madelvice
Head-Fier
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2009
- Posts
- 71
- Likes
- 10
So I've finally received my lovely 702's. Just for some quick background:
Given that I had very little testing opportunity and really only others' opinions to go on (namely head-fiers) I chose the 702s given that these were of my highest priorities:
Detail, clarity, neutrality, speed,
I chose the 702's over the 701's because recabling will be easy (they have a detachable cable) and building a stand is easier than recabling.
This is an experiment of sorts. I'm writing some initial impressions and in a week or two (after they've had some time to burn in) I'll write again. Perhaps once more once I get my Bantam DAC and Starving Student amp built.
So off we go:
Set up: iMac audio out -> Onkyo Integra TX-88 receiver -> AKG 702
This after about 11 hours of burn in on Pink Noise (courtesy of Home Theater Shack RoomEQ wizard)
Detail/Clarity: These are fantastic. Especially coming from Senn 280's. Timbral Accuracy is very good. On the bright side... well quite bright actually... especially when you first put them on. I think they've calmed down even after just the 11 or so hours they've been used/burned in. One problem I find with many projected audio sources is that the sound is squashed. What I mean by that is the kind of sound you get if you sing too close to a microphone. If you imagine sound in 3D space. You want to be able to hear almost all the way around the sound in the way you you can see all but the very back of an object in 3D space. At any rate, these headphones deal with that very nicely.
Speed: Quite fast response. Gives the sound a very crisp, but not edgy feel. Bow changes on string instruments are delightfully pronounced (one quality that set these far above the Grados I demo'd.)
Soundstage: Instruments are well separated. Soundstage seems to taper inward was you get farther (imagine looking at a bullet from the flat end)
Freq Response: Keep in mind that this receiver is obnoxiously bassy. I'm of the opinion that bass while a vital aspect to music should not be overpowering. So while I'm not a basshead, I do value the lower registers and their musical value. That being said:
Low end: clear and smooth. very well done. A little thinner than other cans I've heard (especially the 280's surprisingly enough. Actually with amplification they can be quite bass heavy which is funny given how pathetic given how pathetic their bass response is sans amplification.) I think the bass level is quite nice and like I said, a very clear, smooth, sound.
Mids: On par with the headphones response in other registers. These cans really have a nice response across the board. Handles guitars nicely. Brings out their sound without putting an edge on it.
Highs: At first these can be quite bright, but like I said, I think they're calming down quite a bit though. Other than that they're fantastic.
One annoyance: Vocals tend to be recessed. This could be a function of one or both of these things: My receiver is very bass heavy. The cans separate instruments quite well. Usually recordings up the bass to compensate for crappy speakers. On crappy speakers the vocals will penetrate through, on these they're probably getting put (accurately) farther back. It's not consistent, so I'm guessing at least the latter if not both.
I'll update this post when they burn in a bit more. And maybe again when I get my DAC and amp up and running.
Given that I had very little testing opportunity and really only others' opinions to go on (namely head-fiers) I chose the 702s given that these were of my highest priorities:
Detail, clarity, neutrality, speed,
I chose the 702's over the 701's because recabling will be easy (they have a detachable cable) and building a stand is easier than recabling.
This is an experiment of sorts. I'm writing some initial impressions and in a week or two (after they've had some time to burn in) I'll write again. Perhaps once more once I get my Bantam DAC and Starving Student amp built.
So off we go:
Set up: iMac audio out -> Onkyo Integra TX-88 receiver -> AKG 702
This after about 11 hours of burn in on Pink Noise (courtesy of Home Theater Shack RoomEQ wizard)
Detail/Clarity: These are fantastic. Especially coming from Senn 280's. Timbral Accuracy is very good. On the bright side... well quite bright actually... especially when you first put them on. I think they've calmed down even after just the 11 or so hours they've been used/burned in. One problem I find with many projected audio sources is that the sound is squashed. What I mean by that is the kind of sound you get if you sing too close to a microphone. If you imagine sound in 3D space. You want to be able to hear almost all the way around the sound in the way you you can see all but the very back of an object in 3D space. At any rate, these headphones deal with that very nicely.
Speed: Quite fast response. Gives the sound a very crisp, but not edgy feel. Bow changes on string instruments are delightfully pronounced (one quality that set these far above the Grados I demo'd.)
Soundstage: Instruments are well separated. Soundstage seems to taper inward was you get farther (imagine looking at a bullet from the flat end)
Freq Response: Keep in mind that this receiver is obnoxiously bassy. I'm of the opinion that bass while a vital aspect to music should not be overpowering. So while I'm not a basshead, I do value the lower registers and their musical value. That being said:
Low end: clear and smooth. very well done. A little thinner than other cans I've heard (especially the 280's surprisingly enough. Actually with amplification they can be quite bass heavy which is funny given how pathetic given how pathetic their bass response is sans amplification.) I think the bass level is quite nice and like I said, a very clear, smooth, sound.
Mids: On par with the headphones response in other registers. These cans really have a nice response across the board. Handles guitars nicely. Brings out their sound without putting an edge on it.
Highs: At first these can be quite bright, but like I said, I think they're calming down quite a bit though. Other than that they're fantastic.
One annoyance: Vocals tend to be recessed. This could be a function of one or both of these things: My receiver is very bass heavy. The cans separate instruments quite well. Usually recordings up the bass to compensate for crappy speakers. On crappy speakers the vocals will penetrate through, on these they're probably getting put (accurately) farther back. It's not consistent, so I'm guessing at least the latter if not both.
I'll update this post when they burn in a bit more. And maybe again when I get my DAC and amp up and running.
