[samwell7]

Quote:

To me they definitely still sound better than they did stock. Out of the box they had no bass, and the treble rolled off very quickly. Basically they were all mid-range, and that mid-range had a lot of ringing. A pad swap increased the bass, and dampening in the cups increased the top end and removed the ringing. If I didn't already have the Q701 I'd probably like the T50rp more, but I just greatly prefer the Q701 to my T50rp. After a 2db bass boost I find the Q701 to be almost perfect, and an extremely good value for what I paid for them. For $380 for the E17 and the Q701 combined I couldn't be happier. For me, it's just hard to listen to anything else after getting used to the Q701. I've given myself a week without them where I just used the T50rp thinking maybe I could get more used to them, but I missed the Q701's sound and upon switching back I was once again in heaven.   
 
Just to clarify, after the 2db bass boost I have absolutely no complaints about the Q701's bass, even when it comes to bass extension. On a song that calls for deep bass, It's definitely there. I am not a basshead though. 

Downloaded the Ozone plugin for winamp, these cans do EQ really well! the bass is there, thank you!! you and davidsh have just saved me so much money, and made me look foolish ahha.
 
Quote:

Different pads, most likely. And different color scheme/design. So, buy pads, have 2 headphones!! It's magic

Thank you so much for this! haha just saved me the $4-700 I was gonna shell out for new cans! Have emailed AKG's parts guy, gonna order the 65th Anniversary pads if they're in stock, which seem the same as the K712 pads. I'm a happy man again

 

[samwell7]

Get one of the SPL amps and your AKG will shine in a different light...of course you can upgrade your DAC as well.

I'm pretty happy with the ODAC, I was wondering if a better amp would help though but most people say the o2 does it fine, it seems pretty good with the K702s

 

[davidsh]

You could get a tube amp for a more musical presentation...

 

[samwell7]

You could get a tube amp for a more musical presentation...

Was thinking of getting one of the little dots

 

[davidsh]

Well, I'd say you either should get something better than the LD's that is future proof for some other type of can you might think about buying... Not that I know which amp it should be. My amp for example (x-can v8) is said to be very good with the k70x, but it can also drive my HE-500 very well. Not sure if it is an option for you at all. It is discontinued, and I bought it used at a good price (just above 300$ it costed twice that amount from new)

 

[samwell7]

Actually you're right, better to pay a bit more and get something better than pay less and have to pay more in the not too distant future

 

[Acix]

Quote:

I'm pretty happy with the ODAC, I was wondering if a better amp would help though but most people say the o2 does it fine, it seems pretty good with the K702s

 
Maybe most of the people didn't had the chance to check out the K70X on a pro system. Eventually you'll need to get a better system for your new hps.

 

[3X0]

I see a lot of suggestions for different upstream components and I completely disagree.
 
Instead of dropping serious coin to try and get low-end out of the X70X (haha, yeah right..), it's better to just try a headphone that might better suit your needs and have the sound signature you're looking for.
 
If you haven't compared the X70X directly against other mid-fi headphones and outright preferred the AKGs, try other mid-fi headphones out and see if you might prefer them. These AKGs will roll-off in the sub-bass by design, and some other mid-fi headphones like the DT 880 and HE-400 won't suffer from anywhere near that kind of roll-off.
 
It doesn't have to be an "upgrade" to be what you're looking for. I've compared the Q701 to the DT 880 directly and the changes I'm hearing are consistent with what you want (better low-end, slightly less wide soundstage with better imaging, sparkly and extended treble).

 

[davidsh]

 
Maybe most of the people didn't had the chance to check out the K70X on a pro system. Eventually you'll need to get a better system for your new hps.
 

^Need to, isn't it relative?
 
Anyway, in your situation I would order the pads, then wait for a good offer to turn up on the fs forum or for some other kind of good offer. Preferably something that is 2-6 yrs old or so, because you can usually get very good prices on such gear, while it is at least as good as newer gear perfomance wise (except DACs maybe, but you can't go wrong with amps).
 
My DAC for example... I don't know how much it actually cost from new when it was released, but according to AVRev it retailed for 1700$ when a review of it was written in 2011, May 18. 
I got the DAC from the 'manufacturer' (one man company) for around 350$ a month ago, brand new and unused with warranty. I do have a feeling the actual price must have been lower than the reatil, though, but it was probably around a third of normal price..
 
My point is, that if you are willing to wait and consider products that are not necessarily very well known and hyped on head-fi, it is possible to get very good prices once in a while. I love that DAC, it has a very unique signature, and I am positive I would still consider using it once in a while even if I got myself an ultra high-end 2000$+ DAC. It is a bit like the Grado of DACs

 

[davidsh]

Quote:

I see a lot of suggestions for different upstream components and I completely disagree.
 
Instead of dropping serious coin to try and get low-end out of the X70X (haha, yeah right..), it's better to just try a headphone that might better suit your needs and have the sound signature you're looking for.
 
If you haven't compared the X70X directly against other mid-fi headphones and outright preferred the AKGs, try other mid-fi headphones out and see if you might prefer them. These AKGs will roll-off in the sub-bass by design, and some other mid-fi headphones like the DT 880 and HE-400 won't suffer from anywhere near that kind of roll-off.
 
