[gurus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ferbose Glad to see what seems like to me a resurgence of K501 popularity. Actually, for the price of a couple mid-level interconnects, you can get a quality budget sub that would totally transform K501, if you also happen to have a pre-amp out somewhere (maybe signal splitting at line-level would also work using piggyback RCA connectors). Amazingly, with sub crossover set at <60Hz, you can listen to loud music with body-shaking bass without disturbing neighbors. In another post of mine I have explained why: http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=100886 By transforming I mean you can get clean, agile, deeeeep and moooooving bass that does not mess up the already pristine mids of K501. For the first time in five years for K501 ownership, I feel I know its true colors.

Thanks Ferbose, I intend to try the subwoofer route (along with your other tweaks) when I have some more time in February.

I have a pair of ACI subs that I can split, I can use the remote pre out on the Proceed PAV and have the AMP2 drive the subwoofer to see how it sounds.

On another note, I am using an old Toshiba DVD player that has a heavy emphasis on the lower end to burn in the 501s. Thru the Toshiba the bass is pronounced enough to satisfy me, but unfortunately it does not lend itself well to the rest of the spectrum and I lose the crystaline highs on the 501s. So it leads me to believe that the 501s do have the capability to produce decent bass, you just got to find the right system combination.

 

[gabedamien]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Romanee Wow! If you like them virtually out of the box (I was sorely disappointed by a couple of pairs out-of-box), you'll love them after a few weeks of burn-in. They tend to be very stiff, constricted and "closed" before burn-in. Remember to use some very deep bass test files to loosen them up. They will improve significantly in the first 100 hours or so, and will continue to improve after that. Repeating a few days of deep bass later on will open them up again, even after they've matured!

Several things - first, the AKG K501's are my first decent pair of headphones, so I wouldn't be surprised that I enjoy them so far.

Second, I hope that they will fill out in the sound a bit - they're (thus far) a little too treble-oriented IMHO, and if they don't get a little bass/midbass after a few hundred hours then I might end up checking some other pairs out. But in the meantime I'm happy.

 

[kiwirugby]

Beaucoup burn-in and an amp will help. Promise they WILL improve. Lots of patience and lots of listening!

 

[gurus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Romanee Have you had the opportunity to try the latest GSP Solo amp with the 501s? This little amp drives them with ease, huge dynamics, great depth and breathing room to spare -- but as usual the sound would have to fit your taste. I'll have a chance to revisit the Solo and audition the RP-33 the end of January at immtbiker's mini-meet and will post impressions thereafter. (The original purpose & focus was the Qualia 010s with RP-33 and a bunch of other pieces, and it's expanded a bit beyond that.)

Can you let me know how the RP-33 and Solo fare with the 501s after you get a chance to compare them at the mini meet.

 

[wallijonn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gabedamien if they don't get a little bass/midbass after a few hundred hours then I might end up checking some other pairs out.

If you're looking for a lower mid bass hump to appear - you might as well sell them now because it's not about to happen anytime soon. A year later you'll be kicking yourself for selling them.

 

[gabedamien]

A) I have an amp.
B) Confused - I might as well sell them, because I'll be kicking myself for selling them later? Something seems illogical here...

Also, I should probably try to figure out EXACTLY what people mean by bass, midbass, mids, highs, etc. Where do they start and stop? Nobody knows...

The area that I wish was slightly boosted is the middle and lower register of instruments and voices - things like male voices (both tenor and bass) in massed chorus, cellos, etc. Is that what people refer to as "midbass?" Perhaps "upper midbass?"

I'm not talking about very "bassy" instruments, like a bass electric guitar, so much as a range of "warmer" instruments.

I don't have to sell them, I bought them from headroom for the specific reason that I wanted a very good return policy. Yes, it's more expensive if I keep them than if I got them off of eBay, but for a little while at least I'm not set on any one pair.

 

[wallijonn]

Most headphones tend to have a bass hump around 100Hz to give a fuller bass sound, ala Grados.

I listen for an overall balanced sound quality - not too bright, not too bassey, with good midrange. Some headphones, like ATHs tend to ramp up the upper midrange whcih gives them an "air guitar" quality. Headphones like the HD580, HD600, K501, DT880 are for the most part flat and are many times considered "boring," lifeless, etc.

I'm saying that if you want a headphone which will magically produce more slam - then you might as well sell the K501s because they are not that type of headphone. But if you do sell them, then chances are that you will regret it a year or so later after your ears have been burnt by overly aggressive bright and bassey sounding cans. Headphones are like glasses - your hearing, like your sight, will change as time goes on. In the case of headphones as your ears get retrained (acclimated) they will become more discriminating and sensitive. So if you buy the SR80s now, don't be surprised that you'll get tired with them as you keep upgrading the rest of your system. Just as you'll be able to hear the differences between 48br to 96br to 160br to 320br, you'll be able to discern "breaking up" of high notes such as produced by pianos, horns, cymbals, etc.

Haven't you noticed that you can watch TV all day with its built in cheap speaker but the minute you turn on that $2000 stereo you become more critical and analytical? Why?

 

[Nak Man]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wallijonn So if you buy the SR80s now, don't be surprised that you'll get tired with them as you keep upgrading the rest of your system.

Sorry for off topic but I noticed you use modified 501 and sr80, do you mind describing a bit about those mods ? Thanks.

 

[gaijin]

I was happy with my K501 compared to other phones I had heard in its price range (or slightly above), but knew I could progress with the K1000. I finally took the plunge and bought the K1000 (having the power to drive it with an RKV MKII and a good cd player as well). The K501 is a real bargain, but the K1000 is just an entirely different level in sound enjoyment.

I would advise anyone considering the K501 and a decent amp to invest in the K1000 and the sonic t-amp instead.

 

[wallijonn]

Nak,

I modified the K501 with Mogami cable - dual discrete channel all the way, the K401 with Mogami Quad to a 1/4" plug, the DT880 with Mogami dual channel using the DT931 headband, the SR80 had their driver enclosures mounted in a Aiwa AK100 and DT831 pads. The SR80 pictures may still be up on headwize.com.