[obobskivich]

Ok, so after some more reading on headphones in the price range I'm looking at ($250-$450) the AKG K701's keep coming up, any impressions of them against the Denon AH-D2000's?

 

[MatthewK]

From what I gather (no actual experience with either) the K701's barely have any bass and the D2000's have plenty (or too much to some).

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MatthewK /img/forum/go_quote.gif From what I gather... the K701's barely have any bass.

Goooood god that's incredibly incorrect.

Let me quote JaZZ here, he gives a pretty good description of the 701s:

Quote:

Originally Posted by JaZZ /img/forum/go_quote.gif 99% of the consumers want speakers to be small, bass-accentuated and able to play loud. So 99% of the speakers sold have a large bass driver in a small enclosure and a quite pronounced mid-bass accentuation. (I could easily back up this claim with graphs.) Add to this the room acoustics which make the bass even more blown up. So you have excellent preconditions for what many seem to consider ideal hip-hop reproduction. «Fortunately» (for the same category of listeners) many headphones are tuned to have a similar mid-bass accentuation. I understand that it may also serve as compensation for the lack of visceral sonic impact some listeners need. But when it comes to acoustic instruments in classical and jazz, a rather flat frequency-response curve also in the bass is still favorable, at least to people who are used to listen to live concerts of these genres. For the judgement of neutrality of a sound transducer acoustic instruments are the only valid basis. That's a fact many here seem to disregard. So if you want a neutral headphone, it most likely won't play your hip-hop tunes like you're used to them from live concerts and speakers. Moreover I guess nobody will play them as loud as they're played live -- so naturally you'll miss some bass impact anyway. Talking of the K 701: to my ears it's one of the most neutral headphones I know. Note that the perfectly uncolored headphone doesn't exist, so the K 701 does have some flaws, too, particularly a slight (mid-)treble accentuation -- which may be a greater concern to others than it's to me. And then, everybody's ear(-shape)s are different. Just so much: My pair has stronger low bass than the HD 650. This particularly in relation to mid-bass, upper bass and lower mids. In fact the K 701's bass is just about perfect to my ears: deep, impactful, controlled and clean. Again: Don't underestimate break-in! 300 hours may not even be enough. Apart from improved membrane elasticity, the softening of the earpads has a considerable effect as well -- as it brings the drivers closer to the ears, which results in a warmer characteristic. The break-in procedure may also have an impact on the final (bass) performance. I regularly use bass-heavy music, additionally turn the bass control fully up and play it very loud (while taking care to avoid any distortion). BTW, this method has also been recommended to exhaust the K 501's full bass potential. .

 

[d-cee]

Agreed, the K701 doesn't have weak bass

It just doesn't have overpowering, boomy bass

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

From my limited personal experiance (Only have had them for 4 months now), I would say the bass is perfect for Jazz, R&B, Soundtracks, and classical. For some rock, techno, trance, pop, and alt recordings you might want to EQ the bass up (To get that vibrating feeling).

TBH it all depends on the recording, sometimes the bass matches perfectly, other times some EQ is required.

 

[Capunk]

I own both.
And based on my observation, (I just bought the K701, 3 weeks ago) - K701 is crystal clear, has better high than D2000, but D2000 has bigger bass (clearly), and I'm not saying K701 bass shy, they just simply thinner but refined, closer to natural sounding. One more thing, I thought K701 is a cold and analytical headphone, but they much more natural than I thought, even my D2000 sounds colder compare to K701.

Wait till I recable both cans

 

[ManAtWork]

It really depends on what kind of music you favorite on, for classical and jazz, the clarity in treble of K701 is perfect for these kinds of music while punchy and heavier bass is not required. But if your favorite is on pop and rock, then Denon would be much appropriate. It doesn't say any is better, only suitable for different kind of music.

 

[silverrain]

I tried the K701, D2000 and D5000 -- I kept only the D2000 as the best overall sound quality, value, and COMFORT of these cans.
I have other high-end cans, too, but use the D2000 a lot, because it does everything well, with NO glaring faults sound-wise, that make me wish I was using something else.
I don't know why anyone would say the bass is ever excessive or too much -- it is actually really good quality sound overall.

 

[troymadison]

I think the k501 is more neutral :/

 

[number1sixerfan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Strangelove /img/forum/go_quote.gif From my limited personal experiance (Only have had them for 4 months now), I would say the bass is perfect for Jazz, R&B, Soundtracks, and classical. For some rock, techno, trance, pop, and alt recordings you might want to EQ the bass up (To get that vibrating feeling).

The bass is perfect for those genres because they are not bass heavy. Saying that they are not perfect for rock, pop, hip hop, etc. is close to saying that the phone is bass light.

Which it is.

It is not that big of a deal as we are all making it lately. The k701 is a great can and has very tight and detailed bass but may be the wrong selection if using them for pop, techno, rock, etc. To the OP, what type of music are you going to listen to? If jazz, classical, r&b mostly then go with the k701. If rock, hip hop, etc. go with the denon's.

Quote:

Originally Posted by troymadison /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think the k501 is more neutral :/

I agree. The k701 is a bit warmer in comparison which is a good thing to a lot of people. I think I like the k501 more just because it was my first hi-fi headphone.

Good Luck!

 

[MaZa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Strangelove /img/forum/go_quote.gif Goooood god that's incredibly incorrect. Let me quote JaZZ here, he gives a pretty good description of the 701s:

I cant agree on JaZZ's description completely. If headphone manages to sound flat and somewhat powerless on bass regions quantity-wise even on very bass heavy recordings, its has some problems in bass region IME.

And also I wouldnt say classical cant be bass heavy. There are intstruments that can be very strong and/or impactive on classical music and on those pieces the bass quantity and impact of K701 argues with my ears what I have heard on live, cant help it. But generally bass amount for classical is perfect in K701, and quality from lows to highs is really good. Too bad the headband was intolerable for my head.

 

[nick20]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MatthewK /img/forum/go_quote.gif From what I gather (no actual experience with either) the K701's barely have any bass and the D2000's have plenty (or too much to some).

Stop it. Stop giving "advice". This is terrible..


You're way wrong...

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

Quote:

Originally Posted by number1sixerfan /img/forum/go_quote.gif The bass is perfect for those genres because they are not bass heavy. Saying that they are not perfect for rock, pop, hip hop, etc. is close to saying that the phone is bass light. Which it is.

Jazz is bass lite? No no no...

I don't mean it's bass light, but the type of bass it has sonicly fits with those recordings, not that the song it self has less bass than a rock single, but the actual type and feel of the bass feels better aligned with the can. Plus, with a little EQ you can make the bass pretty boomy for albums that need it.

I will muse on this phenomenon more but for now I'm going to listen to some records.

 

[number1sixerfan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaZa /img/forum/go_quote.gif And also I wouldnt say classical cant be bass heavy.

Not saying it can't, just saying trying to state that there is a reason that people find the k701 sufficient for classical and jazz and others find it insufficient for hip hop, pop, etc. In general, I have found that the latter places more emphasis on bass.

 

[MaZa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by number1sixerfan /img/forum/go_quote.gif Not saying it can't, just saying trying to state that there is a reason that people find the k701 sufficient for classical and jazz and others find it insufficient for hip hop, pop, etc. In general, I have found that the latter places more emphasis on bass.

OH! Sorry. I agree.