[Koukol]

Thanks guys!
 
I too would love to hear how the HE-400's compare to the Q701's

 

[Bogatyr]

 
Unfortunately, I cannot contribute anything to your questions, but I am interested in how you compare the HE 400s to the Q701s?  Which one do you prefer for music and what types (of music) have you been listening to recently?

 
Q701 are my gaming headphones and out of everything I've tried, Q701 & PortaPro are about the only headphones I can wear for 4+ hours and still be comfortable.
My music library consists mainly of pop, rock, hip-hop, and EDM. That's where HE-400s come in.
 
I'm not great at describing things, so I'll just briefly scribble down my personal take on the two headphones.
 
Q701:
Lightweight, big earpads (ears get warm but not hot, can wear for hours), bumpy headband that takes getting used to.
Neutral yet modest bass, rather bright and airy sounding with a lot of music that I listen to.
 
HE-400:
Heavier, earpads are shallower and are about 15-20% smaller than Q701 (ears get rather hot so short breaks in between albums are advised) but has a flat headband which is a fair bit more comfortable in comparison to Q701.
Fairly neutral yet well extended bass that rarely leaves you wanting more, recessed mids but bright/tizzy upper treble. If you EQ down everything past ~6khz by 3-6dB you end up with a pretty quick, well extended and laid back pair of headphones with a bit of sparkle at the top.
 
That's all that I can think of really. I've purchased Q701 as a first set of decent headphones in early 2012 but have always felt that they left a lot to be desired when it came to electronic music which I enjoy a lot (Aphex Twin, Autechre, weekly Armin Van Buuren trance releases.) Ended up getting HE-400 in 2013, thought about selling one pair but I just get too much use out of both them, one for gaming and the other for music.
 
I think I just prefer a darker sound signature overall so take my ramblings with a grain of salt, I will probably end up getting HD650's next.

 

[Koukol]

It's Interesting that you need to EQ the 400 to tame the highs...
 
Did you do the bass mod on the Q701's?
 
THX.

 

[Bogatyr]

  It's Interesting that you need to EQ the 400 to tame the highs...
 
Did you do the bass mod on the Q701's?
 
THX.

With HE-400s if the volume is lowered to ~ 10% all I can hear on certain tracks are sharp sounds like cymbals and electronic music elements which populate similar frequency regions. If I then raise the volume to regular listening levels these sounds begin stand out in front of everything else and can be borderline piercing without slight to moderate equalization.
 
Yep, this is my second pair of Q701s. First one had the bass vent mod and additional layer of foam inserted between the driver and ear-pads but as I've previously mentioned these are now mainly just my gaming cans they are perfect for that without any mods. I'm wondering whether the open-vent bass mod is the reason why one of my drivers crapped out on my previous pair, hmm... Probably not.
 
The bass mod certainly did work as advertised and boosted mainly the sub-bass region, on some songs it worked great, on others it sounded slightly fatiguing over a period of time.

 

[CloudMoose]

  I mean in comparison to the AKG Q701. The bass for the AKGs decays fast and doesn't have the impact of the HD 600. Although in combination with my amp the HD 600 is pretty strong.
 
And I think Frank said 
"
K702    2458M12020   $14.74 PER PAD
K712   5021871 SAME AS 65^TH aNNINVERSARY
"
 
So did I just order the gel pads...? Oh my god..

When I emailed frank and asked about the K712 pads, this is the response I got.
 
AKG currently hasn’t brought parts to the US for this model.  I do have earpads on order, due to arrive in approx 3 weeks. Headband’s will be released in approx 4 weeks.
 
You probably currently under the two year warranty.  If you need repair assistance please call AKG Service: 818-920-3237
 
 
If you would like to place an order, please provide the following information via e-mail fax or phone, and I can process the order for you.
 
 
5021871                      $29.00 ea pad
 
Name:
Address:
City:
St:
Zip:
Ph:
CC#:
Exp:
Code:

 

[Fuzziekiwi]

Q701's Amazon Warehouse Deals at $135 right now. 

 

[ThurstonX]

  When I emailed frank and asked about the K712 pads, this is the response I got.
 
AKG currently hasn’t brought parts to the US for this model.  I do have earpads on order, due to arrive in approx 3 weeks. Headband’s will be released in approx 4 weeks.
 

 
Well, at least that's a definitive answer.  Thanks a lot for sharing.

 

[GLXLR]

When I emailed frank and asked about the K712 pads, this is the response I got.

[COLOR=1F497D]AKG currently hasn’t brought parts to the US for this model.  I do have earpads on order, due to arrive in approx 3 weeks. Headband’s will be released in approx 4 weeks.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=1F497D] [/COLOR]
[COLOR=1F497D]You probably currently under the two year warranty.  If you need repair assistance please call AKG Service: 818-920-3237[/COLOR]
[COLOR=1F497D] [/COLOR]
[COLOR=1F497D] [/COLOR]
If you would like to place an order, please provide the following information via e-mail fax or phone, and I can process the order for you.


5021871                      $29.00 ea pad

Name:
Address:
City:
St:
Zip:
Ph:
CC#:
Exp:
Code:

But still... He did tell me that they both have the same EarPads..

 

[ThurstonX]

But still... He did tell me that they both have the same EarPads..

 
IIRC, buried somewhere in this thread is evidence that they do not.  Someone who has both, or at least the K712s, posted pix of the "real" K712 pads.  Also, why would Frank say they don't have any in stock, but then ship the "other" version of that part #?  Maybe they'll switch the number, but in the maintenance docs, they are indeed the same part #, so who knows.
 
Hope yours work out, whatever the truth may be.

 

[Fuzziekiwi]

Went ahead and got the Q701's for $123
 
Hopefully they meet up to my expectations. 

 

[62ohm]

  Went ahead and got the Q701's for $123
 
Hopefully they meet up to my expectations. 

 
$123? That's one helluva deal mate!
 
Just be sure to:
1. Spend some time with it before doing the bass port mod.
2. Ridiculous amount of break-in time... I used to have no faith in burn-in, but this cans changed me.

 

[Fuzziekiwi]

   
$123? That's one helluva deal mate!
 
Just be sure to:
1. Spend some time with it before doing the bass port mod.
2. Ridiculous amount of break-in time... I used to have no faith in burn-in, but this cans changed me.

I sure will. Amazon Warehouse Deal, I payed more for my Sennheiser HD558 which were actually open box haha.  I will probably like the stock sound though, sometimes I think my HD558 has too much bass.

 

[Koukol]

  Went ahead and got the Q701's for $123
 
Hopefully they meet up to my expectations. 

I looked there but only saw one listed around $179.00
 
Too much for a refurbished HP

 

[Fuzziekiwi]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B004444O46/ref=sr_1_3_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1392763406&sr=8-3&keywords=Q701&condition=used

 

[Koukol]

Thanks Fuzz but AmazonUS won't ship electronics to Canada.