 sounds slightly more clear and detailed at times. Q701 is a little thinner sounding (only compared to the K601) and not as full sounding. Q701 itself isn't even remotely thin sounding IMO.
I would say the K601 has more bass, especially mid-bass, but it's pretty close. K601 is definitely warmer to my ears. Not like a Sennheiser though.
 
K601 has better imaging, but a smaller soundstage. I believe Q701 has more forward upper mids and more treble. The K601 sounds slightly smoother.
Somehow vocals have the edge on the K601 for me, but on the Q701 they sound a bit clearer at times. Maybe a tiny bit more distant (but not like the K702!)
 
K601 isn't dark obviously, but has much less treble extension than the Q701 I think. With gaming, the K601 definitely sounds like it has way less treble.
When comparing both in gaming I was pretty surprised how much clearer the Q701 was. Probably just due to the extra treble.
 
It seems the K601 for me is better for pop and rock such as Pearl Jam.
 
I think my biggest mistake was getting the K702 long ago and selling my K601. Despite the K702 being technically better in some areas, the K601 is a bit more fun to listen to.
I missed it so I bought another K601 about 2 years ago.
 
BTW I actually prefer the K601 to even the K501 and K400! K501 is more neutral I think, but it's massive soundstage kind of ruins it for me.
 
I think the K601 makes a good alternative to the HD-600. I had the Asgard with the HD-600 and eventually upgraded to the K601.
 
I also find the K601 slightly hard to drive than the Q701. Maybe 10-15% more on the volume knob. Nothing too bad. I think the K400/K501 was worse if I remember.
 
The K601 is also more comfortable. No bumbs and the pads are softer. The Q701 pads are a lot harder and due to being angled, just aren't as comfortable for some reason.
 
One more thing..IMO the K601 is one of the best gaming headphones ever made. Totally overlooked by most people.
 
Another thing I noticed is that the K601 can be VERY fatiguing on the wrong amp. I don't understand this, but it drove me nuts on the Asgard. I kept blaming the headphone at first.
 
Recently I was shocked at how much my new DAC (HRT MSII) improved the K601. It definitely seemed to offer more improvements on the K601 compared to the Q701. Maybe it's just my imagination.
 
BTW I don't know why, but my K601 sounds like some weird combination of a K702 and an HD-600. Ok, maybe more like the K702+HD-598, but I don't know. For some genres I prefer the K601. For ambient electronica I usually go with the Q701. For rock i'd probably use the K601, but I don't listen to that much.

 

[Dutchi MerenGue]

i can definitely agree with you on the hard to amp bit, i already used the headphone out on my gf tubedac 11 and found i had to max out the vol pot to get even decent levels, bought a matrix m stage and cleared that right up, really great synergy
 
 
i also use my k601s as my go to gaming cans, these things are phenomenal, huge soundstage, excellent imagining, thing is so smooth no frequencies ever fatigue me (trust me, lol i spent like 7 hours straight playing battlefield 3 the other day, totally forgot by the 2nd hour i even had headphones on)
 
 
so basically what you're telling me...the day my k601's die will be a sad day indeed
 
also by your description, the q701 sounds like a big downgrade for me for what i look for in music, so i feel really good about that because i came this close to buying that instead of my 601's, glad i saw reason in the end
 
 
oh yea one last thing, i know you're a huge fan of the koss dj100's, how would u stack them against the 601's? i almost bought the dj100's but ended up buying some pro4aat's instead

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

i can definitely agree with you on the hard to amp bit, i already used the headphone out on my gf tubedac 11 and found i had to max out the vol pot to get even decent levels, bought a matrix m stage and cleared that right up, really great synergy
 
 
i also use my k601s as my go to gaming cans, these things are phenomenal, huge soundstage, excellent imagining, thing is so smooth no frequencies ever fatigue me (trust me, lol i spent like 7 hours straight playing battlefield 3 the other day, totally forgot by the 2nd hour i even had headphones on)
 
 
so basically what you're telling me...the day my k601's die will be a sad day indeed
 
also by your description, the q701 sounds like a big downgrade for me for what i look for in music, so i feel really good about that because i came this close to buying that instead of my 601's, glad i saw reason in the end
 
 
oh yea one last thing, i know you're a huge fan of the koss dj100's, how would u stack them against the 601's? i almost bought the dj100's but ended up buying some pro4aat's instead

 
DJ100 is almost a total opposite of the K601 maybe. They're just so different in their tonality. I would say the K601 is closer to a Sennheiser headphone than the DJ100. DJ100 is actually closer to a Grado (but with  more bass and "thicker" mids). I'd definitely say the DJ100 has more bass than the K601 (including sub-bass), but maybe less mid-bass. K601 probably has more treble and the DJ100 has more forward mids.
 
