[subtle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhythmdevils /img/forum/go_quote.gif If it still has less bass than the HD800, it is not a "huge amount of bass". There may be variations in the bass of the K701, but let's not blow it out of proportion. We are talking about bass light vs not quite as bass light.

The HD800s are not bass light in the slightest. That is definitely the number one misconception about them. It's pretty surreal to me how that rumor spread like wildfire soon after their release and turned in to supposed fact within this community.

The HD800 hits harder and goes deeper than the ED9, L3000, and PS1 I used to own. It just doesn't have anywhere near as much midbass as those others and their overall quantity comes across as less than typical bass heavy cans because their bass is extremely tight and not as resonant. Proper amplification and the right source material turns the HD800 in to a downright scary and startling headphone. I've been caught off guard numerous times and physically jumped in my chair because the bass hits so hard.

 

[ishmael]

Well I've got a K701 already (it's at home so I don't have serial, likely older) and a k702 on the way right now. Will compare and try to remember to post here.

 

[Der Germane]

Another question:

Is someone here who thinks his K701/2(s) are in some way sibilant? And if YES please try to describe it (incl. the number of the K701/2) and please remark whether the sibilant K701/2 come with or without good bass.

As I've written, none of my K701s is sibilant to my ears.

 

[astroqm]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Der Germane /img/forum/go_quote.gif Another question: Is someone here who thinks his K701/2(s) are in some way sibilant? And if YES please try to describe it (incl. the number of the K701/2) and please remark whether the sibilant K701/2 come with or without good bass. As I've written, none of my K701s is sibilant to my ears.

no sibilant at all, to me K701 has beautiful treble. I remember SA5000 was a little sibilant.

 

[Acix]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Der Germane /img/forum/go_quote.gif Another question: Is someone here who thinks his K701/2(s) are in some way sibilant? And if YES please try to describe it (incl. the number of the K701/2) and please remark whether the sibilant K701/2 come with or without good bass. As I've written, none of my K701s is sibilant to my ears.

Not compare to the HD800.

they are just balanced between the 650 and the 800

 

[rhythmdevils]

Quote:

Originally Posted by subtle /img/forum/go_quote.gif The HD800s are not bass light in the slightest. That is definitely the number one misconception about them. It's pretty surreal to me how that rumor spread like wildfire soon after their release and turned in to supposed fact within this community.

I don't "spread rumors like wildfire". If I talk about how something sounds, it's because I've heard it. Sometimes I will make suggestions based on a very good guess from lots of opinions and comparisons to phones I own. But if that's the case I say so.

I didn't spend much time with the HD800 and it was under meet conditions. But I spent enough time with them to know they were not for me, and to know that if a headphone has less bass than the HD800 it does not have "huge amounts of bass". I think we can agree on that.

I put the HD800 down fairly quickly because it sounded too tipped up towards treble and away from lower mids/bass. Of course I would need more time to say this for sure, but since lots of other people say the same thing, I'm not really interested in listening to them again. But I don't talk about how they sound, because I haven't given them enough of a chance.

 

[subtle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhythmdevils /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't "spread rumors like wildfire". If I talk about how something sounds, it's because I've heard it. Sometimes I will make suggestions based on a very good guess from lots of opinions and comparisons to phones I own. But if that's the case I say so. I didn't spend much time with the HD800 and it was under meet conditions. But I spent enough time with them to know they were not for me, and to know that if a headphone has less bass than the HD800 it does not have "huge amounts of bass". I think we can agree on that. I put the HD800 down fairly quickly because it sounded too tipped up towards treble and away from lower mids/bass. Of course I would need more time to say this for sure, but since lots of other people say the same thing, I'm not really interested in listening to them again. But I don't talk about how they sound, because I haven't given them enough of a chance.

I apologize if you got the impression that I was referring to you specifically with regards to my comment about that rumor spreading like wildfire. I wasn't talking about you at all to be honest. I've read enough of your posts over the years to know that you have plenty of experience and I respect what you have to say. I was merely stating that that specific misconception about the HD800 is in my opinion the number one thing that is incorrect about their misguided reputation. I personally don't believe that the majority of people going around perpetuating that rumor have even heard the HD800 in the first place. They are simply reciting what they read other people type. And since the HD800 is compared to the K701 so often, simply because both have a very analytical nature, then people assume that the HD800 must be bass light because the K701/702 have long been notorious for that. Aside from being analytical in sound signature, the HD800 and K701/702 have very little in common IMO.

