[clarinetman]

Not for $150. Headphones are supposed to be headphones.

However, the K701 and AD700 are the two headphones I've ever heard that have the widest soundstage for close(ish) to that money.

 

[Graphicism]

Quote:

Originally Posted by krmathis /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, I though it was discontinued because some of the machines used to make them were worn out after 15 years.

One would think if it sounded good they would re-release it and make a lot of money.

 

[krmathis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Graphicism /img/forum/go_quote.gif One would think if it sounded good they would re-release it and make a lot of money.

...if they only sold as well/great as they sound. Which they imo did not.
But to be fair their popularity have gone up substantially after they went out of production. I bet parts of it is related to the fact that they become more rare, but perhaps also because Head-Fi have grown the years following it and hence new members getting aware of it.

 

[Graphicism]

Quote:

Originally Posted by krmathis /img/forum/go_quote.gif ...if they only sold as well/great as they sound. Which they imo did not. But to be fair their popularity have gone up substantially after they went out of production. I bet parts of it is related to the fact that they become more rare, but perhaps also because Head-Fi have grown the years following it and hence new members getting aware of it.

I was under the impression they were not only discontinued but a similar open design has been avoided since because they simply do not work like headphones, not just for the fact they leak like no other but that they can't produce certain frequencies.

You would think that everyone who owns a pair wants them to be re-released in a type-of AKG flagship headphone, similarly those who want a pair and cannot find one.

With this in mind if they were re-released they would indeed sell, however this fault might hinder further AKG sales.

 

[hans030390]

I think the JVC HA-RX700 or 900 headphones match up pretty closely to a full sounding set of speakers in that price range. I'm pretty used to a nice pair of bookshelf speakers paired with a nice 8" sub, and I was very surprised at how good these headphones sounded.

There's also the Audio Technica ATH-M50. They're not quite as full sounding, but do have deeper bass and better detail. Soundstage isn't quite as good. Overall, though, I found them to be a good upgrade to the JVCs.

 

[Bilavideo]

I think the K-1000 is one of the ugliest, doofiest looking, cans ever put out there (with the exception of that Magneto helmet I sometimes see with the goofy guy smiling underneath). I've never actually heard them, so I'm no judge of the sound. I'll put that up front. But what the K-1000 appears to do is give you the driver and practically nothing else. There it is in all its glory. You can adjust the big waffle pads so that you can play with the axis and orientation but for the life of me, I don't see why that headphone needed such an overwhelming headset for something so basic. I also don't see why a pair of mylar drivers merited a cool grand. Is this the audio-fetish concept car or what?

What I noticed, when I bought a pair of K-701s, was the degree to which the back vent had obstructions preventing it from being a strictly open can. Doing so would not have improved the quality of the HF. I can only surmise that it was done to give these headphones more kick. I'm not sure the K-701s are really an example of great kick, though I thought the crystal-clear highs were a lot of fun. I'm inclined to think that the future of high-end headphones will involve more semi-open cans, with designers building enough of a shell to capture enough bass while leaving enough of an opening to vent unwanted HF. Sennheiser seems to go for the intermediate filtering, where there's some veil between the ear and the driver. I don't much like that. It doesn't feel as dynamic as my Grados, which leave nothing between ear and driver. I'm more in favor of damping all around, both around the driver as well as behind it.

 

[smeggy]

you can only get close by going diy at that price

 

[krmathis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bilavideo /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think the K-1000 is one of the ugliest, doofiest looking, cans ever put out there (with the exception of that Magneto helmet I sometimes see with the goofy guy smiling underneath).

Thank god looks are in the eyes of the beholder!

I like how they look and even more love how they reproduce sound. But I understand they may not be for everyone.

 

[tvrboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hurryup /img/forum/go_quote.gif Nope.

Hurryup has been around here for long enough to know the answers to all of his stupid questions, and he also knows he can use the search function. Yet he keeps giving us incredible BS like "the HD580 is worse than a $10 speaker." Dude, get a life. Stop pinching your pennies so hard they turn back into molten copper. You know what? If there was this incredible, diamond-in-the-rough $50 HD800 killer that you are searching for, people would have found it by now. Either man up and spend the money, or decide that your money is better spend in places besides headphones. Is it really that hard to accept some things in life cost more than $100? Yeah there are great deals out there, for example DT48, K240 Sextett, used Stax, but if you think your HD580 sucks worse than the crappiest computer speakers, then you won't like any headphone, so just stop whining about headphones already!

