[Salvatore]

Ok guys I received my anniversaries today and they sound phenomenal straight out of the box. The price considered (395€) they are right there with the best phones I've ever listened. Now to answer some of the questions asked before. The package includes the headphones, standard AKG removable 3N cable, 1/4" stereo adapter, anniversary booklet and a AKG sticker. So no extra pads or cables or anything like that. This being said the earpads are definitely an huge improvement over their predecessors. They are velour covered soft memory foam and feel very comfortable against your head. Also the headband no longer has the annoying pumps. The package is very minimalistic cardboard box and is definitely not meant to be a storage box for the cans. I second mk-ecco's comment about this being a bit underwhelming. It would have been indeed nice to get some kind of storage system with this money.
 
Now for the sound. I own a pair of K550's so I'll do some direct comparison to them. The soundstage of the anniversaries is wide, definitely wider than that of K550's, but it could be that some of the airness is lost probably due to the deeper bass (as compared to standard K702's). This could very well be my imagination and is something that I have to confirm by doing some side-by-side comparison. The soundstage feels, however, very natural and feels like there is lots of room for the music to move and live in the earcup before hitting my eardrums.
 
I did some bass testing with Toto - I will remember (awesome song with lots of nice bass) and the bass of anniversaries is close to that of K550's (so if you like the bass of K550's you're in for a treat). The bass is very tight, controlled and way more noticeable than in the case of standard 702's. I hear warm and balanced tone all across the spectrum and the anniversaries do not feel overly bright which could be because of the deeper bass. I felt that the standard K702's were a little bit too bright for my taste (without burn in).
 
So how do the anniversaries compare to K550's? They have better balance, wider soundstage, are more comfortable (I mean headphones probably can't get any more comfortable than this), feel lighter in your head, but in return need more amplification and are not foldable so you need a headphone stand (sieveking omega and sennheiser HH10 are good options). With the experience I´ve had with headphones in general I can't really pinpoint all the small differences but I can tell you that I really like them both. If I had to choose one or another I would easily take the anniversaries since they produce better sound and are more comfortable in my head. I would also take the anniversaries over the standard K702's because the sound is more balanced for my taste (warmer but not too warm) and therefore suit better for more genres.
 
So are the anniversaries worth the price? I honestly think that they are... easily. They sound amazing with every song and every music style I tried (blues, rock, pop, jazz... you name it).  All in all I'm now a very happy owner of a quality closed and open AKG headphones. Feel free to ask anythink I'll try to answer them the best I can.
 
I'll post more impressions after some burn in and if you wanna see some detailed photos and comments of the anniversaries go check my "AKG K702 65th Anniversary" album:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/g/a/707368/akg-k702-65th-anniversary/
 
Cheers

 

[Salvatore]

Quote:

This or the DT770 anniversary?

This! Just to see you review it For me these are honestly the first K/Q7 AKG's that bring some significant changes to overall comfortability and sound. I know you love your K550's so you wont be dissapointed with the anniversaries. Well who are we kidding... you'll probably get them both

 

[jasonb]

Hmmmm, I wonder if the different pads can be fitted on the Q701's. Do they just twist on like the Q701's? 

 

[tdockweiler]

Your impressions of it is how my Q701 sounds. Especially the part about the possibly slightly reduced soundstage. My brain was also probably fooled due to the extra bass and smoother treble.
 
Maybe at random you'll get some of these different sounding drivers in the Q701, but with the 65th you're guaranteed of it. Of course nobody knows if all Q701s all sound differently. Highly unlikely. People say variations between pairs of the same headphone don't exist, but I think it's more common than we think. For example, I saw someone mention there is a revision 4 of a specific headphone. WHAT THE HECK? I guess it's good that some makers are willing to tell customers there are updates instead of these "silent" updates that companies like AKG and Beyer probably do.
 
Memory foam pads covered in velour? I don't believe this. Are you sure it's not just softer foam than what's on the K702? (nevermind just saw your photos)
 
Other than physical differences, I don't know how on earth they could improve the Q701 any further. It's already as perfect as it gets. What they could do is come up with a way to make a Q701 sound amazing with my Clip+

I want a 32ohm Q701 that can be driven from my 1gb mp3 player that's the size of a penny.
 
Hopefully someone can do real A/B comparisons to the warmer Q701.
 
If they release this inside the USA I don't know if i'll buy it. I don't have as much money as before (stupid economy) and if it's $400USD, then i'll pass. I'm not paying $400 when I already have an amazing sound Q701. Some may think i'm nuts, but i'd glady pay an extra $50-$75 for memory foam pads. It is one of my favorite headphones anyway. The Q701 that is.
 
Maybe if sales of the 65th are so good, AKG will release it as a normal model years later.
 
I do love the idea of new pads. The Q701 pads are fine, but the K601 pads feel softer. They look the same though.
 
BTW are the new pads angled? Can't tell in the picture I think.
 
I would also love to see what AKG put under those inner grills. Probably Q701 foam! Sneaky!
 
I bet you the "special" drivers, the new pads and any foam are what increases the bass and gives it some extra warmth. The foam disc behind the pads would be interesting to see too.
 
NOTE: those pads look 100% identical to the Q701 pads. But I just saw your picture and it looks like they are memory foam like you say. It looks like when you press down on them it doesn't come right back. Maybe it's REAL memory foam like found on the KRKs but with the same old covering.

 

[Salvatore]

Quote:

Hmmmm, I wonder if the different pads can be fitted on the Q701's. Do they just twist on like the Q701's? 

They twist off. Photo added.

