[scompton]

I just did a comparison between my K500 and K501. If I am hearing any difference between them, it's subtle. Both start to roll off bass at about 35Hz. The K500's bass has a little more impact and is a little easier to drive. Mids and highs sound the same to my ears and the difference in the bass is very subtle if it's not placebo.

The drivers look different and the baffle in the K500 has many more openings. I'm not sure which of these effect the sound.

The pads are very different and create a bigger effect on the sound. The K500 came with with very worn pads that contain a yellow foam and are very soft and squishy. The K501 pads are made of a dark gray foam that doesn't compress very easily, probably not at all when I'm wearing them. Whichever headphone has the K500 pads on it sounds better.

Edit: I compared the K500 to the K400 and K601 this morning.

K500 vs K601 - The K601 is quite a bit harder to drive and has a little more bass. One track with an accordion droning low notes below a bassoon and drums, the accordion actually rumbled a little, which it doesn't do with the K500. I thought the mids sounded better on the K500 but that may be because of the thinner pads or problems volume matching.

K400 vs K500 - I had a real problem doing this comparison because I was comparing on a 1/4 jack and only had one adapter that would fit both of these cans. It's hard to compare short excepts of music when you have to unscrew an adapter from one plug and screw it onto another. Also the K500 is easier to drive so I had problems volume matching, especially since I couldn't quickly switch from one headphone to the other. With these caveats, I heard one difference. Very slightly elevated highs in the K400. Not elevated enough to bother me. Things like cymbals, high piano notes, violins etc. seemed a little more prevalent in the K400.

Overall Conclusion - Buy whichever you can find cheaper. The sound is very close between the four.

I used the following music to do this comparison, as well as a test tone generator to see exactly where the bass rolled off.

Modern Jazz Quartet - The Little Comedy: La Cantatrice/Harlequin/Fontessa
Archipelago - Archipelago - bassoon, accordion, and percussion jazz trio
Zappa - Cletus Awreetus-Awrightus - big band fusion
Zappa - The Deathless Horsie - guitar solo
Gong - Percolations: Parts 1 & 2 - 10 minutes of vibes and drums
Huun-Huur-Tu - Prayer - Tuvan throat singing, one person singing multiple notes at the same time
CéU - 10 Contados - beautiful female voice, modern Brazilian pop
Jaco Pastorius - Donna Lee
Susan Nigro - Procaccini: Moments, Op. 153 - Contrabassoon and piano
Alfred Brendel - Haydn: Piano Sonata No.53 In E Minor
Otto Klemperer - Mahler: Symphony No. 2
Emerson String Quartet - Brahms: String Quartet No. 1
John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman - Lush Life - beautiful male voice

 

[Fitz]

That's because they have nearly identical frequency responses, but the K501 has an additional small peak in the treble, which can make the K500 sound slightly warmer in a close comparison. In any other setting though, the differences are negligible. The condition of the pads will make a bigger difference than the drivers in this case.

(This is based on the "normal" version of both, not any of the early or late production oddballs that are floating around)

 

[scompton]

Visually, how do you tell the difference between an oddball version and a normal version?

With casually listening, I didn't notice a difference between the K400 and K500. Tomorrow, I'm going to compare them to see the difference.

 

[scompton]

Added K400 and K601 to the OP

 

[jrosenth]

I have Fitz's old 500 that he recabled and have had a regular 501 (now sold) and now have a late model 501 that I might have recabled.

The late model 501 has a ton more bass - it's actually a little too bassy when used with a bass heavy amp (like the original master - btw that amp is a perfect match for a standard 500/501).

So I haven't compared a stock 500 but between the recabled 500 and the two 501s, the 500 has sweeter/warmer mids than either 501. Like I said the bass-heavy 501 isn't really even the same can as the bass makes such a difference. The 501s do have a bit more treble (like Fitz was saying about the treble peak).

I can understand why some people prefer the standard 501 to even a 701. The late 501 has bass, not unlike the 701, but I still think I prefer the 500/standard501 sound.

All that said these things scale really well and the difference (500/standard 501s mid sweetness) become more apparent as you go up the chain.

I also can't emphasize how that Original Master amp brings the bass to the 500/standard 501

 

[scompton]

All of mine have stock cables and pads. The pads on the K400 and K500 are pretty worn and about half the thickness of the K501 pads. The only thing I don't like are the stock K501 pads. What ever can I put them on came out the loser in a comparison.

If you do have a K501 with stock pads, do your self a favor and buy K601 or K701 pads.

 

[manhattanproj]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scompton /img/forum/go_quote.gif Visually, how do you tell the difference between an oddball version and a normal version?

any answers to that question?

 

[dreamwhisper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scompton /img/forum/go_quote.gif All of mine have stock cables and pads. The pads on the K400 and K500 are pretty worn and about half the thickness of the K501 pads. The only thing I don't like are the stock K501 pads. What ever can I put them on came out the loser in a comparison. If you do have a K501 with stock pads, do your self a favor and buy K601 or K701 pads.

So the K601 and K701 pads fit on the K501?
Has anyone tried this?

 

[vvanrij]

Great write-up scompton.

 

[Silvain]

This thread is interesting because I've always read that the soundstage in the K500/K501's were absolutely greater than the K701, but I see here that you compare them to the K601's which are considered to be a poor man's K701.

If one has the HD600's and is looking for another different sounding classical headphone, which AKG headphone would you recommend OP, besides the AKG-1000?

 

[dreamwhisper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Silvain /img/forum/go_quote.gif This thread is interesting because I've always read that the soundstage in the K500/K501's were absolutely greater than the K701, but I see here that you compare them to the K601's which are considered to be a poor man's K701. If one has the HD600's and is looking for another different sounding classical headphone, which AKG headphone would you recommend OP, besides the AKG-1000?

This decision is going to be very dependent on what music you want to listen to from it.
The vintage AKG's have some serious fans here.
The vintage (discontinued) AKG K240's are generally considered better sounding than the new AKG K240's
The same can be said for the vintage AKG K270 and the new AKG 271s. See here:
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/vin...extett-291247/
And here:
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/akg...95/index2.html

And a fun tidbit of info:
For heavy classical music, a reviewer here:
Headphone Reviews :: AKG K501
recommends the HD580/600 over the K501

 

[fhuang]

i have quite a few akgs from k301(the black, older one), k400(from fitz), k501 and k601. each sound different, differently good. maybe except k301. k601 has a smoother, warmer, darker, "rounder" sound. unlike the older akgs. i haven't listen to k400 and k301 long enough but to me, the soundstage has most noticeable difference. i don't know how to tell but it feels like you're in different music hall.

 

[vvanrij]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Silvain /img/forum/go_quote.gif K601's which are considered to be a poor man's K701.

Hahaha, what??

 

[iQEM]

Quote:

Originally Posted by manhattanproj /img/forum/go_quote.gif any answers to that question?

x2...

 

[mow_the_hawk]

For jazz, should I get the 501 or the 601s? And will an ASL MG-Head MkIII tube amp be sufficient for either?