[k3oxkjo]

 
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I read that review and was surprised to see him bashing the speaker driver. I don't believe he understands the design of the unique transducers in the K1000, which are unlike anything before or after them in headphones. He should read the original literature and manufacturer's comments from the Stereophile review, where the engineer explains their design. Among other unique features, the rear of the K1000 has more open area and less impeded than any other magnet structure by using a ring magnet structure. It also doesn't create a confined air volume like other headphones with earpads.

 
IMHO, you can safely disregard most of what he said about the driver. His position was that they were no good because they were old with no supporting evidence (except his subjective assessment of the headphones). He indicated that newer drivers were "better" without specifing which particular drivers he was talking about (they can't ALL be better) or what about those better drivers makes them better. He made no measurements of the AKG driver or newer drivers to prove his point, he didn't address the K1000 design in particular to tell us what was wrong. Basically, his position is that newer driver designs are better because they are newer, which is pretty much a content-free statement.
 
His subjective assessment is what it is, and that's fine. But he tried to buttress his assessment with the strawman that "it's an old driver, so what do you expect" (to paraphrase) and that was not proven in any substantive way. Who knows, maybe it's impossible with today's technology to make a better driver in the context of the K-1000 design. I don't know and neither does he! 
 
Kevin

 

[jaycalgary]

One part that stands out to me is "In busy music passages, the instruments and vocals are fighting to earn the spotlight. The result is a big mess, so messy that moving to a relatively mid-fi headphone like Sennheiser’s portable HD25-1". Is he blowing smoke here? I can only guess but I think think this guy turned his back on having any credibility on sites like this. He made sure he left no wiggle room with the quality of components he used either as far as high quality goes. He also nailed it down that it couldn't be the cable and at least one pair was the bass heavy model. Too many good sets of ears on here for me to think this guy is anything but a hack. I continued to read some of his other reviews and of course the HD700 and HD800 are way better than my Stax 007's to him. From the meet I went to last week the HD800's didn't really sound anything like the 007's that would make the comparison.

 

[Don Quichotte]

Quote:

I wanted to make sure that what I’m hearing on the K1000 is simply not because some bad pairing scenario with the amplifier that I’m using, so I tried to listen to it with all the finest headphone amplifiers I can find, all capable of driving efficient speakers: the RSA Dark Star, the WooAudio WA5, the Minute 45, the Rudistor RP-010, and a 4-ch AMB Labs Beta22. None of the amplifiers can do anything to alleviate the problem of an aging driver.

   Maybe he should have tried a... speaker amp? Just guessing...
 
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Indeed you can take any of the current $100 headphone, even something like the humble Sony MDR-7506 and feel how outdated the K1000′s drivers are.

   This is UTTERLY PATHETIC!!! Unbelivable!
 
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In busy music passages, the instruments and vocals are fighting to earn the spotlight.

   There might be a hint of truth in this. I've noticed this tendency both in my K501 and K1000 headphones. Please take notice that I'm driving my K1000 with a t-amp, but I have the impression this is a characteristic of the AKG house sound. Many years ago when I was comparing the K501 and the Sennheiser HD600 (I couldn't keep both), this was a distinct advantage of the HD600, especially in busy symphonic passages. I chose the K501 in the end, however. Nowadays, this is one of the advantages of my Stax 3030 over both my AKGs.
 
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Not only that, but the ambiance present on the recording is totally missing.

   It's not so bad, but again this is a characteristic of the K1000 (not the whole AKG house sound this time). Because of the very high direct vs. reflected sound ratio that the K1000 designer(s) worked hard to achieve, the ambiance is diminished to a certain degree as compared to all the other conventional headphones as well as to speakers. This is not what the sound engineer wanted to reach the listeners' ears, but rather is what helps the above mentioned sound engineer hear the flaws in the recording. K1000 is indeed a unique design and, if I didn't get it totally wrong, is (was) pro market oriented. 
 
   Oh and, by the way, I'm really hearing some very good treble from my K1000 (bass light version). There is a slight metallic coloration that's actually part of the midrange, but the treble is nicely extended, very clean, perhaps a bit more silkiness wouldn't hurt but it's very very good as it is. Unlike my K501.

 

[Radio_head]

Nice to know that Mike is honest to himself.  I disagree with just about everything he said, but most publications/reviewing websites that rely on ad revenue and/or loaners are loathe to give a real negative review.  Kudos to Mike, even though I think he needs to get his hearing checked...
 

 

[Shahrose]

IMO, both camps are too extreme. Mike and the K1000 fans I mean. (If I were to choose though, I'd side more with the latter).
 
