[richie60]

I've been reading lots of different opinions on the AKG K601's about them being a bit lean in the bass, the specs on these are 12 Hz - 39.500 Hz.
 
I agree that some music sounds a bit lean, other stuff sounds great, depends on the source material.  Been thinking about an upgrade to either a pair of Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro or  Alessandro MS2, but these range from 18 Hz - 24000 Hz.
 
Would this mean they are even lighter in the bass department?  I am after a nice refined smooth presentation.
 
So, can you give me some advice as to which to try next?

 

[Satellite_6]

No, as long as the headphones are 20-20k they will cover everything you can hear. . . . 
 
The HD 650's are smooth and have more bass than the K 601's. 

 

[TMRaven]

 
I don't think headphones are ever rated on a +/- 1.5db rating like speakers are, though.  

 

[paulb09]

Manufacture frequency specs for headphones are usually a load of crap. Sure, they probably can produce some kind of air movement at 12Hz or 18Hz, but it's not something you're going to hear (or rather feel when we're talking of frequencies that low) in practise with real music, where you're more likely to hear down to around 50-70Hz with most headphones. The real reason why some people consider the K601 as "bass light" is because the peaks of its higher frequencies more closely match its bass / mid hump than many other headphones.
 
I wouldn't have said either of the headphones you're considering are necessarily an "upgrade" in terms of overall clarity, but if you're looking for a smoother presentation, the DT770 will probably provide that. The MS2 probably not as much.

 

[RexAeterna]

the k601 is defiantly not lean or bass light. compared to other headphones besides my sextetts their more on the warmer sound of things but by warmer i mean compared to something like the k701 or even the 240DF but the k601 are not a warm sounding headphone. they are relatively smooth sounding and very pleasant to listen to for long sessions. they are not rough,grainy or sharp sounding at all. people say they're bit bright but i don't think so at all. if anything their more relaxed in the top-end compared to other headphones and have a much flatter overall midrange response compared to other modern akg's. only upgrades if you want to stick with akg in my opinion would be the sextetts(MP or LP models) or older k500/501 models if your looking for better midrange. the sextetts sure can pound out harder bass for sure then any other akg line-up i ever used if that's what you want. the 240DF is better than the 601's i think but if you found the k601 lean then you'll find the DF even leaner but their midrange and air response is far better and smooth sounding.

just hook the k601 to tubes or other high output impedance source if you want more bass from them. most akg's from my experience like to see a low output impedance source for proper bass control so hooking them up to something like tubes will loosen them up and give them a higher bass perception.

 

[RexAeterna]

Manufacture frequency specs for headphones are usually a load of crap.

and pretty much what this guy says too.

 

[lyrill]

upgrade is a word that only newb use