[kwkarth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scrypt ... Actually, I leered at this thread because I wanted to know whether to consider replacing my imaginary K-501s. According to kwkarth, possibly so (why is your home page an Intel ad?).

Because I work for Intel and am too busy/lazy to make my own home page.

I may keep my 501s as well as the 701s. The spectral balance of the 501s is enough different from the 701s that I feel they complement one another. In the mids and high end, I feel the 701 is cleaner and more extended, but it is heavy in the mid bass compared to the 501. The 501 spectral balance is closer to the K1Ks than is the 701s, fwiw. I like them both.

 

[kwkarth]

BTW, I am quite surprized by the impact of the 701s relative to the 501s. The 701s are VERY impactful and much reminiscent of the Grado impact without all of the Grado failings WRT spectral balance. Much like the K1ks with a really good amp.

 

[Trogdor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwkarth BTW, I am quite surprized by the impact of the 701s relative to the 501s. The 701s are VERY impactful and much reminiscent of the Grado impact without all of the Grado failings WRT spectral balance. Much like the K1ks with a really good amp.

I'm falling down in complete disbelief. I just don't understand it. I'm almost at the point where I'm going to buy or borrow these cans to see what the heck am I missing. You think they have the impact as a RS-1? What you talking about Willis?

I mean I had one person at the NJ meet listen to my rig and go, "what!? the Qualia costs how much?" He was of course coming from the HD650 crowd so I sort of laugh since to me, your not really getting the full vibrancy of music from the Senn side due to the veil but heck, to each his own. The more forward presentation of Sony will off set a lot of people coming from the laid back sound of Senn and AKG. No biggie.

But the disparity of comments with the AKG 701 is amazing to me. Its like describing two different pair of cans. So far, I've mostly agreed with Mark's comments based on my two listening sessions.

I need to borrow these cans for a while from someone and do a review...

 

[kuma]

Quote:

You think they have the impact as a RS-1? What you talking about Willis?

Dunno about the K701, but a K1k did with the right amp and source.
In the same set up, a K501 sounded pretty out of place in terms of resolution compared to the k1k, RS1 or even W2002. Altho, it did nothing particularly wrong.

If a K701 comes close to the performance of a K1k, that's a good thing.

 

[kwkarth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trogdor I'm falling down in complete disbelief. I just don't understand it. I'm almost at the point where I'm going to buy or borrow these cans to see what the heck am I missing. You think they have the impact as a RS-1? What you talking about Willis? I mean I had one person at the NJ meet listen to my rig and go, "what!? the Qualia costs how much?" He was of course coming from the HD650 crowd so I sort of laugh since to me, your not really getting the full vibrancy of music from the Senn side due to the veil but heck, to each his own. The more forward presentation of Sony will off set a lot of people coming from the laid back sound of Senn and AKG. No biggie. But the disparity of comments with the AKG 701 is amazing to me. Its like describing two different pair of cans. So far, I've mostly agreed with Mark's comments based on my two listening sessions. I need to borrow these cans for a while from someone and do a review...

I firmly believe that one must consider the "system" as a whole. Besides widely varying personal preferences, there's the synergy with the rest of the system. Source, Amp, interconnects, etc.

So, YMMV

I don't think it's fair to say that the 701 has the "same" impact as the Grados, but the frequency response extension at both ends of the spectrum and the relative balance of the whole, far exceeds anything I've heard from Grado with the possible exception of a 20 year old memory of some HP-1s.

The "impact" of the 701 FAR exceeds anything that the 501 is capable of.

Keep in mind that in my opinion, the 501s sound absolutely wonderful on my system, but the 701s are just that much more of everything in comparison.

more musings about reproduction between the 501 and 701...

The 701s, even though stronger in the bass, are still absolutely as tight and controlled as can be. No overhang whatsoever. More transparency and immediacy to the mids and highs.

 

[aaroncort]

Quote:

Originally Posted by markl philodox, Scott's a cult artist with a small but rabid following, but an eccentric and acquired taste, not for everyone. He's an example of an artist who gets *weirder* the older he gets. His last album "Tilt" is way way way out there, but simply amazing if you give it the attention it demands (incredible recording, too, BTW, it's a good reference disc if nothing else). His releases are years in the making, he finally has another new album coming out in a few months, I'm so excited I could scream. He's been extremely influential on many artists you would know. I've cut and pasted my own "Scott Walker Buyers Guide" from the Hoffman forums. Your best bet is to start with the remastered "Boy Child" compilation, it's an excellent over-view of songs composed entirely by Scott from his classic early solo albums. That will help you decide if you want to dig deeper.

Sweet fancy mosses markl, I can't believe I haven't heard his work before. I just listened to a clip of the first track on Tilt and it blew my ass to high heaven! Although I can't really compair the two tracks per say but that track gave me the same fealing that i felt when i first put on Kid A. I stopped there and just ordered 5 easy peices and tilt off of amazon and am now chomping at the bit listen to the rest.

P.S. This whole audio game that goes on here at head-fi at times (some of the replies to the origianal post are prime examples of this) makes me loose sight of why I like good audio gear to begin with, which is of course for the music and only for the music. A good example of this is that I've felt a little ripped off when buy great gear but I've never ever even once felt ripped for buying great music.

 

[jingusus]

I remember when a friend of mine first heard Tilt for the first time. He had circles under his eyes. He had apparently spent the night listening to Tilt, wrapped in a blanket, saying, "No...Scott....No Scott...please don't..."