 

[Salvatore]

Quote:

Your impressions of it is how my Q701 sounds. Especially the part about the possibly slightly reduced soundstage. My brain was also probably fooled due to the extra bass and smoother treble.

Memory foam pads covered in velour? I don't believe this. Are you sure it's not just softer foam than what's on the K702?

BTW are the new pads angled? Can't tell in the picture I think.

Well those Q701's I've tested sounded noticeably different. I'm pretty sure it is memory foam and no the pads are not angled.

 

[jasonb]

Its interesting that they are not angled. I bet the memory foam adds to the bass. I'm happy with the bass of my Q701, especially with a slight +2db Fiio bass boost. 

.
Quote:

Well those Q701's I've tested sounded noticeably different. I'm pretty sure it is memory foam and no the pads are not angled.

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

Well those Q701's I've tested sounded noticeably different. I'm pretty sure it is memory foam and no the pads are not angled.

 
Wow! No angled pads? That's a huge plus for me. I always felt like the angled pads on the Q701 kind of degraded the Q701's imaging somehow. Still good though. It's kind of bizarre how the K601 has better imaging (IMO) and it doesn't have angled pads. Comfort on non-angled pads is better too.
 
I don't know how AKG managed to lose the angled pads and not make them too "shouty". I used the K601 pads on my Q701 once and it was awful.
 
I think the trick is that the new pads compress so there is less air between your ear and the driver. This alone may reduce the treble and balance things out. I know it sounds crazy. Maybe this is one reason the K601 has a little less treble too. Of course the new 65th might have some foam on the inner grill.
 
BTW this isn't the thread for it, but my Q701 was a nice upgrade from the K702. Once I got the Q701 I immediately sold the K702. Hmm, maybe I got lucky or something. Many people here also have the fuller sounding Q701 that's a bit bassier than the K702. AKG does claim it's semi-open (it's in their PDF).
 
There's a few others that claim it's identical to the K702. Doesn't matter to me much. I'll just say that maybe I got some 65th Anniversary drivers in my Q701

Maybe they go down to 8hz!!
 
Oh yeah, is there any confirmation from AKG that this will get a US release? I'm really looking forward to all the arguments on here if they're really different sounding than the K702 or not

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

Blackmore, you can mod your 701 to sounds as the way you want too...you'll need to add the Q foam to your K701, as well you can control the mod by the thickness of the foam.
 

 
 
Adding or removing that foam barely changes the sound from my experience (and I took that pic).

 

[chicolom]

Interesting that it's using memory foam pads.  That could definitely increase the bass (more seal).  Not sure if I'm a fan of non-angled pads though.  I like angled drivers/pads in general as they tend to help the soundstage, but I've never tried non angled ones on a x70x before...
 
 
I wonder if they will introduce some of these tweaks (non-bump headband, + different pads) into the regular x70x line or if it's only for these limited edition cans.

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

 
 
Adding or removing that foam barely changes the sound from my experience (and I took that pic).

I agree. Wouldn't that be funny though if people could turn their K702 into a Q701 with just a piece of foam!
My Q701 did sound bad though with the grill entirely off. My K601 doesn't. Strange.
 
I tried lots of different materials for the inside, but in the end stock was best. The bounty muffled the sound. Didn't realize it until I tried a portable amp.
 
Ok, I'll shut up, I don't want to ruin this thread.
 
Maybe we can convince Salvatore to check under his inner (outside) grill with a piece of tape to see if it has foam

I bet it does!!

 

[Blackmore]

Thank you Salvatore for an update and your first impressions. I wish I was in Finland so we could compare all of them together. After local customs stop having fun with my K702 I finally will be able to hear all 3 of them next to each other: Q701, K701 and K702.

 

[Salvatore]

Quote:

I think the trick is that the new pads compress so there is less air between your ear and the driver. This alone may reduce the treble and balance things out. I know it sounds crazy. Maybe this is one reason the K601 has a little less treble too. Of course the new 65th might have some foam on the inner grill.
 
Many people here also have the fuller sounding Q701 that's a bit bassier than the K702. AKG does claim it's semi-open (it's in their PDF).  
Oh yeah, is there any confirmation from AKG that this will get a US release? I'm really looking forward to all the arguments on here if they're really different sounding than the K702 or not

 
Hmm interesting point. The soft pads definitely allow better seal and bring the drivers closer to ear. Like I said I feel like I'm sacrificing some of the airness for the deeper bass. I think I'll go to a local hifi shop and do some direct comparison between the anniversaries and K701's (which they sell there). It is of course possible that there exist fuller sounding Q701's but the ones I tested were not as full as my anniversaries. Don't really know if these are generally better phones than the rest of the Q/K7 family but they are for me and that is what matters the most (more versatile and fun). I strongly recommend everyone to test these cans if possible, especially if you have experienced the rest of the family and felt these cans would be perfect with softer pads, fuller sound and without the pumps. Ask the availability from your local importer but remember that these probably are not for everyone. Especially for those who feel like they lost something in order to get more bass.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I want these yesterday.

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

I want these yesterday.

Take one for the team and fork over $450 for an imported pair!

Shipping should only cost about an extra $100.
 
I should ask AKG on facebook if they're going to release it here in the USA.
 
BTW I just realized the retail price of the Q701 is like $449. WOW!
 
So much for suggesting to AKG a USD retail price of $399 for this new edition!
 
 
I'd be so mad if I got a pair imported and it was 100% identical to my old K702. That'd be my luck I think..
 
I MUST HAVE K702 memory foams!