[Alu]

I'm still pretty new to the headphone world, at least I'd think so, with having the K701 for only about a month and a half, and the CD3000 only for a few days, but I wanted to share my impressions of both headphones, since I've been listening a lot to the CD3000 at least during the last few days.
The K701 is very well burnt in with about 400+ hours, and the CD3000 had a previous owner, but they where his secondary pair.


I'm using the Bel Canto DAC 2 as source, not one of the best, but a very decent one imho, with the Denon DVD-2910 as transport, and the Corda Aria as my headphone amplifier.

Do note that this won't be a very well structured review, as often seen on this website, I'll just write as much information down as I can, since I also lack the necessary vocabulary in order to share what I'm hearing.
I listen to a huge variety of genres: Metal, Rock, Classical, Jazz, some Electronic and Soundtracks in general. I'll only mention a few though.



- Rock/Metal

K701: This certainly is a headphone that can handle these genres. However with bands like Metallica or Slayer there is something that is missing, the necessary "punch" so to say. I can't really get involved with this headphone like I can with the HF-1 for instance, which is a rather "fun" headphone and which actually allows you to really feel this type of music with most tracks. I'd say that the K701 is too neutral here at times, it lacks a tad bit on the lower end, a very deciding bit for me, especially compared to the CD3000. The great soundstage is an advantage with progressive rock here, Dream Theater or Pink Floyd come to mind, also Tool has a lot of fitting tracks.

CD3000: Even though the CD3000 is supposed to have an enormous soundstage, which it has, the presentation of rock seems so darn close! It allows you to really enjoy that kind of music. The impact that I need is finally there, this can is most definately a very fun one, even though you wouldn't think it, and I don't mean fun in the way that I used it with the HF-1, but fun as in "I can finally rock to my rock", serious business

. It also has a much fuller bass, which only contributes to its other brilliant qualities, like the incredible amount of detail it reveals and its great speed. Dream Theater's Train of Thought never sounded so darned good. And Tool's new album was practically made for this set of cans, IMO. It's really amazing how well it does what it does.


- Electronic (mainly Daft Punk and some tracks from Soundtracks)

K701: Again a very solid presentation, but again it misses something. This kind of music (at least the stuff I have) loves to use its bass. And the K701 doesn't love to use its bass, as it would seem to me. After some hundreds of hours of burn-in it seems to develop a very tight bass over time, but this is just not enough for me, and I am by no means basshungry, or however you want to call it. Don't get me wrong, I certainly appreciate it with other genres, but in this case and in the previous case of rock it just doesn't do. The highs and the midrange is pretty decent nevertheless with this one.

CD3000: I'd say that the highs are better here, as are the lows of course, great bass, and the mids are pretty much as sweet as they are on the K701. Again you can really hear the extremely great variety of details that it shows, a tad more revealing than the K701, but nothing night and day in this case.


- Jazz

K701: Very good Jazz headphones IMO, as the instrument seperation is outstanding, and the representation of the various instruments, especially on my Bill Evans records, is amazing. The bass is really fitting here, really tight and compact. The piano sounds really natural, the drums sound like they should as well, I can't really complain here. It would be a headphone of choice for Jazz easily. Great soundstage as well of course. Very open and airy sounding. I do not encounter issues of sibilance with my vocal jazz records, Diana Krall for instance.

CD3000: I also like the CD3k's approach, but in a different way. It doesn't sound as open (probably because it's a closed design

), but it has more lower end. It also sounds very natural, has great imaging (if you call it that way?) and seems to exhibit better highs again. I somehow prefer the mids of the K701 at times, while the CD3k still gives me a wonderful performance and I think that in this case it is a tie between both of them.


- Classical(orchestral music)

K701: Again, very nice representation of orchestras in general. I love listening to my various recordings of the 9th, and, to be perfectly honest, I never could enjoy them on those headphones, which made me think that I could never enjoy that kind of music on any heapdhone. It is not overwhelming enough, even though the soundstage does not lack, the instruments come out very well, and the mids are great. Not quite enough lower end again, but I don't really need this here. It must be the impact that speakers offer, that I missed, as well as the general approach with speakers (B&W 705) seemed to be more suitable.

CD3000: I did not think to be overwhelmed with this genre on these headphones as well, but I was surprised as how much of an impact these offer! The soundstage, which is larger than the K701, contributes to a very very nice experience. I'd still take a speaker over headphone for this kind of music any day, but if I'd have to take a headphone, I'd certainly go for the CD3k.



Conclusion(more or less):

So yes, I love the CD3k, and am really puzzled as to why Sony discontinued this model. Not only does it sound good, it's also closed and REALLY comfotable. I forget that it is on my head at times, which is a good sign. It may also be the combination of my source and amp which makes it as goodsounding to my ears as it is. I think that I might sell the K701, because this one offers everything I need. Both really are good all-arounders though.