 

[T.R.A.N.C.E.]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tvrboy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hurryup has been around here for long enough to know the answers to all of his stupid questions, and he also knows he can use the search function. Yet he keeps giving us incredible BS like "the HD580 is worse than a $10 speaker." Dude, get a life. Stop pinching your pennies so hard they turn back into molten copper. You know what? If there was this incredible, diamond-in-the-rough $50 HD800 killer that you are searching for, people would have found it by now. Either man up and spend the money, or decide that your money is better spend in places besides headphones. Is it really that hard to accept some things in life cost more than $100? Yeah there are great deals out there, for example DT48, K240 Sextett, used Stax, but if you think your HD580 sucks worse than the crappiest computer speakers, then you won't like any headphone, so just stop whining about headphones already!

Totally agree. Hurryup is not fairly comparing phones to speakers. I for one know that phones, up to a certain price point will give you more SQ for your dollar than speakers will. For example, $350 phones WILL sound better than $350 speakers no matter what Hurryup says. There is a limit which I feel is around the $1500-2500 mark. Yes $2000 speakers will sound better than $2000 phones.

Many people myself included prefer the intimate sound of a headphone over speakers too.

 

[Ham Sandwich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenlight /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've been thinking about the Speakers vs Headphones issue lately as well. I was considering starting a new thread, but I'll just hijack this one instead since I'm a noob and my thoughts are probably half-baked I'm off in Japan for a few months, and I've been missing my speaker setup at home (nothing too fancy, a pair of 〜$600 B&W DM685s hooked up to the most basic NAD integrated stereo amp). So the yesterday I went past yodobashi camera, tested some headphones, and came home with a pair of $500 audio technica ATH-AD2000's and a nuforce icon USB DAC. (I went with audio technica since foreign brands such as sennheiser/AKG cost twice as much as back home here, and the nuforce since I went with the cheapest thing that got my away from my macbooks integrated audio) Yeah they sound good technically. All the sound is there, I can pick it apart with my ears and hear the same thing. But the _presence_ isn't there. I'm listening to Rolling Stones - Flashpoint, and on my speakers, I can be fooled into thinking the audience is behind me. From the headphones, it still sounds like everything is coming approx 5 cm from my ears... Am I just a noob and need to get used to it/"train my ears"? Is it a burn-in thing? (keep in mind I think my speakers were a lot better even not burned in). Did I pick the "wrong" headphones (it seems that anything after this price class ought to be diminishing returns)?

I don't want you to think you're getting ignored. Just that many of us haven't heard the ATH-AD2000 and don't know what it is like in terms of size of soundstage. If you start a new thread with ATH-AD2000 in the title you'll catch the attention of people who actually own the headphone and should get some hopefully useful response.

Headphone listening in general does require some training of the brain. It's a different spatial experience than speakers and headphones don't give all the same cues to the brain as speakers do. With some listening time the brain will eventually adjust. There are some technical means of addressing the problem. You can add crossfeed either through software processing or as a hardware feature on some headphone amps. There are also various software processing that makes use of a HRTF (head releated transfer function) to do special spacial processing for things like crossfeed, surround sound simulation, and similar things.

And you may need to get a specialized headphone amplifier. One of the benefits of a proper headphone amp is an extension of the soundstage. The soundstage can get a little wider and deeper, sound like it is coming from a little farther away from your ears. The amount of change will depend on the headphone and the particular amp. But don't expect a huge change. Headphone soundstage is small and will always be in an area near your ears.

 

[T.R.A.N.C.E.]

Hey greenlight, the Audio technica ad2000 have a really good soundstage in terms of a headphone, they are really only beaten by the soundstage greats like k701 and the expensive hd800. So you saying the music sounded 5cm away from your ears is probably because your used to speakers and is no fault of the headphone.

Unfortunately the truth is that headphones ARE 5cm away from you head, and even the greatest headphones on earth can't compete with a decent speaker setup in terms of soundstage. Headphones however are capable of providing great fidelity and sound quality with very intimate sound. Ultimately, headphones are for ease of use, portability and privacy (aka little sound leakage).

So get used to the headphones or go back to sitting in front of your speakers basically

 

[m11a1]

This thread is hilarious....that's all I have to say.

 

[Amarphael]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bilavideo /img/forum/go_quote.gif You can adjust the big waffle pads so that you can play with the axis and orientation but for the life of me, I don't see why that headphone needed such an overwhelming headset for something so basic. I also don't see why a pair of mylar drivers merited a cool grand. Is this the audio-fetish concept car or what?

I think that the size of the drivers was exactly due to the complete open-baffle design, meaning that in order to compensate the lack of hard shell that would allow some lower note reverbs they chose to enlarge the diaphgram so it'll ve able to move more air and give more 'kick'. besides they didn't cost a grand at retail, as was said earlier.
In that note, I agree with you that this design is quite over the edge in that it's not practical to use it as headphones should be used, intimatley and without disturbing any surrounding people with the music. in this they are truly a flawed design.