[Neruda]

Thanks everyone for your replies. Hey thomas, check out the poll now!

Well, like any headphone, there are always conficting opinions. I should probably try out both if I can, to see what I think. Like I said a bit earlier, I'll wait until I've made my amp before trying them out, since I'll be sure that they're being powered adequately and I'll also know how they'll sound with my equipment.

 

[thomas]

Damn! i already voted for sennheiser!

Have you tried the AKG 240DF? It's very neutral and laid back, but i found it kinda "boring"... Its the only AKG i've heard... wait, i might have heard the 401, can't remember...

 

[Neruda]

yeah, I've heard it, and it wasn't appealing to me. The reason I'm interested in the K401 is because it's uspposed to have a livelier sound than sennheisers. I like the liveliness of my Grados, but they're sort of annoying in many respects. They're obviously not comfortable, their cable is really thick, and the earcups always swivel so the Y cord gets tangled. The K401 would solve all those problems...

 

[lini]

Jup, I know the K240DF and the 240M, too. The K240M was a good phone at its time, but times change... The K240DF is still interesting, but very very very flat - it's got its own kind of charm on a powerful jack, though. I'd say: Most recommended for near deaf sound engeneers.

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred

P.S.: Neruda, I'd assume the K401 to be brighter and the K501 to be flatter than the HD580, but I don't think they differ a lot in liveliness.

 

[noguilt]

sorry to be so late with this, but haven't been online so much for the past couple of weeks.

imo, having tried both extensively, the K501 is superior in every respect to the K401 (which i returned). I had hoped the bass would be stronger in the K401, but it wasn't--just muddier. And the highs and mids were, imo, harsher. I wrote a more lengthy comparison of the two for headwize, under the name "friedrich." I really don't understand why AKG would market the K401 for rock or pop or jazz or whatever--for those kinds of music the K501 is clearly superior, imo.

 

[Neruda]

hmm...alright, thank you.

 

[Tomo]

Hello,

501 are more accurate, tight sound and are very transparent. Require long burn-in time. Do not be surprised to hear tinny sound till the burn-in is complete.

401 sound somewhat loose.

Note these have very tight bass. They are not overly expressed so some find these to have lower bass. This is incorrect. It is there.

240M sound very neutral and accurate, but loses to 501. Though, it's reliability surpass 501. With proper headphone jacks, these sing very well.

Tomo

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

I know koss's aren't regarded very highly by most headwizers, but IMO, they make the best cheep headphones, and some of their more expensive products (auditor serries, electrostatics) are quite underrated...

thomas, I think that may have been true in the past, but most HeadWizers/Fi'ers have come around

I completely agree with you -- I think under $50, NOBODY can match Koss. In that price range, they make the best-sounding headphones, the best exercise headphones, the best lightweight headphones, the best "streetstyle" headphone, and the best closed phone... the only style they clearly failed at was the earbud/plug. Sennheiser's MX500/400 are clearly better than The Plug, and Koss' regular earbud entries are simply horrible.

Koss also makes some other good phones, but the <$50 market is where they have a glut of great products. For this reason alone, they are one of my favorite companies -- they make products I can recommend to my friends, that they will actually be able to/be willing to buy. They also have great warranties and service.

Now if I could only convince them to stop making those really bad earbuds

 

[Neruda]

thanks Tomo, that helps.