[Mochan]

Have you tried the K701 out of an iPod?

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

 
 
EQing thats sacrilege I say, sacrilege

 
But you don't mention the Woo6 se

   Actually the K701's don't sound thin and bass lite with my Solo SRG I either.
Maybe its my source (Cyrus CD8se) but the bass is very full, tight and punchy and although the HD650's have more body and fulness to the general sound the K701's could never be called thin on my system.
 

I seriously doubt that the Woo6se would take them from "Meh" to "Wow". I did forget to mention that I also did use the Woo22 and still "Meh".

 
The Solo SRG1 is a hybrid and does use opamps to amplify and I would expect that it would be better. And saying the K701s have full bass is an overstretch IMO. With a good SS/Hybrid amp, it can be deep and taught and actually quite good. But full or impactful...I don't think so.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

Have you tried the K701 out of an iPod?

Yes I did. And they sounded thin, weak and just bad (I was a former owner and tried them several times un-amped). They really need a good/synergistic SS amp to sound their best.

 

[nigeljames]

 
Quote:

I seriously doubt that the Woo6se would take them from "Meh" to "Wow". I did forget to mention that I also did use the Woo22 and still "Meh".

 
The Solo SRG1 is a hybrid and does use opamps to amplify and I would expect that it would be better. And saying the K701s have full bass is an overstretch IMO. With a good SS/Hybrid amp, it can be deep and taught and actually quite good. But full or impactful...I don't think so.

 
I never said they become a WOW headphone as they still have a metallic/plastic (can't make up my mind which) feel sometimes with vocals and the HF's are not the smoothest. I was just making a point that mine do not sound thin or lacking bass. They were thinner sounding with my old 2007 Solo but still had good bass.
As regards being full and impactful, well the bass is as full as the HD650's only better controlled (the 650's are my benchmark for full bass as they have the fullest bass of any headphone I have owned) and my source has very good impact and drive which will obviously help in the impact department. The Woo6 se is also often referred to as 'impactfull' more so in my experiance than the w6/2/22.
 

 

[baka1969]

I don't want to come across as too "fanboy-ish". Especially since I might end up selling my 701, but in my experience I feel the 70x offers the best performance in this price range. I've had the Senn HD650, the Grado SR-225, 325is and the HF-2 and in each case I prefer the AKG. To me, they are the most balanced and versatile. The Senn being too veiled and rolled off with looser (albeit more impactful) bass and the Grados too colored to be versatile across genres. The soundstage on the 70x is well known.

I enjoyed the AKG best with my Gilmore Lite. It really makes them sound effortless and airy. The details are amazing. I didn't find them thin. I know the bass isn't as impactful as some may wish but the resolution is excellent.

With the Little Dot I find an extra added richness to the sound without taking away much, if any, of what I like about the AKG headphone.

I know it is all subjective and I'm not trying to convince anyone. It's also true that there are better headphones. My HE-5LE for example. The T1 I've heard. The HD800 I have coming might be. But they are all much more expensive. I just wanted to inject one more opinion and show my views and experience with my equipment.

 

[Mochan]

Quote:

Yes I did. And they sounded thin, weak and just bad (I was a former owner and tried them several times un-amped). They really need a good/synergistic SS amp to sound their best.

I guess I'm one of those people who just like how the K701 sounds unamped. Unamped it sounds distant, which creates the impression of a huge soundstage. The imaging is still present to me even unamped, which means the K701 places sounds around me in a very vast, open, airy space without limit. I love it. 

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

I guess I'm one of those people who just like how the K701 sounds unamped. Unamped it sounds distant, which creates the impression of a huge soundstage. The imaging is still present to me even unamped, which means the K701 places sounds around me in a very vast, open, airy space without limit. I love it. 

???
 
Unamped improves the soundstage????

 

[Mochan]

Yup. 

  I guess I just have weird ears!
 
I still like using the K701 with an amp because I look for a little more detailing in the bass and some more smoothness in the highs and mids, and that extra sparkle. It's something I don't get unamped. But I quite like the soundstage of the K701 unamped. When amped the soundstage takes a different character, which I woudln't say is worse, but the unamped soundstage definitely has its charms.

 

[MacedonianHero]

To each his own I guess.

 

[bhanja_trinanjan]

Quote:

???
 
Unamped improves the soundstage????

 
Unamped, the AKG K702 has an overly very distant sound without showing any hint of imaging/sound staging.
 
Plugged into my Burson, it develops bass grunt, mid bass texture and treble extension. Midrange, though not ideal, gains some solidity. But the biggest gain is exceptional imaging and soundstaging. Spaces appear around every player in the band/orchestra and low level details begin to come forward.
 
