[Mad Lust Envy]

Actually, the Annie has forward mids just like the HD650, only there is more space so its not as intimate. Still, in terms of forwardness, they are similar. The HE400 doesnt come close to the Annie in mids.

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

Nope.
   
Well, it's been confirmed (by two people) that the Q701 with Anniversary pads sounds identical to the actual Anniversary Edition. I haven't heard the Anniversary Edition with my own ears though.
 
Oh and I just know that when I install the 65th pads on my Q701 and remove the outer grill or it's foam the warmth goes out the window. So even installing a K702 grill wouldn't help.
 
 
I think your over obsessing about the outer foam.  I've said this many times already, but I removed it from the Q701s when comparing against the old K702 and I didn't hear any differences in the sound (*Cough* placebo)
 
The Q701 still had a major warmth/bass boost over the K702 with or without the foam, and it didn't sound any warmer with or without the foam.
 
 
There REALLY has to be some internal differences between the Annie and Q701..
 
 
I'm doubtful...at least that there are any intentional differences.
 
 
BTW I'm selling my 65th pads with 5 hours of use. About $13 less than what I paid. If you want them it's in the classifieds. Don't like the sound of them at all on my Q701. Should sound better on the K702 or K701 I'd imagine (not tested).
 
 
I think you should wait and give them more time.  I think you're already adjusting to them a little

I would try listening to the Anniversary pads for a while then switch back.  Do some gaming with the Anniversary for a while and then switch back to the Q701s.
 
 
I need to test these pads more, but I think it's safe to say they aren't a good match for my preferences. I mean they aren't that bad.
 
 
See what I mean?

 
 
DIT: Oh yeah.. I think one could mod the Q701 with Annie pads to make it even better. I was thinking replacing the outer foam with a different material. Sounds pretty bad with no foam installed. I never heard that with the Q701 stock pads from what I recall.
 
I now have the outer foam removed behind the grill on the q701 with 65th pads. I need to leave that off for a longer period of time and see if the loss of warmth was just my brain playing tricks on me. It was very apparent for one song. Right now it just sounds harsher and more fatiguing.
 
 
There should be no reason the Q701 with 65th pads should lose warmth with the foam removed since the real Anniversary has no outer grill foam at all!
 
Bingo^
 
Man, you are obsessed with that outer foam, which is probably changing the sound 1%.

 
You are saying without the foam the warmth is sucked out.  Why do the anniversaries sound nearly identical to the Q701s when they don't have that foam?  Nothing is getting sucked out.

I think your making a big deal out of something that is changing the sound in a VERY small way.
 
 
 
Someday i'd still like to try the Anniversary. Who knows, maybe i'll be one of those people who find it much better than the Q701 with 65th pads.
 
I think you just did.
 
 
I don't know where all this "The Anniversaries really ARE different from the Q701" stuff is suddenly coming from.  
 
Several people have compared them now and found them to sound basically identical apart from the pads. 
Why start spreading it around that they are different, after all the work we went through!!

 
There is already enough confusion around the AKG headphones - no need to unnecessarily add more!

 
Chicolom,
 
I tested removing the outer foam when I had Q701 pads and there wasn't that much difference at all. The 1% number could be right. When I do it with the Q701 and 65th pads the difference is quite dramatic. I'm not making these things up. I know you think it's all placebo, but the warmth IS sucked out a LOT and everything gets more harsh and thin. I don't care if you think I'm wrong, but it's unusable without the outer foam. Have you actually tried it on your old Q701 with 65th pads? Probably not. So how do you know? If there was a 1% difference I wouldn't mention anything about the foam.
 
I also also noticed that low-bass is much more present with the foam and grill removed. You can test that yourself, but mid-bass goes out the window. This now makes sense for me why I might have lost some warmth.
 
Maybe I have a crappy Q701 (sounds amazing to me), but removing the foam with the 65th pads (ONLY!)  ruins the sound. I spent about an hour listening to that. You also forget that I mentioned the pads don't compress much for me. Most likely this is what degrades the sound and causes it to get thinner/harsher.
 
