[sean-xenos]

This afternoon I had the opportunity to compare the new AKG K701 and K601 with the Sennheiser HD650 (Cardas cable), the ATH-L3000 and the Grado RS1.
The source was a C.E.C. CD5300 cdp and the headphone amps were the M³ and the C.E.C. HD53R.

All headphones and gear were well burnt in (more than 200 hours).

K701 vs. HD650:
The K701 has better treble resolution and definition than the HD650. Violins and strings in general sound more realistic, the soundstage has more depth and better definition.
The HD650 sounds warmer and less analytic. It excels the K701 in bass, base drums sound more realistic, the decay of the drums is stronger, drums have more punch.
Only the L3000 is better with drums, it's more precise.

For friends of big classical orchestras the K701 might be a better choice than the HD650, for rock and pop I'd prefer the HD650.

The K601:
The bass has the least impact of all the auditioned cans,
it tends to be a bit thin.
The midrange is neutral and very good, the highs have less resolution compared to the K701.
Still a very decent headphone for the price.

Amping the K701:
is a must! Even the classA inbuilt headphone amp of the CD 5300 doesn't have the necessary power to bring the K701s to their full potential.
The K701s really need a good, powerful amp to shine, for best dynamics and best bass response.

K701 vs. L3000:
The L3000 is capable of reproducing higher dynamics than the K701, no doubt.
The bass is remarkable with L3000s, impact, decay, punch, precision everything is there.
The K701 might have a better defined soundstage with more depth, big orchestras might have a better seperation of instruments, but I'm not absolutely sure.

Cheers,
sean-xenos

 

[Patu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sean-xenos For friends of big classical orchestras the K701 might be a better choice than the HD650, for rock and pop I'd prefer the HD650.

I see this thing just the opposite.

K701 is definitely better for rock/pop music because of its brighter, more detailed sound and faster and better controlled bass. Well this goes at least in harder rock. For classical the difference is smaller but I think I'd still choose K701. But for rock I would never pick 650s over K701.

 

[spacemanspliff]

jeez I think the L3000 should own the 701 just a slight price difference lol

 

[Andrea]

sean, which one between the K701 and the HD650 has the most involving, "emotive" sound with music where vocals are leading, like acoustic folk and such?

 

[sean-xenos]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patu I see this thing just the opposite. K701 is definitely better for rock/pop music because of its brighter, more detailed sound and faster and better controlled bass. Well this goes at least in harder rock. For classical the difference is smaller but I think I'd still choose K701. But for rock I would never pick 650s over K701.

Well, I'd prefer the HD650 for rock music because it sounds warmer, more engaging. The Cardas cable improves the bass response a lot, it's rather controlled.
The K701 sounds colder, brighter and the upper midrange is a bit too recessed for my taste. Certainly the highs are more refined.

 

[sean-xenos]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrea sean, which one between the K701 and the HD650 has the most involving, "emotive" sound with music where vocals are leading, like acoustic folk and such?

Hi Andrea, that's hard to decide.

I can't say that I prefer vocals with one of them, vocals sound more refined with the K701, but have more body and warmth with the HD650, maybe too much warmth, who knows?
It probably depends on the recording and style of music.

 

[blessingx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patu K701 is definitely better for rock/pop music because of its brighter, more detailed sound and faster and better controlled bass. Well this goes at least in harder rock. For classical the difference is smaller but I think I'd still choose K701. But for rock I would never pick 650s over K701.

I think this is a common problem around here. I think people mean quite different things by 'Rock' (and 'Pop'/'Popular' is even more problematic). I notice especially younger members (guessing by music references in music forum) associate Rock = Korn, Green Day, etc. Then there are older members (again guessing) where Rock = Beatles, Dylan, etc. I only bring this up because these are very different in respect for reproduction for phones. At this point (with about 75 hours burn in on K701) for how I'd define 'Rock' (I rarely listen to hard rock), I'd give up a little speed for a little warmth and I consider 'brightness' to be a big danger, so I'd say the HD650s are better for Rock/Pop (though some Pop would especially benefit from the K701s advantages). There's a ton of personal preference here though.

This is all said by someone who prefers the HD650 and K701 to Grados for a large chuck of what gets thrown under the 'Rock' label.

And thanks for the reviews sean-xenos.

 

[PsychoZX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blessingx I think this is a common problem around here. I think people mean quite different things by 'Rock' (and 'Pop'/'Popular' is even more problematic). I notice especially younger members (guessing by music references in music forum) associate Rock = Korn, Green Day, etc. Then there are older members (again guessing) where Rock = Beatles, Dylan, etc. I only bring this up because these are very different in respect for reproduction for phones. At this point (with about 75 hours burn in on K701) for how I'd define 'Rock' (I rarely listen to hard rock), I'd give up a little speed for a little warmth and I consider 'brightness' to be a big danger, so I'd say the HD650s are better for Rock/Pop (though some Pop would especially benefit from the K701s advantages). There's a ton of personal preference here though. This is all said by someone who prefers the HD650 and K701 to Grados for a large chuck of what gets thrown under the 'Rock' label.

