[suitheist]

Well, i went out to a shop which i found selling all the headphones ive been looking at. Unfortunately, they didnt actually have the DT880, HD598 or K/Q7xx to try when i went in, though ill go back when they come back into stock.
 
However, i did try the DT990, HD600 and 650. For starters, they were quite a different experience to anything id tried before, and I actually found the hour I spent listening to them pretty tiring. Maybe that was the lack of amp and high volume levels, or im just not used to them.
 
I REALLY didn't like the DT990; it had way more bass than im used to, and on the high notes it sort of sounded like it was breaking up. 
 
I loved the 600, they were definitely my favourite of the three; masses of detail and they sounded incredible on my classical guitar music (ive never heard the sound of the artist's fingers sliding along the strings before!), random pop, everything really.
 
The 650 was pretty similar, but er... wooly sounding? Not sure how better to describe it.
 
So, are the 598 or the K7xx on similar lines to the hd600? In fact, how is the 600 in DH, particularly in terms of soundstage and positioning?

 

[Hawaiiancerveza]

Hmmm... I tried the Westone 4 with the mix amp and it worked really well... very airy and clear.  I could tell where everything was coming from.  Maybe some IEMs for gaming?  

 

[rivalyoung]

Great info OP! I have a Mixamp 5.8 + HD650 coming in the mail, and both are going to be fed by a Fiio E10. I used to be an ultra competitive gamer when I was younger (was sponsored for Counter-Strike) but have since grown out of that phase. Now that I have a career and such I have time to burn on competitive FPS'ing again and your info's been helpful. Thanks!

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

Great info OP! I have a Mixamp 5.8 + HD650 coming in the mail, and both are going to be fed by a Fiio E10.

 
Mixamp fed by the E10?  That won't work...you wouldn't get surround sound.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Umm, you don't want to feed anything but an optical cable directly from the source to the Mixamp so you can keep the Dolby Digital signal to properly convert to Dolby Headphone.

As for IEMs for gaming, I did rate the Hifiman RE0s. They were very ideal for competitive gaming due to they very neutral sound signature. Of course, soundstage was lacking compared to full sized cans, but they still functioned well overall.

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

Impressions, nao!

I'll have a lengthy review up later tonight, so you'll just have to wait....

 

[tdockweiler]

Wow, I just did a conversion on those prices and they're crazy! No way I'd pay that much for a Q701 or HD-598.
IMO I don't think the Q701 is worth an extra $100 on top of the K702. Here in the USA they're about the same.
 
What's funny is that in the past I REALLY disliked the K702/K701 for gaming, but now I use the Q701.
Seems at least the soundstage is now a little bit better however this is. Just seems more accurate.
Skyrim is very impressive with the Q701 and I spent about 60 hours in it with just the Q701.
 
The HD-598 would be my second choice.
 
Q701 can be used without an amp, but it's not suggested. I don't find Q701 so revealing that it makes any of my music sound like garbage. It's not as revealing to me as a DT-880 or KNS-8400. Those are good at making my collection sound like junk when it feels like it. Q701 is a tiny bit more forgiving.
 
If you don't listen to anything outside streaming music services, the Q701 might be a bit overkill at those prices.
 
Have you considered something even cheaper?
 
You should find a store that has the KRK KNS-8400 for demo. I've found that my pair sounds very very similar to the Q701 for gaming. More people should try this thing for gaming. It does a few things better than the Q701 actually and it's dirt cheap here in the USA. Gets my vote as one of the best closed headphones there is for competitive gaming that doesn't cost a fortune. It's signature is similar to the Q701.
 
They should be super easy to find in the UK I think. Probably not too expensive either.
 
Quote:

Hey,
 
I've been reading through this thread and its been a massive healp in narrowing my possible choices. Basically i'm looking for an all purpose headphone which does my music (pop, rock, classical- in that order) and games and films in DH.
 
I'm down to the HD 598 and K/Q701 at this point. I notice that people say the AKG has more clarity and precision than the Sennheiser. This sounds attractive for gaming in DH, but I wonder whether it is worth it if it is going to be too revealing for my music. I mostly listen through Spotify and, though I don't currently have a set up which I can test this on, I assume that even set to high quality streaming (allegedly 320kbs), it will get found out by the K701?
 
Second point is price: in the UK the HD 598 is approx £170, the K7xx £210 and the Q701 £265. I don't have an amp yet, so i would need to buy one for the AKGs. I don't think my budget will do the Q701 and an amp atm and i'm not convinced that its worth the mark up (to me) over the K7xx anyway.
 
So, ultimately, would the improvement in DH clarity (and, indeed, in music as well) be worth the extra money for the K701 (+ say an E9), and not make my streamed music sound terrible, to justify going for it over the HD 598?
 
This is my first serious headpohone purchase.

 

 

[Phos]

So I recently realized that I have Dirt 2 and F1 2010, both of which include support for a free version of Rapture 3D.  It's too bad that Dirt 2 sounds like "veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh" and F1 2010 sounds like "raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah" and then sometimes a British person yells at you.  
 
