[ounkchicago]

About 100 hours of burn-in at above-listening volumes, sound is still changing quite a bit... hard to tell where it's going. Bass is still a little lean (but not absent), detail and soundstage are better than DT880 already.

Hard to make judgments when they're still changing so much, probably going to need the full 300 hours of burn-in to make further judgments.

 

[pfloding]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ounkchicago /img/forum/go_quote.gif About 100 hours of burn-in at above-listening volumes, sound is still changing quite a bit... hard to tell where it's going. Bass is still a little lean (but not absent), detail and soundstage are better than DT880 already. Hard to make judgments when they're still changing so much, probably going to need the full 300 hours of burn-in to make further judgments.

Pressing the pads to the head, and possibly altering their shape a bit in the process, seems to affect sound. As does exact placement of the cans over the ears.

Funny how the amp matters so much. I went back to my mixer for a more "bouncy", less dark, sound. Hoping to get my Little Dot MK1 portable soon.

 

[ounkchicago]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pfloding /img/forum/go_quote.gif Pressing the pads to the head, and possibly altering their shape a bit in the process, seems to affect sound. As does exact placement of the cans over the ears. Funny how the amp matters so much. I went back to my mixer for a more "bouncy", less dark, sound. Hoping to get my Little Dot MK1 portable soon.

Amp seems to matter a lot. Not sounding too good directly out of my E-MU 0404 USB. With my Creek Amp, they require at least as much gain as my DT880 (older model).

So far Jazz is sounding stellar, but rock/punk/alternative is missing a bit of bass thump. I'm pretty sure this is gonna change from 100-300 hr though.

 

[audiomagnate]

I've had my 701s for almost one year and listen to them quite a bit. I own a bunch of headphones and go out of my way to spend time with the ones I want but can't afford. These are really, really good headphones. My 701s are my desert island headphones.

 

[pfloding]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ounkchicago /img/forum/go_quote.gif Amp seems to matter a lot. Not sounding too good directly out of my E-MU 0404 USB. With my Creek Amp, they require at least as much gain as my DT880 (older model). So far Jazz is sounding stellar, but rock/punk/alternative is missing a bit of bass thump. I'm pretty sure this is gonna change from 100-300 hr though.

One huge problem is the way things are mastered. The more popular the music, the crappier the sound, seems to be the rule. Compressing until no dynamics are left, and even hard clipping in the digital domain due to lack of understanding of what they are doing (the sound "engineers").

A headphone that makes this kind of processed sound bearable may not be particulary true, i suspect.

On the up-side, the K701 really shows off good recordings well.

 

[pfloding]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audiomagnate /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've had my 701s for almost one year and listen to them quite a bit. I own a bunch of headphones and go out of my way to spend time with the ones I want but can't afford. These are really, really good headphones. My 701s are my desert island headphones.

Glad to hear i!

 

[ounkchicago]

About 150 hours of burn-in time on K701's, and WOW... what I hear out of these cans is absolutely jaw-dropping. I didn't think it was possible for cans to be more detailed than the DT880 (2003 version) but the K701 are definitely more detailed. They have a much wider soundstage, widest I've heard of any can. They are absolutely not laid back in any way... they grab your ears and sing right into them and don't let go. It really takes some getting used to listening a can with as much detail as these... there's so much to pay attention to, it can be a little overwhelming at first.

So far, the K701 are the best cans I've heard, hands down. They are more detailed, more fun-sounding, and less sibilant than the DT880 (2003). Also, if you could group the DT880 (2003) and the Grado SR-225 into one class, the K701 are a class above.

Wow.

What a difference between the new-out-of-box sound and the sound @ 150 hours. They change so much it's hard to believe they're the same phones. I'm going to keep burning them in til 300 hours and do a comparo of DT880 (2003) vs. SR-225 vs. K701. Also, these cans are just begging me to buy a tube amp. Damn you head-fi!

