[JPresz]

just got them on xmas, and they sound SO much better than my tri's (thank god I'm done with those) even just out of my iTouch. cannot wait to get an amp/dac!

 

[tdockweiler]

I just got a pair too! Actually I got the K702. I wanted the K701 since I like the color of it more, but it's more expensive. My K701 was an old favorite back in 2006. I had to sell them when I had less money and lost my job. I did keep it over the DT-990 32 ohm though.
 
This week I'll burn them in and compare them to the K601. I'll sell off the loser. Most likely I'll just end up keeping both!
 
 
Too bad the Audio Technica AHD-D2000 I want is so expensive and hard to find. Maybe i'll come across a used pair someday.
 
Quote:

just got them on xmas, and they sound SO much better than my tri's (thank god I'm done with those) even just out of my iTouch. cannot wait to get an amp/dac!

 

[grokit]

 
Quote:

K702 Amp Question..
 
Hi this is my first post and I look forward to opinions fm other experienced K702 users..hope this is not the inappropriate thread to post..
 
I am completely new to 'head-fi', just got my K702..and is now plugging into an Accuphase E305v (one of the older integrated amp with 100w/ch)..my source is a squeezebox win7 dedictaed music server (with 1T classical/jazz mostly 24/96+ tracks) - squeezebox touch with outboard linear power supply - Cambridge 805c CD/DAC. The connections are wifi, optical, balanced XLR into the Accuphase.
 
Question: actually I think the K702 straight to the accuphase provide pretty nice sound (k702 burn in only 20 hours)..this is an encouraging sign and I am eager to see how much more the 702 can do. What dedicated headphone amp brand/model can you recommend that will make a big upgrade fm my current setup? (or is it that the amp I am using is sufficient??) I have a preference for valve amp and I have read about a lot of reccommendations on this thread for china brands such as Dark Voice or Little Dots (it will be convenient for me to buy chinese product as I live in China!) and if I do not have a budget constraint would any of their top models be overkill? otherwise what other products would you recommend for me to see that 'big jump'? I am looking for best possible imaging and sound staging, apart from tonal quality.
 
Thanks very much in advance!! 

Since you already have a balanced setup you may want to try a speaker tap adapter to see how they perform with more headroom out of the back of your Accuphase. I have my K701 balanced and they did scale up quite a bit when I heard them out of a WA22. When I was using them single-ended I noticed that they did quite well with cheaper high-gain hybrids like the Indeed/Bravo and the Maverick D1, YMMV.

 

[brokenthumb]

I've joined Club K701!  Bought these before Christmas to do battle with my D2000.  At first I thought I had wasted $300 b/c they sounded so different from the Denon.  I was ready to box them back up for a refund only after an hour of listening.  A few hours later I thought I would give them another shot and nearly 30 hours later of listening later I think I'm about ready to sell the Denon.
 
I listened to the K701 for nearly 17 hours without changing to the D2000 and after I switched back to the D2000's to compare they sounded like I was in a cave or at the bottom of a well, and the bass seemed way too excessive.  Switching back to the K701 it was a huge difference it was like sitting in a wide open field compared to the Denon's.
 
Can't wait until they get fully burned in, each passing hour of listening they seem to sound better and better.  The only downside has been the bumps on the headband, the first few days I couldn't get through a single album without my head starting to hurt from the bumps, but the last couple of days I can go 2-3 hours without them bothering me.
 
ME =

 

[helloharry]

K702 dedicated amp or straight into Accuphase?
 
thank you sp wild for your reccommending ming da amp..
thank you grokit for rcommend to use an adapter to plug into back of my accuphase..
 
the opinions here so far seems mixed as to whether to buy a dedicted headphone amp or just to plug straight into my accuphase integrated (accupahse amps usually has good to v good headphone out section fm what i read on the net..) any more suggestions here..especially tube amps?

 

[tdockweiler]

I got the K702 yesterday. I had the K701 for over 3 years and had to sell them. I tried them later on but I returned them because my amp then wasn't a good match.
 
I mainly wanted to try them again because I now have a full desktop amp and the K601 was recently fatiguing my ears a bit. I wanted to see if the K701 was a better match for me and if they were as good as I always remembered.
 
Out of the box they sound very good. I was actually impressed! First thing I noticed is how much bigger the soundstage was over the K601. They also had far, far more detail to my ears. The vocals felt a little further away (not recessed or anything like that!) during some music. Hopefully nobody takes that the wrong way. They still sound very good. Vocals just feel a bit different than on the K601.
 
When I kept switching between the K601 and K702 I always kept preferring the K702. I definitely do think the mids on the K601 are much more forward sounding. The difference is huge and easy to spot. I think this combined with the slightly forward lower treble on the K601 is what does fatigue my ears a bit.
 
The sound signature on the K702 seems to be more smooth and less fatiguing. Definitely the more neutral headphone to my ears. The treble on the K702 is not tiring to my ears in any way..yet. I play lots of the tracks that usually drive my ears crazy and it's not bad. Some of my tracks sound fairly harsh on almost any headphone and on the K702, it doesn't change that, which is what I want. I have a couple CDs from a Japanese singer named "Hitomi" and I think her CDs may be poorly mastered, because they're often excessively bright and harsh to my ears. More so on the K601 than the K702.
 