I hope you will reconsider giving them another chance in the future, especially outside of meet conditions. Knowing your love for the HP2 in the past, and having owned five of them myself over the years, I imagine we look for a lot of things similar when it comes to the sound signature we prefer. I think your opinion of them would change drastically if you were to spend a few weeks with them exclusively.

 

[earfonia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Der Germane /img/forum/go_quote.gif The results in short from the oldest to the newest: K701 No.1 (#11XXX) has a really little amount of bass. While listening to some bass intensive classical stuff, I asked myself "Where is it? Shouldn't there be some bass? Hmm..." For the most recordings, it's annoying. Or let me say it more clearly: I hate it! K701 No.2 (#27XXX) has a huge amount of bass. Not as much as my HD800 for example, but it comes fairly close. My thought: "Wow!" Well I hate the wearing comfort of the K701s in general, but would it be more comfortable to wear, I'd say this No.2 is one of the biggest bargains, I can imagine. It seems to offer 80-90% of the HD800 sound. That's incredible! K701 No.3 (#43XXX) has also a huge amount of bass, slightly less than No.2. But there is another thing. Maybe the K701 is some kind of defective... well, I don't know and it looks like new, but there clearly is a distinct distortion in the bass, No. 2 hasn't got. That's not very nice. In some deep bass areas it sounds like it is overstrained. Conclusion: I'm really confused after this direct comparison. What I've heard is a fact, but it can't be true. Somehow I can't believe it. In four weeks I'll be in Vienna again. Maybe I should go to AKG and ask someone there... this would be -at least for me- very interesting.

This is very interesting, thanks for posting! Looking forward for your update from Vienna.

I will be going Vienna also around July, only for a few days, do you have any recommendation, where to buy AKG headphones in Vienna? Tx!

 

[Acix]

^^ This will make two updates from Vienna.

 

[stang]

Quote:

Originally Posted by VALIENTE /img/forum/go_quote.gif Good to know from you Der Germane that K701 is 80-90% of HD800.

Yeah, but you gotta like your gear enough to spend hundreds of dollars to get the most out of it. A Walkman and a PA2V2 won't be getting the K701 anywhere near it's full potential. The K701 would be 80% of the HD800 when properly amped with a good SS amp and a good DAC etc.

 

[rhythmdevils]

Quote:

Originally Posted by subtle /img/forum/go_quote.gif I apologize if you got the impression that I was referring to you specifically with regards to my comment about that rumor spreading like wildfire. I wasn't talking about you at all to be honest. I've read enough of your posts over the years to know that you have plenty of experience and I respect what you have to say.

you too!

Quote:

Originally Posted by subtle /img/forum/go_quote.gif I was merely stating that that specific misconception about the HD800 is in my opinion the number one thing that is incorrect about their misguided reputation. I personally don't believe that the majority of people going around perpetuating that rumor have even heard the HD800 in the first place. They are simply reciting what they read other people type. And since the HD800 is compared to the K701 so often, simply because both have a very analytical nature, then people assume that the HD800 must be bass light because the K701/702 have long been notorious for that. Aside from being analytical in sound signature, the HD800 and K701/702 have very little in common IMO. I hope you will reconsider giving them another chance in the future, especially outside of meet conditions. Knowing your love for the HP2 in the past, and having owned five of them myself over the years, I imagine we look for a lot of things similar when it comes to the sound signature we prefer. I think your opinion of them would change drastically if you were to spend a few weeks with them exclusively.

I think I came off a little more dramatic then I meant. Should have thrown a smiley in there somewhere

That makes sense though, I agree about how rumors spread through head-fi, I've really been noticing that lately. It's like a few people say something and then everyone all of a sudden is saying it. It's interesting to watch how the "general consensus" for cans have changed over the years cause of this. Like how everyone says the K1000 is amazing now. I remember reading a lot more negative comments about them while they were still in production

I'd love to spend more time with the HD800, next meet perhaps. But to be honest, the main reason why I am not that excited about them is that they are beyond my price range. If I could afford cans like that, I'd still be in bed with my HP2's

I could go into debt or sell off other things and likely afford either of them, I just don't feel right owning headphones that expensive. The money I spent on the HP2 and HP3000 (and got back when I sold them- 850 each) paid for 4 or 5 months in India

maybe at some point though, down the line. And it would still be nice to spend enough time with an HD800 to get to know what the fuss is all about

oh dear, I think I've gone quite a bit off topic

 

[donthuang]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Der Germane /img/forum/go_quote.gif Another question: Is someone here who thinks his K701/2(s) are in some way sibilant? And if YES please try to describe it (incl. the number of the K701/2) and please remark whether the sibilant K701/2 come with or without good bass. As I've written, none of my K701s is sibilant to my ears.

