[wualta]

Not much to report, since it pretty much looks as our socalled blundering guesses led us to expect: the driver is mounted to a baffle which is not solid but perforated/vented but covered with a [in my case] black nonwoven acoustic resistance/damping pad which is porous enough to see light through. The back of the driver itself has the same material covering its vents, just as we've seen on Grado drivers and other dynamics.

So the bass backwave exits the driver's back vents and can enter the earcup through the vents in the baffle, since those vents are only "damped" (ie, covered with porous material) but not airtight. By completely plugging the baffle vents with blu-tack (or tape or polymer clay or..), the backwave at least has to find its way around the entire baffle before it can reach your ears. That slight delay will significantly reduce (but not eliminate) the bass cancellation.

It's reasonable to assume that if that damping pad isn't glued down tightly to the baffle in a given K501 and the backwave leaks through unimpeded, that particular K501 will be very bass lite indeed.

The tradeoff in the K501 is between wide headstage (and a feeling of openness), or bass, and a user can easily adjust (this is too simple to call it a "mod") this to his or her liking.

Why the variation reported by various owners? Could be the differences in construction, though the differences appear minor. In any case, it appears that the K501's bass level can be adjusted by treating the baffle vents as variable shutters, and my experiment bears this out.

Carry on as before.

.

.

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by markot86 And then there are those who hide behind no bass and tout it as some sort of audiophile quality

Are you sure you're not imagining this? For one thing, to say K501 has "no" bass is obviously false. It's lean no doubt (particular in the deeper regions), and the bass is overdamped. For another, I've never actually seen anyone either claim or insinuate that "having no bass" is some sort of audiophile quality. I can sort of see why you might think so, but it's just a vague thought with no evidence to back it up.

 

[Azure]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fewtch Are you sure you're not imagining this? For one thing, to say K501 has "no" bass is obviously false. It's lean no doubt (particular in the deeper regions), and the bass is overdamped. For another, I've never actually seen anyone either claim or insinuate that "having no bass" is some sort of audiophile quality.

I think he's talking about flat or "accurate" bass, a la Grado's with bowls. It seems that a lot of people consider headphones with the Grado's polite bass (Again, with bowls only and no PS-1s) as being audiophile quality and "accurate," while headphones with "bloated" bass aren't as audiophile quality (DT770s).

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azure I think he's talking about flat or "accurate" bass, a la Grado's with bowls. It seems that a lot of people consider headphones with the Grado's polite bass (Again, with bowls only and no PS-1s) as being audiophile quality and "accurate," while headphones with "bloated" bass aren't as audiophile quality (DT770s).

If that's what he means, then IMO it's basically true -- flat/accurate bass is higher fidelity to the signal, therefore more "audiophile" in terms of pure fidelity. That's not to say it's supposed to sound better to some particular person, just that it reflects (at least the original recording) more closely.

Personally, with genres other than rock I tend to prefer slight leanness in terms of bass, which is probably why I like the K501. With certain rock, boosted bass (in moderation) can be a good thing, otherwise the music isn't as engaging as it should be.

 

[BluesDaddy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik I'm glad I'm not the only one who hears it! Slightly strange story about it, too. I bought the K-501s about three months ago and listened to them off and on since there wasn't much bass. I preferred the HD-650s for a lot of music. To get to the point, about 6 weeks ago, I fell asleep with the K-501s on. When I woke up around around 4am, I heard bass. Really good bass. I don't know if it was some subliminal sleep suggestion, or they passed some break-in milestone while I slept, but the bass was there. I started listening to them more. When the PreSonus Central Station arrived, I jacked in the K-501s and went nuts. The bass is clean and deep. No artificial lift, and the mids and highs are as sweet as advertised. They rock. I love all my headphones, but I've been reaching for the K-501 more than the rest lately.

This is my impression of my 501s. Nothing "artificial" about their presentation. When I go back to listen to my Grados or even my HD-25, the bass sounds exagerated. Now I really like the sound of the HD-25s, but it does take a minute to get used to it after listening to the 501s, which sound just plain "right" to my ears.

