[Techno Kid]

Actually the Q701 in green is cheaper than all the K701's I saw but I don't like the green so really its a moot point.  I like the white Q701 so I think I'm going to get them but I've read and seen a few vids that said the newer K701 sounds like the Q701 and that they aren't quite as bright and dry sounding as the earlier K701's, its not a big difference they say but enough to notice if you really listen to them both.
 
So I'm going for the white Q701 and also does anyone listen to EDM on them and if so how would you say they sound?  I know they don't have big bass and that's fine neither does my HD600 and I love EDM on them,.

 

[cravenz]

Actually the Q701 in green is cheaper than all the K701's I saw but I don't like the green so really its a moot point.  I like the white Q701 so I think I'm going to get them but I've read and seen a few vids that said the newer K701 sounds like the Q701 and that they aren't quite as bright and dry sounding as the earlier K701's, its not a big difference they say but enough to notice if you really listen to them both.

So I'm going for the white Q701 and also does anyone listen to EDM on them and if so how would you say they sound?  I know they don't have big bass and that's fine neither does my HD600 and I love EDM on them,.

Ermmm. I wouldn't exactly recommend EDM on them. If you want, I can easily test it out again for you with my 702.

Some have said it's alright. It is definitely passable. But it can also definitely sound better in my opinion. For EDM that is.

 

[Techno Kid]

People always said IEM's that I would get aren't good for EDM but I'd like them, I'm not your normal person when it comes to EDM.  I don't need a tune of bass and really I like a balanced to mid-centric signature and from all the things I've read about how the K701 and Q701 sound and that I'm confident that I'll like them with EDM.

 

[miceblue]

I'm curious to know. What do you guys think of the K 701's soundstage and imaging?
 
I still find the soundstage to be fairly 2-dimensional (left/right) with little depth. Sounds seemed to be hard-panned left or right, and the center image is kind of left out as a result of that, or if it is there, there is little depth. I'm playing The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D and in Kokiri Forest, there's a waterfall. As I turn the player, the camera rotates and the waterfall sound pans around accordingly. Left/right imaging is great, but again, the center feels kind of devoid.
 
Pardon my terrible drawing skills, but this is how I imagine the K 701's soundstage.

^ where the brown dot is the listener and the black oval-shape represents the soundstage boundary.

 

[Brooko]

@miceblue
 
What is source when you are playing?  For gaming, this will have as much (if not more) effect than the headphones.  They can only reflect the image and stage they are being fed.
 
For music - especially live recordings - I find both their stage and imaging extremely good.  A great way to test would be using a binaural recording like Amber Rubarth's "Sessions From The 17th Ward".
 
I use the K701's most of the time for gaming also - using a Titanium X-Fi - and have no issues with decent circular stage.

 

[miceblue]

Quote:

@miceblue
 
What is source when you are playing?  For gaming, this will have as much (if not more) effect than the headphones.  They can only reflect the image and stage they are being fed.
 
For music - especially live recordings - I find both their stage and imaging extremely good.  A great way to test would be using a binaural recording like Amber Rubarth's "Sessions From The 17th Ward".
 
I use the K701's most of the time for gaming also - using a Titanium X-Fi - and have no issues with decent circular stage.

My setup: MacBook Pro -> ODAC -> O2 -> K 701
 
I actually do have that binaural album (as well as most of the binaural albums from HDTracks). I'll give it a listen right now.
 
At least with the Wycliffe Gordon and Amber Rubarth's binaural albums, I still get a sense of the oval-shaped soundstage. Jamey Haddad Mark Sher's Explorations in Space and Time binaural album sounds much more 3-dimensional but still oblong in width to me.

 

[Brooko]

Quote:

My setup: MacBook Pro -> ODAC -> O2 -> K 701
 
I actually do have that binaural album (as well as most of the binaural albums from HDTracks). I'll give it a listen right now.
 
At least with the Wycliffe Gordon and Amber Rubarth's binaural albums, I still get a sense of the oval-shaped soundstage. Jamey Haddad Mark Sher's Explorations in Space and Time binaural album sounds much more 3-dimensional but still oblong in width to me.

 
Not sure how your Macbook handles 3D imaging within a game.  If it is unable to give you full surround cues (eg utilising dsps like dolby hph or cmss-3d) - then from any headphone, you will get more left/right rather than forward/rear directional sound.
 
How does it (K701) compare with other headphones?  I find mine does very well - even compared to DT880 and HD600.

