[Mad Lust Envy]

The headband does hurt at first. I say in less than a week your head will adjust, and then you won't feel them anymore.

 

[Austin Morrow]

Quote:

The headband does hurt at first. I say in less than a week your head will adjust, and then you won't feel them anymore.

The uncomfortableness on top of the headband isn't what gets me. I have a slightly small head, so the clamping force isn't as strong as I would have liked it to be.

 

[EinZweiDrei]

i feel some bumps on my head caused by the headband after a long listening session. but yea it got less painful after a while

 

[Digital-Pride]

Scalp burn-in for the win.

 

[Lurkumaural]

ATTENTION Q701 OWNERS = Could you lend a rookie some specific advice?

ColesGoods,

Welcome to Head-Fi. Your wallet is f•••ed!

When I bought the Q701 over the summer all I had to power it was my Firebox, notwithstanding my Macbook Pro or my iPhone. Long story short, I upgraded my amplification very soon after.

The Firebox, for those that don't know, is a studio interface, so it's gonna have analog ins and outs for your mics and instruments and your mixer/monitors, respectively. It also has SPDIF input and output, and Firewire. For those of you who don't care for studio interfaces, it's a 24/96 Firewire DAC with a powerful headphone out. I've put 8 ohms up to 2000 ohms on the headphone out, and rarely go past 10 o'clock (from 6 or 7) to get decent volume.

Out of the Firebox the Q701 has plenty of clarity, power, and even some pleasant bass. I noticed a strident sort of fatiguing signature though, even after some burn-in, on some songs. So I got the NFB-10SE and it's been gravy since. Heck I even recabled for balanced operation last week. Flipped my wig, let me tell you... I thought I knew my headphones. It's like they came out of a Q701-shaped coccoon and became this super beast thing, similar but better.

In summary, the Q is pretty darn good out of the Firebox, but you can do better. I presume anyone who's put an E9 behind this headphone will say something similar.

I gotta keep this short because it's family time. PM me, or even address me here for everyone's benefit.

 

[tdockweiler]

I have Serial #05171
 
You guys are going to think I'm crazy, but here's something interesting.
 
My Q701 has just been sounding so good lately. By now I'm basically memorized how it sounds and if something is "off", i'll know about it. I know this is hard to believe.
No, I don't mean I have golden ears!
 
I removed the Q701 foam and installed two K701 foam pieces (different part #). The Q701 foam is definitely not the reason it sounds different than the K701/K702. As mentioned earlier, the Q701 and K702 share the same foam.
 
If you put the Q701 and K701 foams side by side they do look different. It's especially noticeable if you look at them from the side.
 
I spent a half hour yesterday with a few really bad songs that have this ear piercing upper mid peak. With the K701/K601 foam it takes the edge off slightly. It's clearly a difference and you can try it if you want. There seems to be a tiny bit of extra bass. The Q701 is perfectly good as it is, but the K701 foam SEEMS to make it even smoother. Very, very slightly better with horrible recordings that seem to crank the mids and treble up. BTW the Q701 never bothers me unless it's a bad recording. It doesn't touch them.
 
I've been listening to the Q701 with the K701 foam non-stop for the last few days and the whole time I'm thinking to myself..why on earth does this sound so much better..has to be placebo right? It could be, but this is just weird. What I will do is listen to them with the K701 foam for another week and then switch to the stock foam for a week and see if it's any different. Did only a few A/B comparisons but it's too hard.
 
The difference is so small that it seems to require specific songs. REALLY bad ones. The K701 foam seems to have less holes in it it seems.
 
Now again, this could all by placebo, but I don't think so. If you think so, that's OK! The Q701 has just sounded so much better lately. Maybe it's just lots of use? Probably at around 250-300 hours now. Nothing else has changed really.
 
 
 
 

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

 
I removed the Q701 foam and installed two K701 foam pieces (different part #). The Q701 foam is definitely not the reason it sounds different than the K701/K702. As mentioned earlier, the Q701 and K702 share the same foam.

With the K701/K601 foam it takes the edge off slightly. It's clearly a difference and you can try it if you want. There seems to be a tiny bit of extra bass. The Q701 is perfectly good as it is, but the K701 foam SEEMS to make it even smoother.
 
I've been listening to the Q701 with the K701 foam non-stop for the last few days and the whole time I'm thinking to myself..why on earth does this sound so much better..has to be placebo right?

 
I've never seen the K701 foam up close, but I don't think it's that different from the Q701 foam.  They should be very similar, right?  I'd have to see pictures of them.  Is the part number different from the K702s?  Because those looked so close to the Q701 foam that I didn't even bother switching because I couldn't tell them apart -- the the sound difference would be insignificant.
 
I would bet the differences in sound between the two would be pretty small.  I'm not saying it is placebo, but you could probably easily trick yourself into thinking it sounds better/different because you're just listening closer trying to hear differences. 
 
Either way, I for one don't want the Q701 any smoother.   I think it's plenty smooth as it is.  I don't want any more airy-ness taken away.  I'll just switch to a warmer headphone if I want that.
 

 

[dL.]

I don't know if the newer Q701's have been burnt in more from the factory but so far burning in 2 days continuously have not made much difference in the sound. It sounded really really good out of the box already.
 
This is definitely a keeper. It just sounds so good. It isn't the most detailed. It isn't the most clear. It isn't the most bass. I cannot describe it as cold nor warm. It is the best balance between everything which makes it sound very musical and enjoyable, maybe with the exception of the bass. If it had a tad bit more bass then it'd be better but that's just me. It actually makes me enjoy music as a performance as oppose to be analytical about the details of the song. The soundstage is amazing. I also find the Q701 to be quite forgiving in terms of poorly encoded files as opposed to the KRK 8400 and Shure 940 that I once had.
 
