[abmwinnoch]

I long-ago stopped enjoying the artificial bass boost of consumer-grade headphones and now primarily enjoy my headphone listening to be more flat/neutral/balanced. To this end I have owned and loved my AKG K712 for a few years now. I also have other headphones including Focal Clears, but I have for a long while wondered how the other AKG K series sound. I've read a lot about the K701 being lighter of bass and wider of soundstage. Finally I saw an ex-dem set for £100 and bought them. Initial impressions are that they are very similar to the K712 but do indeed have less low-end grunt. Also that vocals seem further forward in the mix compared to the K712.

I was starting to think that the bass was maybe too light, even for me. However the odd thing is that I am now sitting listening to the K701 in a the evening, after doing my initial listening when I've been fairly tired in the morning (I'm not a morning person). Now I am hearing the bass registers, even getting a bit of a good ol' thump of bass-impact on some tracks.

Is it my brain adjusting to hear a lower level of bass, much the same way a compressor brings up quieter sound, or is the much-debated burn-in of the headphones happening? I'm slightly sceptical of run/burn-in, even of physical components like transducers. Audioholics, amongst others, have tested headphone/speaker output from new, versus months of use, and not found significant measurable differences after the fist few seconds of use. Also this pair is ex-dem, so even if I am hearing run-in, I would expect them to have been run-in by now.

I'll be interested to hear them again the next time I listen, tired in the morning! What do you think; do you notice headphones sounding different via the same audio chain, at different times of the day or your mood/alertness level ?

 

[baskingshark]

I long-ago stopped enjoying the artificial bass boost of consumer-grade headphones and now primarily enjoy my headphone listening to be more flat/neutral/balanced. To this end I have owned and loved my AKG K712 for a few years now. I also have other headphones including Focal Clears, but I have for a long while wondered how the other AKG K series sound. I've read a lot about the K701 being lighter of bass and wider of soundstage. Finally I saw an ex-dem set for £100 and bought them. Initial impressions are that they are very similar to the K712 but do indeed have less low-end grunt. Also that vocals seem further forward in the mix compared to the K712.

I was starting to think that the bass was maybe too light, even for me. However the odd thing is that I am now sitting listening to the K701 in a the evening, after doing my initial listening when I've been fairly tired in the morning (I'm not a morning person). Now I am hearing the bass registers, even getting a bit of a good ol' thump of bass-impact on some tracks.

Is it my brain adjusting to hear a lower level of bass, much the same way a compressor brings up quieter sound, or is the much-debated burn-in of the headphones happening? I'm slightly sceptical of run/burn-in, even of physical components like transducers. Audioholics, amongst others, have tested headphone/speaker output from new, versus months of use, and not found significant measurable differences after the fist few seconds of use. Also this pair is ex-dem, so even if I am hearing run-in, I would expect them to have been run-in by now.

I'll be interested to hear them again the next time I listen, tired in the morning! What do you think; do you notice headphones sounding different via the same audio chain, at different times of the day or your mood/alertness level ?

Do u use the headphones in different environments? Generally I find that bass is first to be lost in a noisy environment eg transit/outdoors/traffic noise. Maybe in the day time there's more activity going on and that distracts you from focusing on the bass? Just my 2 cents.

Generally I find I'm more alert in the mornings compared to nights, and I do tend to notice more details when I'm not tired. But as usual, YMMV.

 

[kman1211]

I long-ago stopped enjoying the artificial bass boost of consumer-grade headphones and now primarily enjoy my headphone listening to be more flat/neutral/balanced. To this end I have owned and loved my AKG K712 for a few years now. I also have other headphones including Focal Clears, but I have for a long while wondered how the other AKG K series sound. I've read a lot about the K701 being lighter of bass and wider of soundstage. Finally I saw an ex-dem set for £100 and bought them. Initial impressions are that they are very similar to the K712 but do indeed have less low-end grunt. Also that vocals seem further forward in the mix compared to the K712.

I was starting to think that the bass was maybe too light, even for me. However the odd thing is that I am now sitting listening to the K701 in a the evening, after doing my initial listening when I've been fairly tired in the morning (I'm not a morning person). Now I am hearing the bass registers, even getting a bit of a good ol' thump of bass-impact on some tracks.

Is it my brain adjusting to hear a lower level of bass, much the same way a compressor brings up quieter sound, or is the much-debated burn-in of the headphones happening? I'm slightly sceptical of run/burn-in, even of physical components like transducers. Audioholics, amongst others, have tested headphone/speaker output from new, versus months of use, and not found significant measurable differences after the fist few seconds of use. Also this pair is ex-dem, so even if I am hearing run-in, I would expect them to have been run-in by now.

I'll be interested to hear them again the next time I listen, tired in the morning! What do you think; do you notice headphones sounding different via the same audio chain, at different times of the day or your mood/alertness level ?

Could be a variety of things; adjusting to the sound, clogged sinuses, tiredness, state of mind, how hungry you are (senses can get sharper in you're hungry for instance), if you had caffeine, alcohol, if you eaten the wrong food, etc. It can also be changes in gear, defective cables/soldering causing inconsistencies in sound, external noise, maybe there could be some power consistency issues, computer noise, etc.

Many many things can alter one's perception of audio; sometimes it's basically you and how you feel, other times it's external causes, and sometimes it's both. Determining the cause can be challenging at times.

 

[GREQ]

When you're asleep your brain naturally 'ignores' your hearing to stop you from waking up from random noises.
After you wake up it takes some time for your brain to turn your ears back up to full volume.

Quite a few times I've put on some music first thing in the morning at what I thought was a very chill comfortably low level.
Then in the evening, I continue listening to it, not having touched my device for the entire day, and BAM! it's just way too loud.

It's a real thing.

Also, while you have a cold, don't trust your hearing at all.
It's just a constantly changing mess.

 

[NA Blur]

Earcup position plays a huge roll in the frequency response. Pad seal and general ear clarity also matter. If you don't seal around your ear the bass will easily leak and be lost. For me I noticed issues if my ears are even the slightest plugged or pressurized.

 

[TMM]

Your brain will normalise the frequency response after a while. If you only listen to K701s then you come to accept the K701 frequency response as being the reference for flat sound and every other headphone becomes bass heavy by comparison.
Same kind of thing if you listen to say Beyerdynamic DT990s - after a while everything else sounds dull because it's missing the sizzle in the treble by comparison.

 

[abmwinnoch]

If you only listen to K701s then you come to accept the K701 frequency response as being the reference for flat sound and every other headphone becomes bass heavy by comparison.

Yes, totally agree. My biggest experience of this was when I first bought my AKG K712- my first open-back headphones. I was already finding my other closed-back headphones too bass heavy- I was latterly using B£W P7. But after only a few days of using the 712's I literally could not stand to put any music at all through the B&W's; all I heard was congested bass-saturated rumbly sound from almost every track. Previously I had found them to have a pleasant, detailed sound, albeit with a 'slight' bass emphasis !