[cswann1]

Good call. There are a few good products that you can use to treat/soften/maintain leather.

My issue is not with the material, but how the headphone is designed. And no amount of leather conditioning will make those obnoxious bumps go away.

Since I've tied the band with zip ties I am much happier. I can wear them as long as I want now. Anyone who wants to try this should keep in mind that for me, the maximum extension of the band assembly is what fits me. I recommend anyone trying this to keep some slack in the band assembly and if needed you can always cinch up the zip ties a little more until the band sits just right for you. Only after you have the band extension where you want it should you snip the excess zip tie.

 

[obobskivich]

honestly the bumps never bothered me, they help keep the 'phones on my head, and are quite comfortable imho

if you softened the leather enough the bumps should also become soft though, but I have no idea how much oiling and streching you'd have to do with the band itself

one thing to point out for anyone who might want to try this, please consider that this oil will probably ruin the velour pads and wreak havoc on the electronics, personally I'd wrap the earcups in newspaper bags or ziplocs and seal it up, so theres no chance of the oil getting into the earcups and causing problems, but thats just me

 

[Lamenthe]

I've softened the band, but after 30 min or so the bump still becomes quite painful. I think some variations the 702's have eight bumps, so that might help with that issue. If it wasn't for the middle headband bump they'd be one of the most comfortable headphones out there.

 

[olblueyez]

Makes you kind of wonder huh?

One of the improvements made over the HD600. Wonder why AKG insists on getting it wrong?

 

[cswann1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lamenthe /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've softened the band, but after 30 min or so the bump still becomes quite painful. I think some variations the 702's have eight bumps, so that might help with that issue. If it wasn't for the middle headband bump they'd be one of the most comfortable headphones out there.

Agreed. I've heard about K702 bands with eight bumps. With the gap between the middle two bumps on the top of your head, instead of one bump sitting right in the middle, I can see a definite improvement.

I almost bought a set of K702's. They were only $30 more, but I really don't care anything about having a detachable cable. And to me it seems like a weak link to be avoided, audibly as well as mechanically. I do like the color though and if I'd known about the bump thing I'd have probably gotten them. In any case life is good with the K701's now

 

[obobskivich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by olblueyez /img/forum/go_quote.gif Makes you kind of wonder huh? One of the improvements made over the HD600. Wonder why AKG insists on getting it wrong?

because your view isn't the law, and AKG isn't Sennheiser, they're going to make their own decisions and choices regarding their products

honestly I don't notice or know what your HUGE issue with "OMG THERES A GROOVE IN THE MIDDLE OMG OMG"

consider that the Senn's also clamp on your head much harder, and push that pad down into your skull, the K701's just sort of float there

 

[abZ]

I have the 8 bump 702's. They get uncomfortable after a while too. They don't hurt my head but after about 2 hours I notice them. I really don't want to be thinking about the bumps on my headphones while I am in the middle of mixing a tune. I haven't seen the 701 and 702 side by side but it looks like the bumps on the 701 are a lot bigger. I almost feel like that might be more comfortable to me. You see the bumps for me are most noticeable not in the middle but a little to the left and right. My point is, don't think that the 702's are the solution to this riddle.

 

[olblueyez]

Quote:

Originally Posted by obobskivich /img/forum/go_quote.gif because your view isn't the law, and AKG isn't Sennheiser, they're going to make their own decisions and choices regarding their products honestly I don't notice or know what your HUGE issue with "OMG THERES A GROOVE IN THE MIDDLE OMG OMG" consider that the Senn's also clamp on your head much harder, and push that pad down into your skull, the K701's just sort of float there

Wrong on both counts, the top of a head, for the most part is round. Therefore the gap in the middle causes all of the weight to rest on the sides (roughly 2 inches of contact on each side of your head) and the AKG method causes all of the weight to rest on the crown of your head (Roughly a quarter inch). This is why the AKG comfort issues have been mentioned over and over and over and over again in the forums. As for the clamping force on the Senns, they are tight for people with a larger head when you buy them but simply stretching them apart with your hands a few times a day for about a week will make them a loose as you want them. People who say the clamping force is too tight either don't know what they are talking about or simply missed the boat and didn't bother to stretch them out. BTW, if you put a hat sizing tape around my head you will see I am beyond the largest size, if I can strech them out to a comfortable size then anyone can. The best part is I never see anyone complain about the AKG models without the bumps on the headband, and AKG still goes out of their way to put the bumps on the headband.

