[Donald North]

While the K1000 measures generally flat above 80Hz, after listening to headphones like the LCD-2, HD800, and HE-6, I can see how someone would find the K1000 (especially higher serial #s) to be midrange centric. In comparison the K1000 sound like they have no bass. The lower serial number units are a little juicier in the bass but no comparison to headphones that can go down to 25-30Hz. Don't get me wrong, I love my K1000 but when I want to listen to the latest Beastie Boys album, it's a lot more fun through 'phones with deep bass extension.

 

[tranhieu]

Quote:

While the K1000 measures generally flat above 80Hz, after listening to headphones like the LCD-2, HD800, and HE-6, I can see how someone would find the K1000 (especially higher serial #s) to be midrange centric. In comparison the K1000 sound like they have no bass. The lower serial number units are a little juicier in the bass but no comparison to headphones that can go down to 25-30Hz. Don't get me wrong, I love my K1000 but when I want to listen to the latest Beastie Boys album, it's a lot more fun through 'phones with deep bass extension.

Which amp did you pair them with? My exp with the balanced b22 is slightly positive, they actually have bass but not that much with regards to the low bass. However I particulary prefer their bass to lcd2 and the likes as it has a very nice sense of space which I hardly found in any other fones. The highs are a bit sibilant to my ears, my guess is that the K1000 are not very compatible with neutral amps like the beta. Mine are low sn ones.
But obviously they are not mid centric imo.

 

[Audiogalore]

X2; My K1000 with the setup as follow:
 
Esoteric X03SE>Balance Audio Technology 51SE>Pass Lab First Watt F1> All WireWorld balanced is actually perfect with true reproduction of low - high frequency without coloration and low bass bloating that I experience with my LCD2.
 
Quote:

Which amp did you pair them with? My exp with the balanced b22 is slightly positive, they actually have bass but not that much with regards to the low bass. However I particulary prefer their bass to lcd2 and the likes as it has a very nice sense of space which I hardly found in any other fones. The highs are a bit sibilant to my ears, my guess is that the K1000 are not very compatible with neutral amps like the beta. Mine are low sn ones.
But obviously they are not mid centric imo.

 

 

[Donald North]

Mine are higher serial number #7667 and I run them with an Audio Note Kit One 300B SET and my prototype 2A3 SET tube amps. Yes, for sense of space K1000 is the best.
 
Quote:

Which amp did you pair them with? My exp with the balanced b22 is slightly positive, they actually have bass but not that much with regards to the low bass. However I particulary prefer their bass to lcd2 and the likes as it has a very nice sense of space which I hardly found in any other fones. The highs are a bit sibilant to my ears, my guess is that the K1000 are not very compatible with neutral amps like the beta. Mine are low sn ones.
But obviously they are not mid centric imo.

 

 

[Leonardo Drummond]

I'm really surprised, why is it that I find them mid-centric? And I don't have a faulty pair, since I've had two (early SN, bass-heavy) and they sounded the same.

 

[Shahrose]

Quote:

I'm really surprised, why is it that I find them mid-centric? And I don't have a faulty pair, since I've had two (early SN, bass-heavy) and they sounded the same.

Well what else can affect the sound significantly other than headphones? Source and amp. I'd check those.

 

[grokit]

For myself the K1000 sounds sublime and extends just fine with good to great recordings but doesn't extend well at all on either end of the spectrum when listening to sub-par source material, especially when compared with my HE-6 out of the same rig.

 

[mrarroyo]

My S/N 6191 K1000 with a V2 APureSound re-cable and driven by a RWA Signature 30.2 LFPV with Isabella sound very 3D. The bass is not as prominent as other cans but for overall enjoyment of Jazz/Classical this is the can for me. The HE6 and the HE500 are very nice sounding cans and offer a lot of enjoyment/pleasure and considering they are current production they are the way to go IMO over the HD800.

 

[hostarn]

Hello, I got the 04548. I got the black box. Dont know if its bass heavy or not. They are loved. Im only running them on an old shameful Rotel integrated from the 80s though. Will soon try with a NAD 3100. I really dont know what to try though, I guess Ill start by reading all posts in this thread. Hoping to find info also about the difference between models.

 

[Shahrose]

Quote:

Hello, I got the 04548. I got the black box. Dont know if its bass heavy or not. They are loved. Im only running them on an old shameful Rotel integrated from the 80s though. Will soon try with a NAD 3100. I really dont know what to try though, I guess Ill start by reading all posts in this thread. Hoping to find info also about the difference between models.

Black box + low serial # = bass-heavy. Congrats.
 

 

[robm321]

I actually like the newer "bass-light" versions better, but I'm probably in the minority.

 

[Leonardo Drummond]

Quote:

Well what else can affect the sound significantly other than headphones? Source and amp. I'd check those.

I'm not quite sure they're the ones to blame here. As I said, I've tried many different amps, and while some attenuated the problem to some extent, this overall characteristic of the AKGs remained. As for the source, I've only tried using the DacMagic and Electrocompaniet ECD-1, but it was mostly like the amps. The ECD-1 managed to add some "liquidity" to the mids, but to me they were still a bit forward. The bass was nice though, it had a slight bloom to it.
 

 

[Don Quichotte]

Quote:

I actually like the newer "bass-light" versions better, but I'm probably in the minority.

Care to elaborate a bit? Sorry if you've already done it in other threads... 
are to elaborate a bit?
 

 

[robm321]

The BL ones that I've compared seem to have more clarity. It's not that simple and hard to explain. They both sound like K-1000s (my favorite headphone), and I would be happy with either, but when I was on the hunt to compare/source a BH version years ago - assuming it was like the BL but with more bass, I realized it wasn't that simple and that the BL was the sound I was after. YMMV. 
 
 

 

[Shahrose]

Quote:

The BL ones that I've compared seem to have more clarity. It's not that simple and hard to explain. They both sound like K-1000s (my favorite headphone), and I would be happy with either, but when I was on the hunt to compare/source a BH version years ago - assuming it was like the BL but with more bass, I realized it wasn't that simple and that the BL was the sound I was after. YMMV. 
 
 

More bass can give the impression of less clarity sometimes; do you feel this was the case or was there inherently more detail in the BL version? Could you, for example, make the BH version sound the same as the BL by EQ'ing a portion of the bass down?