[robert1325]

My dad has had some k500's for years without really using them, I brought them to my room but never really enjoyed them like my speaker setup, thin and bass light.

Since getting my monica 2 usb dac these cans have become extremely listenable , bass was always light but there's about enough now . Highs are uber smooth and mids so liquid and warm (paired with the NOS dac sound)

The soundstage is amazing , jazz and acoustic music ( Sufjan stevens) are very involving . The nad1600 pre is not a bad amp at all, detailed and warm.

Just wanted to share my excitment! This is the first time I'm starting to enjoy headphones at home instead of my speakers.

here's a pic of my setup :

 

[Wil]

nice setup!

Looks like a nice place to kick back and chill.

( P.S wait till u hear the K701s

)

 

[robert1325]

thanks

I still live in my parents house so my bedroom serves me as music , cinema, and reading room

the k701 :| the bug has not bitten me that bad yet .

 

[JadeEast]

Are those Hawthorne OB speakers in your set up?

 

[robert1325]

Indeed they are

 

[JadeEast]

Hawthornes have been a possibility of mine but I do have a question about their performance that maybe you could help me with. How's the off axis response?

About the AKGs sounding good I'm not surprised.

 

[Fitz]

Nice score there! The bass on a K500 certainly won't be able to compare to something like a K240 Sextett or a K290 in terms of quantity and extension, but it makes up for it with an obscenely good midrange and more treble detail.


Quote:

Originally Posted by Wil /img/forum/go_quote.gif ( P.S wait till u hear the K701s )

I'd take the K500 over the K701 without hesitating. It'd be a toss-up between the K500 and the K501 though, since they're very close in sound. I'd probably lean towards the K500, but the pads have worn down so much on my pair that the plastic mesh rubs against my ears.

 

[HFat]

K500s are prettier. I want one.

Unless one of the K40[0-1]s is better... what's the official ruling on this, Fitz?

 

[Fitz]

The K400/K401 are voiced differently, so that boils down to preference. Where the K501 has a peak in the treble, the K401 has a dip, for example.

 

[jrosenth]

I actually have a pair of the 500s that Fitz recabled and they are simply unbelievable.

Also running it paired with a NOS dac (Shek d1) - it is true magic.

I am using an Original Master amp, which pairs with the 500 very, very nicely as that amp has real bass.

Other recommendation: ask Fitz nicely to recable them for you

 

[robert1325]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JadeEast /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hawthornes have been a possibility of mine but I do have a question about their performance that maybe you could help me with. How's the off axis response? About the AKGs sounding good I'm not surprised.

Hi,

They are very affected by placement , the room is the speaker box. my room is actually to small for these, they sound a little laid-back while in the living room downstairs you get a huge soundstage with great dynamics. But they are still better than anything else I've tried in my room . When moving around my room I do hear the sound changing, but they keep sounding good.
If you have enough space they'll perform better.

This is my first NOS dac and I'm very happy , musical. I'm putting in some Obbligato capacitors too ( PIO

 

[facelvega]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fitz /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'd take the K500 over the K701 without hesitating. It'd be a toss-up between the K500 and the K501 though, since they're very close in sound.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HFat /img/forum/go_quote.gif K500s are prettier. I want one. Unless one of the K40[0-1]s is better... what's the official ruling on this, Fitz?

In my experience the K400 I owned had a definite ceiling in terms of detail resolution (and I'm assuming from contemporary and recent reviews this applies to the K500 as well), and partly due to the deep earpads a distractingly distant sound. I found that my vintage Beyer DT990, MB QP95, and even a Sextett all outperformed the K400 in most ways. This isn't to say that the K400 is a bad headphone; I'd take one over a DT531, an HD540 Gold, or from current overrated offerings, over an HD595. But over a K701? I haven't spent enough time with a 701 to say for sure.

On the other hand, I think the K500 and even more so the K400 are the purest and prettiest iterations of that body style. The current versions and especially the 701 just make the same thing fat, shiny, and pretentious IMO. Oh AKG, what happened? The same thing that happened to Beyer, I guess, but even worse.

 

[HFat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by facelvega /img/forum/go_quote.gif In my experience the K400 I owned had a definite ceiling in terms of detail resolution (and I'm assuming from contemporary and recent reviews this applies to the K500 as well), and partly due to the deep earpads a distractingly distant sound. I found that my vintage Beyer DT990, MB QP95, and even a Sextett all outperformed the K400 in most ways.

I agree that my K501 has got a somewhat weird and distant sound. But I also found it to be enticing... nothing that I've heard quite compares with those lovely mids.
I guess I'm not a detail freak and maybe it's because of a lack of restoring/modding on my part but I think my K501 owns my vintage Beyers as well as my Sextetts. I've yet to try a MB.
Or maybe I'm mistaken in assuming that K500s are essentially K501s with prettier dresses. Sure, there's going to be some differences but then again there are differences between the different K501 versions as well.

 

[ericj]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HFat /img/forum/go_quote.gif Or maybe I'm mistaken in assuming that K500s are essentially K501s with prettier dresses. Sure, there's going to be some differences but then again there are differences between the different K501 versions as well.

You're mistaken. The K401 and K501 introduced AKG's Varimotion diaphragm manufacturing process. The cosmetic differences were minimal.

 

[HFat]

Aha! So either this is wrong...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fitz /img/forum/go_quote.gif It'd be a toss-up between the K500 and the K501 though, since they're very close in sound.

... or the Varimotion thing is pretty much useless in practice.

As to the cosmetic differences, well, it looks so pretty in pictures. Don't you people like black?