K701 thread

[oqvist]

Well as a recent owner I can understand why people may hate it´s sound... I still don´t really understand them... Mine is probably not fully burned in I don´t think any of the previous owners of these are the patient type for evaluating headphones.
I don´t understand how people have the energy to actually post 50 million negative threads of a headphone that they don´t even like... I mean I hate the Grado SR 60 the worst pos I ever heard but I don´t think I have ever posted anything about it... I am pretty tirelessly to talk about things I like though

.

As for the AKG 701 I don´t know they mess with me. Sometimes they are the worst headphone ever... I don´t understand how you can make Jeff Buckleys Hallelujah so totally uninteresting and booring as it´s with the 701. I don´t say this is how it´s recorded in the studio... I mean we are getting it after they have mixed it is the 701 trying to reverse it to before mixing? In general it don´t do very well with the human voices of any kind I feel.

I do like the presentation for classical. thin sound is not that much of a handicap for big symphonies that easilly get congested otherwise. And as mentioned if you forget about bass detail you hear very much about what´s happening in the treble which is one of the key areas why to use headphones over speakers.

Also works quite well with ERA or similar music. Which surprised me because era for me has been quite bass driven. I guess the big soundstage and the dreamy presentation compensates a bit. And the fact that you do have the bass extension there is just no weight or feel to it so no real PRaT going. Very relaxed headphones which I also enjoy. The Ultrasones seem to get me to feel I am in the middle of the music with the AKGs you just lay back and relax

Will be interesting to see will definiatly keep them for a while. I really like how different they are in so many ways. Instead of the Denons I tried which maybe was a bit more familiar but worse in pretty much every aspect. As for the moment I don´t know exactly which side I will side on but certainly there is strengths as well as weaknesses. Though the weaknesses are quite big. They are definiatly Hi fi headphones not anything like A900 or DT 770 PROs though not to the level of the PRO 900 I feel. But then that costs twice as much so not a total fair comparison.
Something I really miss though is the emotion in the K701... It´s not getting there very often and I don´t think you need to colour sound to get that. It just has to sound "real" to immerse you in it. But well I do hope it will get cleaner with more burn in it sounds a bit like if you enable cmss3D. Huge exaggeration but the only way I can describe it to give you some idea

 

[vvanrij]

Again I'm sorry oqvist, but these headphones you bought have over 350hrs on them, remember I was one of the previous owners. I had plenty of patience with them, and tried them on plenty setups. To keep it civil here, they weren't to my taste...

 

[triode12]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pataburd /img/forum/go_quote.gif The K701, like the HD650, can be a polarizing topic of discussion on these threads. I don't think that love has genuinely turned to hate so much, but that people have simply moved on after having owned--and in many cases thoroughly enjoyed--the K701. From my own experience, the K701 were my reference headphones for over a year; during that time, I had them RAL-recabled and much enjoyed them. However, after doing extensive, and for me critical, a/b-ing between the K701 and the K501, I eventually sold the K701. Even though the K701 bettered the K501 in several respects, to me, in the end, it all came down to midrange coherency, where I perceived the K501 to be the clear winners. But that's just my story. The same can be observed about other headphones, like the Prolines and the HFI-780. Products fall in and out of favor, and it seems that the most persistent residual posts can seem to be disproportionately negative (or positive). It's par for the course on Head-Fi, I suppose: nothing to get too agitated about. : )

Now why is it that a select few in our midst can't be as tactful and diplomatic as you have in this post regarding the 701s vs the 501s?

You've stated your point in a polite and thoughtful manner. And you still
managed to get your point across without being acerbic and resorting to personal attacks.

 

[cswann1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by triode12 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Now why is it that a select few in our midst can't be as tactful and diplomatic as you have in this post regarding the 701s vs the 501s? You've stated your point in a polite and thoughtful manner. And you still managed to get your point across without being acerbic and resorting to personal attacks.