Vocal quality is really high on my priorities. Probably at #1. I do think vocals are better and more forward on the K601, but something on them just seems to fatigue my ears out. Forward mids usually don't, so it's strange. Absolutely nothing wrong with the K601 and I think it's good for those that want the forward sounding vocals without the huge soundstage.
 
I also found the K702 to not just have a little more detail than the K601, but a lot more. It's nice comparing them side by side. I only did this for a half hour and found out I preferred the K702. I tried looking for those "thin, plasticky mids" again, but no such luck. It's funny because I find the K702 to have more than enough bass. With my amp they are definitely not anywhere near bass light! I didn't compare the bass of the K601 to the K702 though. Imaging seems a bit better on the K601 too, but nobody seems to care about that. I have a guess that the K601 might be far better for gaming than the K701.
 
Oh yeah, I'm soooo glad to say that the bumps on the K702 (I have 8) don't even remotely bother me.
 
The K601 seems just a tad harder to drive. On my Asgard with the K702 I only need to put the volume at 50-60% when I use a docked Ipod Touch as a source (bad idea, but I usually use an Oppo CD player that makes them go much louder). With the same setup I have to put the K602 at 80% I believe. When I use my Oppo and the K602 I can keep it at 50% easily! Of course all this doesn't really mean anything.
 
Strangely I tested both using a Nuforce Dac. The K601 seems to be driven (and sounds better) than the K702 when using my DAC/PC as a source. Yeah, I know that Nuforce can't drive either well at all, but at least the K601 sounds good enough to use for a few minutes if needed. The K701 sounded terrible with the same DAC.

 

[the_equalizer]

Quote:

K702 dedicated amp or straight into Accuphase?
 
thank you sp wild for your reccommending ming da amp..
thank you grokit for rcommend to use an adapter to plug into back of my accuphase..
 
the opinions here so far seems mixed as to whether to buy a dedicted headphone amp or just to plug straight into my accuphase integrated (accupahse amps usually has good to v good headphone out section fm what i read on the net..) any more suggestions here..especially tube amps?

I love my K701 + Woo Audio WA6   combo. I've read that the WA6 SE does even better, but I haven't heard that combination
 
cheers !

 

[Acix]

 
Quote:

I've joined Club K701!  Bought these before Christmas to do battle with my D2000.  At first I thought I had wasted $300 b/c they sounded so different from the Denon.  I was ready to box them back up for a refund only after an hour of listening.  A few hours later I thought I would give them another shot and nearly 30 hours later of listening later I think I'm about ready to sell the Denon.
 
I listened to the K701 for nearly 17 hours without changing to the D2000 and after I switched back to the D2000's to compare they sounded like I was in a cave or at the bottom of a well, and the bass seemed way too excessive.  Switching back to the K701 it was a huge difference it was like sitting in a wide open field compared to the Denon's.
 
Can't wait until they get fully burned in, each passing hour of listening they seem to sound better and better.  The only downside has been the bumps on the headband, the first few days I couldn't get through a single album without my head starting to hurt from the bumps, but the last couple of days I can go 2-3 hours without them bothering me.
 
ME =

Yay, this is the feeling when you're switching from dark/bassy hps to the 701/2 you just feel relief, from darkness to light...if you're Mac user you can check out the Apogee Duet at Guitar Center.
 
Good read, tdockweiler.  A nice cable and 150 hours of burn you'll get much better result.

 

[cmfhsu]

I can tell you that the warm sound-sig of the duet goes very well with the k701's. It could, of course, do with some better amping, but it's a pretty attractive combo for the price.

 

[fishski13]

interesting tdockweiler.  after some break-in, and before you decide to sell one or the other, try the K601 pads on the K702.  

 

[ninjikiran]

Most people(myself included) seem like like its synergy with the Matrix M-Stage(Lovely Cube, Lehmman BCL)
 
I didn't quite enjoy the K701's with my D1's headphone output.

 

[estreeter]

I know that some here dont hold professional reviewers in very high standing, but I am always interested when someone with a very high-end speaker rig mentions a headphone amp like the WA2. Its definitely not 'cheap', but compared to some of the stuff this guy was using to review the LA7K, its cheap.
 
Anyway, our friend gave the WA2 a ringing endorsement for use with the K701 - prior to the arrival of the LA7K, his favourite headphone. Make of it what you will.

 

[grokit]

I can imagine that. The WA2 has huge transformers capable of getting a lot of current out of those tubes.

 

[Acix]

Quote:

Most people(myself included) seem like like its synergy with the Matrix M-Stage(Lovely Cube, Lehmman BCL)
 
I didn't quite enjoy the K701's with my D1's headphone output.

I was wondering if someone compared the Matrix to the Lehmman?

 

[Frank I]

 
Quote:

Quote:

Most people(myself included) seem like like its synergy with the Matrix M-Stage(Lovely Cube, Lehmman BCL)
 
I didn't quite enjoy the K701's with my D1's headphone output.

I was wondering if someone compared the Matrix to the Lehmman?

I have seen no comparison. But there are differences most in different caps so they are not identical. When I owned the Matrix and the the 701 is was a synergistic match. The 701 stepped up considerable and the bass was very tight and controlled. The Matrix was also good with my T1 and the D7000. For the money I still think this amp cannot be beat and if you own the AKG 701/7802 you cant go wrong with this combo.