You bring up an interesting point there. My grado HF-1s are my favorite when it comes to stuff like dream theater, iron maiden, etc. Although I still highly prefer my 650s for stuff like APC, Tool, NIN, pink floyd, etc. I think people on this forum tend to generalize a bit too much when it comes to music genres.

 

[Patu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sean-xenos Well, I'd prefer the HD650 for rock music because it sounds warmer, more engaging. The Cardas cable improves the bass response a lot, it's rather controlled.

Funny. If that's the case then you propably like 650s better in every music genre(?) I think that description doesn't fit rock music at all. Rock should be played out with fast, detailed and energic speakers/headphones. But there we are, every people has their own preferences.

Quote:

Originally Posted by blessingx I think this is a common problem around here. I think people mean quite different things by 'Rock' (and 'Pop'/'Popular' is even more problematic).

To be more specific, I mean hard(er) rock and metal (Judas Priest, ACDC, Metallica, Yngwie Malmsteen and so on). For something like Pink Floyd 650s are quite fine (but K701 is still better

).

I've used the word "rock" wrong. I use to forget that there's so much different rock music out there. For me the word "rock" first brings in mind the bands I mentioned above. Well Pink Floyd is my favourite band but I think Pink Floyd almost has their own music genre which can't be described with a word "rock".

 

[discord]

What about the K701 RS1 comparison you mentioned in the first sentence?

 

[omendelovitz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sean-xenos Amping the K701: is a must! Even the classA inbuilt headphone amp of the CD 5300 doesn't have the necessary power to bring the K701s to their full potential. The K701s really need a good, powerful amp to shine, for best dynamics and best bass response.

Class A amp? is that the higher current amp? what kind of power are we talking about in terms of powerful amp? I have a PA2V2, and although it's not that powerful an amp from many perspectives, I believe it does well as a Class A amp... can you elaborate on the amp requirements?

cheers!

Oriel

 

[sean-xenos]

Quote:

Originally Posted by discord What about the K701 RS1 comparison you mentioned in the first sentence?

The RS1 is the brightest of all the auditioned headphones,
it also differs a lot in terms of soundstaging.

The K701 is probably a better allround can than the RS1,
with some recordings the highs of the RS1 are too aggressive, on others they are just brilliant.
Resolution and detail is probably the same with both cans, but this is achieved in totally different ways.
The K701 sounds more refined, the RS1 has more treble energy.
Maybe the RS1s are the faster cans, I'm not really sure.
The depth of the soundstage is much bigger with K701s, but that's part of the Grado concept, to be on stage.
Soundstaging from left to right is great with Grados, and for many kinds of music that's sufficient.

The RS1s have a punchy bass with impact but the bass does not go as low as the K701s (or HD650s).

I didn't take much time to compare these two cans as it was clear from the beginning that they are two "totally different beasts" and was more interested to compare the cans that are closer soundwise.

 

[sean-xenos]

Quote:

Originally Posted by omendelovitz Class A amp? is that the higher current amp? what kind of power are we talking about in terms of powerful amp? I have a PA2V2, and although it's not that powerful an amp from many perspectives, I believe it does well as a Class A amp... can you elaborate on the amp requirements? cheers! Oriel

Hi Oriel,

I guess that it's the amps capability to deliver high currents and/ or a high voltage swing that is important for the K701 (62 Ohms).

The CEC CD5300 cd player has a built in classA headphone amp that is rather well made but still wasn't an adaquate amp for the K701s as the dynamics and bass impact were reduced.

Both the M³ and the CEC HD53R, also ClassA headphone amps, had no problems driving K701s adaquately.

I don't know the PA2V2, so I can't say if it meets the K701s requirements.

Jan Meier said something about amping requirements for the K701 and K601 here: http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showt...89#post1679789

 

[discord]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sean-xenos The RS1 is the brightest of all the auditioned headphones, it also differs a lot in terms of soundstaging. The K701 is probably a better allround can than the RS1, with some recordings the highs of the RS1 are too aggressive, on others they are just brilliant. Resolution and detail is probably the same with both cans, but this is achieved in totally different ways. The K701 sounds more refined, the RS1 has more treble energy. Maybe the RS1s are the faster cans, I'm not really sure. The depth of the soundstage is much bigger with K701s, but that's part of the Grado concept, to be on stage. Soundstaging from left to right is great with Grados, and for many kinds of music that's sufficient. The RS1s have a punchy bass with impact but the bass does not go as low as the K701s (or HD650s). I didn't take much time to compare these two cans as it was clear from the beginning that they are two "totally different beasts" and was more interested to compare the cans that are closer soundwise.

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[kenneth11zz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sean-xenos K701 vs. L3000: The L3000 is capable of reproducing higher dynamics than the K701, no doubt. The bass is remarkable with L3000s, impact, decay, punch, precision everything is there. The K701 might have a better defined soundstage with more depth, big orchestras might have a better seperation of instruments, but I'm not absolutely sure. Cheers, sean-xenos

Sean, does the soundstage have a more holographical or 3Dimensional sound to it because of well defined detail, separation and depth than K501? The K501 have a wide soundstage but only have a little holographic sounds because of the small depth.

Cheers
Kenneth