First AKG K701 impressions.
Jan 22, 2006 at 6:33 PM Post #361 of 431
Quote:

Originally Posted by NotJeffBuckley
...I haven't seen much buyer remorse yet, so I'm leaning towards "not flavor of the month."


It seems lot of them are on back-order in the USA, so there's not lot of impressions yet. Wait 'till the Americans get them, and wait again...
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Quote:

Originally Posted by webzeb
...In spite of its higher price (I'm student and it's difficult to me to afford a such pricy pair of cans...), I consider K701 (or even K601) as an alternative.
I'd like to preserve the very detailled and natural render of the DT880 on voices and most part of instruments, but with more bass impact (and just a slightly bigger amount of bass) an without the treble local emphasis issue...


I don't know the DT880 (but i know the Beyer 'house sound' a little), and i think you should be happy with the K701. You need to try for yourself. In France (and in all EU too i guess) you legally have a minimum of seven (7) days to return a product you don't like. You won't be able to reach the mandatory 300 hours of burn'in (j/k), but nothing beat listening to the thing at home...you know that...Anyway you can always return them if you don't like 'em.


Quote:

Originally Posted by sacd lover
...Certain S and T sounds become slightly emphasized just short of becoming sibilant.


That's true, very easy to notice with pop recordings that have a forward voice in the mix. As i said, it think there's a slightly hump in the upper-mids/low highs. This is not really a problem, it's not harsh, but if you're like me and like a dead flat frequency response, this can be annoying. Note that i listen to high volume and this was getting more apparent as burn'in progressed.
 
Jan 22, 2006 at 7:05 PM Post #362 of 431
Quote:

Originally Posted by sacd lover
...Certain S and T sounds become slightly emphasized just short of becoming sibilant.


You know what? I noticed this at the meet, but I assumed that it was my less than stellar portable source creating this. And nobody else seemed to mention it so I figured it was an anomaly. But if you are experiencing the same effect on your SACDmods 555ES or your Eastsound CD-E5 with your SinglePowers, well that makes me a little concerned. I already sacrificed my HD600 + Cardas in order to afford a pair of K701's. I hope I didn't make the wrong decision.

Oh well, I was thirsting for a change of pace. I just hope I won't be singing...

Don't it always seem to go? That you don't know what you got 'till it's gone

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Jan 22, 2006 at 7:37 PM Post #363 of 431
Quote:

Originally Posted by Mastergill
I don't know the DT880 (but i know the Beyer 'house sound' a little), and i think you should be happy with the K701. You need to try for yourself. In France (and in all EU too i guess) you legally have a minimum of seven (7) days to return a product you don't like. You won't be able to reach the mandatory 300 hours of burn'in (j/k), but nothing beat listening to the thing at home...you know that...Anyway you can always return them if you don't like 'em.


For sure, you're right, nothing could replace listening.

But I try to make a decision before ordering, considering that I should order both DT880 and K701 to lead a relevant comparaison in such a short time.

Moreover I may order from a US shop if I choose the K701 because of to lower price...

Fred
 
Jan 22, 2006 at 7:43 PM Post #364 of 431
Quote:

Originally Posted by Borat
You know what? I noticed this at the meet, but I assumed that it was my less than stellar portable source creating this. And nobody else seemed to mention it so I figured it was an anomaly. But if you are experiencing the same effect on your SACDmods 555ES or your Eastsound CD-E5 with your SinglePowers, well that makes me a little concerned. I already sacrificed my HD600 + Cardas in order to afford a pair of K701's. I hope I didn't make the wrong decision.

Oh well, I was thirsting for a change of pace. I just hope I won't be singing...

Don't it always seem to go? That you don't know what you got 'till it's gone

icon10.gif




IMO ..... the emphasis is only when you listen at a louder than normal volumes ..... from what I have heard so far. The only reason you might want to listen loudly would be to try and bring the bass out more. If you want/ expect the same AMOUNT of bass warmth and impact you get with the senn 600 you will be disappointed with the 701. Turning up the volume does add impact to the 701. But you never get senn 600 bass levels and you risk getting the treble anomolies along with added bass.