 

[miceblue]

Quote:

Quote:

My setup: MacBook Pro -> ODAC -> O2 -> K 701
 
I actually do have that binaural album (as well as most of the binaural albums from HDTracks). I'll give it a listen right now.
 
At least with the Wycliffe Gordon and Amber Rubarth's binaural albums, I still get a sense of the oval-shaped soundstage. Jamey Haddad Mark Sher's Explorations in Space and Time binaural album sounds much more 3-dimensional but still oblong in width to me.

 
Not sure how your Macbook handles 3D imaging within a game.  If it is unable to give you full surround cues (eg utilising dsps like dolby hph or cmss-3d) - then from any headphone, you will get more left/right rather than forward/rear directional sound.
 
How does it (K701) compare with other headphones?  I find mine does very well - even compared to DT880 and HD600.

Well compared to my only other decent headphone, the V-MODA M-100, the K 701 still seems to have a weird transition from left/right sounds and sounds in front/back. The M-100's soundstage sound more "rounded" in regards to that transition relative to the K 701.

 

[kramer5150]

In my setup, in regards to K701 soundstage its all about the amp.  With the Larocco PPA (discrete current buffer + 627/627/627) it has a distant sound stage, and very ambient presentation.   It very far right / left with a vacant center stage.  Darkvoice 337 with Tung Sol mesh plate drivers and 5998 it has a very layered soundstage.  The DV center stage fills nicely, as does far right and left and everything in between... depending on the recording.  These are my 2 fave K701 amps (without going hog-$$$-wild).  DV-337 for prog-rock/metal, and jazz.  Larocco for classical, new age and ambient.   I'd swap the Larocco with a GS-1 in a heartbeat if I could afford it.  The GS-1 paired with the DV-337 would make an outstanding mid-fi K701 rig tandem.
 
My smaller amps like Earmax, Millet hybrid and mister-X pimeta dont do the K701 soundstage justice.... just too narrow and closed in sounding.  Dont get me wrong, they sound GOOD, but theres a noticeable step down from the other two in terms of soundstage image.
 
all about the amp with these cans IMHO... once your source is capable.

 

[Brooko]

Agree with this ^^
 
My 701's sound great out of the NFB-12 & even better with the LD MKIV in the mix as well.

 

[howaboutthat]

Quote:

In my setup, in regards to K701 soundstage its all about the amp.  With the Larocco PPA (discrete current buffer + 627/627/627) it has a distant sound stage, and very ambient presentation.   It very far right / left with a vacant center stage.  Darkvoice 337 with Tung Sol mesh plate drivers and 5998 it has a very layered soundstage.  The DV center stage fills nicely, as does far right and left and everything in between... depending on the recording.  These are my 2 fave K701 amps (without going hog-$$$-wild).  DV-337 for prog-rock/metal, and jazz.  Larocco for classical, new age and ambient.   I'd swap the Larocco with a GS-1 in a heartbeat if I could afford it.  The GS-1 paired with the DV-337 would make an outstanding mid-fi K701 rig tandem.
 
My smaller amps like Earmax, Millet hybrid and mister-X pimeta dont do the K701 soundstage justice.... just too narrow and closed in sounding.  Dont get me wrong, they sound GOOD, but theres a noticeable step down from the other two in terms of soundstage image.
 
all about the amp with these cans IMHO... once your source is capable.

DACs (and pre-amps/sound processors), yes, (pure) amps, no, unless you are talking about distortion.  They either provide adequate power or not, and do it cleanly, or not. Tubes can sound nice, but it is a distortion effect (the "warming").  

 

[miceblue]

I have a JDS Labs C5 and the weird soundstage thing I pointed out earlier isn't the case with the K 701's. The imaging seems more centralised since the C5's soundstage is narrower than that of the O2, which I prefer with the K 701.
 
Speaking of the C5 and K 701, the combo makes the best pairing for a headphone movie-watching experience from what I've heard. Turn the C5's bass boost on an I literally feel like I'm in a movie theater. I still remember how awestruck I was when listening to this trailer for the first time with the combo.
 

 

[miceblue]

What kind of music do you guys listen to with the K 701's? I'm loving classical or orchestrated music at the moment. The K 701's just give you the sense of a large stage with the orchestra playing. It's quite a grand sound if I may say so.
 
It's not the best example, I really like these orchestrated songs.
 

 
 

 

[Hoagie]

jazz mostly

 

[oddsocks]

Listening to Jpop and jazz mainly here