Hello, my headphone amp can switch bias current

In low bias current, K701/K702 has notable sibilant,when switch high bias , the sibilant problem solve. Hope this can help.

 

[VALIENTE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stang /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah, but you gotta like your gear enough to spend hundreds of dollars to get the most out of it. A Walkman and a PA2V2 won't be getting the K701 anywhere near it's full potential. The K701 would be 80% of the HD800 when properly amped with a good SS amp and a good DAC etc.

Thank you Stang...my friend

 

[brat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Der Germane /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think this question has been already discussed, but as far as I've read about it, there is no clear explanation for the fact, that one K701 has less bass while another one has a huge amount of it (for an open headphone). At the moment, I've got three different K701s. (Yeah, that's crazy, I know!) Yesterday was a public holiday here in Germany and just for fun I decided to compare them all a little bit. So I connected them to my Corda Symphony (0 ohms output) and started listening with main attention to the bass reproduction. The results in short from the oldest to the newest: K701 No.1 (#11XXX) has a really little amount of bass. While listening to some bass intensive classical stuff, I asked myself "Where is it? Shouldn't there be some bass? Hmm..." For the most recordings, it's annoying. Or let me say it more clearly: I hate it! K701 No.2 (#27XXX) has a huge amount of bass. Not as much as my HD800 for example, but it comes fairly close. My thought: "Wow!" Well I hate the wearing comfort of the K701s in general, but would it be more comfortable to wear, I'd say this No.2 is one of the biggest bargains, I can imagine. It seems to offer 80-90% of the HD800 sound. That's incredible! K701 No.3 (#43XXX) has also a huge amount of bass, slightly less than No.2. But there is another thing. Maybe the K701 is some kind of defective... well, I don't know and it looks like new, but there clearly is a distinct distortion in the bass, No. 2 hasn't got. That's not very nice. In some deep bass areas it sounds like it is overstrained. Let me note two things: 1st: I really don't listen a lot with the K701 model, mainly because it's uncomfortable to wear for me. 2nd: I also can't exactly say how much burn-in time each of them has (easily > 100 hrs each). Conclusion: I'm really confused after this direct comparison. What I've heard is a fact, but it can't be true. Somehow I can't believe it. The sound signature of all three is the same (what I would call "typical K701 sound"). But in the low end they all do so very different things... how can that be?! I don't understand it. Btw. I couldn't observe sibilants with my three K701s (like the AD900 or DT990 have). I've never heard such extreme differences out of one and the same type of headphone in comparison. This seems to be a real "K701 thing". In four weeks I'll be in Vienna again. Maybe I should go to AKG and ask someone there... this would be -at least for me- very interesting. And while I'm writing this here, it comes to my mind, that there are different frequency charts for the HD800 (my favorite headphone) existing, too. So far I've not read about complains about different sounding HD800s. Maybe I should compare some different HD800s... oh... damn it... no... I won't... this could possibly destroy my "ideal headphone world"... At the moment I don't know whether I shall laugh or cry... hmm... where is my "Litte Book of Calm*"? ... * I really recommend to grab a copy of this book, if you're longer than seven years on this crazy-mad money-sucking head-fi platform...

I have the same observations with my K701 and friend's K702. Both have totally different sound signature, different in almost any aspect - soundstage, transparency, FR, instrument separation. But many people here claim that K701 and K702 are twins.
If the distinctions of your three K701 are not due to different burn-in periods that may explain the variable reviews of the headphones in this forum. Probably headphones of same model may vary a lot in specifications. And it's interesting of it's typical for all headphones or just certain models.

 

[Henerenry]

the k701 doesnt have as much bass as other headphones, but there is bass.

different k701s have different levels of bass, however statement 1 is still true.

/end thread