Unamped, the K702 sounds fairly unspectacular, to say the least.
 

 

[Linus108]

Sorry guys for not replying sooner. I wanted to spend all day listening to the k702s by myself, so I could make up my own opinion. Upon first listening, the lack of bass kind of  bothered me. I think that's a given, most people share similar experiences with these. However after listening 10 + hours I started to really love the sound of these. Naturally, I have...sensitives hearing (I think). Heavy bass can really irritate my ears. So perhaps that is why I started to become so fond of the k702's sound, and how spacey it sounded.
 
That said, one thing I noticed is that my ears started to get sore after listening. Even in short bursts, if I listened to one album..then stopped for an hour, my ears would burn. I don't know if this is what they call "fatigue". Interesting enough, my HD 600's had much more punch bass wise, and I didn't get as much of an ear ache. Keep in mind I don't have a proper amp set up right now. I'm wondering if, it's just because I'm not used to listening to music with headphones. Or if, maybe the certain sound of the k702s just annoys my ears (from a physical stand point).
 
I think..I actually somewhat prefer the k702's to the 600's..slightly. Altho the fatigue thing is bothering me. One thing I did notice is, albums with loud bass would get distorted on the k702's. I def need an amp in that regard. But that happened rarely. So as of now, I think I'm really digging these. I still need to spend more time with them.
 
NOTE: I'm listening to both of these headphones using NuForce Icon uDAC. Listening through my mac using FLAC files. I'll be getting an amp soon. Just thought I would note that.

 

[bhanja_trinanjan]

 
Quote:

Sorry guys for not replying sooner. I wanted to spend all day listening to the k702s by myself, so I could make up my own opinion. Upon first listening, the lack of bass kind of  bothered me. I think that's a given, most people share similar experiences with these. However after listening 10 + hours I started to really love the sound of these. Naturally, I have...sensitives hearing (I think). Heavy bass can really irritate my ears. So perhaps that is why I started to become so fond of the k702's sound, and how spacey it sounded.
 
That said, one thing I noticed is that my ears started to get sore after listening. Even in short bursts, if I listened to one album..then stopped for an hour, my ears would burn. I don't know if this is what they call "fatigue". Interesting enough, my HD 600's had much more punch bass wise, and I didn't get as much of an ear ache. Keep in mind I don't have a proper amp set up right now. I'm wondering if, it's just because I'm not used to listening to music with headphones. Or if, maybe the certain sound of the k702s just annoys my ears (from a physical stand point).
 
I think..I actually somewhat prefer the k702's to the 600's..slightly. Altho the fatigue thing is bothering me. One thing I did notice is, albums with loud bass would get distorted on the k702's. I def need an amp in that regard. But that happened rarely. So as of now, I think I'm really digging these. I still need to spend more time with them.
 
NOTE: I'm listening to both of these headphones using NuForce Icon uDAC. Listening through my mac using FLAC files. I'll be getting an amp soon. Just thought I would note that.

Get the Burson HA-160 and you will re-discover the AKG.

 

 

[chum_2000_uk]

Interesting you should mention the fatigue thing, as I mentioned in one of my previous posts on this thread (I think!) I am a new owner of the 702's as well. Last night I had some music on before bed, and I was falling asleep while listening. Think I may have dozed off for about 15 mins or so, even though the music was at a decent level (not extremely loud by any means, but probably a touch louder than I would have had it on if I was listening for prolongued periods). When I came to, my ears felt a bit weird and were slightly ringing. I was tired, so turned off the music and went to bed. When I woke up this morning, my ears still felt slightly uncomfortable and ringing a bit.
 
I've never experienced this with the HD650's. I probably had the volume up a touch too loud, but I have had it at those volumes for short periods before with the Senns, and as I said I have never experienced that. I guess less warm headphones are always likely to be fatiguing though.

 

[Noobiiee]

Don't let others' complains about any of these gears bother you! You have already got the phones next to you, keep listening for few days and then make your decision. After trying both the K701 and HD650 myself for nearly a month, I decided to sell the HD650 simply because I prefer the AKG sound signature to Senns. The HD650 to me, sounded boring after owning them for a while. The predominant bass really did gets on my nerve! The K701, on the other hand, has very subtle bass (enough for me) but their airiness and imaging is what made me want to keep listening to them more and more. The Millet Minimax I've just bought also adds more punch to the bass, turning the K701 an ideal pair of HPs for Jazz, Acoustic, Vocal or anything without electronic instruments. 
 