It doesn't have to be an "upgrade" to be what you're looking for.

Actually, I agree. Find the headphone you like, then upgrade amp/dac. But if the only thing you want from the k702 is a bit more bass, it seems that there are good solutions for this. Just trying to buy another headphone blindly might not be a good idea, though, unless you'd want to return it to try other headphones ofc.
 
Personally, I never liked the dt-880 that much, I have owned it. It doesn't really do anything very well IMO. It is too neutral sounding, in a bit cold way. That is okay with me, but what I really didn't like was how it performed with demanding music. I found it to always be struggling (way to much) compared to the HE-400 and 500. I personally like the k702 more. As I remember it, it had a smoother way of representing music and its own kind of specialness to it, which the dt-880 lacked. But that is going off memory, not sso reliable you know 

 

[Happy Camper]

Getting my rig steady for comparing headphones was my first order of business. Problem was when I started reading about the level gear most were suggesting, I had to reconsider. The chicken or the egg issue. But I ended up getting a good amp to start with and then started rolling headphones. I still loved my AKGs even 5 years after starting the roll out. I could hear the complaints in them but it wasn't too bad for me. Pads were the biggest thing I found to help the K 701. But as available funds allowed for better gear, I found I could find better but the issue of value crept up. I don't have them anymore as I've found the HE-6 has all I admired in the K-701 and enough more that it finally justified the jump. Lordy but I wish I'd have stayed out of that end of the pool but the commitment and determination got me through and I'm indeed a happy camper. But man, that Simaudio amp sounds so good............I'm borrowing my surround amps until I can save up (again). By the time I do finally get my perfect rig, I won't be able to hear it, my ears will fail me. So my advice is enjoy your decisions and don't worry about the marketing done here. It never ends and we do wax poetic about our love. Once you have the desire and funding to try, research well and then give it a listen. There is so much gear available today than 5 ears ago. It's much easier to get satisfactory results for a lot less.

 

[3X0]

Quote:

Actually, I agree. Find the headphone you like, then upgrade amp/dac. But if the only thing you want from the k702 is a bit more bass, it seems that there are good solutions for this. Just trying to buy another headphone blindly might not be a good idea, though, unless you'd want to return it to try other headphones ofc.
 
Personally, I never liked the dt-880 that much, I have owned it. It doesn't really do anything very well IMO. It is too neutral sounding, in a bit cold way. That is okay with me, but what I really didn't like was how it performed with demanding music. I found it to always be struggling (way to much) compared to the HE-400 and 500. I personally like the k702 more. As I remember it, it had a smoother way of representing music and its own kind of specialness to it, which the dt-880 lacked. But that is going off memory, not sso reliable you know 

I don't know where the OP lives, but the DT 880 is a reasonably popular headphone that should be available to audition somewhere. I see two reasonable options:
 
1. Buy from a place with a liberal return policy, try them back-to-back.
2. Have a good, long session with the K702, then audition the DT 880s somewhere a short period thereafter.
 
The above would work for any reasonably popular headphone. It would be easy to try the HD 600 and HD 650 as well, though the HiFiMans might be a bit more difficult..
 
I thought the strength of the DT 880 was in its timber, tone, neutrality and bass. IMHO it has the best bass out of the 650/701/880 trio in both quantity and quality (quantity being excellent, yet well short of overbearing). It doesn't sound as rich as the 650s in the midrange, but sounds much more natural and full to me than the Q701.

 

[Acix]

Quote:

^Need to, isn't it relative?
 
Anyway, in your situation I would order the pads, then wait for a good offer to turn up on the fs forum or for some other kind of good offer. Preferably something that is 2-6 yrs old or so, because you can usually get very good prices on such gear, while it is at least as good as newer gear perfomance wise (except DACs maybe, but you can't go wrong with amps).
 
My DAC for example... I don't know how much it actually cost from new when it was released, but according to AVRev it retailed for 1700$ when a review of it was written in 2011, May 18. 
I got the DAC from the 'manufacturer' (one man company) for around 350$ a month ago, brand new and unused with warranty. I do have a feeling the actual price must have been lower than the reatil, though, but it was probably around a third of normal price..
 
My point is, that if you are willing to wait and consider products that are not necessarily very well known and hyped on head-fi, it is possible to get very good prices once in a while. I love that DAC, it has a very unique signature, and I am positive I would still consider using it once in a while even if I got myself an ultra high-end 2000$+ DAC. It is a bit like the Grado of DACs

 
 
Without a good system you'll never know the true potential of your hps...is like having 7K stereo system in your living room connected to some beatbox speakers, and asking to what CD to upgrade.   

 

[samwell7]

Thanks for all the replies guys sorry I wasn't able to get on yesterday I've been studying. You've all given me a lot to think about, after EQing the 702's for a bit more low end I am pretty happy with them but I'll order the pads and see where that gets me, if that doesn't satisfy what I want then I'll try the DT880's for a bit and if they still aren't what I want then the HE-500's seem like the next logical step, hopefully the local shop that has them will have them in stock by then. I'm also gonna start looking into a better amp and/or a DAC. Thanks again head-fi!

 

[davidsh]

How much will the pads set u back? Last I heard was 80 dollars