[superman's ears]

x

 

[Firevortex]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dead Ghost /img/forum/go_quote.gif Is the serial nr of k1000 important? For example i saw some 05402s on ebay with 450euro...Good price i think, considering the US >1000usd prices.

i would try to find a lower serial k1000. if you went though a search there is a few owners that thought the lower serial K1000 sounded better with more bass response while the newer drivers sounded bright. lower serial K1000 usually sell for cheaper too

the thread created by superman's ears kinna confirms that.

 

[Nik]

One thing we MUST consider for the best K1000's companion is this question:
do you whant to listen for many hours you K1000 or just for sone minutes ???

Yes, I think that this special headphones could be not so relaxed, but this depend A LOT by the amp you adopt with them.

My experience with the incredible Air Tight ATM-300 (SE 300B!), helped me to understand this concept. This is an amazing amp, but my ears was not so happy to listen that sound for more than 10-15 minutes (!?). When I came back to the sweetness and relaxed sound of the Cary... I have found a very musical and full sound of my K1000...

I can listen now for many hours without any problems...

 

[tmarshl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nik /img/forum/go_quote.gif One thing we MUST consider for the best K1000's companion is this question: do you whant to listen for many hours you K1000 or just for sone minutes ??? Yes, I think that this special headphones could be not so relaxed, but this depend A LOT by the amp you adopt with them. My experience with the incredible Air Tight ATM-300 (SE 300B!), helped me to understand this concept. This is an amazing amp, but my ears was not so happy to listen that sound for more than 10-15 minutes (!?). When I came back to the sweetness and relaxed sound of the Cary... I have found a very musical and full sound of my K1000... I can listen now for many hours without any problems...

I had the same reaction with the K1000s and the First Watt F1 - they were so accurate and so detailed with such a large soundstage that they required my full attention - "sit up and take notice". This is wonderful for an hour or two, but becomes tiring after that.

For that reason, I also have a Red Wine Audio Signature 30 amplifier to pair with the K1000s, for hour after hour of effortless listening - warmer and not as detailed as the F1.

A great combination!

 

[Nik]

So, you keep both the amps?

 

[J-Pak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nik /img/forum/go_quote.gif One thing we MUST consider for the best K1000's companion is this question: do you whant to listen for many hours you K1000 or just for sone minutes ??? Yes, I think that this special headphones could be not so relaxed, but this depend A LOT by the amp you adopt with them. My experience with the incredible Air Tight ATM-300 (SE 300B!), helped me to understand this concept. This is an amazing amp, but my ears was not so happy to listen that sound for more than 10-15 minutes (!?). When I came back to the sweetness and relaxed sound of the Cary... I have found a very musical and full sound of my K1000... I can listen now for many hours without any problems...

Just curious how much does the ATM-300 sell for?

 

[Nik]

Around 8000 U$ with WE 300B in stock. (A lot of money!) This is the price in Italy... (I don't keep the amp, because not a great match with the K1000...).

 

[flecom]

I find it interesting how the K1000s were always kind of "those other headphones that need a big amp" while they were in production and could be purchased new for around $400 even...

there were very few people that preached the K1k love... give them the power they need and they will sound like no other...

but these sentiments were ignored for the most part...

AKG discontinued the headphones probably partially at least due to lack of sales...

now all of a sudden their used value has gone from <$400 to over their MSRP of $1000 in less than a year? amazing! for once I made a good investment!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wmcmanus /img/forum/go_quote.gif The K1000s are capable of doing some amazing things, but they are extremely amp sensitive. Without the right amp, they are pretty uninspiring (to me anyway). So to really answer the "worth" question (which, is, of course, subjective), you need to consider the cost of the entire system. By the time you amp the K1000s properly, you're into a headphone/amp combo of several thousand dollars. The K701s are kind of amp picky as well, but not nearly to the same degree as the K1000s. You can get great sound out of the K701s with a headphone/amp combo for well under $1,000. Whether the cost difference is "worth it" depends on your budget and what you're looking for in terms of sonics. Some people (Yikes, for example) will actually prefer the K701s, so it's not as though all of these opinions can be averaged in some way that will make sense to your ears and your budget. The people who go the K1000 route as their main headphone system tend to be crazy about the sound, and they then find a way to justify the cost. It is a sound that is entrirely unto itself.

