[augustwest]

"Oh, man, but 850 hours is the sweet spot. Just hang in there". . . . .Just kidding. . . . . Maybe it's just time to face facts and concede that they aren't for you. Sell them and move on.

- augustwest

 

[unbiased]

Quote:

Originally Posted by augustwest /img/forum/go_quote.gif "Oh, man, but 850 hours is the sweet spot. Just hang in there". . . . .Just kidding. . . . . Maybe it's just time to face facts and concede that they aren't for you. Sell them and move on. - augustwest

I've taken my new AKG K701's to the 300+ hours of burn in time now and they still have a tendency to sound sibilant at that peak that everyone seems to notice. The peak is not as prominent as it was when new out of the box (only about 3 weeks ago from date of this posting) but still there nevertheless. It is I am glad to say diminished though. So I believe I will continue breaking it in to the 450 hours mark that some have also mentioned is needed and then will give my final opinion on this sibilance issue.
I still hold this headphone in high regard as it does sound beautiful and transparent and airy. Maybe you are not joking about needing 850 hours! It might very well be true! But damn, I don't want to wait that long to enjoy a new headphone sound. I am enjoying my new RS-1 which is also in burn-in mode, but I am finding more satisfaction with the Grado RS-1 experience than with the AKG K701 experience at this time. I am giving the K701 all the chance in the world to break-in. Then will give final judgement if it is a keeper or not.

 

[003]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sghound /img/forum/go_quote.gif try 600 hours. mine took that long.

It is of my personal opinion that the sound of the K701s will drastically change for the better around the 1200-1250 hour mark, give or take. Until then, you really won't know what they are capable of.

 

[vcoheda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 003 /img/forum/go_quote.gif It is of my personal opinion that the sound of the K701s will drastically change for the better around the 1200-1250 hour mark, give or take. Until then, you really won't know what they are capable of.

try 2000 hours. that is the real sweet spot.

 

[003]

Honestly, I've heard them well past the 2000 hour mark. There were no more audible changes over ~1250.

 

[vcoheda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 003 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Honestly, I've heard them well past the 2000 hour mark. There were no more audible changes over ~1250.

i thought you were joking. who runs their headphones for 53 days straight of uninterrupted continuous play. when i die, i doubt any of my headphones will have that many hours on them.

maybe i am missing out.

 

[003]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vcoheda /img/forum/go_quote.gif i thought you were joking.

Were? I still am.

 

[unbiased]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 003 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Honestly, I've heard them well past the 2000 hour mark. There were no more audible changes over ~1250.

I really want to believe you. I am hoping its true! The taming of the sibilance! Then I will have another great headphone in my collection.

 

[Asr]

I found my K701 pretty sibilant at first too. Man that was a loooong time ago. They now have well over 2000 hours on them, and absolutely zero sign that they were ever sibilant. Well it doesn't take that long for the sibilance to go away, more like 500 hours maybe, but there's still a drastic change there nonetheless, so keep burning them in and they'll get there!

 

[Fitz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vcoheda /img/forum/go_quote.gif i thought you were joking. who runs their headphones for 53 days straight of uninterrupted continuous play. when i die, i doubt any of my headphones will have that many hours on them. maybe i am missing out.

This is the real secret of the vintage AKGs that have several thousand hours on them. After about 6 thousand hours the drivers invert upon themselves and turn inside out, exposing the other side of the diaphragm which sounds 10x better than the regular side. The voice coil also reshapes itself into a pentagram, channelling mystical powers into the phones to produce better sound. Of course, you cannot force this process with artificial acceleration... simply burning-in the phones will do nothing to contribute towards this transformation. It only happens after that many hours are racked up on it with actual listening time, because it absorbs part of the listeners life force to achieve this result.

Indeed, you are missing out.

 

[vcoheda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fitz /img/forum/go_quote.gif This is the real secret of the vintage AKGs that have several thousand hours on them. After about 6 thousand hours the drivers invert upon themselves and turn inside out, exposing the other side of the diaphragm which sounds 10x better than the regular side. The voice coil also reshapes itself into a pentagram, channelling mystical powers into the phones to produce better sound. Of course, you cannot force this process with artificial acceleration... simply burning-in the phones will do nothing to contribute towards this transformation. It only happens after that many hours are racked up on it with actual listening time, because it absorbs part of the listeners life force to achieve this result. Indeed, you are missing out.

i knew it. i am missing out. i know what i'm doing for the next few months.

 

[zeluiz22]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shaunw /img/forum/go_quote.gif So I've bought some AKG K701s and burnt them in for approx 250 hours (they were worse than awful out of the box) They now have at least 300 hours on them but they still sound extremely bright and sibilant. Also I noted last night that the midrange is lacking the detail of my sr60s ( I'm talking about detail in the 'hear the articulation / emotion of a singers voice' way rather than 'hear a triangle at the back of the orchestra' way). I'm using a Rega Apollo and Naim Headline 2 with Napsc power supply so I wouldn't of thought either of those is the problem.Ive tried swapping the CD player and amp anyway and it made no difference. So, are these things still not burnt properly? Anybody else noticed substantial improvements after 300 hours or am I just hearing the '701 sound'?

I think it's a matter of taste. I have had the 701s for some time and enjoy them now as I did out of the box. But I like a syste on the brighter side.

The real "300-hr burn-in" is how "burnt in" that wive's tale has become since it was introduced in that Soundstage article when these things were released.

They are great phones with a sound signature on the bright side. They will always be that way. Either that's your preference or it is not.

For me, these phones were an improvement on Grados (325i were my favorite). Great staging, spacing of instruments and dynamics. But on poor recordings (like original Zeppelin vinyl) cymbals, etc can get a bit harsh. On better recordings, cymbals sound like cymbals, etc.

 

[applevalleyjoe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spinali /img/forum/go_quote.gif In the interest of hopefully getting your K701 sounding as nice as mine, I might encourage you aggressively break-in, if you haven't already. It sounds like a case for white/pink noise to speed up the break-in. Put on the white noise all day and night, decent volume, for several days. I left them iTunes with recycling white and pink noise snippets. And click the hyperlink to my site just under this message for more break-in hints (noise samples, etc).

Thanks for the link to your site. I've been looking for this type of information for a while now....good stuff

 

[phon-o-phile]

You source components are very good and not dry or strident. I would even say both the Rega and the Naim are on the warm side of neutral (the Brirtish sound - kind of mellow, but with really good rhythm and timing).
That said, it is likely that the 701 sound is not for you regardless of the number of hours of break in. With your source equipment, I would have expected you to like them right out of the box, regardless of break in.

 

[tin ears]

If you are adventurous and handy and you have a strong desire to keep these pups, you may try hardwiring.