The DJ100 is my "fun" headphone. It makes music very engaging just like the old SR-225i I had. It sounds balanced, but it's so fun to listen to that I have a hard time trying to over-analyze it's sound. Like the K601, it's very good with vocals (especially female). To me, the DJ100 is slightly smoother sounding at times. My K601 does have a slight treble peak somewhere, but it's generally not a problem unless I listen to poorly mastered recordings.
 
I hate to say this, but sometimes my DJ100 sounds clearer than my K601 and HD-600. I think this is just my brain fooling me due to different sound signatures. Very warm headphones tend to drive me nuts. People say the HD-600 isn't very warm, but I definitely think it is. Especially in comparison to the HD-580!
 
What annoys me about my DJ100 is that it's very picky with amps. It sounds different with each one. Don't know why. I can see the DJ100 might not be for everyone, but I love it. My headphone time is split right now between the Q701, DJ (Tony Bennett version) and the HD-580. I need to get back into listening to the K601.
 
BTW one thing I like about the K601 is that it's not ultra revealing. I mean not like detail overkill. It's more detailed than the HD-600, but not a detail monster really. Sometimes that's a plus for me. I imagine some may disagree with me though. Of course I only have the HRT MSII and not some $1000 monster dac.

 

[alpheios]

Hi there,
I have been following your priceless remarks about AKG K601 for quite a while thankfully. Well i wanted to add my few cents about the AKG K601 - Heed Canamp -  ipad combination.
 
To my knowledge i havent read about them although i googled all  the  internet sites i found. And as you may already know the single best side i have come across is this lovely site and your nice remarks.
 
First of all i dont have quite an experience about headphones but i depend on my ears. K601 is already lovely for vocals and symphonic/psychedelic rock including sade, eurhythmics, pink floyd with ipad. If the bass is not a concern i think ipad  gives enough with clarity, wide sound stage, instrument discrimination although its necessary to get the volume set to full or near full and 320 kbps quality recordings  with ample sound intensity are played.
 
This holds true if you dont go over to the hard territory including metallica, system of a down. The problem is i cant drive the 600 ohm K601 solely with plus gold 3.5 converters as the bass is somehow distorted and you cant get the full out of your headphones. Well i got the Heed canamp and now i saw akg can provide quite an achievement in bass as far as properly amplified. This is great but i found that clarity is lost as if the guitar is behind a thin veil; for example the guitar tune in shine on you crazy diamond pink floyd has lost many of its fine details and  lost some magic but still i find much more in the bass and drums department. It may be a problem about my ears didnt get accustomed to the heed canamp yet or may be the cheap cables i used with them.
 
I would like to give feedback with quality cables (ipad to heed) and further experience with this powerful amp. Heed Will be a keeper.
I would like to hear your comments if you have tried ipad/iphone with and without amps.

 

[roBernd]

Quote:

Hi there,
 
...The problem is i cant drive the 600 ohm K601 solely with plus gold 3.5 converters as the bass is somehow distorted and you cant get the full out of your headphones...
 
I would like to give feedback with quality cables (ipad to heed) and further experience with this powerful amp. Heed Will be a keeper.
I would like to hear your comments if you have tried ipad/iphone with and without amps.

 
Hi, glad you like them...
 
the canon for any apple-product is (like most other products) skip the line-out and headphone-out because they are crap (not as bad as I am typing, but not good either way). luckily there are ways to connect most apple product digital to a DAC, skipping the soundcard this way.
 
Don't bother with cables, as long as they are sturdy and look pleasing there is no need to buy different cable. (there will be no SQ surplus)
 
I wouldn't bother using any of these without an amp to power something like a K601, which is quite power-hungry. IEM and headphones like the M50 are "okay" out of a mobile device, but not most AKG headphones. (except the newer tiny plastic-stuff).

 

[tdockweiler]

Did I read this right? 600 ohm? They should be 120ohm. That's what my version is.
I find them very slightly more difficult to drive than my Q701. Probably need about 10% more volume on my amp. The K501/K400 was even harder to drive it seems.
 
My Q701 is ok from my Total Airhead if I get extra power from my portable player, but the K601..not so much. It just clips way too much that it'll drive me crazy.
I remember old threads claiming you don't need an amp for the K601 and I about fell out of my chair. I guess if they tried it and it sounded good to them, then OK.
 