 

[applebook]

I think that those of you who are criticizing Mark for some of his not so positive comments about the 701 need to take several things into consideration: firstly, as some have already said, coming from an R10, he's unlikely to find the 701 to be as dynamic and as transparent as he's used to. Those of you who've upgraded from $200 cans will undoubtedly hear a higher level of detail and dynamics out of the 701 than what you've heard before.

From Mark's comments, I gather that he's speaking of the 701 in ABSOLUTE terms because he's judging them based on his experience with super-high-end cans like the R10.

A 701 versus R10 comparison is not fair to make when one considers each phone's respective price range and target audience, but I'm glad that Mark has taken the time to share his thoughts because some of the 701 hype is getting completely out of hand. Also notice that he's not saying that they're bad or mediocre cans either, only that they just don't match his R10 (at this moment).

Sorry for intruding and making presumptutous remarks on behalf of Mark, but it seems like some people here have completely missed the point

 

[Geist]

Quote:

Originally Posted by markl His last album "Tilt" is way way way out there, but simply amazing if you give it the attention it demands (incredible recording, too, BTW, it's a good reference disc if nothing else). His releases are years in the making, he finally has another new album coming out in a few months, I'm so excited I could scream. He's been extremely influential on many artists you would know.

Funny, "Tilt" is one of those albums I've been meaning to pick up for years now...I've heard nothing but good things about it. I first heard of Walker from David Bowie fans who claim that Walker's work was a HUGE influence on Bowie's music, especially the concept album "1.Outside", which I consider to be an amazing piece of work. "Tilt" will definitely be the next album I pick up.

 

[Nik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by applebook I think that those of you who are criticizing Mark for some of his not so positive comments about the 701 need to take several things into consideration: firstly, as some have already said, coming from an R10, he's unlikely to find the 701 to be as dynamic and as transparent as he's used to. Those of you who've upgraded from $200 cans will undoubtedly hear a higher level of detail and dynamics out of the 701 than what you've heard before. From Mark's comments, I gather that he's speaking of the 701 in ABSOLUTE terms because he's judging them based on his experience with super-high-end cans like the R10. A 701 versus R10 comparison is not fair to make when one considers each phone's respective price range and target audience, but I'm glad that Mark has taken the time to share his thoughts because some of the 701 hype is getting completely out of hand. Also notice that he's not saying that they're bad or mediocre cans either, only that they just don't match his R10 (at this moment). Sorry for intruding and making presumptutous remarks on behalf of Mark, but it seems like some people here have completely missed the point

Price do not tells nothing. We can compare any cans indipendently by their costs. I have compared the 701 with R10 and K1000 and in my setup I have obteined the best result with the cheapest one (701).

IMO: do nto exists the perfect can per se, but the best sound of your setup from the source to your ears and there are many and many possibiliti to find this, with many cans and amps.

Best!
Nicola

 

[fewtch]

I sort of wish Mark had waited until the headphones were burned in, but other than that it was a good (if pretty critical) evaluation.

 

[applebook]

I agree, Nik. Price isn't everything.

My main point is only this, that those who have upgraded from a mid-fi can like an HD555 to the K701 should be absolutely in love with the K701's qualities and might be shocked to read that some people consider the 701 not to be extremely transparent and dynamic compared to other cans. I think that these folks who love their 701 shouldn't be offended if Mark and Trogdor aren't extremely impressed by them because these two folks are to used to the best cans out there.

Please remember that some comments are in absolute terms --i.e. the 701 is sometimes being judged and critiqued well above its league.

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by applebook My main point is only this, that those who have upgraded from a mid-fi can like an HD555 to the K701 should be absolutely in love with the K701's qualities and might be shocked to read that some people consider the 701 not to be extremely transparent and dynamic compared to other cans. I think that these folks who love their 701 shouldn't be offended if Mark and Trogdor aren't extremely impressed by them because these two folks are to used to the best cans out there.

Remember though: Claims have been made that the K701 *are* among the best cans out there. At least one person has stated that the K701 is the best headphone out there, period.

IMO it's very difficult to evaluate a headphone without both giving it plenty of burn-in and head time. The brain needs to adjust to the sonic signature of a headphone to report correctly, otherwise there will be subconscious comparisons to sonic signatures that one IS familiar with, and the unfamiliar will lose (unless it's drastically better). Just my opinion.

 

[Michael Crespo]

I could care less what people think of the AKG K701's. The guy who started this thread- Noel Gallagher- is entitled to his opinion. Mine sound quite good and I only have 130 hours on them, so I'm hoping they continue to improve.

 

[Sovkiller]

markl, I suggest you to leave them burning-in in peace in another room, in which you can not see them and in which you eliminate the temptation of hearing them everyday....

The "burn-in process" IMO has also very big subjective "placebo" component, (just to call it in one way) in which the user get used to the sound of the new drivers in question, so you burn both the drivers and your ears, but sometimes "the actual changes in the sound" of the drivers, are not that big as they claim...I heard them, and even while not fully burned in, I did not feel that there was potential hidden, to make me go for them, and I doubt they will change so dramatically to make me change my mind....I do not feel they are even close to the R-10, but that is just my opinion based in my hearing system...I will be seriously interested in hearing your conclusions on this particular can though...All what we heard here are raves about it....!!!!

And if you decided top art with your R-10 gimme a shout first OK?...