[theBigD]

i have akg 701. love them. liked them best for jazz especially female jazz. wanted to rock with these so bad but they just didnt quite have the punch with my earlier amp ( a govibe v5 with elpac 24volt ). recently got a head direct ef1 and man do they deliver the goods now! they have amazing punch! and you can tailor the sound with different tubes. i like the mullard tube ive been using so far better than the standard rca that came with it. just got a sylvania tube which is what comes with new amp and like it so far but still think the mullard is the way to go with akg smooth warm mids and punchy bass just cant get enough of it! oh and by the way really like rock and roll with them now, godsmack, korn, disturbed, megadeath all sound amazing with new amp. i like it far better than my grado 125s now. the amp really makes a difference with 701s.

 

[deathg0d]

I gotten the k702, initially it did sounded so bright that whenever the singer top the notes, my ears totally couldnt take it and i hardly finish any single tracks.
but after 300+ hours of burn in, everything seem smoothen out. it definitely not my brain playing tricks cos on the same tracks and same part of the song, it sounds more bearable.
k70x is for sure a very very strange headphone and actually it is suitable for any kinda of music but a lot of patients are needed, if one is not a believer of burn in or only like headphones that sounds nice right out of box, get something else.

 

[V-DiV]

Quote:

Originally Posted by troymadison /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't believe in burn in personally though. The K701 has at least 100 hours on it and the K702 has at least 50 hours. The K701 fits tighter on my head than the K702 which probably has something to do with it. EDIT: I just A/B'd them like 10 minutes ago and I still believe that the K702 is brighter.

It is fairly universally accepted that K701 need a lot of burn in. I found a lot of change during the first 100 hours - not subtle at all. Your 701 and 702 are not stable yet.

I love my K701s, but rock is not my primary listening. Before I got my present rig I hated them for rock, especially if it wasn't well recorded or if it was not lossless. Now that I have a good DAC and Amp (and decent cables) they sound pretty good with rock (listening to Creed right now - sounding good), though they are bass-light. I still wouldn't want them if guitar rock was my primary listen. I love them for the classical, jazz, and other stuff that I mostly listen to. The HD 600s that I auditioned were much better for rock, but a bit boring and sometimes too warm/bassy for jazz and classical.

In my opinion, developed from my experience with K701s, make sure your recordings, source, and amp are good and clear, without high end harshness because the K701 will present that harshness faithfully. Moon Audio Black Dragon cables are said to bring a little more warmth and low end to the K701, but the cable option is a lot of money for a relatively subtle improvement. Eventually I will recable mine. My next stop is a good tube amp.

 

[glitch39]

Quote:

Just sell it, and buy a warmer can. You'll just waste lots of time colouring your signal chain, and come to the expensive conclusion that you need another can.

[size=large]X2[/size]

If you do like the initial signature of your can out of the box, your are better off saving your money by getting another can. you can improve on the signature but not change it completely, IMO

 

[ph0rk]

I warmed mine up by replacing them with a k601. Twice.

 

[kbug]

I understand what you are talking about. That's why I also have a HD650.

 

[obobskivich]

honestly, I find the K701 to be the best dynamic hp I've ever owned for rock, metal, acoustic, etc

this is contrasted to the Grado SR-60, SR-225 (which I recently sold due to the K701 beating it so completely), SR-325i (awful headphone), and GS-1000 (amazing headphone, awful price) as well as the Sennheiser HD 595 and HD 580, and the Denon AH-D2000's (which aren't really contenders for rock/acoustic anyways, and can't really touch any of those except the SR-60's in terms of detail resolution)

I also run from a pure SS amp (don't really like tubes) and pure SS sources

I've never found them shrill or top heavy, to be honest

I agree with troy that tilting them does help sound a bit, and comfort a lot

mine have estimate 250 hours of playtime (I love how the burn-in required to even have an opinion, to quote fitz, magically changes at anon's will)

honestly if the OP hates the soundsig, new headphones are the only answer, I'd suggest something thats ass heavy, like the Denon D2000's or perhaps Beyer DT 880/990's

I'm not trying to say the OP is wrong for not hearing them the way I do, but I'm saying that the comment "AKG K701's cannot play rock" or "Are not meant for rock" is total hogwash, however the comment "I don't personally like these headphones" would be more acceptable

EDIT:
edit was to add "dynamic" before hp, right after hitting post I looked over and saw my electrostats staring back at me (I tend to ignore them currently, because they're not finished, so they haven't head head-time in nearly a month)

 

[rvikul]

I am the OP (so you dont have to scroll). I guess I didn't make myself clear. I dont hate the K701s. In fact I love these cans. The only problem I have is with hard rock albums souding too bright.

Sorry if I wasn't clear enough earlier. Many above have interesting thoughts. I use my portable amp P-51 Mustang + Zune 80 with these cans and I really cant afford to buy tube amps at this point.

Maybe i will let these burn-in a bit more and try swapping out cables. I really dont feel like getting rid of these cans. Who knows .... I might develop some interest in classical

 

[obobskivich]

see, I prefer my HD 580's for classical, although the K701's do resolve quite nicely (its a tough call between the two)

how much burn-in do you have on these 'phones?

and just something you might also try, your home setup looks ridiculously better than your portable, try them off your Linn system, see if it changes the sound enough for your liking (granted it makes them non-portable, but I don't consider K701's portable in the first place)

 

[denydog]

I like mine for all music types, but I bought the Grace amp to go with these phones because I've read that it is warm sounding for a SS amp.