I've found the best way to test for all the changes in the sound is to use them with gaming. It's so stupid easy now to hear the differences. MY Q701 with 65th pads is about as dark as my old HD-650 (not the new one). I would say mine is very dark. Bass is a little more present, but it's amazing how much it messes with the treble and upper mids.
 
Sorry guys, but I'm not yet a believer that the Q701 with the 65th pads is the exact same thing as the Anniversary. There is no way the Anniversary could be this bad. If it adds to any more confusion then that's OK. If they were both the same then I should be able to get the same EXACT sound with no outer grill foam. I've already tested this twice, but there is quite a large difference in sound. There is no way the Q701 with 65th pads and the outer grill removed sounds like the Anniversary Edition. It actually has less warmth than the Q701 itself. Why? I have no clue.
 
Oh and I know you'll love this part, but the outer foam removed with the 65th pads installed is probably like a 10% difference in sound. Call me crazy if you want! Again, when I had the Q701 pads the difference was quite subtle.
 
Your results are probably much better if you get more clamping force. Maybe the Anniversary has more clamping force than the Q701? I don't see how that's possible.
 
I also never said they were different, but questioned if they MIGHT be. Big difference there.

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

Do you all agree that the K702 65th Annies are the most 'neutral' AKG headphones of the 700-series?
By neutral, I mean that the bass, midrange, and treble are at equal volume levels.

 
Definitely not! Q701 for sure. My Q701 with 65th pads is about as neutral as the old (dark) HD-650 with it's mid-bass hump.
Pretty much just imagine the Q701 but with the upper mids and treble taking a nose dive just to get more bass and warmth.
 
Disclaimer: I have the Q701 with 65th pads

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I don't even know what to think anymore. I used YOUR Q701, and despite being just a hint brighter than my Annie, it did sound a lot like the Annie with the pads. I didn't touch anything else. It was like 98% the same. All your foam and grill removal, replacing must've done something.

That's why I just prefer leaving my stuff stock, aside from a simple pad swap.

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

I don't even know what to think anymore. I used YOUR Q701, and despite being just a hint brighter than my Annie, it did sound a lot like the Annie with the pads. I didn't touch anything else. It was like 98% the same. All your foam and grill removal, replacing must've done something.

That's why I just prefer leaving my stuff stock, aside from a simple pad swap.

 
I know it's annoying hearing some moron saying removing Q701 outer grill foam with the 65th pads ruins the sound, but it's true. That's what I want to figure out and questioned why the Anniversary gets away with NO FOAM at all.  My idea was that the Anniversary (highly unlikely) has more clamping force. I also think it's quite possible you and Chicolom got better results due to more clamp (even with Q701 and 65th pads). Possibly bigger heads

 
When I remove the foam (and outer grill) I think I get more low-bass and less mid-bass. That's my idea on why it's making everything thinner/harsher.
 
As long as I've got the foam installed everything is OK. Just sounds almost too dark. Like I'd say very dark(!). Somewhat shouty in the low mids and I've tried two DACs and two amps. All my stuff is neutral too. None of my amps are dark.
 
Oh and to confirm once more, this Q701 with 65th pads is way darker than my HD-650

With music it's much harder to notice.
 
I mean is the Anniversary supposed to be darker than an HD-650? I can't imagine this..
 
 
Maybe my Q701 is just close to being dark, but has more forward lower mids than other pairs

 
You know what..this is annoying.
 
I should send it in to Tyll with both pads for measurements.

 

[pervysage]

I seem to have a rattling sound in the right side earcup. It only happens at certain low frequencies when the bass is hitting in a song.... it's really annoying. The weird thing is that sometimes it's there and sometimes I don't hear it (when playing the same part of a track over and over again to test if it's occuring).
 
Anyone know what it could be?
 
I've tried taking off the earpad and checking for any debris. Seems to be clean.
 
I really don't want to have to return them or get them repaired (they ARE still in the return period).... looking for an easy fix as I don't want to have to live without these babies for a while lol.
 
