[tdockweiler]

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As I was getting back into phones and shopping for some new headphones, I spent quite a bit of time exploring various threads herein. In the past I was an avid headphone enthusiast but had drifted back to my first love, a regular 2 channel analog stereo. My Audio Note E SPx speakers in a predominantly Audio Note system kept me pretty busy as  I have limited free time due to work and family responsibilities. In the past, though, I had Sennheiser HD 600 and 650s, AKG K601 and 701s, and currently have Grado SR 125s and Audio Technica  ATH AD 700s. I recently tried AKG K240's and while they were enjoyable, they seemed closed in and veiled, even after break-in. They were returned. Some good soul on this site posted that there was a good deal on Amazon for Q701s( the lime green ones, Gosh I love that color!) After reading about them and becoming very interested because of my prior experiences with the K701s (but too thin in the bass and a little too much treble), I jumped on them. They were returns to Amazon Warehouse Deals and were $146 and change. What a deal! Well, they arrived the other day and to my disappointment, they were without the shorter cable and adapter. I contacted Amazon and they wowed me with amazing customer service and offered me an additional 25% off. So  I got what looked to be an as new AKG q701s for about $110 shipped. Double wow on that deal!  But the really good news is that I love the sound of the Q701s, even if I had paid close to list price. To my memory, they have many of the traits I admired about the K701s without the characteristics I hated. They sound great with my Marantz 2230 receiver and Bravo v2 12au7 amp. They seem fairly easily driven with both of these amps and have satisfying but not overwhelming bass, great midrange, excellent detail, are almost as spacious as my AD700s in soundstage, and I find them musical, natural,  and non-fatiguing. They are fairly comfortable, much more so than the Grados, but somewhat less so than the AD700s. They seemed to benefit a little from break-in but only a bit. After 96 hours I really haven't seen much change. I was prepared for these to be fairly finicky about amplification but even with my Qinpu hybrid, they sound pretty good. These overall are the best headphones I've yet owned, or possible, more correctly, the most enjoyable. And, in the final analysis, isn't that the bottom line? For me, at least, it is!

 
Wow, Q701 for $110 is a steal! I paid $235 as a NIB from Amazon Warehouse deals and felt that was good. It just had a big dent in the box. I also had the HD-600/650 and K702/K701 in the past as well. I still don't know what the heck AKG did differently with the Q701 over the K7012, but it works. I imagine they use specific driver for the Q701 (despite them saying it uses the same capsule).
 
I've always found them musical and non-fatiguing too, but only with very good recordings. Some of my worst tracks are a little bothersome with the O2/Micro + Modi. I even get this a little on the HD-650. I think if it wasn't for the O2+Modi it would be even smoother! Everything sounds a bit smoother on the E17 (as a DAC) but more closed in.
 
I always wanted to try the SR-125i. I had the SR-225i and was addicted to it for an entire week and almost turned into a Grado fanboy. "Upgraded" to the SR-325i and hated it. It felt like I gave up my nice mids for more treble and bass. I know the differences are minor on paper but I noticed it. The 325i is also too heavy to be comfortable.

 

[Advil]

Has anyone used these cans with a Little Dot amp? i have a little dot II++ and was wondering how it sounded with tubes. I also have an E17 that I might get the E09 for if I get these cans.

 

[BillyBenBilly]

I don't have a Little Dot but with my Bravo v2 w/ a 12au7 tube, the Q701s sound great. I don't see why it wouldn't be wonderful. You could tailor the sound with tube choice.

 

[BillyBenBilly]

Quote:

 
Wow, Q701 for $110 is a steal! I paid $235 as a NIB from Amazon Warehouse deals and felt that was good. It just had a big dent in the box. I also had the HD-600/650 and K702/K701 in the past as well. I still don't know what the heck AKG did differently with the Q701 over the K7012, but it works. I imagine they use specific driver for the Q701 (despite them saying it uses the same capsule).
 
I've always found them musical and non-fatiguing too, but only with very good recordings. Some of my worst tracks are a little bothersome with the O2/Micro + Modi. I even get this a little on the HD-650. I think if it wasn't for the O2+Modi it would be even smoother! Everything sounds a bit smoother on the E17 (as a DAC) but more closed in.
 
I always wanted to try the SR-125i. I had the SR-225i and was addicted to it for an entire week and almost turned into a Grado fanboy. "Upgraded" to the SR-325i and hated it. It felt like I gave up my nice mids for more treble and bass. I know the differences are minor on paper but I noticed it. The 325i is also too heavy to be comfortable.
 