For the K601 I like Monoprice cables. No need to get any fancy cables, but I'm not a fan of the Hosa brand cables. I usually make my own since it's a fun DIY project.
I like Mogami W2893 since it's easy to work with and dirt cheap.
 
BTW it seems like the K601 can easily sound horrible on the wrong amp or one that's too colored. Same with the DAC.
 
It surprising sounds good on even an E9 and HRT MSII DAC.
 
Also..it's too bad it's so hard to find the K601 for under $250. Not 100% sure if they're discontinued.
 
I love the K601, but on bad/garbage tracks theres some weird peak that drives my ears crazy. This is on every setup. Think it's the lower treble.

 

[alpheios]

Hi, glad you like them...

the canon for any apple-product is (like most other products) skip the line-out and headphone-out because they are crap (not as bad as I am typing, but not good either way). luckily there are ways to connect most apple product digital to a DAC, skipping the soundcard this way.

Don't bother with cables, as long as they are sturdy and look pleasing there is no need to buy different cable. (there will be no SQ surplus)

I wouldn't bother using any of these without an amp to power something like a K601, which is quite power-hungry. IEM and headphones like the M50 are "okay" out of a mobile device, but not most AKG headphones. (except the newer tiny plastic-stuff).

Hi there i am now looking forward for a good DAC. Skipping the line out and soundcard sounds a good idea; perhaps using appletv and using hdmi output would give better results, it seems every cable added on the way to output leads to some inevitable loss.

I agree that akg series is quite power hungry and every time I listen with the amps I catch new sounds which I werent aware of before, especially hold true for the basses.

Did I read this right? 600 ohm? They should be 120ohm. That's what my version is.
I find them very slightly more difficult to drive than my Q701. Probably need about 10% more volume on my amp. The K501/K400 was even harder to drive it seems.

My Q701 is ok from my Total Airhead if I get extra power from my portable player, but the K601..not so much. It just clips way too much that it'll drive me crazy.
I remember old threads claiming you don't need an amp for the K601 and I about fell out of my chair. I guess if they tried it and it sounded good to them, then OK.

For the K601 I like Monoprice cables. No need to get any fancy cables, but I'm not a fan of the Hosa brand cables. I usually make my own since it's a fun DIY project.
I like Mogami W2893 since it's easy to work with and dirt cheap.

BTW it seems like the K601 can easily sound horrible on the wrong amp or one that's too colored. Same with the DAC.

It surprising sounds good on even an E9 and HRT MSII DAC.

Also..it's too bad it's so hard to find the K601 for under $250. Not 100% sure if they're discontinued.

I love the K601, but on bad/garbage tracks theres some weird peak that drives my ears crazy. This is on every setup. Think it's the lower treble.

Definitely AKG is truthful in giving an objective output IMO; bad tracks sound ugly good mastered tracks sound brilliant. However interestingly heed can amp gives some taste to the bad tracks ; I think that must be one factor lying behind the perfect match with the akg claims.

Other than that I agree that you are losing so much when using AKG coupled unamped to portable players. Especially for rock and the classical.

 

[Gwarmi]

 Here's another secret to get your K601 cooking without having to sell off a major organ or three
 
 $368USD + $60 for shipping to the USA - 2 x pieces of Wolfson WM8741 DAC and a clean, neutral
 sounding head amp section that delivers 900milliwatts into 100ohms - just what the K601 needs
 (no actual 120ohm spec exists but rest assured there is still 300mW on offer at 300ohms)
 
 Audio-gd NFB 5.2 Tenor TE8802 USB - the latest USB TE8802 chip sounds even better than
 the old going NFB-5.0
 
 

 

[Zombie_X]

Yo,
 
In my experience the K601 is easier to power than the K701. On my Auditor the K601 got louder much faster than the K702 did and also sounded nice and full. The K601 is not easy to power but is not hard, if that makes sense. I had great success with it on the Auditor, V200, and ROC. 
 
Also Gwarmi pointed out a good amp to use this with. The amp is not too expensive and also has a DAC built in. I can recommend this amp for them.
 
As for the K601 I think they best the K701/K702/Q701 in every way except bass and imaging. They have a pretty warm tone and are really enjoyable. Their signature is not fatiguing but does have an emphasis on treble.
 