But I will say that in general, modern rock music sounds the worst with the 701's, but it also sounds the worst from my speaker setup as well.

 

[pataburd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif Skip the recable. You'd be able to buy a second pair of headphones for what you'd pay. Tubes can take the edge off the highs, but it depends on the amp. Some of the the transformer coupled ones roll off in the highs. You might want to look there. A graphic equalizer would work, too. You could attenuate the highs exactly to suit your ear without spending hundreds to find out if silver sounds thin and brittle, copper is warmer, etc. You could just turn down what you dislike. If you want to save a few bucks, you could simply build a low pass filter to knock out the highest frequencies. Though I think what would make you happiest would be a pair of Sennheisers.

I respectfully disagree with the Good Uncle on this one, particularly if you are certain that the K701's signature suits you to begin with. (Although, in truth and in this case, it sounds like the OP isn't really a K701 type-of-guy.)

A good recable--for me it was the Revelation Audio Labs Paradise cryo-Silver w/the K701--can make a huge difference and render benefits that no other types of changes can quite duplicate.

There is a downside, and here I understand the Good Uncle's contention: it's difficult to get your money back on the resale of a recabled set of headphones. But if you are sure about keeping and enjoying a set of headphones for a good, long while, then a recable is--IMHO--warranted.

For me, the UP-OCC solid silver recable of the K501 (graciously executed by Enigma Audio) was well, well, well worth it! : )

 

[mbd2884]

Yeah I agree with people who say sell it and buy a different headphone. Just buy one that suits your needs better.

 

[troymadison]

Quote:

Originally Posted by obobskivich /img/forum/go_quote.gif honestly, I find the K701 to be the best dynamic hp I've ever owned for rock, metal, acoustic, etc this is contrasted to the Grado SR-60, SR-225 (which I recently sold due to the K701 beating it so completely), SR-325i (awful headphone), and GS-1000 (amazing headphone, awful price) as well as the Sennheiser HD 595 and HD 580, and the Denon AH-D2000's (which aren't really contenders for rock/acoustic anyways, and can't really touch any of those except the SR-60's in terms of detail resolution) I also run from a pure SS amp (don't really like tubes) and pure SS sources I've never found them shrill or top heavy, to be honest I agree with troy that tilting them does help sound a bit, and comfort a lot mine have estimate 250 hours of playtime (I love how the burn-in required to even have an opinion, to quote fitz, magically changes at anon's will) honestly if the OP hates the soundsig, new headphones are the only answer, I'd suggest something thats ass heavy, like the Denon D2000's or perhaps Beyer DT 880/990's I'm not trying to say the OP is wrong for not hearing them the way I do, but I'm saying that the comment "AKG K701's cannot play rock" or "Are not meant for rock" is total hogwash, however the comment "I don't personally like these headphones" would be more acceptable EDIT: edit was to add "dynamic" before hp, right after hitting post I looked over and saw my electrostats staring back at me (I tend to ignore them currently, because they're not finished, so they haven't head head-time in nearly a month)

The DT880 and D2000 was a lot brighter than the K701 in my experience.

 

[ktm]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rvikul /img/forum/go_quote.gif I recently purchased a pair of the AKG K701s. After 300+ hours of burn-in they sound fantastic. My only problem is that they are too bright when I listen to rock. To be specific, bands like audioslave, tool, modest mouse all sound too bright and cause fatigue. Any suggestions on how I can resolve this? I listen to rock a lot which makes this a real problem for me. I would really appreciate any feedback. I am using a cheap Radioshack mini-to-mini interconnect between the amp and DAP right now. Cardas 6" is on its way. Could that be the problem? Thanks!!

The cable should help, but may not be enough. Find a local
head-fi meet and try them with some different amp combos.
That synergy thing is elusive. There is no doubt a combo
of amp/headphone out there that will give you your sound.

 

[M0T0XGUY]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif Skip the recable. You'd be able to buy a second pair of headphones for what you'd pay. Tubes can take the edge off the highs, but it depends on the amp. Some of the the transformer coupled ones roll off in the highs. You might want to look there. A graphic equalizer would work, too. You could attenuate the highs exactly to suit your ear without spending hundreds to find out if silver sounds thin and brittle, copper is warmer, etc. You could just turn down what you dislike. If you want to save a few bucks, you could simply build a low pass filter to knock out the highest frequencies. Though I think what would make you happiest would be a pair of Sennheisers.

This is true. From your (the OP's) listening preferences, I can wager that K701's will simply never be your thing. The AKG's sound fantastic with classical music, but fall short for their lack of substantiality with rock music; as you have no doubt discovered.

Personally, I think you should either ditch the K701's in favor of more "inclusive" cans, or consider a supplementary pair to handle rock music. If the brightness (i.e. excess of treble) of the AKG's is truly turning you off, then be sure to check out Sennheiser's HD600s; which are arguably more well rounded and undeniably warmer in terms of bass. If, however, you dislike the K701s for their thinness (in other words, the actual treble level is bearable, but the bass and midrange depth are quite comparably lacking) then Grado's wooden models might work well for you. They're certainly specialized in terms of "compatible" genres, but are arguably unparalleled in that niche.

Personally, I think you'd be wasting your time with cable upgrades, and even more-so with hopes of burn-in improvement. Changes in both cases, if present at all, are subtle; to me at least, you can't alter the sound signature (which you find at fault here) with cables or burn-in.