Jokes aside when I get some more free time I'll see if I can do a decent comparison between it and CMSS-3D.  I'd use my DSS to compare it to Dolby Headphone, but I'm not expecting it to do very well versus a couple of true binaural systems.  Initial impressions:  I really wish this would be a bigger deal than it is.  There are also a couple of demos on youtube of it in action:
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iikd_hucZbY    <- some generic sounds
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqqiIR017SQ    <- UT3 demo
 
And hnnnnnnnnnnnn   why isn't this out!?
 
Take 3 pictures of yourself and you've got a personalized HRTF profile.  

 

[iHasCake]

Quote:

Indeed... lot of haters here.
I tested my K702+Lyr against E9+DT990/600, and to MY ears, they had the same amazing bass. Sounded VERY good with many music (specially daft punk hehe).
 

wait...you're saying with the Lyr your k702 produced bass?  as in actual thumping bass?  i'm asking seriously as i've never tried or even considered to try the k701 mainly because i read all over head-fi that they pretty much sound like empty tin cans when trying to reproduce bass...  i'm interested also because i've always only bought closed cans and now that i've got my own room for an office i can finally try some open cans.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I don't find the K701 to be thin on bass the way the AD700 is. The K701 is quite full, just very polite, giving up a lot of ground for very pronounced mids. The K701 can certainly thump with some good authority under the right circumstance. I wouldn't put them on DT990 levels though, nor even DT880 levels. Still, it is there, and some bass boosting actually ends up making the K701 sound well balanced due to raised bass, mids pulled back to this world, and pleasing, yet inoffensive highs (imo).

Let me be more clear. The K701 is gonna come off as bass light for most of us (myself included). That isn't because they don't have the ability to output some good bass. Just that they aren't tuned for bass. The drivers surely are capable for good bass if you EQ or bass boost them. Hell, I actually REALLY enjoyed the K701 with the Fiio E5 with bass boost. Yup, just that little amp made the K701 sound great to me, even better than the E9 personally.

If going what people say about the Q701 is true, I bet that retuning the K701 for more bass was the end product, and I would actually like the Q701 for more than just gaming (probably as much as the DT880s).

 

[obazavil]

Quote:

wait...you're saying with the Lyr your k702 produced bass?  as in actual thumping bass?  i'm asking seriously as i've never tried or even considered to try the k701 mainly because i read all over head-fi that they pretty much sound like empty tin cans when trying to reproduce bass...  i'm interested also because i've always only bought closed cans and now that i've got my own room for an office i can finally try some open cans.

That's the beauty of tubes: Different tubes, different sounds.
 
Me and my friend to whom I sold the DT990/E7/E9 did some testing with K702 + Lyr with Lorenz tubes, and the bass was really, really great.
With different tubes (Mullards, Valvo), the bass was better than using E9, but not in the same level with the Lorenz tubes.
Unfortunately, Lyr+ tubes cost ~$600.
 
Before selling the DT990, I lent him DT990/E9 for a month and I only listened to K702 and Lyr at my desk
 
But if people say Q701 has better bass, well, that's something worth trying...
 
My point is don't assume K702 sux just because ppl here claim they do. With the right amp, those cans can do wonders.
 
And for competitive gaming... really great.
 
I must check LCD2 and Ed8 for gaming too.... someday... when I can use my PS3 for gaming again haha

 

[iHasCake]

I'm pretty much looking for something more immersive than anything. Seeing your post about getting the K701 to produce a fuller sound akin to maybe the DT990 or D7000 was very interesting to me. I've recently upgraded to a D7000 and have been seeing if there was something like it with that "open" sound. I have to say, coming from a HD555, the D7000 blew my mind. But of course like a true head-fi'er I'm already looking for the next best thing.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Don't expect the AKGs to come remotely close to giving you a full sound like the D7000s. Not even close.

The fullest sound out of open cans are probably going to come from something like the HD650. The DT990 has a full sound too, though the mids sound thin.

 

[maverickronin]

Quote:

I'm pretty much looking for something more immersive than anything. Seeing your post about getting the K701 to produce a fuller sound akin to maybe the DT990 or D7000 was very interesting to me. I've recently upgraded to a D7000 and have been seeing if there was something like it with that "open" sound. I have to say, coming from a HD555, the D7000 blew my mind. But of course like a true head-fi'er I'm already looking for the next best thing.

Quote:

Don't expect the AKGs to come remotely close to giving you a full sound like the D7000s. Not even close.
The fullest sound out of open cans are probablygoing to come from something like the HD650. The DT990 has a full sound too, though the mids sound thin.

The DT990s are probably your best choice if you want openness, immersion, and positioning.  I've had the HD650 and the DT990 and the Beyer has more mid bass, a bigger overall soundstage, and more 3D positioning but you still might prefer the HD650 if you're sensitive to treble.

 

[chicolom]

Here you go:  DT990 vs Q701...
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/592630/akg-q701-vs-dt990-600-ohm-comparison-review#post_8092130