 

[pfloding]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ounkchicago /img/forum/go_quote.gif About 150 hours of burn-in time on K701's, and WOW... what I hear out of these cans is absolutely jaw-dropping. I didn't think it was possible for cans to be more detailed than the DT880 (2003 version) but the K701 are definitely more detailed. They have a much wider soundstage, widest I've heard of any can. They are absolutely not laid back in any way... they grab your ears and sing right into them and don't let go. It really takes some getting used to listening a can with as much detail as these... there's so much to pay attention to, it can be a little overwhelming at first. So far, the K701 are the best cans I've heard, hands down. They are more detailed, more fun-sounding, and less sibilant than the DT880 (2003). Also, if you could group the DT880 (2003) and the Grado SR-225 into one class, the K701 are a class above. Wow. What a difference between the new-out-of-box sound and the sound @ 150 hours. They change so much it's hard to believe they're the same phones. I'm going to keep burning them in til 300 hours and do a comparo of DT880 (2003) vs. SR-225 vs. K701. Also, these cans are just begging me to buy a tube amp. Damn you head-fi!

I feel the same! I'm just reluctant to go down the tube route as I suspect it may remove some detail and make for a cosier, but less revealing sound. (See next post for my current amp.)

I now use the K701 for watching movies recorded on my HTPC. Playing the sound straight from the HTPC into the headphone amp, bypassing any SPDIF horrors (yup, don't like SPDIF). It's an immersive experience in the way you can hear enourmous amounts of captured audio information. And you still get deep clean bass that is almost physical. Sure beats using the speakers on a low level (this is for night time viewing).

Slightly sad is how movie scores often sound a lot better than what's issued on CD nowdays.

 

[pfloding]

I received the Little Dot Mk1 headphone amp about a week ago.

Dealing with David (ebay: davidzhezhe) was a pleasure, and delivery was fast concidering the distance, and I believe the amp was made after ordering as well. Parcel tracking was superior in China compared to in the UK!

This portable amp is gorgeous looking, to say the least! Matches my black and silvery ipod very well. See here:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...MEWN:IT&ih=009

Mine has a silver volume knob, which looks better than the black knob on the ebay photos, but is not very ergonomic (very slippery). I'll probably replace that one.

Build quality of the case seems extremely good. (Makes my old cmoy feel and look like a bit of a joke.)

It uses the acclaimed LM4562 op-amp, and the famous TPA6120 headphone amp IC.

I used it with my AKG K701.

The sound is very transparent and goes deep in bass as well as extends well in the highs. Most apparent change from my mixer's amp, and my cmoy, is the headroom reserve that allows percussion to have that snap and dynamic impact. Not sure if the difference is in the available voltage swing or in available current, or both. The second apparent difference is the ability to maintain sound stage and resolution even in intense passages (related to the same parameters, I'm sure).

The headphone amp has three gain settings. I use maximum gain, and I have to use maximum volume on my nano for some recordings (the better ones that do not try to sound "loud"). Using another source, the gain is plenty enough.

This amp seems like a bit of a bargain for the price!

P.S: The end-plates of my amp look much better than the ebay photos. They are brushed metal now. Dave really should update the photos!

 

[pfloding]

I said above: "The headphone amp has three gain settings. I use maximum gain, and I have to use maximum volume on my nano for some recordings"

I should qualify this: I was using the headphone output.

I now managed to locate my ipod docking station so I can use the amp with the nano's line out, and the level is plenty high now! The sound from the ipod changed too. Probably for the better -it certainly is different. It all sounds very high-endy now -which is a bit silly for a miniscule portable rig running 224kbit AAC..

