arteom
1000+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2006
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So I just received the Beyers that I had bought from Anouk yesterday and spent the day comparing them to the ALO recabled (jenna wire 22awg) AKG K701's that I've had for a bit over three weeks now. Here are my thoughts on the two phones. My setup is mainly my computer, foobar2000 into a X-Can v8 headphone amp, using the x-can's usb dac. I will soon be adding an external DAC, but the x-can's internal DAC is not too bad, better than the external zero dac I had.
So here it is, beyer vs akg.
Physical Characteristics,
The Beyers are much smaller than I had thought, they are though a fairly comfortable phone (best headband of any headphone I've tried). However the cups themselves are smaller, I have larger than average ears and they were fairlry snug against the ear-pads. Both phones are very comfortable though, after a while you learn to live with the stubby AKG headbang (tip: put headband towards the back of your head and angle it so its facing upwards towards the front of your head).
Sound,
With the Beyers the bass is connected to the mids, and the mids and the highs are well connected as well. With the AKG's the bass seems to be separated, but I honestly think this is a good thing, as you can hear the bass separate from the rest of the frequencies. It's almost like there are two speakers and the speakers for the low frequencies is integrated with a very high quality crossover. The low frequencies are better defined with the AKG and this is the reason why, I believe. Also having heard the Beyers I can hear the slight bump in the upper midrange that are present with the AKG, the problem with this is that I think it recess' very slightly the higher frequencies after the little bump. But I did prefer the AKG's high frequency range to the Beyers, which was harsh and unrefined in comparison to the AKG's on some tracks. The Beyers are more detailed than the AKG's in general, they are one level above the AKG's as far as detail goes. To compare they are not quite the difference I noticed going from my D2000 to the AKG, but still noticeable amount for a detail freak like myself
. This can however be to a fault at times, as they can sound overly analytical. But I also think this is what really makes the Beyers stand out in this expensive hobby of ours, and if I were to keep the Beyers in the long run this would be a major reason why. The AKG's sound more open, soundstage is bigger, and instrument seperation is better than that of the Beyers.
The Beyers are a very nice for rock, just put on [Serj Tankian - [Elect The Dead #04] Feed Us] and really enjoyed it with the Beyers, instruments were very detailed, the high's here were not harsh at all. Now listening with AKG's, and as soon as the track came on it was almost like magic, the guitars were just blasting on either side with the instrument seperation of the AKG's and everything seems to be so much more "alive". The Beyers are not bad at all, nothing emphasized. Where the AKG's just seem to have a bit of magic to em (I think its the upper-mid hump), and also their wide soundstage along with the trademark k701 instrument separation
.
Hearing a few more tracks I can also say that the AKG's can reproduce small changes in tone/pitch of instruments better than the Beyers.
In conclusion the Beyers have a very nice sound that is very well connected throughout the spectrum, their downfall is perhaps being a bit unrefined or just plainly not too smooth. The AKG exhibit a disconnection of the low range (which is very well done) and also a slight hump in the upper-mids which gives them a lively sound, they are compared to the Beyers smoother. I do really like the Beyers, adore their detail. But then I think ok, lets see how this track sounds with the AKG's and am taken back a bit and end up keeping them on for quite a bit until I remember I have a new toy!
Happy Listening,
-Arteom
So here it is, beyer vs akg.
Physical Characteristics,
The Beyers are much smaller than I had thought, they are though a fairly comfortable phone (best headband of any headphone I've tried). However the cups themselves are smaller, I have larger than average ears and they were fairlry snug against the ear-pads. Both phones are very comfortable though, after a while you learn to live with the stubby AKG headbang (tip: put headband towards the back of your head and angle it so its facing upwards towards the front of your head).
Sound,
With the Beyers the bass is connected to the mids, and the mids and the highs are well connected as well. With the AKG's the bass seems to be separated, but I honestly think this is a good thing, as you can hear the bass separate from the rest of the frequencies. It's almost like there are two speakers and the speakers for the low frequencies is integrated with a very high quality crossover. The low frequencies are better defined with the AKG and this is the reason why, I believe. Also having heard the Beyers I can hear the slight bump in the upper midrange that are present with the AKG, the problem with this is that I think it recess' very slightly the higher frequencies after the little bump. But I did prefer the AKG's high frequency range to the Beyers, which was harsh and unrefined in comparison to the AKG's on some tracks. The Beyers are more detailed than the AKG's in general, they are one level above the AKG's as far as detail goes. To compare they are not quite the difference I noticed going from my D2000 to the AKG, but still noticeable amount for a detail freak like myself
The Beyers are a very nice for rock, just put on [Serj Tankian - [Elect The Dead #04] Feed Us] and really enjoyed it with the Beyers, instruments were very detailed, the high's here were not harsh at all. Now listening with AKG's, and as soon as the track came on it was almost like magic, the guitars were just blasting on either side with the instrument seperation of the AKG's and everything seems to be so much more "alive". The Beyers are not bad at all, nothing emphasized. Where the AKG's just seem to have a bit of magic to em (I think its the upper-mid hump), and also their wide soundstage along with the trademark k701 instrument separation
Hearing a few more tracks I can also say that the AKG's can reproduce small changes in tone/pitch of instruments better than the Beyers.
In conclusion the Beyers have a very nice sound that is very well connected throughout the spectrum, their downfall is perhaps being a bit unrefined or just plainly not too smooth. The AKG exhibit a disconnection of the low range (which is very well done) and also a slight hump in the upper-mids which gives them a lively sound, they are compared to the Beyers smoother. I do really like the Beyers, adore their detail. But then I think ok, lets see how this track sounds with the AKG's and am taken back a bit and end up keeping them on for quite a bit until I remember I have a new toy!
Happy Listening,
-Arteom
