How different is the sound of the AKG K271 vs. the K701?

[vo328]

I'm seriously considering the K701's and am a huge fan of the K271 (my current favorite set of cans). I was curious to know what types of differences might there be between the two from folks who have heard or owned both. I listen to music all across the board and am hoping the K701's will build on what I perceive as the strengths of the K271... such as the way it handles the human voice. So silky, smooth, and with a real sense of "texture". I'm hoping for a larger soundstage with these as well. Any input is greatly appreciated!


PS: I should add that I didn't really find the answer through searches...

 

[TKO]

vo328

I can't comment on a direct comparison between the AKG models you have mentioned but I will point you to:

Stereophile AKG K701 Review - August 2006

and in the October Stereophile issue "Editors Top Picks - 500 Recommended Components" of all headphones only the AKG K701 and the Senns HD 600/650 made the A list.

The Frequency Response graphs of the two headphones are not very close in terms of the graph. See: Headroom FR Graph Comparison - K701 and K271 Studio Which would be normal, of course, given the open and closed design differences. Which would also equate to a significant difference in the soundstage, in favour of the open K701 (wider, richer, airier [if such a word exists in English]).

Hope this helps. Cheers.

Tony

 

[xxlMusikfreak]

I have both and when you really like the K271 I think wou will love the K701. The 701 needs a good amp - maybe more so than the 271 and the bass will be different. It's a bit rounder with the 271. The 701 will reveal a bad recording even more than the 271. The stage is a lot bigger with the 701!

 

[khbaur330162]

Depending on source, the K701 to my ears sounds better unamped than amped. (Amp being the H5) Also, the K271 is closed with heavy amounts of bass (reverberation?) and have said to be a more refined KSC-75. The K701's don't exactly compare. While they both have the sort "AKG house-sound" with lush mid-frequency response, I don't believe you'll find too many similarities beyond that.

Please note, I've never heard the K271.

 

[apostate]

Quote:

Originally Posted by khbaur330162 Depending on source, the K701 to my ears sounds better unamped than amped. (Amp being the H5) Also, the K271 is closed with heavy amounts of bass (reverberation?) and have said to be a more refined KSC-75. The K701's don't exactly compare. While they both have the sort "AKG house-sound" with lush mid-frequency response, I don't believe you'll find too many similarities beyond that. Please note, I've never heard the K271.

I'm sorry but I'd be shocked if you had and posted that description of the K271. It is definitely not a bass heavy headphone despite being closed. Most people would describe it as being lean.

Ant

 

[roastpuff]

Ant is right, the K271's are by no means a bass-heavy headphone. Definitely lacking compared to the DT770, the basshead's favorite. Not bad bass at all, just lean - less impactful. Extension is there, and it doesn't overpower, but for some songs it is just lacking 'oomph' in the low end. Also, the K271 can be picky about which amp it is being used with. It doesn't like LD Tube amps, but it likes the MH, Dynalo, and H5.

I've had the opportunity to test out the K701 running from a Headroom Max during the BC meet, and it did sound good, with a great soundstage and an airier sound than the K271. Lovely pair of headphones, and more comfortable than the K271.

 

[vo328]

Quote:

Originally Posted by roastpuff Ant is right, the K271's are by no means a bass-heavy headphone. Definitely lacking compared to the DT770, the basshead's favorite. Not bad bass at all, just lean - less impactful. Extension is there, and it doesn't overpower, but for some songs it is just lacking 'oomph' in the low end. Also, the K271 can be picky about which amp it is being used with. It doesn't like LD Tube amps, but it likes the MH, Dynalo, and H5. I've had the opportunity to test out the K701 running from a Headroom Max during the BC meet, and it did sound good, with a great soundstage and an airier sound than the K271. Lovely pair of headphones, and more comfortable than the K271.

Wow... sounds exactly like what I'm looking for. My DT770's are my bass-monsters but I find myself moving away from that sound for something a little more balanced across the range. I hope the K701 has a good synergy with the HR Micro w/desktop module.

 

[regal]

The other possiblity would be the K501's, I haven't heard the K271S but looking at the charts it would seem the K501's might be more what you are looking for. The K701's should have more bass than the K271S. I really like the K501's.

 

[Asr]

Wow...I must have had an alien K271S, because it developed into a super-slammer with a crapload of mid-bass by the time I finally sold it (7 months after buying it).

The two aren't even remotely similar. The K271S is a lot warmer, big mid-bass, and very "groovy" for most kinds of acoustic music. The K701 is much more of an analytic headphone, with better extension, but a LOT less mid-bass.

 

[roastpuff]

Asr, what did you pair it with? I find the K271 actually quite sensitive to the amp pairings. For example, it gave me more bass when paired with a Dynalo vs a H5 (though that is a big difference in amp-age ) and it conducted the warm tubey feeling of a MH, passed along the bass-heavy PA2V2's nature very well, and hated the LD2.

 

[Asr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by roastpuff Asr, what did you pair it with? I find the K271 actually quite sensitive to the amp pairings. For example, it gave me more bass when paired with a Dynalo vs a H5 (though that is a big difference in amp-age ) and it conducted the warm tubey feeling of a MH, passed along the bass-heavy PA2V2's nature very well, and hated the LD2.

For the first half of its lifetime, a very low-fi component: directly from a CD/cassette deck's headphone jack.

In February I moved it to an AD8397-based SuperMini-III from an Onkyo DVDP - the DVDP also had its own headphone jack, I used that many times, and also a Little Dot Micro+.

I'm confused by some of the above replies talking about its bass. Yeah, it's not very good of an extension, but it's not like it was THAT bad. As for the mid-bass on mine, 'twas literally super-slamming, the most I've ever heard.

 

[roastpuff]

Using the Corda Headfive - as it is the only headphone amp I currently possess - the K271 has a decent amount of bass, and extension is good. Don't knock the extension - like the ER4P, it might not have the [size=x-large]"WHAM!"[/size] that bass-heavy headphones have, but it will tell you how far it goes down accurately. Doesn't compare to the DT770's that I am using as a comparison pair for bass slam, obviously. Again, the amp might play a big role here - K271S has a synergy requirement to sound it's best.

The K701 and the K271 are different due to their opposite natures - open vs closed - though the K271 are very "open"-sounding closed headphones.

 

[MaxAudioMax]

k701 = 10x k271 to my personal experience. However, the fact that k271 is a closed 'phone and has that amount of detail (i found...haven't compared to other higher ended closed phones) makes it a wonderful keeper. Too bad I sold my k271 to afford my source

...bottom line...

GET A K701!! woot woot akg

 

[vo328]

You know, I find the K271 a little lacking in midbass, though not to the point where my enjoyment disappears, but I definitely do hear the low stuff from my Micro+271 combination. If I get more of this from the 701, I'll literally be in heaven. The Northern Light and Sound deal is getting increasingly difficult to pass up...

MaxAudioMax, I like the K271x10 commentary!!

Regal, the 501's sound like they might be a bit bass-thin than what I'm looking for. Thanks for the recommendation though!

I really appreciate all the feedback I'm getting through this thread. Awesome... exactly what I love about this forum. Head-fi rules!

 

[Large4mat]

The AKG 271 has a more rounded, liquid presentation as someone has already said. The 701 is much more analytical and airy sounding, to the point of being dry. It also has a wider soundstage than the 271, but not by much. I didn't like the 701 with my tube amps........but loved it with my HeadRoom MicroAmp.