As for comfort, I cannot feel the bumps on the headband until after wearing them for hours.
 
More impressions later.
 
dL

 

[raysclim1568]

I have a Q701 for months now but didn't really listen to it much except just let it play thru' my music .
I didn't like the sound at all when I bought it before listening to it except knowing that it is new product from AKG and it is tuned by Quicy Jones..
so , all reading material is great and I just go for it. 
 
Bought the black version as Green version is just too overwhelming for me to look at it.  White Version is very nice but dealer don't have stock so Black as universal color works for me too.
I have a K501 many years back and enjoy it very much ,it is misplaced but I remember very clearly that K501 have the widest soundstage and imaging and I bought it primarily for Classical music . ...miss my K501
 
now , back to Q701 ..after weeks of leaving it alone. I decided to have a good listening and with my limited phase . I could says it sounded SMOOTH ...not exciting sound type of headphone. 
the vocal also appear to be laid back type , like more than couple of feet away from you . a distant sound. 
That is when I hear  it with my UA&T U2 DAC/AMP .
 
When I bought Violectric HPA-V200 and Rein Audio XDAC again , I listen to it again . and it is all differences now ..
the bass are more full and extended , Mid is so sweet and piercing treble and also smoothen out.  now , I am listening it 80% of the time over my Ultrasone Edition 8 now .
and I am happy that Q701 really come alive for me and it is my primarily headphone listening at home. 
 
I just order a upgrading DIY Silver plated copper cable ( Nordost Odin), I am looking forward how it helps in improving the soundstage and extend the 3 frequency further . will post a update when I received it .
 
Thanks 
Raymond Lim 

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

 
I've never seen the K701 foam up close, but I don't think it's that different from the Q701 foam.  They should be very similar, right?  I'd have to see pictures of them.  Is the part number different from the K702s?  Because those looked so close to the Q701 foam that I didn't even bother switching because I couldn't tell them apart -- the the sound difference would be insignificant.
 
I would bet the differences in sound between the two would be pretty small.  I'm not saying it is placebo, but you could probably easily trick yourself into thinking it sounds better/different because you're just listening closer trying to hear differences. 
 
Either way, I for one don't want the Q701 any smoother.   I think it's plenty smooth as it is.  I don't want any more airy-ness taken away.  I'll just switch to a warmer headphone if I want that.
 

Yeah, I didn't want to just A/B them and say there was any difference FOR SURE. So far I've been listening to them a lot lately with the K701 foam and they sound pretty dang good. At least 8 hours yesterday during work! Not sure why they sound any better. Before I really believe there is a difference I want to give them a full week first. Then i'll switch to the old foam for another week.
 
The K701 and K601 foam share the same part #. The Q701 and K702 foams have another (different) part #. Two different parts numbers for the two types of foam.
 
 
Both the K701/601 and Q701/K702 foams look different.
 
The Q701/K702 foam is more open with less holes, feels rougher and sparkly. The K702 foam is much softer, not sparkly. They do look similar until you compare them side by side.
 
You can see this thread here for pictures:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/564427/k701-vs-k702-vs-q701-which-one-considering-recabling-among-other-things/15#post_7755190
 
It's harder to see the difference in pictures. When you have both it's easy to tell the difference.
 
I don't want to make it seem a bigger difference than it is.
 
BTW the sound isn't any smoother really, just with some really harsh/badly mastered stuff. Didn't really explain this well. Maybe somewhat.
 
I don't even know why I'm posting this, but it's just something interesting I found.
 
 

 

[Magick Man]

Mine were very well payed when I got them, or so they appear. They've been stunning ever since the first listen, but with my EF5 they're just jaw-droppingly good. I can't believe that they retail for so little (comparatively).

 

[Drastion]

Got my a few days ago and have been listening to them a lot. I love how they feel on my head and how my ears dont touch anything. Now I know they are not ment to shake my brain but they really seem to lack bass. I listened to that joker mp3 a few pages back I could hear it I just couldnt feel it.

I already have an objective2 amp being made but am holding off on having it sent as I wait for the dac info to be released. I know its best to have an amp but what should I expect to happen when I plug it in for the first time?

Is there any online music I can try that will demonstrate what these headphones can do? Strangly enough the only thing I have really enjoyed listening to is the ultrasone demo flacs. All my music sounds like I remember it. Its all 128 mp3s so maybe since I am used to it sounding like crap I dont notice it.

 

[DigitalUser]

You really should get higher bitrates for songs, but for online streaming try grooveshark, soundcloud, or spotify. I'm not sure what quality the songs are though.
Quote:

Is there any online music I can try that will demonstrate what these headphones can do? Strangly enough the only thing I have really enjoyed listening to is the ultrasone demo flacs. All my music sounds like I remember it. Its all 128 mp3s so maybe since I am used to it sounding like crap I dont notice it.

 
 

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

With an amp, they don't lack all the bass. Mid bass is pretty damn good, it's the lowest sub bass where it's not exactly powerful.

 

[Drastion]

Thats what I was hoping all this amp talk was about. I couldnt really understand how having more power could make something sound better. Need to look into this more.

Thanks for all the advice everyone and your posts that were interesting to follow.

Mainly been buying this peice meal to help justify the cost of all this stuff. That way I could better apreciate the improvements each part of the puzzle would bring.