The K701/K702/Q701 are good headphones but sound fake to me, like plastic. I do like them a lot but this coloration can be annoying on certain music. They are very detailed, but I think the K601 has just as much detail them. 

 

[Kukuk]

Ever hear a poorly powered K601? Their treble drops off significantly.
 
My Little Dot I+ wasn't man enough to power them.

 

[Zombie_X]

Hi,
 
I tried them from my Zune and the treble never dropped off, just sounded more edgy. Bass was also slightly bloated when under powered. The K601 isn't that hard to power, at least from my experience. They do benefit from an amp but can get by without one. I don't think they sound all that bad when not amped.
 
They do improve nicely with an amp. I feel they are OK from something modest, even an E9 drives them nicely.
 
Quote:

Ever hear a poorly powered K601? Their treble drops off significantly.
 
My Little Dot I+ wasn't man enough to power them.

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

Hi,
 
I tried them from my Zune and the treble never dropped off, just sounded more edgy. Bass was also slightly bloated when under powered. The K601 isn't that hard to power, at least from my experience. They do benefit from an amp but can get by without one. I don't think they sound all that bad when not amped.
 
They do improve nicely with an amp. I feel they are OK from something modest, even an E9 drives them nicely.
 

 
K601 can get by without an amp...you've got to be kidding me! Who is crazy enough to use a K601 without an amp? You'll get barely enough volume for classical music and it'll be very fatiguing most likely. Heck, I can use them with my Airhead and they'll clip at around 60% volume if I recall. My HD-600 and Q701 doesn't even do that. Just for a laugh i'm going to test this tonight. I'll be shocked if I don't have to max the volume. I imagine the Zune HD had similar power output as the Sansa Clip+ (size doesn't matter!) and Ipod Touch.
 
Since we disagree so much as it is, I won't cry about it since I disagree on every single thing about your post.

Next are you going to suggest the DT-990 600ohm for portable use?

Only kidding.
 
Are you SURE you had the K601 and K702 at the time exact time? It's easy to forget about how easy/hard something is to drive. I can almost guarantee that anyone would need to crank their amp up an extra 10% or so over the Q701. The K400 or K501 was even worse if I recall. K501 is supposedly one of the hardest headphones to drive, but I don't think it was THAT bad.
 
The K601 to me is warmer and fuller sounding than the Q701 IMO. At first I thought the Q701 had less bass extension and less mid-bass, but I now don't think this is really true. I think when it comes to imaging the K601 has the Q701 beat. I think the reason for this is due to the pads of the Q701.
 
The biggest difference for me is how much clearer the Q701 is. When you switch between the two, it's instantly noticeable. It could just be the extra treble of my Q701 over the K601. I'd have to go with the Q701 as having more detail (and not because of the treble), but they're pretty close.
 
I don't think the K601 emphasizes treble at all really. It has more rolled off treble than the Q701, but my pair does seem to have this annoying lower treble peak. It's only bothersome with garbage tracks for me.
 
I prefer the slightly smaller and more accurate soundstage of the K601. Last night with some music it actually felt like the K601 had a massive soundstage. This was only with the E9+ HRT MSII also! Very strange.
 
For me though, the K601 is slightly more closer to a front row like experience than the Q701. Not that the K601 is..but more so than my Q701. Depends on the recording mostly.
 
One thing I love about the K601 is that it's quite detailed, but never excessive and doesn't shove it all in your face. I'd never ever call it a detail monster, but that's a good thing.
 
It's also one of my favorites for gaming. Sometimes it's too difficult to decide between the two since the Q701 is so much clearer at times.
 
Level of volume required also depends on DAC/source. Maybe if your DAC/source is super powerful it seems easier to drive. I remember when I had my Asgard I basically had to use a really powerful CD player just to get enough volume with my K601 on that thing. For anyone that used a docked Ipod occasionally as a source...forget it!
 
With my HRT to Micro Amp the volume level is around 50% on medium gain (which is similar to low on most amps, my low is for IEMs mostly) with the K601. Q701 maybe 40%. I don't know why it has a high gain setting since i've never been required to use it. Maybe on the DT-770 600.
 
Also..at times the K601 does sound more natural than the Q701. Q701 does have slightly emphasized treble IMO. It's much easier on the ears than the K702 though. K501 seemed the most balanced out of all of them.
 
I'm curious..is there a headphone that's hard to drive to you? That doesn't cost $1000?

I've had a ton of headphones and it's been very clear for me that the K601 has been maybe the most difficult. Right behind the K501/K400.

 

[Zombie_X]

Hi Travis,
 
Always with the long winded responses eh?
 