Also... does anyone know how to get the circle plastic piece on the outside of the earcups to come off? (The grey piece with a blue ring around it and the K702 logo).

 

[elwappo99]

Quote:

I seem to have a rattling sound in the right side earcup. It only happens at certain low frequencies when the bass is hitting in a song.... it's really annoying. The weird thing is that sometimes it's there and sometimes I don't hear it (when playing the same part of a track over and over again to test if it's occuring).
 
Anyone know what it could be?
 
I've tried taking off the earpad and checking for any debris. Seems to be clean.
 
I really don't want to have to return them or get them repaired (they ARE still in the return period).... looking for an easy fix as I don't want to have to live without these babies for a while lol.
 
Also... does anyone know how to get the circle plastic piece on the outside of the earcups to come off? (The grey piece with a blue ring around it and the K702 logo).

 
Really does sound like a piece of hair / dirt is stuck somewhere. Classic symptoms. I'd pull the pad and the filter off and see if you can still hear the rattle. Try to look closely at that open area inside as well. 

 

[tdockweiler]

Well this is really stupid. I hate this hobby sometimes..so much garbage all connected together and you don't know what's causing what.
 
I kept saying to myself over and over with the Q701 and 65th pads that it seems to sound different every time I put them on! Figured it was just placebo.
 
Even last night I tried them out of my Ipod 3G (which has tons of power) and said "Hey, this doesn't sound that bad really".
 
Today I connected it up to my Magni and it sounded really harsh and fatiguing. Like REALLY shouty in the lower mids. I'd keep on listening to it and it would be OK and then seem to go away with different songs. My thinking was that there was no way someone could like the Anniversary if it was really this fatiguing and shouty in the mids.
 
So I tried switching from my USB hub straight to the PC and then connecting my amps to a TVS-diode based surge protector (that doesn't muddy up the sound) and everything was magically fixed! Ok, I'm kidding. It all sounded the same and no change. I even tried a different audio cable and no change.
 
So out of nowhere I switched USB cables. I knew it would sound the same (I don't believe in USB cables), but as I was listening to music for 10-15 minutes I noticed everything sounded smoother. No harsh anything. Heck now I don't even know what frequency range it was but it sounded like low mids mostly.
 
Before all this I made a playlist of a bunch of songs that sounded like crap on my Q701 with 65th pads. I played them all back and no problem...there is still more forward low mids but nothing to cause any fatigue. The Modi also does not have forward  mids. They sound almost laid-back compared to the ODAC. I was thinking to myself. "Oh crap, I was way off on that Modi review!". But nope..
 
I checked the USB cable and it's a gold monoprice one. The metal piece is bent a little. The white piece inside looks like it has a dent in it and it's  not totally flat.
 
All this has to be placebo, but maybe it's just a bad connection that's screwing up with something.
 
So right now the only change I can detect is that it seems to sound a bit smoother. Not too forward of low mids. Not harsh at all. Before it was quite fatiguing and harsh. I had my Q701 with 65th pads attached to my Xbox 360 and Magni and it was still really dark, so I'm guessing it will still sound that way. With most music it doesn't sound that dark. For example, my old HD-650 didn't sound really dark  until I used it with gaming.
 
The bass really doesn't sound much different than that of the Q701. Right now the bass is a little more present than the HD-650, but it's darker still.
 
Again, not much difference from my earlier impressions, but sounds just a little smoother. You'd think that if you got sound from USB everything should be fine and dandy, but apparently not.
 
There seriously was a large difference when I switched out that foam. It could be the faulty USB cable was really screwing up the sound enough to make it randomly sound harsher. I will double check it later. If there is zero difference I will punch myself in the face. It was very audible earlier.
 
BTW with some songs there is zero change between the two pads. With some I'd fail a blind A/B test between the two. I didn't realize how much darker it was until I was gaming with it.
 
LOL maybe it's not a faulty USB cable and pad burn in

 
I DID reattach the "bad" cable and it's back to sounding harsh and just not right.
 