X2!! I have much more respect for those who can state their opinions without sounding demeaning or otherwise offensive. AND he stated in a very clear and easy to understand way why he made his choice. Had I had the two to compare, I might have made the same choice.


As to the why can't others be as tactful.....who knows for sure, but good parenting may have a lot to do with it. Some people just grow up in households where that's how communication is done. Others grow up in an environment where screaming and yelling is common and they never learn how to communicate like a mature adult. It makes me wonder what their personal lives are like and may explain why they are drawn to Head-Fi. Here they can get away with behaviour that would carry serious consequences in other areas of life. Maybe it's like therapy to them, being able to vent without being thrown in jail.

 

[lucky]

Quote:

Originally Posted by triode12 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Now why is it that a select few in our midst can't be as tactful and diplomatic as you have in this post regarding the 701s vs the 501s? You've stated your point in a polite and thoughtful manner. And you still managed to get your point across without being acerbic and resorting to personal attacks.

I'm sure most here have the ability; they simply choose the low road. Personally, I've never felt the need to imply headphone x is (insert insult here) because I prefer headphone y.

 

[donunus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vvanrij /img/forum/go_quote.gif Again I'm sorry oqvist, but these headphones you bought have over 350hrs on them, remember I was one of the previous owners. I had plenty of patience with them, and tried them on plenty setups. To keep it civil here, they weren't to my taste...

i added 100 hours of loud pink noise and maybe a day or so of loud electronica on them too

 

[Happy Camper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lucky /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm sure most here have the ability; they simply choose the low road. Personally, I've never felt the need to imply headphone x is (insert insult here) because I prefer headphone y.

Ya know.

This is a warm and fuzzy thread to crow about what owners like about them. If it was an opinion thread, blast away. To make it one, well........

 

[wang0215]

which amp does you guys use????

 

[vvanrij]

Currently I would see the people that actually stopped the whole 'k701 vs' etc. as the bigger men, not the ones that even manage to cry about it in the freakin k701 appreciation thread.

 

[cswann1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wang0215 /img/forum/go_quote.gif which amp does you guys use????

I listen to My K701's through my Litle Dot MKIVse for just about everything I like to listen to headphones on. It really brings something nice to the AKG's imo. I'm still running the stock tube set and will be for a while, since I paid extra for them (se vs. stock)

I've read that tube Output TransformerLess amps are poor choices for the K701(2)'s. I certainly don't consider my amp to be a poor choice. It's got plenty of power and I almost never go past 12 o'clock. With a less powerful amp, you might not get as satisfying volume levels though.

If I feel like cranking up some rock music I'll just run through my Denon receiver.

I wouldn't mind a nice ss or hybrid amp to use in place of the receiver for some material. I've read that the Graham Slee Solo is a great amp to pair with the K701. For the price it had better be

 

[lucky]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wang0215 /img/forum/go_quote.gif which amp does you guys use????

I use my UB802. Bought it years ago for recording, and now I use it for the amplification. Completely satisfied with it.

 

[helios]

I use a MF v3 with cap and diode upgrade and a PSU with more reserve power. Have a LD MkV on the way. Can't wait to check it out with the K701.

 

[cswann1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by helios /img/forum/go_quote.gif I use a MF v3 with cap and diode upgrade and a PSU with more reserve power. Have a LD MkV on the way. Can't wait to check it out with the K701.

I'm looking forward to hearing your impressions. I'm very happy with my MKIVse but a SS or hybrid headphone amp would have a place in my listening room.

I founding dealing with David from Little Tube a pleasure and I'd be happy to send some more business their way.

 

[oqvist]

They are really nice with live recordings... there the huge soundstage really shines and you can easier forget it´s a bit artifical sound to it. But the buttkicker helps quite a bit with getting at least some form of PRaT going

.

 

[Happy Camper]

I"m using a SP Extreme (platinum) with blackgate output caps. Roll some tubes to bring out the bass in the 701s, change gain tube for the RS-1s for better details and I feel I have a very versatile tool that lets me shape my sound to the headphone used.