I didn't say it would be good without an amp but you can get by without one. Of course it needs an amp, I mainly said they aren't incredibly hard to power and sound ok without one. I had the K601 and K701 at the same time a few years back and I used my X-CANV8P to drive them. The K601 on the X-CANV8P got louder much faster than the K701, and sounded better at lower volumes. Oh and at that time I had the regular Zune, which to my understanding is weaker than the Zune HD.
 
I think the K601 is the more natural, smoother headphone of the current AKG line-up. To me it is much more enjoyable and engaging. The K701 is fun and all but I like the timbre and tonality of the K601 much more. 
 
I think the K701 is harder to drive than the K601. Much harder in fact, but not nearly as hard as any of the 600Ohm DT models from beyerdynamic. Those things needs gobs of power and a powerful amp is required. Heck even the HD600 is easier to amp than the K701 to my ears, that is on my gear it is.
 
I know we don't agree much on many things but I hope you know I don't want to be enemies or argue, Travis. We all hear/perceive things differently, and that is what is fun about Head-Fi. I hope you never thought I purposely disagreed with you. I like stating my opinion when I hear differently than someone else. 
 
Quote:

 
K601 can get by without an amp...you've got to be kidding me! Who is crazy enough to use a K601 without an amp? You'll get barely enough volume for classical music and it'll be very fatiguing most likely. Heck, I can use them with my Airhead and they'll clip at around 60% volume if I recall. My HD-600 and Q701 doesn't even do that. Just for a laugh i'm going to test this tonight. I'll be shocked if I don't have to max the volume. I imagine the Zune HD had similar power output as the Sansa Clip+ (size doesn't matter!) and Ipod Touch.
 
Since we disagree so much as it is, I won't cry about it since I disagree on every single thing about your post.

Next are you going to suggest the DT-990 600ohm for portable use?

Only kidding.
 
Are you SURE you had the K601 and K702 at the time exact time? It's easy to forget about how easy/hard something is to drive. I can almost guarantee that anyone would need to crank their amp up an extra 10% or so over the Q701. The K400 or K501 was even worse if I recall. K501 is supposedly one of the hardest headphones to drive, but I don't think it was THAT bad.
 
The K601 to me is warmer and fuller sounding than the Q701 IMO. At first I thought the Q701 had less bass extension and less mid-bass, but I now don't think this is really true. I think when it comes to imaging the K601 has the Q701 beat. I think the reason for this is due to the pads of the Q701.
 
The biggest difference for me is how much clearer the Q701 is. When you switch between the two, it's instantly noticeable. It could just be the extra treble of my Q701 over the K601. I'd have to go with the Q701 as having more detail (and not because of the treble), but they're pretty close.
 
I don't think the K601 emphasizes treble at all really. It has more rolled off treble than the Q701, but my pair does seem to have this annoying lower treble peak. It's only bothersome with garbage tracks for me.
 
I prefer the slightly smaller and more accurate soundstage of the K601. Last night with some music it actually felt like the K601 had a massive soundstage. This was only with the E9+ HRT MSII also! Very strange.
 
For me though, the K601 is slightly more closer to a front row like experience than the Q701. Not that the K601 is..but more so than my Q701. Depends on the recording mostly.
 
One thing I love about the K601 is that it's quite detailed, but never excessive and doesn't shove it all in your face. I'd never ever call it a detail monster, but that's a good thing.
 
It's also one of my favorites for gaming. Sometimes it's too difficult to decide between the two since the Q701 is so much clearer at times.
 
Level of volume required also depends on DAC/source. Maybe if your DAC/source is super powerful it seems easier to drive. I remember when I had my Asgard I basically had to use a really powerful CD player just to get enough volume with my K601 on that thing. For anyone that used a docked Ipod occasionally as a source...forget it!
 
With my HRT to Micro Amp the volume level is around 50% on medium gain (which is similar to low on most amps, my low is for IEMs mostly) with the K601. Q701 maybe 40%. I don't know why it has a high gain setting since i've never been required to use it. Maybe on the DT-770 600.
 
Also..at times the K601 does sound more natural than the Q701. Q701 does have slightly emphasized treble IMO. It's much easier on the ears than the K702 though. K501 seemed the most balanced out of all of them.
 
I'm curious..is there a headphone that's hard to drive to you? That doesn't cost $1000?

I've had a ton of headphones and it's been very clear for me that the K601 has been maybe the most difficult. Right behind the K501/K400.