[Mad Lust Envy]

The only thing, *I* have said was that the Annie did a few things better than the LCD2. Namely, soundstage, airiness, and balance (the Annie is one of the most balanced headphones I have ever heard).

That being said, the LCD2 isn't hard to beat in terms of soundstage and air, and it's known to be quite warm and thick sounding.

I still think the LCD2 is a superior headphone. However, depending on what the user wants, the Annie CAN be better for some people. Not technically, but subjectively.

Hope that clears things up. Not that I needed to.

 

[chococya96]

I've just got my annie and I have to say, it sounds way different from my previous K701.
 
I don't know how to explain it correctly, but it sounds more warmer and the bass is more stronger.
Also, it sounded more closed-off/sealed unlike K701 where it was more open.
 
Overall, paired with E10, I'm quite enjoying this new experience though I have to say it's kind of "hard" to adjust to this new can.
Is this normal when you switch to new cans?
 
 
On the side note, I don't know if this is normal or not but the headphone feels very tight (squeezing areas around my ear). I'm having a slight headache after wearing this for hours.
I guess it will loosen and "fit" on my head as the time passes?

 

[preproman]

Quote:

 
I don't know how to explain it correctly, but it sounds more warmer and the bass is more stronger.
Also, it sounded more closed-off/sealed unlike K701 where it was more open.
 

 
Yup,  I would say that's about right...

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Yep. The Annie is warmer, more bass, and not as airy. You have your trade offs.

 

[claudel]

Thanks a million—or rather, thanks about $390 worth. I mean that literally.
 
I listen exclusively to classical music and, within that category, almost exclusively to chamber music (Beethoven string quartets and so on). The airiness and pinpoint imaging of the K701s I have been using for the past six years surpass anything else I've ever experienced (I can't bear listening through Senns anymore).
 
I was on the verge of taking a flier on the Annies, but bassier and less airy are cuss words chez moi. I'll stick with what I've got till they expire (or I do) of old age.
 
Incidentally, the replacement ear pads I bought six months ago made the cans sound like new. I should have realized sooner that keeping the drivers the right distance from my ears is a critical factor.
Quote:

Yep. The Annie is warmer, more bass, and not as airy. You have your trade offs.

 

[elwappo99]

Quote:

Thanks a million—or rather, thanks about $390 worth. I mean that literally.
 
I listen exclusively to classical music and, within that category, almost exclusively to chamber music (Beethoven string quartets and so on). The airiness and pinpoint imaging of the K701s I have been using for the past six years surpass anything else I've ever experienced (I can't bear listening through Senns anymore).
 
I was on the verge of taking a flier on the Annies, but bassier and less airy are cuss words chez moi. I'll stick with what I've got till they expire (or I do) of old age.
 
Incidentally, the replacement ear pads I bought six months ago made the cans sound like new. I should have realized sooner that keeping the drivers the right distance from my ears is a critical factor.

 
First post? Welcome to head-fi! 
 
IMO, It's not much of a difference between the K701 and these. These just sound a little different, not like a totally new headphone. What are you driving them with? 

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Yeah, it doesn't make the Annie a closed K701. It's just that the sound is thicker and heavier, and due to the notes taking more virtual space, it doesn't seem AS open. However, not taking the thickness into account, the soundstage is identical.

The Annie is basically for those that wanted a more liquid/lush/bassier sound.

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

Thanks a million—or rather, thanks about $390 worth. I mean that literally.
 
I listen exclusively to classical music and, within that category, almost exclusively to chamber music (Beethoven string quartets and so on). The airiness and pinpoint imaging of the K701s I have been using for the past six years surpass anything else I've ever experienced (I can't bear listening through Senns anymore).

 
I like how you joined 2 years ago and are just now making your first post

 
 
I think you've made the right choice, as the regular x701 excels at that genre.  I'd would stick with regular x70x as their extra air and open sound really helps out with certain types of classical.
 
The Anniversaries are good, but they won't benefit chamber music as much.
 
If your K701 are 6 years old, the newer Q701 might sound a bit nicer with a warmer fuller sound.  AKG has changed their sound some over the years.  The K702 I owned was too cold sounding and I greatly preferred my Q701 to it.

 

[claudel]

I like how you joined 2 years ago and are just now making your first post 

 

 
 
 
Having nothing genuinely useful to contribute till now (assuming one agrees that thanks are useful!), I decided silence and observation were the best choices. I have read quite a few truly interesting and informative comments and threads, however, in the past two years.
 
 
 
 
Quote:

If your K701 are 6 years old, the newer Q701 might sound a bit nicer with a warmer fuller sound. AKG has changed their sound some over the years. The K702 I owned was too cold sounding and I greatly preferred my Q701 to it.
 

