[glac1er]

The K501 was priced at $100-$110 brand new in the last months before they were discontinued. The HD580 were $130 at that time. Nowadays, they go for more used in the F/S section.

The K601 is actually not bad, but disappointingly more expensive than the K501. The K701 is a completely different animal.

 

[Shoewreck]

My baffle mod. Looks even better on photo. Let's call it V4

 

[ciphercomplete]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shoewreck /img/forum/go_quote.gif My baffle mod. Looks even better on photo. Let's call it V4

What exactly did you do and how does it sound?

 

[Shoewreck]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ciphercomplete /img/forum/go_quote.gif What exactly did you do and how does it sound?

Thanks.
Do you see six long holes in the plate surrounding the driver? There were three. If you look at full-sized image you'll probably see that every other hole is slightly rough.
Currently they sound airy and virtually bassless. I'm currently looking for a suitable piece of foam to stuff the rear part. The current stuffing isn't enough.

 

[adanac061]

It's been a while since I looked into to anything k501 related , but i remember
there was some ramblings of the "brown ring version" how does that fit in here...?

 

[Shoewreck]

Quote:

Originally Posted by adanac061 /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's been a while since I looked into to anything k501 related , but i remember there was some ramblings of the "brown ring version" how does that fit in here...?

IIRC the ring is part of the improved cushions? Then it's the late production V3.

 

[iittoo]

Can i ask how do i see the long openings and smaller ones on the K501?
Just gotten my set yesterday so will be checking tonight to confirm,so how do i check it?thanks

 

[absoluNewbie]

can someone please upload image on page 1 please? 2 pleases.

 

[MDR30]

I concur with the previous speaker - can anyone upload images of the three different K501 versions?

 

[Kevin Brown]

I have V1's, and I bought the current baffles from AKG to theoretically convert to a V3.  I'll try to post pictures of those 2 over the next few days.

 

[Kevin Brown]

Reminding myself because I forgot until I just saw this again ...
 
(Taking the picture now, will try to remember to upload tomorrow ...)

 

[Kevin Brown]

Quote:

There are so far 3 versions of the K501 which have been presented on Head-Fi. The following versions are what I think is the order they came out as (oldest to most recent). Also these photos are not mine and do not remember who’s post I took these off of, but if these pictures are yours please contact me and I will give you credit for them.

Now on to the different versions:

First up is Version 1, this is the one I presume came out in the fall of 1996. Going from the inside of the driver out, there are 3 long openings out of a possible 6, and on the next level 4 smaller openings out of a possible 12. With a black dampening covering them.

[size=xx-small]Courtesy of Asr[/size]

This is Version 2, which is quite a significant difference. I have no idea when this one came out. There are 6 long openings and 12 smaller ones with a white dampening material which is thick.

[size=xx-small]Courtesy of Fitz[/size]

And lastly Version 3, which only has 6 long openings with no smaller ones with a white dampening material as well, but is thinner and more porous than the Version 2 one.

[size=xx-small]Courtesy of Mrvile[/size]

Now you might be wondering why I said 6 long/12 small opening combination was the maximum. If you look at adanac061’s Ver. 1 you can clearly see that AKG thought of making/testing different versions from the beginning, so my hypothesis is that the 501 was an experiment.

[size=xx-small]Courtesy of adanac061[/size]

Also another hypothesis is that considering that all the different versions have the same driver and that the black/white difference in sound is negligible that Ver. 2 can sound like both Ver. 1 and 3 just by blocking up the different holes.

If you would like to check what version your 501 is, just twist the pad counterclockwise to reveal the driver and openings.

I currently have Ver. 2 from rhester which I just received and am going to give them a good listen to when I get back home.

Special thanks to Fitz, adanac061, Mrvile, Asr, and the whole K501 community

EDIT: Under further investigation the order of the versions should be 2>1>3, I will keep the version numbers as they are to solve any confusions and change it when we have significant proof of the order of the versions

EDIT 2: added the differences between the V2 and V3 dampening material

What the heck, I got motivated.  Check the descriptions above with the pictures below.  The yellow arrows show the openings.  The centers are identical.  Hard to see for the V1, but where the 4 smaller openings are on the very outside, you can see "punchouts" for another 8 holes that have not been opened.
 
V1 (3 of 6, then 4 of 12):

 
V3 (6 of 6 then none):

 
I have a dream.

  I also have K601 and K701 pads.  My dream is to compare all the combinations and permutations between the two baffles and the 3 sets of pads (including the stock K501).  Someday ...
 
The reason being, I like the K601 more than the K701 because it has more bass.  I like the K501 more than the K601 because it has more bass.  (No, I am not a fan of the K701 at all.)  But my V1 K501 doesn't quite have enough bass.  I'm not a basshead though, I have an MP pair of Sextetts that are just perfect for me in terms of balance, and I also really like the balance of the K240S (Mk II).  The K501 V1 is so darn close, I want to see if I can get it even closer with a pad and/or baffle change.

 

[Fitz]

V2, the oldest version:
 
 

 
That's actually a K400 in the picture, but it's still the same baffle.
 

 

[MDR30]

Fascinating stuff. Those paper filtered openings are the secret of modern headphone designs.

 

[Ikarios]

Recently got a K501 and I'm absolutely loving it. I'm dragging up this thread because I've spent the past two days experimenting with different foams and pads between the K501/601/701. Things are getting very interesting. I'm so close to exactly what I want but I still have a little bit more to go...
 
I've been reading about the K501 getting "improved" pads alongside the V3 baffle changes. Is this true? I have a V1 K501 (with the 3/6 on the inside and 4/12 on the outside baffle) with black cloth-like pads. I'm considering ordering a new K501 baffle from AKG just for kicks. It sounds like the V3 is similar in sound to the V1 but has more bass... can anyone confirm this?