kuma
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2003
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I’ve got to listen to the AKG K1000 today and want to share my impressions.
It certainly didn’t disappoint. As I expected it, it sounded like a refined, grown-up version of K501. K1000 possess neutral midrange, smooth extension across the frequency band as well as well articulated and impactfull bass. It has all the ingredients for a good transducer. It is an almost unfair comparison when you put K1000 against other conventional headphones since, this is like a little speakers attached to you head. Those panels do not touch ears at all. It resembled near-field listening without taking up a space for speakers.
The step up we used was my usual Krell kps 28c CD player, Art Audio Concerto II and VPS/DM preamp.
Other 'fones we had in the house were: Beyerdynamic DT880/AKG K501/AT W2002/Grado RS1
We’ve picked out favorite discs and put ‘em through paces. Quickly dismissed was the Beyer DT880. It really sounded out of place amongst the giants. As much as compelling K501 was also eliminated due to too uneven performance on frequency extremes to be used in the system used in spite its dead neutral midrange. The problem was that after we listen to K501, everything else sounded too colored.
We also agreed that K501 sounded the best with a little Creek amp we had last time than tube set up I use.
So, what came down to was the following 'fones.
AKG K1000, AT W2002 and Grado RS1. ( yep. W2002 made a cut! )
Surprising was that W2002 did much better today than the last time.
I wanted to listen to the pair again with different amp/preamp combo than what we had last time. (Tiny Triode monos and Nagra PL-L preamp with the exact same Krell CD player and cabling)
It had more upfront presentation and details it brought out from the music were actually better than RS1 in the midrange. Also, upper midrange did not get congested as RS1. Only caveat is that it has a less tidy midbass and did not agree well with Concerto’s already slightly warmish midbass. Yet, this time around W2002 managed to keep music going. Excellent uppermids transients complemented open natural trebles.
So, how did K1000 do against RS1?
First off, it had more neutral sounding midband and much better articulation and smoother frequency transition across the band. I was warned from another friend who owns K1000 that its shortcoming is a treble openness. Well, we didn’t hear any objectionable hot trebles unless we turn up the volume silly. We used a 8 ohms tap on Concerto II. Still a tough load for the amplifier to drive 120ohms ‘fones. (especially without the right OPT) Plus, slight congestion might be caused by Concerto. It is an excellent push pull amp, however, the frequency extension up top is still short of Jota. So, it’s possible that I was hearing the amp and not the limitation of K1000. Although, both AT W2002 and RS1 did a good job of avoiding amps shortcoming. Unfortunately, we have run out of time to run it in the main rig. Also, note that we used the stock cables that came with the K1000. I would think that an aftermarket extension cord would make a difference here, too.
K1000 has a tremendous amount of bass impact and articulation. At times it sounded ‘almost’ visceral. Leaner, faster bass delivery than RS1. I was pleasantly surprised it had a sufficient bass and more. From listening to K501, I was expecting leaner bass than RS1.
If K1000 is a thoroughbred, RS1 is a very well fit Arabian horse. I’d say the bass delivery is more ‘European’ than typical ‘American’.
RS1 can sound bit heavy-handed in this system since it is weighted more towards the bottom. Concerto’s tonal balance, I suspect, matched favorably for K1000. Although, my friend thought Concerto/AKG K1000 might have tipped the scale too much.
An overall presentation of K1000 is upfront as RS1 and gives a vocal excellent presence and immediacy. It even renders sharper outline of central image than RS1.
Compared to K1000, RS1, at times, sounded somewhat pedestrian and laidback. What I mean is that lack of nth degree of articulation and timing in RS1 (or anything else we had in the house today) sticks out. K1000 is like a surgical tool. It gets down there and digs out all the details (yet, does not expose weaknesses all out in open and hang the music out to dry). Every beat it places is placed at the right spot at the right time. It leaves no loose ends. It is remarkable that the music does not sound stark and cold.
However, at the end, we both agreed that, for some reason, piano rendition, especially on the lower register keys are better played by RS1 over K1000. I was expecting it does well on classical and jazz material. In kps28c/ Concerto II/ VPS system, it did well on techno/dance program over RS1 thanks to its excellent iron-fisted midbass handling and absence of slight midbass rise heard in RS1.
Solo piano sounded, and this is a rare thing for K1000, somewhat mechanical (stringy and no resonance in lower bass) and unnatural. RS1’s wooden housing must be contributing to the way it presents the music with greater ease.
Normally, I believe greater control and precision are needed for a realistic piano playback. Added coloration or extra resonance of the RS1 helps to recreate a realistic sounding piano.
Hopefully we’ll try K1000 in the main rig with stereo subs attached to it next time.
