k701 kicks arse!!!!! FACT
the design is awesome, and was the first thing which drew me to them (no, apple do NOT have white as a trademark or intellectual copyright, white is not a synonym for apple), i just knew I had to have them, and boy, was I glad I did. They are so beautiful to listen through, faithfully and accurately reproducing music the way it was intended to be heard, the way it was played a the time of recoding without any added colouration or warmth.
if neutrality and transparency are the end goals of headphones, then the k701 really does score very highly. The nuetrality and transparency of the k701 is beyond subjective impressions, it is asolutely clear for anyone to listen to should they wish to do so.
After listening to shure iem's and sennheiser hd650's and the kind of warm and thick treacle like heavy artificial sound they employ I am agog that the k701 doesn't get more plaudits.
thats not to say I dont want to own the hd650, I do, but for sheer reference listening then the 701, and certainly in the price bracket it is at, it has to be at the top of the heap.