K701 thread

[sphinxvc]

Quote:

Well, I've got an Oppo CD player (OPDV-971). People come up with this idea that my "audiophile" OLD Playstation 1 is equivalent to a $10,000 CD player and I don't understand that non-sense because my Oppo CD player sounds much better. Upstairs I listen to CDs a lot still. I also have a DAC connected to my laptop that has all my ripped Lossless files on it. Sometimes I use a docked Ipod Touch (line out) and can't tell a huge difference between my DAC and Ipod Touch (line-out) as a source. People can say I'm deaf all they want, but it's not too bad. My DAC is nothing special but gets the job done. I almost always prefer the sound of CD although it can be an annoyance. My weakest link is my DAC but I still prefer CDs on my Oppo, but the DAC will get upgraded sooner or later.
 

 
Well there are a couple hundred dollars worth of mods you can do on the PS1.  I don't use any CDs so I've never given it much though.  I didn't see anything in your profile so I assumed you were coming straight out of your computer or pods, but if your DAC or if yourOppo is up to the task that's cool.
 

 

[tdockweiler]

Wow, what a difference a little (more like a TON) burn-in has done! A few weeks ago I liked these a lot, but the treble was quite fatiguing and often made some songs sound a bit un-natural.  They were still OK for specific music at least and I loved them for electronic music and games, but not for vocals or brightly recorded pop music. Very poorly recorded and bright recordings were unlistenable.
 
I figured since they were not being used as much I would connect them up to my downstairs computer and burn them in non-stop. The computer is not used much, so it wouldn't be that much trouble. I think in total I've now burned them in about 70-80 hours now. I haven't listened to them for the last 30 hours until the last 2 hours.
 
First thing I noticed was more mid-bass. What the heck? Probably just my imagination there and it doesn't better. The treble seems to have smoothed itself out a lot. I've listened to them now for about 2 hours since checking them and my ears haven't thrown a fit with any music yet at all. Definitely still far more treble than what's on my K601, but it's no problem.
 
Previously I had tried to use the K601 pads on the K702 but the treble was so piercing that I could just not do it. Now I quite like it. It definitely gives you a slightly more front-row like experience, but not quite the same as the K601.
 
BTW I read somewhere that the pads on the K702 are thicker than those of the K701. Is this true? Probably not.
 
Right now I like the K601 pads on the K702. The mids are now a little more forward sounding.
 
Now I wonder how many people who complain about harsh treble haven't burned them in enough? I'll burn them in longer while I'm sleep and see if anything else changes. Maybe and it won't hurt.

 

[tdockweiler]

I just made a Mogami cable for these. There is still some stock wire going from the metal rod inside to the drivers, so I can't imagine it would sound as good as bypassing all the internal wires and making them dual entry.
 
Despite that 1" of stock wire I feel there's still some benefit of a good cheap cable. It's hard to say how those 1" pieces of wires are affecting the sound with the new cable, if at all. Probably are.
 
I originally heard people say there is NO internal wires and it's ALL going through a metal rod connecting the two sides. There is still those tiny wires going from this rod to the driver. I guess I could replace those with Mogami also, but I might just skip that for now.
 
With this $8 cable "upgrade", my amp and 80 hours of burn-in, it's now not even close to being bass light to my ears. Totally transformed IMO after proper burn-in, but what a pain! It's treble is quite smooth now unless it's harsh and annoying in the recording. About dang time!
 
I think this is one of my favorites right now. I might experiment with my K601 and try and make it dual entry and bypass the internal wires. I think I prefer a single sided recable though and just replace them the short cables inside.
 
Anyone made the K702/K702 dual entry (or bypassed ALL the internal wires) and was it worth the trouble? If the K601 is a success I may try it with the K702 if there is some improvement. Killing a $250 headphone will hurt, but the chance of that is very slim and if it happens it was my own stupid fault. I did get some good tips on it from another thread though.

 

[Mad Max]

I'm adding dynamat xtreme to the back of the drivers and parts of the assembly in there to kill off those nasty plasticky resonances.  The headphone is becoming less fatiguing with cleaner treble and mids.
Still working on it though.  I think those of you love the headphone but find it fatiguing will like this a lot.
I'll post pics later.
 
Edit:  This head-fier explains how to remove the grills to get in there.  If you like the plasticky, peaky sound as is, don't do this modification, lol.
 
 

Edit3: Lay the Dynamat twice as thick as pictured above on the topmost ring, make sure you do leave enough room for the grill to be placed on without the material sticking to it.
 
