[VALIENTE]

Headfiers,
I will try to answer the question below:
Will a brand new AKG K701 sound better than a 1-year old Grado SR60?

Guys, I was very excited when my AKG K701 arrived before Christmas as a gift for myself. I bought this after reading thorough research and reviews of this headphone from the web.

I have my first headphone to compare, my 1-year old Grado SR60 which I loved the sound plugged from my Sony Portable Discman.

Now, the waiting time has come to know how does a brand new AKG K701 sounds directly from the Sony Portable Discman.

The sound coming from the K701 headphone is ok. I have heard details of song that I was not heard from the SR60. I would like to believe that the sound from the SR60 and K701 seems to be similar. The midrange was so clear. Again, the voices coming from SR60 is forward as if the mouth of the singer is very close to me, but sometimes irritating especially when the singer sings very high notes. However, in the K701, the singers mouth is a little far away from my ear, when the singer sings high notes I like it because the sound is very clear to my ears. Both headphones have sparkle in the midrange which I really like. The SR60 have more sparkle but lesser detail compared to K701. At this time, I was able to hear really well when the singer is breathing when singing at the new K701. With my SR60, I was able to hear the singer breathing too but not very clear and long.

The verdict using the Sony Portable Discman,
1-year Grado SR60 vs Brand New AKG K701
Winner: Grado SR60 and AKG K701-its a tie. Both has excellent sound qualities with similarities and differences.

Let's have a different story. My cousin from California send me this Christmas my very first headphone amp from Canada, PA2V2. I have told her to buy me one so I can use it with the SR60 about 6 months ago. PA2V2 just arrived.

Now, I am excited to plug my SR60 thru the brand new PA2V2. I use the line out of my Sony Portable Discman. If the sound of SR60 is great unamped, then it is fantastic when amped. There is an increase in bass and its a tight bass. The tightness of the details are already present. When unamped, SR60 seems grainy and at times harsh on music. Control of the music is present using the PA2V2. However, I am more excited since I have a new AKG K701 to plug too on the brand new PA2V2. I am interested because I know that it sounds ok with the Sony Portable Discman. I assume that this will be better because of the amp.

Now, I plugged the brand new K701 to the the brand new PA2V2. My assumption is true. The sound is so clear. The differences I found was, with the amp the bass are controlled, when unamped the bass are sometimes distorted, though sometimes depend on the music. I can say that there is a difference between an amped and unamped K701.

The verdict using the brand new PA2V2 headphone amp and Sony Portable Discman,
1-year Grado SR60 vs Brand New AKG K701
Winner:AKG K701. I'm sorry SR60 but you still have a place in my heart and ears. The SR60 and PA2V2 is a very good combination but I think the K701 and the PA2V2 is better and is more musical.

Now, let's go back to my question:
Will a brand new AKG K701 sound better than a 1-year old Grado SR60?
The answer:
Yes. A brand new AKG K701 can sound better than a 1-year old Grado SR60.

Conclusion:
Both Grado SR60 and AKG K701 are great headphones in my ears. I will keep these two to utilize most of my music CD/ any genre of music.
I highly recommend these headphones for any new headfier out there who have a limited budget but bang for the buck!

Have a Happy New Year to all of you guys!

P.S. Updates of my Impressions with this nice headphone can be found on some posts of this thread. Thank you.

 

[AnalogJ]

The difference between these phones is quite large, actually. I'm sure you won't get the best out of the AKGs without amping, anyway. The Grado is much more easily driven by the built-in amp of a portable device.

The sonic design of these two headphones is VERY different. The AKG has a huge soundstage, is much smoother than the SR60, more extended at the frequency extremes, but is slightly recessed in the midrange. Two very different flavors, but also levels. The AKG retails for about 7 times the retail of the Grado.

 

[MacedonianHero]

I agree, these two headphones couldn't be more different, but very nice pairing. The K701s are a much better headphone than the SR60s. You really have to get to the SR225i to get in the same league..ish.

 

[Bilavideo]

Something is telling me to be gentle when I say this, but you just compared the top AKG with the bottom Grado (apart from the iGrado, which is really not comparable anyway). Should a $79 SR-60 ever have stood a chance against a $500 K-701? I'm not trying to apologize for the Grado. I'm just wondering how there was ever any question of how this one was going to turn out. I know the 701 has been out long enough that you can get an NIB for as low now as the mid-two's. Still, it's quite a compliment to the SR-60 that it was even allowed in the room.