The box for the AKGs was a little beat, taped together but, for the price, I can live with that!
I think the sweet spot in the Grado line is at the bottom....SR 125 and 225 are really quite loveable and enjoyable for what they are.

 

[theOmni]

Alright, so my Q701 came in yesterday and I tried some BF3 and listend to some Massive Attack. Mind you, this is just on my laptop. My high end desktop with a soundcard is "out of service" for now. I have an E11 amp on the way that was supposed to be delivered yesterday, but the stupid post office is derping around too much. Anyways, I tried it and HOLY CRAP!!! WHAT A FRIGGEN DIFFERENCE!! Even while its setup with my crappy laptop, the sound had so much clarity to it. I can tell what's left and right and even what's behind me. And listening to Teardrop by Massive Attack, the vocals are just so pronounced. Although I used to use my Ultrasone 750 Pros for the past few months, I have a feeling that the q701 will easily replace them. To be fair though, I haven't listened to the Ultrasones amped, and I hear that makes a big difference. I think I might just use the Ultrasones for rock music and movies, while the q701s can handle gaming, and orchestral music. 
 
But I just can't wait to try these headphones on a better, higher end gear.
 
My only concern with these headphones is that in some songs, I can hear some crackling and popping in the left ear. I'm not sure if that's because of the source (it was from my phone) or because of the song file itself. 

 

[darkunor]

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Has anyone used these cans with a Little Dot amp? i have a little dot II++ and was wondering how it sounded with tubes. I also have an E17 that I might get the E09 for if I get these cans.

Don'[t know about LD but they sound great with NOS tubes. Better low end, smoother highs. Minor loss of soundstage, but that's not an issue considering how much of it there is to begin with.

 

[Androb]

Going to bid on a Little dot mkIII tomorrow, hoping the auction to turn out well I really want to find out how they sound compared to my Lehmann black cube. Thinking it will sound less detailed, but interested how much warmer it will feel.
 
Listening to Black magic woman by santana atm, really im in love with the sound. Can hear everything going on in the song. So amazing. 
 
Hoping the bass will get a bit warmer with the little dot, tho the bas is quite amazing atm. It's not very punchy, but really really detailed instead. I really picked the correct headphones. Q701 is amazing!!!

 

[Xtri]

They're pretty ******* great, after listening to them for a while I have totally changed my mind.
I had Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro 250 Ohm before I got these and it was really wierd changing headphones, but after getting to "know" them I am absolutely baffled, the DT 990's are a lot muddier compared to these.
They are crisp and clear, especially if you listen to high quality songs/files. I am sold  

 

[Ashade]

They're pretty ******* great, after listening to them for a while I have totally changed my mind.
I had Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro 250 Ohm before I got these and it was really wierd changing headphones, but after getting to "know" them I am absolutely baffled, the DT 990's are a lot muddier compared to these.
They are crisp and clear, especially if you listen to high quality songs/files. I am sold  

I think that happens. First time I put them on I was like, meh... but now I'm always looking forward to use them instead of any other of my headphones. They are awesome.

 

[GirgleMirt]

They're pretty ******* great, after listening to them for a while I have totally changed my mind.
I had Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro 250 Ohm before I got these and it was really wierd changing headphones, but after getting to "know" them I am absolutely baffled, the DT 990's are a lot muddier compared to these.
They are crisp and clear, especially if you listen to high quality songs/files. I am sold  

Hmmm... I have both the Q701s and the DT990 600 ohms Premium, powered by a Magni/Modi, and I wouldn't call the 990 muddy... What is supposed to be muddy about them? From what I've read the Pros and Premiums should sound quite similar...

My impressions is that the Q701 is definitely a more neutral phone, if you're only going to get one and want a fairly neutral sound, the Q701 is definitely the way to go. The downsides though, are the top band with the ridges... They are fairly comfortable, until after a while the top of your head starts to hurt. When you put on the Beyers they definitely feel a lot more like silk, definitely better comfort!

For sound, the 990's soundstage is definitely bigger, but besides the FR differences, I'd say the detail of the 2 headphones are not that dissimilar, I'd actually have to do more A/Bing to make sure of this, but I don't really feel like I'm missing detail when I put on the 990s, even if the mids are somewhat recessed, they're still surprisingly quite detailed. (Not that they're the ultimate resolving headphones, just that you'd think that with the FR you'd miss some mids details but they're still surprisingly quite good, definitely not a day vs night vs Q701). Also have some Sennheiser'd paded SR80 I should throw in the mix.

