[lsamod]

 
my new cable from plussound audio, great work as always

Any improvement in sound?

 

[noobandroid]

  Any improvement in sound?

early 2 hours testing indicates a cleaner soundstage and slight better bass (with bass mod removed FYI), i no longer need bass mod after this, after all, it's a 10 thread copper cable, decent on looks and nice cleanup on sound

 

[jasonb]

It's definitely not harsh with good recordings but I'm constantly having to re-order what recordings I had previously regarded as good, if you know what I mean. For instance, Roger Waters album Radio Kaos I was really looking forward to but eugh! Far too bright IMO. Which is not the way it sounds through my loudspeakers.

I looked into braiding the cable and watched the YouTube video and was going to do it after dinner but through my dinner (yes, still wearing these cans) I was reading up on braiding and some people saying that technically it wasn't a good idea to braid cables. I can see that actually. I know people who've done it will say it makes absolutely no difference and I believe that too but still, it'll be in the back of my mind, niggling away at me. I'm like that.

I did read that these (either the K's or the Q's I can't remember -info overload) were not good for electronic music. This is absolutely not the case! I can't stress that enough. As long as it's well mastered these are majestic. I'm saving Yello (my favourite artists) for later but right now I'm listening to Royksöpp and it sounds utterly fabulous.

Now, here's an interesting technical fact you can take to the bank...

This is my system at present:FLAC > Samsung Galaxy Note 3 > Neutron MP > Fiio E18 > AKG Q701.

I have put roughly 16 hours on the cans since breaking the seal on the box yesterday. Yesterday the only way I could get adequate volume was to use the high gain position and turning the volume to 7/10 on the E18. Today I wouldn't dream of using high gain and on low gain I have the volume at 6/10. Same music, same software, same EQ(flat). Bass boost on the amp set to On all the time.

Fact. No idea why.

When people get new gear they tend to want to crank it up to see what it's capable of. Maybe a little bit of the excitement has worn away already and now you are listening at proper volume levels. 
 
A lot of people don't want to hear this, but you should listen at a safe level so you can enjoy good audio for many more years to come. Don't waste all your hearing all at once. 

 

[lsamod]

  early 2 hours testing indicates a cleaner soundstage and slight better bass (with bass mod removed FYI), i no longer need bass mod after this, after all, it's a 10 thread copper cable, decent on looks and nice cleanup on sound

Great,Thanks.I'll try that.

 

[Solrighal]

When people get new gear they tend to want to crank it up to see what it's capable of. Maybe a little bit of the excitement has worn away already and now you are listening at proper volume levels. 

A lot of people don't want to hear this, but you should listen at a safe level so you can enjoy good audio for many more years to come. Don't waste all your hearing all at once. 

I hear ya mate (just). Only kidding. No, I know better than to overdo the levels, I'm 49 and I've got this far. It's night and day though. I'm listening pretty loud right now, in fact the dogs say it's as loud as yesterday. But the level's way down. I'm not complaining, this is a GOOD thing.

 

[Fuzziekiwi]

Royksöpp and it sounds utterly fabulous.
 

Their music is well recorded. Go listen to "Oh Land" - Human. 
 
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/oh-land/id422175589

 

[daltonlanny]

Who do I currently contact to try to obtain K712 earpads for my Q 701's?
Also, which mod works best on the AKG Q 701 to increase the bass and better balance the overall sound between removing the round white tape over the ports, or would replacing the earpads with K712 ones have a more positive overall effect?
Thanks.

 

[Solrighal]

Their music is well recorded. Go listen to "Oh Land" - Human. 


https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/oh-land/id422175589

I'll check that out when I get to my Mac. My internet speeds are a joke though. It'll take ages, lol. Yes, Royksopp is produced really well. Actually, most Scandinavian music is well recorded. Not sure why that is but they tend to speak a lot of other languages so I'll take a guess there's a connection there somewhere.

I really need to get this damned cable shortened! It's far too long. I'm trying to read through this whole thread but I'm only at post 300 or something. There's already been a few handbags at dawn moments though. Quite a polarizing headphone this, lol.

 

[johanchandy]

I'm absolutely adoring the Modi/Vali combo with the q701's! Movies sound phenomenal. What an amazing headphone. I like the q701 far better than the HE-400 I demoed(I prefer q701's more neutral tone)!

 

[snowshoe]

Could you compare the xda 2 vs fiio 09/e17 combo on q701?

Certainly! As soon as I have the opportunity. I no longer have the FIIO gear, so I'll have to do it from memory. I can tell you that I really disliked the E9. The E17 is very good though.

 

[pearljam50000]

Can anyone compare to K550?
SQ wise only.
Thanks

 

[darrenyeats]

Ok here goes the shoot-out I had today (over a few hours at a dealer)
 
Open:
AKG Q701 with bass port mod
Stax SR-009 (I kid you not) with SR-007 amp
LCD-3
LCD-X
Sennheiser HD800
Grado GS1000i
 
Closed:
Sennheiser HD25-1 II
LCD-XC
Fostex TH-900
 
All with a Bryston DAC source and non-Stax with a £2k dedicated amp.
 
All IMHO.
 
Tier 1:
Stax SR-009 - So revealing and musical at the same time, I went back to it 5-6 times and grinned every time. Balanced, transparent, open, so-detailed-but-kind top end, informative, relaxing, musical. So good. Damn you Stax.
 
Tier 2:
LCD-3, Fostex TH-900, LCD-XC (, HD800) - The LCD-3 takes it on sheer quality, however this has slight warm/lush sound to it. The Fostex is amazing quality for a closed back, though I felt it slightly punchy and bright, on simple vocal tracks this is no issue and they are sensational, as no closed back headphones have a right to be! I felt the LCD-XC sat a smidgen below the other two in overall quality but the tonal balance was SPOT ON. So neutral and balanced, whoever developed the tone on these did a bang up job, perfection! (The HD800 really isn't my cup of tea tonally, it has weird treble and sounds a bit cold. They say it benefits from careful partnering - well I can believe it - the intrinsic quality in terms of imaging, details, dynamics etc is great, so sort the tonal issues and it could be superb. But I'm not a fan of the HD800 "out of the box".)
 
Tier 3:
AKG Q701 modded, LCD-X, Grado GS1000i, Sennheiser HD25-1 II - Pick your poison, all these aren't perfect but they do a decent job. HD25s are closed, go loud, very good details and mids/treble for the money, a bit mid-bassy though. The Q701 modded are all rounders with good air (NOT BASSY in comparison to ANY of the other headphones mentioned, just balanced), tonally balanced but with a very slight hint of white when compared to tier 1/2 phones. Grados a little bright. LCD-X were not as good as the LCD-3 or LCD-XC IMHO (though I realise they're supposed to be better than the latter).
 
The amazing thing is, IMHO, the Q701 modded allows you to sit at "the adults' table" in headphone terms. Sure, it sat in Tier 3 for me today, but it wasn't embarrassed at all, it stood comparison with some amazing headphones today! For the money, I just couldn't believe how it stood comparison. Same goes for HD25 actually.

 

[darrenyeats]

Mods: please delete.

 

[62ohm]

darrenyeats,
 
I concur, the Q701 is an unbelievable price/performance contender that can take the fight to the big boys.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

Gotta love revamped and old flagships.