My advise in this your case is to simply look through your music collection and think if your K702 would suit it. FME, the K701 simply suck with R&B, Hip-hop, electric guitar or anything that is not produced by natural instrument. 
Quote:

Sorry guys for not replying sooner. I wanted to spend all day listening to the k702s by myself, so I could make up my own opinion. Upon first listening, the lack of bass kind of  bothered me. I think that's a given, most people share similar experiences with these. However after listening 10 + hours I started to really love the sound of these. Naturally, I have...sensitives hearing (I think). Heavy bass can really irritate my ears. So perhaps that is why I started to become so fond of the k702's sound, and how spacey it sounded.
 
That said, one thing I noticed is that my ears started to get sore after listening. Even in short bursts, if I listened to one album..then stopped for an hour, my ears would burn. I don't know if this is what they call "fatigue". Interesting enough, my HD 600's had much more punch bass wise, and I didn't get as much of an ear ache. Keep in mind I don't have a proper amp set up right now. I'm wondering if, it's just because I'm not used to listening to music with headphones. Or if, maybe the certain sound of the k702s just annoys my ears (from a physical stand point).
 
I think..I actually somewhat prefer the k702's to the 600's..slightly. Altho the fatigue thing is bothering me. One thing I did notice is, albums with loud bass would get distorted on the k702's. I def need an amp in that regard. But that happened rarely. So as of now, I think I'm really digging these. I still need to spend more time with them.
 
NOTE: I'm listening to both of these headphones using NuForce Icon uDAC. Listening through my mac using FLAC files. I'll be getting an amp soon. Just thought I would note that.

 
 That to me sounds like an exaggeration or at least confusion. Your ears may feel uncomfortable because of the clamping force of the phones not cos of its sound 

. The music you was listening to could also cause fatigue too. Some hard rock tracks can be fatiguing even on the HD650 

 
Quote:

 

Interesting you should mention the fatigue thing, as I mentioned in one of my previous posts on this thread (I think!) I am a new owner of the 702's as well. Last night I had some music on before bed, and I was falling asleep while listening. Think I may have dozed off for about 15 mins or so, even though the music was at a decent level (not extremely loud by any means, but probably a touch louder than I would have had it on if I was listening for prolongued periods). When I came to, my ears felt a bit weird and were slightly ringing. I was tired, so turned off the music and went to bed. When I woke up this morning, my ears still felt slightly uncomfortable and ringing a bit.

 

 

 

[Mochan]

Quote:

Sorry guys for not replying sooner. I wanted to spend all day listening to the k702s by myself, so I could make up my own opinion. Upon first listening, the lack of bass kind of  bothered me. I think that's a given, most people share similar experiences with these. However after listening 10 + hours I started to really love the sound of these. Naturally, I have...sensitives hearing (I think). Heavy bass can really irritate my ears. So perhaps that is why I started to become so fond of the k702's sound, and how spacey it sounded.
 
That said, one thing I noticed is that my ears started to get sore after listening. Even in short bursts, if I listened to one album..then stopped for an hour, my ears would burn. I don't know if this is what they call "fatigue". Interesting enough, my HD 600's had much more punch bass wise, and I didn't get as much of an ear ache. Keep in mind I don't have a proper amp set up right now. I'm wondering if, it's just because I'm not used to listening to music with headphones. Or if, maybe the certain sound of the k702s just annoys my ears (from a physical stand point).
 
I think..I actually somewhat prefer the k702's to the 600's..slightly. Altho the fatigue thing is bothering me. One thing I did notice is, albums with loud bass would get distorted on the k702's. I def need an amp in that regard. But that happened rarely. So as of now, I think I'm really digging these. I still need to spend more time with them.
 
NOTE: I'm listening to both of these headphones using NuForce Icon uDAC. Listening through my mac using FLAC files. I'll be getting an amp soon. Just thought I would note that.

 
The "soreness" you mention, to clarify is it from the sound or from the physical fit of the headphones?  If it's from the sound it can't be a physical fit issue. Anyway if it is the sound, it's probably because the K701 is too bright, so it's hard to listen to for hours. I've noted that the uDAC makes the treble on the K701 excessively harsh, that might be what is causing you fatigue (if it's the sound causing the fatigue).
 
If it's a physical fit issue, then it might be how your ears react to the pads. For me the physical fit issue on the K701 was the clamp on my head (I have a big head) so I had to soften it up a bit by putting some books in between and leaving it overnight. I don't think this is the problem you have but sometimes you just need to get some ingenuity in fixing physical comfort problems.