I find the 600/ cardas to be my favorite headphone so I am probably a good comparison for you. I dont hear this 701 treble quality as over the top unless I crank the volume and/ or have on a poor recording. The 701 exchanges some of the senns richness and powerful bass for a more neutral and airy sound. Dont think the 701 is a thin or bright headphone; but its not a warm or rich headphone either. The 701 seems to straddle the extremes and settle right in the middle. However, I believe if people find flaws with the 701 it will be the tendency to be a little treble rough at higher volumes or bass lacking at lower volumes. If you listen somewhere in between you will likely have no issues with the 701. I truely enjoy the 701. But I want to keep my 600/ cardas too
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Jan 23, 2006 at 9:25 AM Post #366 of 431
Yesterday I had time to do a little comparison between the PL750 and the K701 in the bass performance. K701 burn-in level is about 90h.

At the moment it seems to me that (in a direct comparison) the PL750 has a frequency response like "U" (pronounced bass and treble) and the K701 has one like "-" (very flat and homogeneous).

So there is much more bass pressure at a much lower volume level with the PL750. This is what I like about the PL750. It's extremly cool to feel the bass pressure on your earlap. (Maybe I am a
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!?) But the bass can also be very pushing and is not always in line with the rest of the music.
The K701 has bass that sounds very nice, goes very deep and doesn't get in the way of the music. But there is no built in bass boost.

Especially because of the pronounced treble (the PL750 sounds bright compared to the K701) I think I would prefer the K701 for most of my music.
The PL750 does a very good job at low volumes and in noisy environments.
 
Jan 27, 2006 at 12:44 PM Post #369 of 431
Quote:

Originally Posted by Atropos
how many db(A) or db(C) are optimal to burn in the K701? and whats the maximum I should turn it up?
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One rule of thumb I heard was to "use a volume slightly above the normal listening volume". Be careful that you don't hear any distortions - thats too loud.

by the way - have you already gotten your K701?
 
Jan 27, 2006 at 1:22 PM Post #370 of 431
Quote:

Originally Posted by Cris

by the way - have you already gotten your K701?


hi cris!
yes thank you. ordered them on monday and got them on thursday. same price as you.
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hoch lebe österreich!!
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Jan 27, 2006 at 1:31 PM Post #371 of 431
Quote:

Originally Posted by Cris
One rule of thumb I heard was to "use a volume slightly above the normal listening volume". Be careful that you don't hear any distortions - thats too loud.


I agree with this advice -- just without the «slightly».
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Jan 29, 2006 at 2:19 AM Post #372 of 431
I have read some opinions of members that believe the 701 will work best with tubes. Well ..... I agree it sounds absolutely awesome with a Singlepower SLAM PPX3 tube amp. However, I now have a solid state Headamp GS-1 amp, and while the 701 sounds different, the overall sound quality is quite close, if not equally as good.

I am using a richer sounding source and IC to get the proper synergy with the GS-1 and the 701 ..... because the 701/ GS-1 combo compared to the 701/ SLAM combo, in an identical setup, lacks a little tonal richness for my tastes, as well as some weight in the low end the SLAM has in abundance. But with proper system matching, I have no doubt that the 701 can sound just as good with a high quality SS amp like the GS-1, as it does with high quality tube amps. I want to comment I continue to be extremely impressed with the 701. The 701 is just a VERY good sounding headphone that does everything very well and virtually nothing wrong.
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Jan 29, 2006 at 4:07 AM Post #375 of 431
Ooh balanced K701! Can you describe the differences versus single ended? I've only every compared one headphone, the 650 with single ended and balanced drive, but I imagine the difference will vary from headphone to headphone.

And according to Jamey at HeadRoom they are not difficult to recable!
 
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