[pfloding]

Quote:

Originally Posted by oicdn /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've only listened to K701 for a VERY brief stint and didn't enjoy it. I will however say, if the K501 is of ANY indication of how these cans react to amplification, have fun with that...cause that's a more expensive journey than I'm willing to travel. At the Florida Mini Meet, I plugged in the K501s to a PRII and they sounded great, then the Mxp3 amp with that Denon table and it was crazy, like a TOTALLY different headphone. I don't know if I'de be willing to venture into having to find something that has to have a crazy amount of power to drive cans that change that dramatically, cause you never know What you'll get with each amp.....screw that mess. Talk about a hassle. It sounded good, but no thanks.

Then you simply shouldn't spend a lot of money on higher end headphones.

It's impossible to get high end sound out from any transducer with a mediocre amplifier. This goes for headphones as well as speakers.

 

[d-cee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RuiCanela /img/forum/go_quote.gif a. K701 need burn in (300 hours minimum) Make burn in with heavy bass music (expl: House Music) b. K701 need decent amplifier (expl: Heed Canamp) With these conditions you can enjoy K701 a lot! I own K701 and Heed Canamp and I can say that its a wonderfull set! Cheers Rui

My thoughts exactly, except I no longer own the Heed Canamp

 

[number1sixerfan]

Correct me if I am wrong but the OP was using them out of the 0404 with it's onboard amp? Please don't judge the cans off of that. It simply is not fair at all. I had the k501s and used them with the emu1212 with a ppa and it sounded amazing.

I remember plugging them up straight to the emu and they sounded horrible. I mean horrible, nothing like they did with the ppa coming from the emu. Its one thing to say they are boring, it's another thing to not want to pay the price of properly driving them.

 

[robinje]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ferraro25 /img/forum/go_quote.gif You'll soon notice that the K701s make voices (and instruments) lighter than they should be. For instance, a somewhat high voice will sound cartoonishly high-pitched, with no body at all. The K701 is not a hi-fi headphone.

Dude, maybe you need to clean the wax from your ears. The K701 is one of the best headphones available. It all boils down to personal preference. I've had Senn HD-650 with various cables, Grado RS-2, Grado RS-1, Grado 325i, etc. and the AKG is by far the best all around sounding headphone of the ones I've tried... TO ME!

 

[Asr]

K701 is very dependent on both amp and source, not just amp! Where are the members of Team Source First?

I've heard the K701 out of 10 CD players to date (some of them using the same amp and cables eliminating those variables) and I have to tell you, the K701 scaled every single time. I repeat: every single time. Of course I'm not discounting the amp stage, but source plays a major, crucial part too. I practically hated the K701 on one CD player in fact (the Ayre CX-7e).

 

[shellylh]

What amp and source would you recommend to make the K701 really sing?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asr /img/forum/go_quote.gif K701 is very dependent on both amp and source, not just amp! Where are the members of Team Source First? I've heard the K701 out of 10 CD players to date (some of them using the same amp and cables eliminating those variables) and I have to tell you, the K701 scaled every single time. I repeat: every single time. Of course I'm not discounting the amp stage, but source plays a major, crucial part too. I practically hated the K701 on one CD player in fact (the Ayre CX-7e).

 

[Asr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shellylh /img/forum/go_quote.gif What amp and source would you recommend to make the K701 really sing?

There are limitless combos that would probably theoretically sound great on the K701, for an equally limitless number of people. I started with an Arcam DiVA CD73 and HeadAmp GS-1 which I thought sounded great. Until I got an Arcam FMJ CD33 which spewed forth even greater detail. And then the HeadAmp GS-X, which was transcendental at the level of increased detail and soundstage. An Audio Aero Prima also sounded really nice. It's all up to each person's preferences though, but in order for the K701 to truly be unlocked, one needs to explore the high-end - staying at budget-fi is an insult to these headphones.

 

[fordgtlover]

I liked the K701 when I first bought them. I was using my iPod as the source and a 24V Pimeta for amplification.

I then upgraded my amp to the M³ and the K701 took it in their stride and allowed the amp upgrade to shine through. I also changed my source to PC and a Silverstone EB01 DAC.

For the past month or so I have been using the Millett Max as my amp, and once again the K701 performs nicely.

This week I received my new USB Monica DAC, which sounds very nice BTW, and once again the K701 stepped up to the new level.

Personally, I can't fault them.

I personally don't like the Grado sound. Regardless of what i tried I just didn't lik etheir sound.

It may simply be that the OP doesn't like the K701 sound - he wouldn't be the first and almost certainly won't be the last.