In comparison, the Grado SR-60s have that nice, warm midrange, but they don't sound very detailed to me and the low end tends toward "mushiness". However, I still like them and use them at work (listening to a little Sonny Rollins right now with them).

 

[MikeAKGGuy]

I always say this before I write anything on Head-Fi, but I'm biased.
That said, I also think the K 501 has pretty decent bass and it is detailed enough that you can easily hear differences in what it's played with.
From a psychoacoustic perspective, if a headphone (or loudspeaker) has good mids and highs, your ears tell you there is less low-end. Some people make quick decisions about this and don't give the K 501 the time it takes to truly appreciate how accurate and detailed it really is. Break it in and play it with decent equipment, and the K 501 does a very nice job!

 

[wualta]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wualta Thanks. That was helpful. I'd still like to see the backside of the driver. Well, maybe I'll take one for the team and disassemble my own.

PS: So I disassembled my own backside and found that it produces quite enough bass. Ah me, the humor possibilities of ambiguous antecedents. Go back to what you were doing.

 

[Patrick82]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik I fell asleep with the K-501s on. When I woke up around around 4am, I heard bass. Really good bass.

You just need to get used to accurate bass instead of muddy bass, after you fell asleep you weren't biased anymore and heard the truth.

It also depends on the rest of the system how much bass you can get. All the cold and bright components are just revealing which makes them sound that way. K1000 are not bright, the system is bright! K501 don't have thin bass, it's the system that doesn't have enough body... This is the reason why there are so many mixed opinions about the bass.

After I upgraded my amp from Corda HA-1 to Graham Slee Solo I got twice as much bass because of the external power supply! A small power supply gives thin instead of heavy bass, however, you can use a PS Audio Power Plant to charge up the power supply more efficiently.

 

[aznsensazian]

Just added some acoustic fabric between the driver and pads and boy do they make a difference

. It made it sound fuller without compromising detail and air. Definately a worthy consideration for you bassheads who want more out of your k501.

 

[murrmax]

To my ears the 501s immediatly make me think of high end monitor or electrostatics almost
speakers - that have virtues floorstanders can't match, while they might seem light on bass at first what you will hear will be accurate and accoustically correct - the magics in the midrange -

 

[amartignano]

Quote:

Originally Posted by murrmax To my ears the 501s immediatly make me think of high end monitor or electrostatics almost speakers - that have virtues floorstanders can't match, while they might seem light on bass at first what you will hear will be accurate and accoustically correct - the magics in the midrange -

Yup!

The K501 make me think about electrosatic headphones, and the K701 the same (somehow it reminds me the OmegaII I've heard once). Wonderful headphones the K701, and the K501 are still a great bargain for the very cheap price they goes. Amped properly, they can still be wordclass, imho.

 

[Lostlamb]

You guys are making me cry with happiness.


I love my K501s.

 

[fewtch]

Me too, K501 rules... I just hope I don't regret selling mine for K701s. Seems like the K701 is an overall improvement, but I wonder if the amazing sense of coherency is maintained.

 

[BluesDaddy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fewtch Me too, K501 rules... I just hope I don't regret selling mine for K701s. Seems like the K701 is an overall improvement, but I wonder if the amazing sense of coherency is maintained.

Fewtch, say it ain't so!! You're not going to give up that fabulous midrange presence, that clarity, that transparency of the 501 for the chimera of fabled 701 sound?

Actually, if I had a spare $300 right now I *might* be tempted to buy a set. But my 501s are doing everything I need in a set a cans so much, I'm just not tempted right now. I am spending money hand over fist it seems to keep feeding the 501s with glorious jazz, my new found love!!

Can you say "Ah Um"? I bet you can!!

 

[billinkansas]

I just bought a set of K501s from a fellow headfi'er. The bass is rolled off a little bit, but very clean and natural sounding. I don't feel as if I'm missing much bass at all. These are fast becoming my new favorites, more musically satisfying to me than the HD-650s, even with the reserved bass response. As so many have said already, the K501 mids are really special.

Fewtch-
Let us know how you like your K701s.