Oh yeah..with my Magni it's a LOT harder to determine the differences in bass, but with my Micro Amp it's a little easier. It really doesn't seem that much fuller/warmer for ME. Not on any songs. Now it seems like just a little more low bass presence.
 
I bet you $5000000000 there is no measurable difference in the bass (only). Yes I know it sounds a lot better/improved.
 
This has got to be one of the weirdest things i've experienced with headphones in years. It's even worse when I found out my surge protector was degrading the sound of my headphones. That is 1000% not placebo. It only occurs for me with bassy closed headphones on my two amps when using surge protectors that are MOV based. It not detectable on my HD-650 or Q701. It's subtle but there. It sounds like distortion. Doesn't occur on my new cheap TVS-diode surge protector (Furman SS-6B).

 

[tdockweiler]

Well i've been listening to my new Anniversary Edition for nearly all day without any complaints. Something was majorly going wrong and everything sounded all harsh and fatiguing. Seriously if you heard it the way I did you won't like it. Not a dramatic difference, but enough for me to think something was off. No harshness at all now.
 
It makes complete sense now why removing the outer grill foam would make it even worse. I won't go there...but let's just say the Q701 with 65th pads is fine with no foam. Unless you have a slight issue with your setup like  me. And no my ears were not tired or clogged up last night.
 
I still can't believe you guys can't hear any difference between removing the outer grills and foam.

Honestly for me it's easier than telling apart the ODAC and Modi. Now THAT was tough. The only difference is in the soundstaging/imaging with that. I will say that Chicolom is right and that the difference between no foam and with is very subtle (greater than 1%!), but the difference is much greater when you remove the grill etc. I guess it all has to do with how much air the Q701 and Anniversary gets. You can mess with the foam near the driver itself and get similar results!
 
I listened to the Anniversary (Q701 with Anniversary pads) all day with a ton of minor changes and all of it makes total sense really if you've done any modding.
 
Here are some things i've noted:
(feel free to skip it if you think it's placebo. I don't care)
 
DISCLAIMER: These probably don't apply to the q701 with stock pads.
 
no outer grill (completely open):

more low-bass and treble. Smoother (less forward) mids. Reduced mid-bass. Strangely with all that treble it doesn't sound that clear.

outer grill installed,  no foam:

slightly less treble than before, more forward mids, more mid-bass and warmth. Definitely fuller sounding! Pretty smooth and clear.

closed off outer grill:

Mids crystal clear sounding (you'll notice this immediately and before anything else), but upper mids are harsh. Very good bass and like a closed headphone! This has the best (and most) bass.
I wish I could make it sounds exactly like this but remove the nasty upper mid harshness.

Outer grill with foam:

Nearly as good as the above, but smoother upper mids a little less mid-bass. Nice and full sounding, but not as clear.

Best configuration:
Outer grill, no foam (doesn't apply to stock Q701!).

Results

More air:
More low-bass and treble. Less warmth and mid-bass. Duh. Less forward upper mids (this part is totally opposite of what I expected).

Less Air:
More mid-bass and warmth, reduced treble, but harsher and more forward upper mids.
 
 
BTW what I love is how the completely closed off Anniversary sounds like it has the bass of my DJ100! I want to mod it in this configuration to make the mids much smoother. Then it'd would just be amazing sounding to me. I mean even more so.
 
I'll make sure to go back and edit some older comments if needed. Again, not a major change, but a LOT smoother. Still think it's about a 5% increase in bass (I measured this with a ruler). I wouldn't be surprised if some couldn't hear a difference. To my ears it's a smaller difference than the Q701 vs K702. It's really not that much warmer or fuller sounding to me. Barely audible.
 
If I upgraded my Q701 that I loved to a $400 Anniversary and couldn't return it i'd be pi**ed! I might say it's worth a $73 upgrade, but barely. Now I know nobody would agree.
 