Can't wait to pair it with a singlepower MPX3 SLAM, which I am planning to get. I also am thinking of modding it headphile style, with keeping it closed. But considering how great it sounds right now I am seriously questioning whether I should make any future upgrades at all, it is THAT good to me. And that really says something.

NOTE: Any spellingerrors or repetitions are due to my inferior intellect, and English is not my first language

.

 

[go_vtec]

Nice impression Alu. I too adore CD3K, comfy, tight bass and great high. CD3K really shines when you hook up a tube amp and you will really like MPX3 and CD3K combo.

 

[hawat]

Thoses were my secondary pair of cd3000 they arent anywhere as burnt as my main pair but I dont think the sound is any different.I also agree with the review I tried to replace the cd3000 with all kind of headphone (k701-hd650-rs1 etc) to avoid the pleather pad wich is comfortable but during summer i wouldnt recommand using them because they get really hot and sweating probably isnt a good thing for the pleather.
And none of them really managed to replace the cd3000 unfortunatly.

 

[Alu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hawat Thoses were my secondary pair of cd3000 they arent anywhere as burnt as my main pair but I dont think the sound is any different.

Thanks for the info. I'll correct this then.

 

[spraggih]

Alu>> I have a bigger question for you - how do you get your hands on a CD3K... that is for less than $500 USD?

 

[Alu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spraggih Alu>> I have a bigger question for you - how do you get your hands on a CD3K... that is for less than $500 USD?

I saw it in the headphone FS section in the forums, as already mentioned, and just decided to go for it. I didn't really plan to buy them.

Another thing that's interesting is to take care of them, like hawat said. I want to avoid damaging the pad, is there any way to do this? Maybe wipe them off after each use? I even read about someone using a moist towel or something.

 

[technetium]

thanx for the comparison, I have seen the cd3k go at around 350€ on ebay a couple of times, but desided to go for the k701 instead, now I am not sure anymore

 

[hawat]

I used a glass fiber tissue and just pom pom them (i dont know the correct word

) like you would do with a coton on an injury, dont wipe them .

 

[warubozu]

Thanks for the review between the K701 and CD3000 Alu, I do love my CD3000s and they remain as one of my favorites in my collection. They will definitely sound great when paired up with a Singlepower amp and some good tubes.

I carefully wipe down my earpads every so often with a damp cloth or paper towel to keep them clean and in the best condition possible. Yes you can buy replacement earpads thru Audiocubes but I try to make mines last as long as possible. The pleather surfaces on the headphones are really soft like skin and you need to beware of not letting them come into contact with rough surfaces or surfaces that can react badly with them as they can be easily damaged. Which is also the reason why I keep them in it's box when they're not in use for long periods of time. As much as possible, try to keep the cans away from extreme warm temperatures as it will also deteriorate the pleather surfaces over time by making them gooey and peel.

 

[fureshi]

you can also get replacement earpads and other parts from www.partstore.com for a slightly cheaper than audiocubes. unfortunately they don't carry the drivers like audiocubes does but the drivers should last a long time.

the cd3k are also one of my more favorite set of cans in my collection and i totally regret selling my first pair, which were in almost new condition. the pair that i have now is slightly beaten up but they are still my most comfortable pair of cans. i had wanted them for the longest time and even though i don't use them much now, i'm going to keep them in my collection.

 

[Alu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by warubozu Thanks for the review between the K701 and CD3000 Alu, I do love my CD3000s and they remain as one of my favorites in my collection. They will definitely sound great when paired up with a Singlepower amp and some good tubes. I carefully wipe down my earpads every so often with a damp cloth or paper towel to keep them clean and in the best condition possible. Yes you can buy replacement earpads thru Audiocubes but I try to make mines last as long as possible. The pleather surfaces on the headphones are really soft like skin and you need to beware of not letting them come into contact with rough surfaces or surfaces that can react badly with them as they can be easily damaged. Which is also the reason why I keep them in it's box when they're not in use for long periods of time. As much as possible, try to keep the cans away from extreme warm temperatures as it will also deteriorate the pleather surfaces over time by making them gooey and peel.

I also always replace them into their original box, as I intend to keep something that works so well for me for a long time alright. This headphone truly is magical to me.

I'll be remembering your advice about the pleather, just like hawat's.

 

[Filburt]

I listened to the CD3000 a bunch over at episiarch's house along with my K701s on my PINT and his Gilmore Lite. I really liked it a lot. It was brighter than the 701 and brought things more upfront while still being spacious, and it had nice attack speed on it and detail. However, I did feel the sound got a bit cluttered on it and sometimes got a sort of overwhelming nature to it. I could *barely* listen to Pink Floyd's "The Wall" on some of the tracks with it, particularly the second to last track of the second part of the album (so track 25 of 26)...that's the one with 'craaazyyyy...toys in the attic I am crazyyyy' etc. It just sounded like a focusless cacaphony, which surprised me. The K701s absolutely nailed it on that track.

That said, I'm still a big fan of the CD3000. If I could afford one, I'd get one. And yes, before someone asks, I did like the Gilmore Lite w/ it.