Sorry for the blurry pictures. I was too excited to hold a camera steady.
It certainly didn’t disappoint. As I expected it, it sounded like a refined, grown-up version of K501. K1000 possess neutral midrange, smooth extension across the frequency band as well as well articulated and impactfull bass. It has all the ingredients for a good transducer. It is an almost unfair comparison when you put K1000 against other conventional headphones since, this is like a little speakers attached to you head. Those panels do not touch ears at all. It resembled near-field listening without taking up a space for speakers.
The step up we used was my usual Krell kps 28c CD player, Art Audio Concerto II and VPS/DM preamp.
Other 'fones we had in the house were: Beyerdynamic DT880/AKG K501/AT W2002/Grado RS1
We’ve picked out favorite discs and put ‘em through paces. Quickly dismissed was the Beyer DT880. It really sounded out of place amongst the giants. As much as compelling K501 was also eliminated due to too uneven performance on frequency extremes to be used in the system used in spite its dead neutral midrange. The problem was that after we listen to K501, everything else sounded too colored.
We also agreed that K501 sounded the best with a little Creek amp we had last time than tube set up I use.
So, what came down to was the following 'fones.
AKG K1000, AT W2002 and Grado RS1. ( yep. W2002 made a cut! )
Surprising was that W2002 did much better today than the last time.
I wanted to listen to the pair again with different amp/preamp combo than what we had last time. (Tiny Triode monos and Nagra PL-L preamp with the exact same Krell CD player and cabling)
It had more upfront presentation and details it brought out from the music were actually better than RS1 in the midrange. Also, upper midrange did not get congested as RS1. Only caveat is that it has a less tidy midbass and did not agree well with Concerto’s already slightly warmish midbass. Yet, this time around W2002 managed to keep music going. Excellent uppermids transients complemented open natural trebles.
So, how did K1000 do against RS1?
First off, it had more neutral sounding midband and much better articulation and smoother frequency transition across the band. I was warned from another friend who owns K1000 that its shortcoming is a treble openness. Well, we didn’t hear any objectionable hot trebles unless we turn up the volume silly. We used a 8 ohms tap on Concerto II. Still a tough load for the amplifier to drive 120ohms ‘fones. (especially without the right OPT) Plus, slight congestion might be caused by Concerto. It is an excellent push pull amp, however, the frequency extension up top is still short of Jota. So, it’s possible that I was hearing the amp and not the limitation of K1000. Although, both AT W2002 and RS1 did a good job of avoiding amps shortcoming. Unfortunately, we have run out of time to run it in the main rig. Also, note that we used the stock cables that came with the K1000. I would think that an aftermarket extension cord would make a difference here, too.
K1000 has a tremendous amount of bass impact and articulation. At times it sounded ‘almost’ visceral. Leaner, faster bass delivery than RS1. I was pleasantly surprised it had a sufficient bass and more. From listening to K501, I was expecting leaner bass than RS1.
If K1000 is a thoroughbred, RS1 is a very well fit Arabian horse. I’d say the bass delivery is more ‘European’ than typical ‘American’.
RS1 can sound bit heavy-handed in this system since it is weighted more towards the bottom. Concerto’s tonal balance, I suspect, matched favorably for K1000. Although, my friend thought Concerto/AKG K1000 might have tipped the scale too much.
An overall presentation of K1000 is upfront as RS1 and gives a vocal excellent presence and immediacy. It even renders sharper outline of central image than RS1.
Compared to K1000, RS1, at times, sounded somewhat pedestrian and laidback. What I mean is that lack of nth degree of articulation and timing in RS1 (or anything else we had in the house today) sticks out. K1000 is like a surgical tool. It gets down there and digs out all the details (yet, does not expose weaknesses all out in open and hang the music out to dry). Every beat it places is placed at the right spot at the right time. It leaves no loose ends. It is remarkable that the music does not sound stark and cold.
However, at the end, we both agreed that, for some reason, piano rendition, especially on the lower register keys are better played by RS1 over K1000. I was expecting it does well on classical and jazz material. In kps28c/ Concerto II/ VPS system, it did well on techno/dance program over RS1 thanks to its excellent iron-fisted midbass handling and absence of slight midbass rise heard in RS1.
Solo piano sounded, and this is a rare thing for K1000, somewhat mechanical (stringy and no resonance in lower bass) and unnatural. RS1’s wooden housing must be contributing to the way it presents the music with greater ease.
Normally, I believe greater control and precision are needed for a realistic piano playback. Added coloration or extra resonance of the RS1 helps to recreate a realistic sounding piano.
Hopefully we’ll try K1000 in the main rig with stereo subs attached to it next time.
Sorry for the blurry pictures. I was too excited to hold a camera steady.