 
 
Thank you for the suggestion, but aside from some hyperexpensive Stax electrostatics I heard many, many years ago—I'm old, alas, but I worked at Lincoln Center in New York for about thirty years, where I experienced live music making every day—I haven't heard any other headphones that so faithfully reproduce the timbres of strings and woodwinds.** Actually, I sense no absence of warmth—warmth coming from the source material, that is—with my present setup. Besides, the name Quincy Jones doesn't exactly inspire admiration, let alone awe, in me, especially when the response curves that HeadRoom is good enough to display correspond with users' and reviewers' comments; viz., that the Q701s sound less "bright" on top and "richer" in the low frequencies than the K701s. That looks and sounds suspiciously "gimmicked up" to me. In addition, the pea green color that Jones favors makes me feel seasick. Chacun à son gout, obviously, and no offense meant to you or to anyone else who likes the color of the headphones, their sound, Jones, or any combination of the foregoing.
 
**I have long owned Acoustat electrostatic hybrids, too; so that ought to give you a pretty clear picture of the kind of sound reproduction I fancy.

 

[chicolom]

 
Quote:

 
Actually, I sense no absence of warmth—warmth coming from the source material, that is—with my present setup. Besides, the name Quincy Jones doesn't exactly inspire admiration, let alone awe, in me, especially when the response curves that HeadRoom is good enough to display correspond with users' and reviewers' comments; viz., that the Q701s sound less "bright" on top and "richer" in the low frequencies than the K701s. That looks and sounds suspiciously "gimmicked up" to me. In addition, the pea green color that Jones favors makes me feel seasick. Chacun à son gout, obviously, and no offense meant to you or to anyone else who likes the color of the headphoes, their sound, Jones, or any combination of the foregoing.

 
The Q701s do come in a pretty classy black scheme, which makes it one of the better looking headphones out there IMO. 

 
I could care less about the what celebrity has endorsed a headphone.  I would still use them if they were endorsed by Carrot Top.
 
The sonic differences outlined in the headroom graphs are real (I was as skeptical as anyone until I bought a K702 solely so I could verify myself if the Q701 was actually different - and it was), but nobody knows exactly which versions of the K70x fall into which graph :\  The new ones may all sound the same (although my K702 wasn't that old).
So I can't say that your K701 matches the older graph's sound, but it never hurts to try new gear

 

[joebobbilly]

When it comes down to it... forget the graphs... just follow your nose ear

 

 

[3X0]

Quote:

 
The Q701s do come in a pretty classy black scheme, which makes it one of the better looking headphones out there IMO. 

I almost never buy white electronics but I made an exception for the white Q701s. They're really sharp IMHO -- even sharper than the black due to the contrast and accents.
 
The white Q701, K702-65 and K550 are the sharpest products in AKG's portfolio IMHO.

 

[claudel]

Quote:

I could care less about the what celebrity has endorsed a headphone.  I would still use them if they were endorsed by Carrot Top.
…
So I can't say that your K701 matches the older graph's sound, but it never hurts to try new gear

 
I fear I'm so out of touch with real life that I had to Google (actually Ixquick) Carrot Top!
 
The only thing wrong with trying new gear, especially for an old geezer on a fixed income, is the out-of-pocket cash. Otherwise you're quite right, of course. (The one thing I have been thinking about treating myself to is a new headphone amp. An old Dutch friend bought a Nixie tube amp, about which he's ecstatic. But since he uses some Grado gear that's less power hungry than my AKGs, I've no idea whether I'd be equally happy. No one here at Head-Fi has come through with a thorough review, alas.)
 
Apropos 3X0's comment, I ought to admit, too, that since I live alone, the color shouldn't matter to me, since once the 'phones are ensconced on my own (formerly blond [whilst I had all my hair] rather than strictly carroty) top, I can't see the color anyway. Still, there's that pea-green cable …
 
I'm counting on you and the other young'uns to keep up the good work! Thanks again for all you have done for me thus far.

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

 
The white Q701, K702-65 and K550 are the sharpest products in AKG's portfolio IMHO.

 
Aren't you forgetting something?....

 
 

 

[ninexnine]

What a great photo!  Just some wild and crazy headphone guys...
 
I just thought I would chime in after having the Annie headphones for about a month, also I am in the boat of with others that are having to watch their expenditures.  That disability, and fixed income jazz is a load of crap, not to mention getting old is a bit of a drag too since to many things hurt at times. Oh well I did have fun on all the motorcycles...
....... I do know who Carrot Top is though.
 
The AKG headphones have given me no regrets.  I like them much better than the HD 600s that I last had.  I find them flatter in the mids, and the highs.  I find the bass to be about the same as the HD 600.  The mids and highs have a better "Clarity" in my opinion.