I agree with Mike that some of the newer flagships have outclassed the K1000s technically...particularly in areas like microdetail-retrieval, soundstage layering, frequency extension, nuance/delicacy and air...these are just some things I noticed when I owned them. I loved my bass-heavy pair (especially after I got them recabled with DHC UPOCC Cu), but they fell short of some of the newer headphones with a solid system behind them.
 
The K1000 are unique and unmatchable in some regards, like their speaker-like presentation. For movies, I reached only for the AKGs. They also had awesome dynamics and punch from the Dynahi. If I'll be honest, the 3ch Beta22 and Apex Peak/Volcano were decent, but not ideal for them. In using some integrated amps, I found the quality definitely mattered. None actually bettered the 3 headphone amps I mentioned. Something like a Firstwatt F1 or F5 would have been better for the K1K than the integrateds I tried.

 

[jaycalgary]

"I disagree with just about everything he said, but most publications/reviewing websites that rely on ad revenue and/or loaners are loathe to give a real negative review. "
He gave Sony's and whatever else he mentioned a good review by trashing the K1000 and it is pretty obvious what the guy is about.

 

[fatcat28037]

I've owned a bunch of really good headphones, check my profile, IMHO the K1000 is a unique headphone, one I will never sell. I power mine with a Woo 22, I have Sylvania 7236 power tubes which give me 2w and even with that I have turn the volume to 80%. The K1000 pushes my amp to almost the max, but the W22 does it without strain and the K1000 sounds amazing. As I type this I'm listening to Allison Krauss & US Live. It just doesn't get any better than on the K1000.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

I owned a pair of K1000 (#1378), and I went through about ten amps before deciding the SAC KH1000 amp drove them the best, and with the wrong amp they felt mediocre to me.  
 
With a good amp I thought the mids and highs sounded very much like my LA7000 or HE-5LE with rear driver gauze removed.  That isn't anything close to mediocre.  I still had a problem with the bass lacking extension down low, and lacking mid-bass impact.  So, despite the superior soundstage I found the "illusion" of being there to be broken by the lack of authoritative and life-like bass.  However, I have not heard a budget phone that could top the K1000.

 

[Blackmore]

Guys, anyone up here who tried Zanden 300B? It is not easy to find many lackings, if any, with it.

 

[Shahrose]

Quote:

I owned a pair of K1000 (#1378), and I went through about ten amps before deciding the SAC KH1000 amp drove them the best, and with the wrong amp they felt mediocre to me.  
 
With a good amp I thought the mids and highs sounded very much like my LA7000 or HE-5LE with rear driver gauze removed.  That isn't anything close to mediocre.  I still had a problem with the bass lacking extension down low, and lacking mid-bass impact.  So, despite the superior soundstage I found the "illusion" of being there to be broken by the lack of authoritative and life-like bass.  However, I have not heard a budget phone that could top the K1000.

Did you have the bass-light version by any chance? Mine punched like a jackhammer. That was one of the best things about them.
 
(Though I did notice the recable helped in this regard).

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Did you have the bass-light version by any chance? Mine punched like a jackhammer. That was one of the best things about them.
 
(Though I did notice the recable helped in this regard).

 
I don't know, but was told that low serial numbers like mine were bass-heavy models.  
 
Mine didn't lack bass per se', they lacked that deep-bass authority and impact that many other headphones that seal against the head can offer; meaning the direct transmission of bass to the bones seemed to be missing a little oomph.  It was probably no less than what you get with a moderately powered HD600 or Grado, but definitely less than the HE-500, LCD-2, or D7000.  Sometimes the K1000 bass sounded a little like what you hear at a live concert when you are standing in the hall right outside of the auditorium - distant and muddy.  It definitely tightened up with the right amp, and loosened up with the wrong one.

 

[Audiogalore]

I find mine with the following configuration: 
 
Esoteric X-03SE>BAT 51SE>First Watt>K1000 fantastic if not the best sounding headphone in my collection. Especially with classical or big concert music.
 
Enjoy music!
 

 

[tdogzthmn]

Just got my K1K today. I'm running it through my Musical Concepts modded Adcom 555 MKII with my BCL as a preamp.  This headphone really does need a speaker amp to get up and go.

 

[ESL-1]

Just joining the "club" as I received S.N. 7704 via a long distance trade fairly recently. Although I had been a retail dealer for these back in the 90's and sold a few back then it has been great to renew the relationship, it's been lots of fun so far and getting better. Highly recommended.

 

[tdogzthmn]

So far my one complaint with the K1000 is the poor dampening.  I seem to get more rattles and vibrations when listening to lower frequencies than I do with any other headphones.  The majority of listening is fine but every now and again I will hit a frequency that causes resonance and disrupts my listening experience.  Aside from that these headphones have a really realistic soundstage and image which is astounding.