 

[greggf]

As Asr says, the Arcam CD33 (and I assume its successor model, the CD36) synergizes especially well with the K701.

Also works well with the Sennheiser HD600. Not so much with the HD650. (All just my ears and my opinion, of course.).

 

[Happy Camper]

This discussion comes down to method of discovery. Everyone has their own way of finding the sound they like. Some start with hps, some source, others amp. Price range determines most of our paths. I would say that the price of headphones do not correspond to the cost of the rest of the components. A three hundred dollar hp will not sound "great" with the same priced components. They may sound GOOD to some, but if the aim is to get into hi-fidelity, you have to consider the price of components will be more.

What is hi-fidelity? That seems to be the most varied question on the board. If you are used to an ipod and buds and get a dedicated amp and full sized cans, this is it. Others have had dedicated cdp, amps and top of the line hps and get into true hi end equipment. The board seems to have more of the ipod generation than the hi end hobby knuts. The ipoders get their feelings hurt because they are being told their definition of hi-fidelity is wrong. The hi-fidelity knuts are told they are elitists (snobs) because they spend so much money on stuff.

It all boils down to what sounds good to the buyer. Find it and enjoy. Don't worry what someone else thinks.

 

[ph0rk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fordgtlover /img/forum/go_quote.gif It may simply be that the OP doesn't like the K701 sound - he wouldn't be the first and almost certainly won't be the last.

I'm sure that is the issue.

As I wasn't generally hanging around when the 701's were first released, all of my searched turned up discussions of how really ok the 701 bass was

I meant it when I called them the nicest headphones I hated - they were very well-behaved, just not my sound signature.

 

[number1sixerfan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fordgtlover /img/forum/go_quote.gif It may simply be that the OP doesn't like the K701 sound - he wouldn't be the first and almost certainly won't be the last.

Well it's not that simple if the 0404 is the only thing powering them. If he grabbed a pair of k1000s and tried to power them with a pimeta I would probably not like that sound either.

I think the case is just that a can that needs a lot of power just would not work in the OP situation, which I can understand. Not many people feel like dropping $1000 to enjoy music and I can understand that.

 

[slowpogo]

I am actually the one who bought ph0rk's K701s. I didn't see this thread until now, a few weeks later.

I have to say, when I first got them, I liked how they looked and felt, but they sounded like garbage. Very refined garbage, but I didn't like them much at all. They were definitely harsh, and plastic sounding. Also, the soundstage seemed way out of balance; the middle was lost in the distance, while the far left and right seemed way too loud, to the point I could literally hear the sound coming from the drivers, if that makes sense. The illusion of imaging just wasn't there.

However, I hooked them up to an unused DVD/CD player in the laundry room and let them run almost two weeks straight, changing CDs now and then. It added up to around 300 hours or so.

Wow.

They now sound INCREDIBLE to my ears--they are completely different headphones from a few weeks ago. No offense to the non-believers, but I don't know how deaf you'd have to be to not hear the monumental improvement these have shown. I have an Emu 1212m sound card (modded) and a maxed-out PIMETA with discrete buffers, boutique caps and resistors etc. Through this setup, the K701s are simply wonderful. I cannot fathom anyone hearing them as they sound now and calling them boring, or cold, or any of the negative comments of this thread.

Orchestral music in particular is a joy. Jazz is great; I have a live Coltrane CD that seriously puts me IN Birdland. Rock is sweet as well. The bass isn't "light," it's just presented as it was recorded. It's honest. If you think the bass on these is light, what you really mean is, you prefer boosted, exaggerated bass. A touch of Waves EQ is all it takes to make the bass phat and powerful.

It's the closest to musical nirvana I've ever gotten.

 

[boomana]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MWALK /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've had the ZanaDeux about 6 weeks now. Love it! Am selling my Headroom Balanced Home Max/Max Dac on Audiogon now. While the HR is very good, the ZD is so much more musical! (Apple Macbook Pro>applelossless>Wavelength USB Dac>amps>AKG 701's or Senn 650)

MWALK, STOP spamming every thread you can with the same frigging sentence about your sale. You pretend to give information, but you're doing nothing but being a sleaze.

 

[ph0rk]

slowpogo: Glad you enjoy them - someone should.

Given how acceptable I've been finding the k601's, I think I may just be hypersensitive to upper treble (16k-20k). Stuff like the high pitched whine incandescent lightbulbs or some crt's sometimes make annoy the hell out of me, though it often takes me awhile to figure out what it is.