EDIT:
 
The more I listen to the Q701 with anniversary pads, the more it reminds me of my TBSE/DJ100 (very well amped). This is PERFECT! As you know I'm one of those nuts who thinks the $55 TBSE sounds better than the HD-650/Q701. If you close off the Annie's grill it has about 3% (I used a calculator for that) less mid-bass than the TBSE. TBSE has way more low-bass since well..it's closed.
 
I'm glad this Anniversary is now sounding like you're all hearing it and not like a shouty piece of crap with no treble.
 
EDIT 500:
 
I think i've gotten the bass is be 100% as good as my favorite closed headphone except for it's low bass.
 
Try my Placebo Mod[size=125%]™:[/size]
 
 
Cover up the top half of the outer (inner) grill with something. Use tape and make it less sticky with your fingers if needed. Don't think about it and just do it. Listen to it for at least an hour, especially in bassy songs and tell me what you think. I doubt anyone will do it.
 
No this isn't a joke.

 

[Sophonax]

Quote:

I seem to have a rattling sound in the right side earcup. It only happens at certain low frequencies when the bass is hitting in a song.... it's really annoying. The weird thing is that sometimes it's there and sometimes I don't hear it (when playing the same part of a track over and over again to test if it's occuring).
 
Anyone know what it could be?
 
I've tried taking off the earpad and checking for any debris. Seems to be clean.
 
I really don't want to have to return them or get them repaired (they ARE still in the return period).... looking for an easy fix as I don't want to have to live without these babies for a while lol.
 
Also... does anyone know how to get the circle plastic piece on the outside of the earcups to come off? (The grey piece with a blue ring around it and the K702 logo).

 
That circular plastic piece to which you are referring (the grille) could also be the source of your rattle.  The grilles on both ear cups of my K702.65 are a little bit loose and can rattle around and make noise.  An easy way to see if this is the case is to just put the headphones on, no music, and just shake your head around a bit.  If you hear a rattle, that would suggest that it's not hair or debris in/on/around the driver, and it could be the grilles.
 
You can take the grilles off by twisting them counterclockwise maybe 10-15 degrees.  You might have to press down on them a bit to get enough friction to be able to rotate them, but once you twist them they should come right out.
 
I'm also hesitant to send my headphones back for such a trivial issue.  At some point (haven't gotten around to it yet), I will probably just try to fix the grilles in place or dampen them by adding a touch of some kind of goop (hot glue, Blu Tack, Loctite -- who knows?).

 

[Sophonax]

The grille looks like this when it's off.  You can see the three plastic pieces on the outer edge that hold it in place.  I figured I'd just put some kind of damping compound on/around these three pieces, reinstall the grille, and it should fix the problem.
 
 

 

[musiclife]

Quote:

The grille looks like this when it's off.  You can see the three plastic pieces on the outer edge that hold it in place.  I figured I'd just put some kind of damping compound on/around these three pieces, reinstall the grille, and it should fix the problem.
 
 

Maybe stick a layer or 2 of electrical tape?

 

[chicolom]

Tdock, it sounds like you're warming up to the anniversaries. 
 
Get it?  

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

I seem to have a rattling sound in the right side earcup. It only happens at certain low frequencies when the bass is hitting in a song.... it's really annoying. The weird thing is that sometimes it's there and sometimes I don't hear it (when playing the same part of a track over and over again to test if it's occuring).
 
Anyone know what it could be?

 
I'm not sure, but mine is actually doing the same.
 
I compared my anniversaries to Prepoman's and I could hear that my pair had a minor rattle in the right driver, that's only noticeable with strong sustained bass.  I tried removing the grills, blasting it with an bulb blower, etc. but it still does it and it seems uniform, not sporadic or random so I think it is something with the driver itself.
 
It's so minor that's almost undetectable with normal music, but it bothers me that it's there so I will have to send them off for fixing.
 

 

[Salvatore]

The rattle is probably bass resonance / the unit is defective. I don't have this issue, but there has been few cases (in this thread and PM) where this happens. My advice is to always go for a replacement. Too expensive headphones to stand even those annoying small faults.