 

[olblueyez]

Quote:

Originally Posted by abZ /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have the 8 bump 702's. They get uncomfortable after a while too. They don't hurt my head but after about 2 hours I notice them. I really don't want to be thinking about the bumps on my headphones while I am in the middle of mixing a tune. I haven't seen the 701 and 702 side by side but it looks like the bumps on the 701 are a lot bigger. I almost feel like that might be more comfortable to me. You see the bumps for me are most noticeable not in the middle but a little to the left and right. My point is, don't think that the 702's are the solution to this riddle.

And now we have the upgraded model so you get 2 sore spots instead of one.

 

[obobskivich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by olblueyez /img/forum/go_quote.gif Wrong on both counts, the top of a head, for the most part is round. Therefore the gap in the middle causes all of the weight to rest on the sides (roughly 2 inches of contact on each side of your head) and the AKG method causes all of the weight to rest on the crown of your head (Roughly a quarter inch). This is why the AKG comfort issues have been mentioned over and over and over and over again in the forums. As for the clamping force on the Senns, they are tight for people with a larger head when you buy them but simply stretching them apart with your hands a few times a day for about a week will make them a loose as you want them. People who say the clamping force is too tight either don't know what they are talking about or simply missed the boat and didn't bother to stretch them out. BTW, if you put a hat sizing tape around my head you will see I am beyond the largest size, if I can strech them out to a comfortable size then anyone can. The best part is I never see anyone complain about the AKG models without the bumps on the headband, and AKG still goes out of their way to put the bumps on the headband.

while your point is logical from its perspective, I don't notice the weight all on the crown, its mostly on the cups themselves, and the headband exists more or less for fluff and to hold the cups together making it a single piece of equipment

and yes I realize you can strech the sennheisers out, my point is, the earcups themselves clamp to your ears as well as the band on top (its designed to apply some pressure, not just float over your head like the AKG's seem to do)

perhaps I'm just weird in that the AKGs fit me with more or less no issues, and the sound fits me with more or less no issues (for all genres)

who knows

and to those that REALLY hate the bump in the middle, it IS only leather, you could always just modify it

 

[olblueyez]

Quote:

Originally Posted by obobskivich /img/forum/go_quote.gif while your point is logical from its perspective, I don't notice the weight all on the crown, its mostly on the cups themselves, and the headband exists more or less for fluff and to hold the cups together making it a single piece of equipment and yes I realize you can strech the sennheisers out, my point is, the earcups themselves clamp to your ears as well as the band on top (its designed to apply some pressure, not just float over your head like the AKG's seem to do) perhaps I'm just weird in that the AKGs fit me with more or less no issues, and the sound fits me with more or less no issues (for all genres) who knows and to those that REALLY hate the bump in the middle, it IS only leather, you could always just modify it

My Senn's float like the AKG's, the clamping force can be adjusted on the 650 to equal that of the 701. As for the headband floating, that is the case for people with small heads but if you have a large head like me then the 701 headband suspension system pulls the headband down onto the top of my head pretty hard. When I put them on the suspension is almost maxed out to the point where the bottom of the ear cups are pushing up on my ear lobes. I seriously considered cutting out the bumps but then the headphones would be worth nothing.

In this picture I equate wearing the 701s with sitting between 2 chairs, all the pressure is in the wrong place.

I think we all should bombard AKG with E-mails asking them why they hate people with large heads and that we want a headband like the 601 has.

 

[troymadison]

Eh, the HD650s were not very comfortable for me.

 

[obobskivich]

hahahahah "equate to sitting between two chairs"

I have a pretty large head and don't notice the issues you have, but you probably have a much larger head if you've got them pulling all the way out

one thing you might try, just cut the elastic and kill the auto-resize system in one go, and then pull the leather out and replace it with a larger piece of material (cut up a belt or something)

just some thoughts

 

[abZ]

You I thought the bumps looked sweet in the promo pictures. That is really the only reason I can see for having them in the first place. I can't think of any other headphones that have bumps like that. Not even any other AKG's. For good reason apparently. The idea that they make you sweat less is kind of an afterthought imo. Made up by a few folks on here. I would switch on the air conditioning if it was that big of an issue.

 

[lucky]

The bumps seem to be limited to the 701 and 702. It's a shame they're the highest-quality phones AKG sells.