Ah ok for muddy I think you meant bass and indeed just did a quick comparison and indeed the Q701's bass does sound a bit tighter/cleaner/more in control than the 990, the 990s seems to extend a bit deeper though but that's likely just to be the more bass heavy response of the phone too...

Overall, I'd say the Beyers are definitely more suited for a saturday or thursday, whereas the Q701s are more a tuesday or friday kind of headphone.

 

[bracko]

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Hmmm... I have both the Q701s and the DT990 600 ohms Premium, powered by a Magni/Modi, and I wouldn't call the 990 muddy... What is supposed to be muddy about them? From what I've read the Pros and Premiums should sound quite similar...

My impressions is that the Q701 is definitely a more neutral phone, if you're only going to get one and want a fairly neutral sound, the Q701 is definitely the way to go. The downsides though, are the top band with the ridges... They are fairly comfortable, until after a while the top of your head starts to hurt. When you put on the Beyers they definitely feel a lot more like silk, definitely better comfort!

For sound, the 990's soundstage is definitely bigger, but besides the FR differences, I'd say the detail of the 2 headphones are not that dissimilar, I'd actually have to do more A/Bing to make sure of this, but I don't really feel like I'm missing detail when I put on the 990s, even if the mids are somewhat recessed, they're still surprisingly quite detailed. (Not that they're the ultimate resolving headphones, just that you'd think that with the FR you'd miss some mids details but they're still surprisingly quite good, definitely not a day vs night vs Q701). Also have some Sennheiser'd paded SR80 I should throw in the mix.

Ah ok for muddy I think you meant bass and indeed just did a quick comparison and indeed the Q701's bass does sound a bit tighter/cleaner/more in control than the 990, the 990s seems to extend a bit deeper though but that's likely just to be the more =2931&graphID[]=2241&scale=30]bass heavy response of the phone too...

Overall, I'd say the Beyers are definitely more suited for a saturday or thursday, whereas the Q701s are more a tuesday or friday kind of headphone.

 
I agree with the most of what you say 

 but do DT990 really have a larger soundstage than Q701. Compared to my k701 the DT990 I heard didn't have a larger soundstage, maybe a more intimate soundstage. 

 

[jasonb]

I just received a JDS Labs ODAC. It makes the Q701 sound even better.

 

[tdockweiler]

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I just received a JDS Labs ODAC. It makes the Q701 sound even better.

 
ODAC is the perfect match for the Q701 IMO.
I went from HRT MSII to ODAC back maybe a year or two ago and heard some nice improvements. Now I have the Modi now which sounds very similar to the ODAC. The differences between those two is much smaller than MSII vs ODAC. My ears can only hear only a couple very minor differences. Just some differences in the soundstage depth, which people tell me is impossible.
 
I'm guessing with the ODAC you had perhaps a little less warmth (like .5%

), clearer sound, larger soundstage and more detail.
 
The E17 DAC I kind of like because it has a touch of warmth (barely audible) and it's good for my K400.
 
Oh hey..now you can try the O2! Just kidding...
 
I'm loving this O2 more than I thought I would. I should have bought it a year ago.

 

[jasonb]

Quote:

 
ODAC is the perfect match for the Q701 IMO.
I went from HRT MSII to ODAC back maybe a year or two ago and heard some nice improvements. Now I have the Modi now which sounds very similar to the ODAC. The differences between those two is much smaller than MSII vs ODAC. My ears can only hear only a couple very minor differences. Just some differences in the soundstage depth, which people tell me is impossible.
 
I'm guessing with the ODAC you had perhaps a little less warmth (like .5%

), clearer sound, larger soundstage and more detail.
 
The E17 DAC I kind of like because it has a touch of warmth (barely audible) and it's good for my K400.
 
Oh hey..now you can try the O2! Just kidding...
 
I'm loving this O2 more than I thought I would. I should have bought it a year ago.

No need for the O2, I'm really diggin the vintage Pioneer.
 
The ODAC somehow seems to also have really improved the bass. Much tighter and punchier and with more extension. I've never heard the Q701 sound like this, I've never really criticized their bass performance before, but now it's really something else. 

 

[theOmni]

So I'm using the e11 with my HTC One. There's barely a measurable difference between with and without the e11. I mean, with it, it certainly is louder and at the same time it sounds slightly more "full". I think its one of things where if I use the amp for a while, I'll notice the difference when not using the AMP.
 
Also, does the HTC One (the 2013 version) have a good DAC?