[derbigpr]

Quote:

Interesting! But you DO notice a SLIGHT sound difference? Is it still there if you pull the headphones away just enough to open up a small gap, like when you bought them? (I doubt there will be a HUGE difference in sound as they burn in myself... I'm hoping not! I like them just the way they are... just a smidgeon more 'full' sounding in the mid and lower bass without EQ would be perfection.)

 
Yes the full sound is gone as soon as I break the ear pad seal at any spot.  But honestly differences are very tiny for now. Well, people say that they need 200-300 hours, mine have just over 120 hours, so there still might be changes, although I highly doubt it will be something noticeable.  Tyll at Innerfidelity tested out of the box Q701's and Q701's with over 1000 hours of burn in and he said he could clearly hear the difference, both pairs were never worn so ear pads were as new, one was just left to get burned in a few weeks. The burned in one sounded smoother and fuller according to his review.  He didn't do the measurements between those two models, but he did show how frequency response fluctuates in the first 60 hours of burn-in even when headphones aren't being touched at all and are places on the measuring dummy's head and inside the sealed case....but again, we're talking about differences less than 1 db, its nothing major. It doesn't change the performance of the cans, or the sound signature.

 

[Chris J]

Quote:

Bull...

    I've had my Q701's for a week now, they have over 120 hours of burn in now, since when I'm not using them I'm burning them in (even though I don't believe in it, I still am open minded to the possibility of it being real

), and I really don't notice any difference in sound, they sounded great out of the box.  The only difference are the ear pads which got softer (they're really hard out of the box, didn't expect that) and they fit nicer to my head, which creates a better seal and makes the sound a bit fuller, like when you wear headphones and press them against your head, you notice the sound changing a bit. How do I know that its the earpads that changed the sound?  Because when I first put the headphones on there were gaps on a few spots between the pads and my head so big that I could put a finger inside, like under the ear behind the jaw line for example...now those gaps are gone and ear pads have formed to the shape of my head. Now there might be some tiny measurable changes in sound, but its not like the extreme over exaggerations would suggest...people hearing a "huge" difference in sound after X hours is more of a placebo effect and ears getting used to the sound.
 

Gotta say I agree, I didn't hear any difference from burn-in.
I think I burned mine in for 200 hours, but I used them every day while doing this and didn't notice any difference.
 
OTOH, I thought they were comfy straight outta the box.
Kinda like Beyer DT880s.
 

 

[liamstrain]

Quote:

 

At about 25 hours, I was listening to my K702s and then put them down to get something to eat. When I came back, they seemed just a bit thin sounding from what I had just remembered, but after about 3 songs they seemed to come back. Not dramatic, but I wasn't looking for the difference. I'm listening to Dance/Trance music. Now at about 40 hours, that effect seems to be less. Has anyone else experienced this?
 
Edit: Also, I find myself tweaking the volume down bit by bit as I listen to them hour after hour. When I put them down for a while, they sound a bit low so I put the volume back up, then tweak it down gradually...
 
 

 
I expect that has more to do with adaptive hearing, than any changes in your headphones. 
 
 

 

[RoadKam]

Quote:

 
I expect that has more to do with adaptive hearing, than any changes in your headphones. 
 
 

That could well be... I listen when I'm done driving for the day. It gets noisy in my truck on the road, so as my ears relax into the headphones, they may get more sensitive. *shrug* They still sound amazing.
 

 

[OPrwtos]

My k701

 

[FritzS]

Quote:

 
I expect that has more to do with adaptive hearing, than any changes in your headphones. 
 
 

This phenomenon I feel sometime too.
 

 

[Chris J]

Quote:

This phenomenon I feel sometime too.
 

I suspect it has a lot to do with changing your listening habits to adapt to the headphones.
A few weeks after I got my Q701 I started to notice that I was listening to music that flattered the headphones and stopped using the Q701 to listen to overly bright recordings.
 

 

[Acix]

In my experience burn in and recable will add to the sound around 20-to-30% improvement. Amp and DAC can add another 30-60%, and this is how you build your system. 

 

[OPrwtos]

Quote:

In my experience burn in and recable will add to the sound around 20-to-30% improvement. Amp and DAC can add another 30-60%, and this is how you build your system. 

what about if my ears are blocked with earwax and then i take the earwax out?
 
 

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

In my experience burn in and recable will add to the sound around 20-to-30% improvement. Amp and DAC can add another 30-60%, and this is how you build your system. 

Wait, recable for the K702 or K701 for a 20-30% improvement? That percentage for the K702 seems a bit high since you still have the internal wires. Even with the burn-in. For me, upgrading the Q701 cable was like an under 5% improvement. I'd say more like 3%. Upgrading the HD-600's cable was about a 15% improvement..which sounds hard to believe. I totally believe in cables too.
 
What I'd love to do is recable a Q701 straight to the drivers, but it may be a pain. I think the stock wire on the Q701 is really good actually.
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

[OPrwtos]

Guys try out my k701 EQ and tell me what u think. 
 
This is the electri-q preset - http://www.mediafire.com/?tyitwy8hvvcivz3

 

[liamstrain]

Quote:

In my experience burn in and recable will add to the sound around 20-to-30% improvement. Amp and DAC can add another 30-60%, and this is how you build your system. 

In my experience, burn in and recable will affect the sound about .05%. Amp and dac are 10%, the other 89.95% are the choice of headphone and the quality of the mix/mastering of the recordings. 

 

[poikkeus]

I have a pretty extensive experience with the K701, and there may have been break-in, but after hundreds of hours, it's honestly rather hard to me to prove it. They're so good with detail that you discover new things in each listening, even with increases in volume. 
 
Oh, I changed my avatar. One of the girls from the anime "K-on" wear the white K701s in an early episode. You can see them there.

 

[lejaz]

Oh come on....cables add at least .055% improvement! 

  Are you saying you can get 10% improvement with amp and DAC combined, or 10% improvement with each? As far as amps, I've heard countless recommendations for the Heed Canamp...and now the Lyr. Would you say it's less than a 10% improvement with those over a decent ss amp like the LD mkV? Not trying to stir up a hornet's nest, but asking out of honest curiosity.
 
Quote:

In my experience, burn in and recable will affect the sound about .05%. Amp and dac are 10%, the other 89.95% are the choice of headphone and the quality of the mix/mastering of the recordings. 

 

 

[liamstrain]

10% combined, at least with headphones like the 701/702 that are honestly, not really that hard to drive. The choice of amp - once you get past basic power requirements and impedance matching, doesn't really matter much to the overall sound signature and quality. Likewise, any reasonably well implemented DAC, doesn't make that much difference. 
 
 
 
Quote:

I've heard countless recommendations for the Heed Canamp...and now the Lyr. Would you say it's less than a 10% improvement with those over a decent ss amp like the LD mkV?

 
 
Yes. Less than 10% difference overall. It comes down to preference for very MINOR changes in signature. Not anything I would say was an unequivocal improvement.