Do hd650 distort like k701 do?
Dec 1, 2008 at 6:44 AM Post #31 of 66
my K701 sound great out of my mini3. either the OP bought a duff K701, or he/she is hearing what's on the recording. hiding recording flaws are not the K701 forte, and a duff piece of hi-fi kit isn't exactly unheard of. the HD650 and K701 are wonderful phones, but for different reasons.
 
Dec 1, 2008 at 9:11 AM Post #32 of 66
Quote:

Originally Posted by Shahrose /img/forum/go_quote.gif
i've never heard a high end headphone distort. if the K701 distort at bearable volumes, then that's quite surprising. with this many complaints, it can't just be blamed on "bad amp synergy." maybe the K701 are just weak at bass reproduction?


Exactly, and they are very spacious in the highs but the instruments trample all over each other.
 
Dec 1, 2008 at 9:29 AM Post #33 of 66
Quote:

Originally Posted by gbx2006 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I just purchased a pair of k701 headphones, and while I absolutely love the sound of them, they distort as soon as I turn the volume up to a normal listening level.


I know what you mean. I spent ages reading various threads on Head-Fi and other sites about the K701, only to be disappointed by the guesses masquerading as answers. The notion that it is due to lack of current is not based on any test results by anyone to warrant such claims. I wasted a lot of time following up that 'lead'.
The K701 is rated at less than 300mW at 64 ohms. How much current does that require????
 
Dec 1, 2008 at 2:01 PM Post #34 of 66
Quote:

Originally Posted by fishski13 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
my K701 sound great out of my mini3. either the OP bought a duff K701, or he/she is hearing what's on the recording. hiding recording flaws are not the K701 forte, and a duff piece of hi-fi kit isn't exactly unheard of. the HD650 and K701 are wonderful phones, but for different reasons.


I purchased the K701 brand new from B&H photo. I guess it is possible that the headphones were bad from AKG, but after reading other posts about this same issue, I became to believe that K701 was the problem. After reading the posts in this thread, I wonder if a different amp like SS would solve the problem.

The distortion is definitely not in the song. I can hear distortion in some songs, but that is not what I am referring to. When turning up my Raptor tube amp to about the 10 o'clock position on most songs, the headphones distort as if they are damaged or blown. If I turn up my DX1000's to the 12 o'clock position, there is no distortion at all that I can hear, and I can only listen to a song that loud for only 10-15 seconds before hearing damage begins. I usually listen to music around the 9 - 10 o'clock position on all of my closed headphones. The K701's need a little more volume, maybe because they are open, in order to produce the same volume level as closed headphones.
 
Dec 1, 2008 at 3:57 PM Post #35 of 66
Quote:

Originally Posted by gbx2006 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
After reading the posts in this thread, I wonder if a different amp like SS would solve the problem.


When I owned the K701 I used it with the Little Dot MK V (SS amp, 500mW at 32 ohms). Mids to highs were fine, but anything with more than a little bass would distort.
 
Dec 1, 2008 at 5:31 PM Post #38 of 66
Quote:

Originally Posted by ZephyrSapphire /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Every K701 I heard during meets distorted at the lower frequencies. But I blame the amps being unable to drive them. Tube amps make them even worse.


That is an inaccurate generalisation (unless you have heard every tube amp with the K701s). I have the WooAudio WA6SE tube amp and my ears would be bleeding before I could coax any distortion out of the K701s (and the WA6SE gives the K701s plenty of power and gobs of bass impact).

The K701s need to be driven well to sound at their best, but they should not distort. Unfortunately, driving them well can be expensive. That said, the Shanling PH100 does an excellent job at a relatively inexpensive price point.
 
Dec 1, 2008 at 8:18 PM Post #39 of 66
This is a strange thread... so many people saying they've heard the K701s distort, while all the rest of us have never heard any distortion...

My K701s deliver deep clean bass with no distortion...even when I take the phones off my head and crank the volume to 12/1 o'clock...

Maybe this is an amp dependent issue with the 701s...
 
Dec 1, 2008 at 8:22 PM Post #40 of 66
Quote:

Originally Posted by gbx2006 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I purchased the K701 brand new from B&H photo. I guess it is possible that the headphones were bad from AKG, but after reading other posts about this same issue, I became to believe that K701 was the problem. After reading the posts in this thread, I wonder if a different amp like SS would solve the problem.

The distortion is definitely not in the song. I can hear distortion in some songs, but that is not what I am referring to. When turning up my Raptor tube amp to about the 10 o'clock position on most songs, the headphones distort as if they are damaged or blown. If I turn up my DX1000's to the 12 o'clock position, there is no distortion at all that I can hear, and I can only listen to a song that loud for only 10-15 seconds before hearing damage begins. I usually listen to music around the 9 - 10 o'clock position on all of my closed headphones. The K701's need a little more volume, maybe because they are open, in order to produce the same volume level as closed headphones.


This is very interesting. As I said before, I have never heard the K 701's distort. My best guess is that there is something wrong with the headphones, given what you have written about the remainder of your audio chain and the recordings to which you listen.
While the K 701 is not my favorite headphone because of it's somewhat weak lower frequency rendering, they are, otherwise, an excellent sounding headphone, IMO.
 
Dec 1, 2008 at 8:42 PM Post #41 of 66
Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter Pinna /img/forum/go_quote.gif
While the K 701 is not my favorite headphone because of it's somewhat weak lower frequency rendering, they are, otherwise, an excellent sounding headphone, IMO.


This is part of what I find so puzzling, I've heard the K701s described as Bright and/or having weak bass. I've heard that they are a terrible match for the Benchmark DAC1... That the sound would be overly-analytical etc, etc, etc....

Yet I own The 701, driven by a DAC1 and the Bass is as deep and clean as I could ever want (rivals/beats just about any floorstanding speaker I've heard up to $6K - for clean, not bloated, bass)... the sound is very neutral... definitely not bright or analytical... Also, when I look at the frequency response measurements on this site... I see nothing that would indicate weak bass or pronounced treble... interestingly, the measurements look fairly similar to the Senn 650....

I guess we just have to try things out for ourselves...
 
Dec 1, 2008 at 8:53 PM Post #42 of 66
Quote:

Originally Posted by sclamb /img/forum/go_quote.gif
That is an inaccurate generalisation (unless you have heard every tube amp with the K701s). I have the WooAudio WA6SE tube amp and my ears would be bleeding before I could coax any distortion out of the K701s (and the WA6SE gives the K701s plenty of power and gobs of bass impact).

The K701s need to be driven well to sound at their best, but they should not distort. Unfortunately, driving them well can be expensive. That said, the Shanling PH100 does an excellent job at a relatively inexpensive price point.



I hate tube amps in general. But what I meant that a tube amp with the same price range as a solid state amp made the K701 sound worse. That of course was based on the two Sydney meets I went to.
 
Dec 1, 2008 at 10:38 PM Post #44 of 66
Quote:

Originally Posted by ZephyrSapphire /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I hate tube amps in general.


I am definitely getting that impression
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