I don't think I did too bad...

The K1000s were the first time i listened to a pair of headphones that really made me go "wow"... its like i opened my eyes for the first time and saw an ocean of colors... everything so detailed, so beautiful, so perfect... I knew I had to have them... thankfully santa (wayne) had two at the time

I spent the last two years of my life building my K1000 amp (my dynamight)... and I am enjoying the combo very much...

and my K1ks still arn't going anywhere dont worry

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hi-Finthen /img/forum/go_quote.gif I would also like to know, which interconnects the people who have a proper amplifier for their K-1000 choose.

I use the "mogami gold" interconnects they sell at guitar center... just mogami neglex 2534 and neutrik XLR connectors... its very nice cable... they are like $30~$40 IIRC

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenhorn /img/forum/go_quote.gif The so-called "need" for an uber-expensive amp for the K1000 is a myth.

I agree somewhat... I drove my K1ks for a while from a T-Amp and it sounded very good! unfortunately my T-amp melted (literally, melted)... still dont know why

Quote:

Originally Posted by humanflyz /img/forum/go_quote.gif SS =! harsh by default. K1000s sound harsh when they are under-driven, not because of SS amps. If you want tubes, just put in a tube pre-amp/head-amp unit, and you have the best of both worlds. I think in a recent mini-meet, someone used the SDS-XLR as a balanced pre-amp to drive the First Watt F1 driving the K1000s. Now THAT would be an awesome setup.

not to be nit-picky but its "not equals" so it would be !=

anyhow, I agree, the K1000s under-driven are not so great... which i think is why a lot of people dismissed them on their inital trials... I run my k1000s from a sold state amp and honestly have never heard them sound better...

 

[Bostonears]

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenhorn /img/forum/go_quote.gif Also, Marantz vintage amps or receivers (from the seventies), and certainly other good (and not necessary expensive, but rather cheap, since one of these vintage amps can be bought now for 1-200 EUR) drive the K1000 very, very well. And this is no surprise either, because the K1000 were originally intended to be connected to one of these speaker amps.

I agree about using a vintage 1970's Marantz solid state integrated amp or receiver with the K1000's. You can pick one up on eBay for about $100. You'd have to spend at least 5X that to get a significantly better amp new. As a bonus, most Marantz amps from that era have dual speaker outputs, so you could easily hook up speakers and the K1000's to the same amp, switching between them at the push of a button.

 

[superman's ears]

x

 

[spinali]

There's so much we're learning about this headphone that I've been forced to rethink a few things.

When superman's ears offered his evaluation of six K1ks some time back, his admittedly unscientific evaluation showed a perceived decline in audo quality over the course of its manufacture, inversely correlated to rising serial numbers.

Two other Head-Fi'ers confided that their newer units didn't sound as good as more seasoned ones, and posited that break-in would improve the sound.

Then, a notion I'd privately entertained over the past few days was too tantalizing not to mention. What if (and I know this is like pouring kerosene on burning embers for a few vocal Head-Fi'ers) break-in was responsible for the observations? Varying drivers might at work, as might less than perfect original observations. But might break-in over time prove to be another credible option for discussing the K1000 sound?

 

[fmplautus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by superman's ears /img/forum/go_quote.gif All other amps bastardize the K1000 sound.

Superman -- so glad you've had the time to listen to "all other amps" with the K-1000. I have to admit that I've only heard about 3,769 amps with my K-1000s since purchasing them four or five years ago. I will rest easy now that you've identified the rest of the real bastards out there.

 

[Bostonears]

Quote:

Originally Posted by superman's ears /img/forum/go_quote.gif The old Marantz amps are dull. You don't get the real K1000 sound.

I acknowledge that the old Marantz amps aren't up there with the Pass Aleph/First Watt or Red Wine amps. But I have an old Marantz 2225 receiver that it quite passable with the K1000s. It's not my primary amp for these phones, but it's hardly dull. In fact, I was surprised how good it is. For a hundred bucks, less than one tenth the price of those top notch amps, it's a bargain.

 

[Hi-Finthen]

I'm sure the OP will choose the right amp so as not to "bastardize' the potential of his new/used K-1000 !

 

[tmarshl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nik /img/forum/go_quote.gif So, you keep both the amps?

Yes, I am going to keep both of the amps.