 

[DavidMahler]

My assumption and I have not heard any headphone over 1500 bucks, but my assumption is that the HD650 given the right setup can sound just about as good as a headphone can possibly sound..........I've played the HD650 for people and they've literally cried knowing that audio out there exists like that. I went to the apple store on fifth avenue at 2 in the morning (theyre open 24 hours a day) and i stood with the new ipod classic and i asked a sales man if i could hook my corda move up to it and let people take a listen for themselves. I let over 30 people take a listen, the main song that was chosen was What's Going On by Marvin Gaye. I know the song was probably encoded at 128 but it didnt matter, the headphones made people see a new depth to the ipod and I know that at least 2 of them who took down the model number and amp name are going to go out and spend that 500 dollars. Now, the R10s and Ed9s and certainly high quality Electrostatics may have certain advantages....but I sincerely doubt that any headphone sounds smoother and more emotional. My favorite headphone is the UE10 pro, but I'm always in love with the HD650, and I think that for the price they really are the best buy in the market, edging out the K701 and HD600 a little overall.

 

[pfloding]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidMahler /img/forum/go_quote.gif My assumption and I have not heard any headphone over 1500 bucks, but my assumption is that the HD650 given the right setup can sound just about as good as a headphone can possibly sound..........I've played the HD650 for people and they've literally cried knowing that audio out there exists like that. I went to the apple store on fifth avenue at 2 in the morning (theyre open 24 hours a day) and i stood with the new ipod classic and i asked a sales man if i could hook my corda move up to it and let people take a listen for themselves. I let over 30 people take a listen, the main song that was chosen was What's Going On by Marvin Gaye. I know the song was probably encoded at 128 but it didnt matter, the headphones made people see a new depth to the ipod and I know that at least 2 of them who took down the model number and amp name are going to go out and spend that 500 dollars. Now, the R10s and Ed9s and certainly high quality Electrostatics may have certain advantages....but I sincerely doubt that any headphone sounds smoother and more emotional. My favorite headphone is the UE10 pro, but I'm always in love with the HD650, and I think that for the price they really are the best buy in the market, edging out the K701 and HD600 a little overall.

I noticed that the K701s sounded different when laying down with the head on a pillow. OK, I closed my eyes, which probably contributed to the changed perception, but it makes sense that the damping of some of the abundant sound that makes it around the head makes a difference.

My point is that peoples head shapes, hair (if any), etc, etc may well influence how a headphone like the K701 sound. It's a theory anyway..

I guess I'll have to get a pair of HD650s to see which one's best for me in the end. Sigh... Perhaps the HD595 is a much cheaper alternative to get a taste?

 

[DavidMahler]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pfloding /img/forum/go_quote.gif I noticed that the K701s sounded different when laying down with the head on a pillow. OK, I closed my eyes, which probably contributed to the changed perception, but it makes sense that the damping of some of the abundant sound that makes it around the head makes a difference. My point is that peoples head shapes, hair (if any), etc, etc may well influence how a headphone like the K701 sound. It's a theory anyway.. I guess I'll have to get a pair of HD650s to see which one's best for me in the end. Sigh... Perhaps the HD595 is a much cheaper alternative to get a taste?

I don't think the 595s are an alternative, however the HD600s are and theyre a little cheaper and often more prefered.............switching from a K701 to a HD650 may be too tremendous in terms of difference in the highs, the 600s while still a major leap away from the K701s are maybe 10% closer to the K701s sound.

 

[JohanK]

On the discussion of what is hi end: I personally would class, as examples, the HD595 and the SR225 as mid-fi, the DT880/K701/SA5000/RS1 etc as high end and the R10/HE90 tc as extreme high end. To classify the current flagship cans (the RS1 used to be it until last year, it has hardly become worse) of the top manufacturers as "mid-fi" as some have done seems counterintuitive. It would be akin to saying that 20k USD speakers are mid fi just because someone has happened to make some costing 100k.

 

[ajsaxin]

i got the k 701s it was my first hi fi head phones previously its was sony ear buds on my i pod.i am used to hi fi sound as i have a decent speaker system at home.when i got the headphone i had access only to my friends sony player and had the use the headphone jack on that and trust me it sucked my ear buds were better i looked like a fool ,but yeah now using it on my home system with over fifty hours in i do see a considerable improvement hopefully it shocks me and surprises with with what it could do like it did to the rest me you.