 

 
 

 
 
Edit2: I was not able to eliminate the ~6kHz peak, but how pronounced it is depends on the music as far as my ears and gear.  It will be reduced a little bit.  (meh, just needed more burn-in)  Other than that, it is now almost completely non-fatiguing, especially if the music isn't too bright.
Edit4: The vent holes on the back of the driver are only three, not four.

 

[sphinxvc]

Awesome.

 

[Acix]

Quote:

I just made a Mogami cable for these. There is still some stock wire going from the metal rod inside to the drivers, so I can't imagine it would sound as good as bypassing all the internal wires and making them dual entry.
 
Despite that 1" of stock wire I feel there's still some benefit of a good cheap cable. It's hard to say how those 1" pieces of wires are affecting the sound with the new cable, if at all. Probably are.
 
I originally heard people say there is NO internal wires and it's ALL going through a metal rod connecting the two sides. There is still those tiny wires going from this rod to the driver. I guess I could replace those with Mogami also, but I might just skip that for now.
 
With this $8 cable "upgrade", my amp and 80 hours of burn-in, it's now not even close to being bass light to my ears. Totally transformed IMO after proper burn-in, but what a pain! It's treble is quite smooth now unless it's harsh and annoying in the recording. About dang time!
 
I think this is one of my favorites right now. I might experiment with my K601 and try and make it dual entry and bypass the internal wires. I think I prefer a single sided recable though and just replace them the short cables inside.
 
Anyone made the K702/K702 dual entry (or bypassed ALL the internal wires) and was it worth the trouble? If the K601 is a success I may try it with the K702 if there is some improvement. Killing a $250 headphone will hurt, but the chance of that is very slim and if it happens it was my own stupid fault. I did get some good tips on it from another thread though.

Congratulations on your new Mogami, here is some info balanced the K-702:  http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/483861/guide-balanced-akg-k702-with-detachable-4-pin-mini-xlr-cable
 

 

[Mad Max]

The funkiness in the upper mids is removed by the dampening, too.
For an open 'phone, it sure suffers from resonances like a lower-end closed-back, lol.

 

[brasewel]

Awesome mod MadMax. Reminded me of the Denon mods
 

 

[Mad Max]

Dynmat Xtreme on the back of the drivers can usually clean up the midrange and treble, or in HD25SP II's example, kill harshness too.
On lower-end headphones, it also improves clarity, detail, and imaging.
 
K701 has a groovy, jazzy soul. 

 

[apatN]

Nice work! I have been thinking of selling my K701 recently, but perhaps this cures my problems with them. Not entirely sure I am up to it, though...

 

[Mad Max]

Why? lol
I've been wondering if Akasa foam on the underside of those white rings would help more, but there's little room for it.
Then there's that blue area around the driver itself, not sure if throwing more Dynamat there would mitigate the few remaining resonances.

 

[apatN]

Because I understand that the K701 are pretty difficult to open. Could be wrong...

 

[Mad Max]

Yes you are.  I even linked to another head-fier's post on how to open it up.  I posted my pictures in order of disassembly.

 

[jaeming]

Another lo-fi comfort mod I just did last night...

I took some soft foam (I think this actually came from out of the K701 box but not sure as I've received several packages lately) and used it to make some spacers so the headband exerts less pressure on my head:

Because I have a big head, I've sized them so they extend the maximum amount and the headphones now fit my head perfectly (a really big head, yes). But I suppose you could make smaller spacers according whatever head-size is suitable for yourself.
I suppose you could also use Styrofoam rather than the soft foam here but the soft foam seems to grip it well so it doesn't slid off easily. I had previously made a soft liner for the headband with one of my GF's socks and some Velcro which helped immensely for the comfort level but I still did not like the continuous pressure over long listening sessions which was just a bit too much, probably cause my big head extends the band the maximum amount. 
 
I think I read about somebody cutting the strings that pull down on the band but I wanted something that was non-destructive. My GF did comment that she thinks my headphones are looking more and more unseemly lately. Though at least I can quickly return them to their natural state if I have guests over.
 

 

[WoahReQQuiem]

Are there any great amps for the AKG K701 for less than $130?

Edit:
So far, the only amps that have gotten my attention within my $130 limit is the Little-Dot MK-I and the FiiO E9. Which will be a better choice, in terms of SQ? I heard that the Little-Dot may produce warmer sound, while the E9 is focused on mids and treble.