That said, I enjoyed reading your review. It was visually appealing and fun to read. Keep it up.

 

[Slash47]

I agree. While the outcome was rather predictable, these kind of topics are what make a forum like this valuable.

And as a frequent listener of the K701 and having never heard a low-end Grado, it was actually very informative for me as I was pondering picking up a SR60i out of curiosity.

 

[BassoonHead]

Something to think about with the old Grado's. They're quite a bit smaller and easier to stow. I purposely picked up the 225i so I didn't have to carry around my HD600. I'll have to check out the K701 though. Seems like a good next step. Thanks for the comparison.

 

[charliex]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacedonianHero /img/forum/go_quote.gif I agree, these two headphones couldn't be more different, but very nice pairing. The K701s are a much better headphone than the SR60s. You really have to get to the SR225i to get in the same league..ish.

...or get an HF-2 and be moved to a whole new level.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

Originally Posted by charliex /img/forum/go_quote.gif ...or get an HF-2 and be moved to a whole new level.

I've done many AB comparisons to between the HF2 and my RS1s and always come back to the RS1s. But with Pink Floyd, Jazz, and Classical, I keep reaching for my K701s.

When these babies are properly amp'd and burned in, they are pretty tough to beat. The HF-2s and RS1s are in the same league as the K701s IMO.

 

[Leonchan]

Great A/B test buddy. I'm trying to get myself a pair of AKG k701. For now, I'll just sit back, and enjoy my SR80i. Happy new years!

 

[sampson_smith]

I'd like to think that the hypothesis driving the above comparison is that an entry-level SR-60 performs better than a much more expensive AKG top-tier out of a portable player. Very surprising that they are reported as similar and of equal performance under those conditions.

That said, once you throw a Heed Canamp the 701's way, the entry level Grado will be admonished into non-existence. (The PA2V2, while good for low-impedance units like Grados, doesn't count. It has nowhere near enough juice to bring the 701's to life.) No question and no study needed. Regardless, thanks for reaching out to other 'phones, Valiente. I knew that you couldn't be faithful to Team SR-60 forever.

 

[kugino]

as many know around here, the k701 require a TON of burn-in and seems to constantly change its sound signature. i, for one, was not willing to wait that long. even with a really nice dac/amp combo (opus/gs-x) i could not fall in love with the k701. it's a very good performer that, given time and patience, should excel in many areas.

the sr60 is, IMHO, the best headphone out there for the price. so much sound for so little dough. it's ceiling certainly isn't as high as the k701, but i can listen to it straight out of my iphone, out of a high-end system, etc. and it will do well in every instance. it's not surprising that i continue to hold and listen to my sr60 even though dozens of headphones come and go.

 

[Cankin]

Not only these headphones have different sound signature, but they represent different approach to enjoy music. SR60 is the quick and dirty way, just plug in any headphone out you have on your Ipod or laptop and enjoy. K701 is about careful component matching, and more about analyzing music(but K701 is still enjoyable too me).

 

[Bilavideo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sampson_smith /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'd like to think that the hypothesis driving the above comparison is that an entry-level SR-60 performs better than a much more expensive AKG top-tier out of a portable player. Very surprising that they are reported as similar and of equal performance under those conditions. That said, once you throw a Heed Canamp the 701's way, the entry level Grado will be admonished into non-existence. (The PA2V2, while good for low-impedance units like Grados, doesn't count. It has nowhere near enough juice to bring the 701's to life.) No question and no study needed. Regardless, thanks for reaching out to other 'phones, Valiente. I knew that you couldn't be faithful to Team SR-60 forever.

But in defense of the SR-60, which should never have been here in the first place, a good amp will change it as well. I doubt the SR-60 will hold its own against the K-701 but even it will perform much better through a decent amp. That's at least my experience pumping a pair of SR-60s through the M^3 with STEPS.

 

[sampson_smith]

Fair points, Bilavideo. Notes taken!

 

[juniperlater]

This is a weird review, but I like it. I would have never thought of comparing these headphones in the same thread, much less same review. Good job.