scompton
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2005
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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
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