[GorillaSceptre]

 
Have a Chinese pair and this was not the case with mine, a month later they still hadn't softened up.

Are you talking about the bumps? for me there's nothing to soften up. There is gel or something inside them, mine were soft out of the box.

 

[CloudMoose]

  Are you talking about the bumps? for me there's nothing to soften up. There is gel or something inside them, mine were soft out of the box.

 
Yea, the bumps. Mine felt like rocks.
 
How low is your serial number? I'm in the 10X,XXX range.

 

[GorillaSceptre]

   
Yea, the bumps. Mine felt like rocks.
 
How low is your serial number? I'm in the 10X,XXX range.

Mine are 103335. that's weird man, are you sure you'rs are the China versions? but yeah, if i put light pressure on one of the bumps they go flat with the band.

 

[CloudMoose]

  Mine are 103335. that's weird man, are you sure you'rs are the China versions? but yeah, if i put light pressure on one of the bumps they go flat with the band.

Huh, I'm at 102,700 so yours are from a newer run. We also probably have differing opinions on the rigidity of leather bumps 

 

[Gyroscope352]

 
Hey everyone, just finished a few weeks of headphone testing and finally landed on the Q701, so I thought I'd join in the fun in this (very long) thread! These are unlike anything else I've ever heard. I read a lot of stuff that didn't leave me with high expectations, but these suckers spoke for themselves. I've finally found my ideal mid-fi headphone.
 
It was between these, the Beyerdynamic DT800, and the Sennheiser HD600. The HD600s and DT800s were both really great--if it had just been between them I would have had a much harder decision--but every time I put the Q701 back on, I couldn't stop grooving to the music. Despite what everyone says, these headphones really made me want to bang my head.
 
Particularly interesting is that I listen to mostly metal, which even Q701 fans said they wouldn't be good for--but I couldn't disagree more. The mids are just perfect for metal, and the separation and soundstage just make it sound like I'm hearing it for the first time.
 
The only downside to me was the slight lack of bass. I'm not the basshead I once was, but the Q701 was a bit too toned down in the bass for my tastes. The bass port mod, coupled with a bit of slight EQ, really fixed that right up--now these things are pretty damn perfect. I don't even need to turn on the bass boost on my Fiio E10 anymore.
 
That bass port mod was a little more daunting than it seemed reading through the thread, but I made it through alive. I definitely had to unscrew the second "layer" of plastic to get at the sticker (as shown in this post) and it was a little nerve wracking, but everything went great.
 
So thanks for the awesome thread, and I'm proud to be joining the club! Attached is a little pic of my setup to reward you for reading my rant.

 

[Ashade]

Hey everyone, just finished a few weeks of headphone testing and finally landed on the Q701, so I thought I'd join in the fun in this (very long) thread! These are unlike anything else I've ever heard. I read a lot of stuff that didn't leave me with high expectations, but these suckers spoke for themselves. I've finally found my ideal mid-fi headphone.

It was between these, the Beyerdynamic DT800, and the Sennheiser HD600. The HD600s and DT800s were both really great--if it had just been between them I would have had a much harder decision--but every time I put the Q701 back on, I couldn't stop grooving to the music. Despite what everyone says, these headphones really made me want to bang my head.

Particularly interesting is that I listen to mostly metal, which even Q701 fans said they wouldn't be good for--but I couldn't disagree more. The mids are just perfect for metal, and the separation and soundstage just make it sound like I'm hearing it for the first time.

The only downside to me was the slight lack of bass. I'm not the basshead I once was, but the Q701 was a bit too toned down in the bass for my tastes. The bass port mod, coupled with a bit of slight EQ, really fixed that right up--now these things are pretty damn perfect. I don't even need to turn on the bass boost on my Fiio E10 anymore.

That bass port mod was a little more daunting than it seemed reading through the thread, but I made it through alive. I definitely had to unscrew the second "layer" of plastic to get at the sticker (as shown in this post) and it was a little nerve wracking, but everything went great.

So thanks for the awesome thread, and I'm proud to be joining the club! Attached is a little pic of my setup to reward you for reading my rant.

Congrats! You made an awesome choice. And welcome to head-fi (sorry about your wallet, I suppose...) :rolleyes:

 

[GorillaSceptre]

  Huh, I'm at 102,700 so yours are from a newer run. We also probably have differing opinions on the rigidity of leather bumps 

 
Yeah they must of changed the bumps, i almost want to put a hole in one to see what's inside 

 
 
Hey everyone, just finished a few weeks of headphone testing and finally landed on the Q701, so I thought I'd join in the fun in this (very long) thread! These are unlike anything else I've ever heard. I read a lot of stuff that didn't leave me with high expectations, but these suckers spoke for themselves. I've finally found my ideal mid-fi headphone.
 
It was between these, the Beyerdynamic DT800, and the Sennheiser HD600. The HD600s and DT800s were both really great--if it had just been between them I would have had a much harder decision--but every time I put the Q701 back on, I couldn't stop grooving to the music. Despite what everyone says, these headphones really made me want to bang my head.
 
Particularly interesting is that I listen to mostly metal, which even Q701 fans said they wouldn't be good for--but I couldn't disagree more. The mids are just perfect for metal, and the separation and soundstage just make it sound like I'm hearing it for the first time.
 
The only downside to me was the slight lack of bass. I'm not the basshead I once was, but the Q701 was a bit too toned down in the bass for my tastes. The bass port mod, coupled with a bit of slight EQ, really fixed that right up--now these things are pretty damn perfect. I don't even need to turn on the bass boost on my Fiio E10 anymore.
 
That bass port mod was a little more daunting than it seemed reading through the thread, but I made it through alive. I definitely had to unscrew the second "layer" of plastic to get at the sticker (as shown in this post) and it was a little nerve wracking, but everything went great.
 
So thanks for the awesome thread, and I'm proud to be joining the club! Attached is a little pic of my setup to reward you for reading my rant.

That look's good man

 you also like blue i see.
 
I also tested a bunch of headphone's, including most of the AKG line apart from the K812, and also landed on the Q's, as far as price/performance goes, i didn't hear anything that could match them.
 
After the Mod they sound almost identical to the K712 which cost twice the price. There's something special about their sound too, maybe a bit of Quincy dust?

 

[Gyroscope352]

Congrats! You made an awesome choice. And welcome to head-fi (sorry about your wallet, I suppose...)

Haha it's okay, I've been around here for awhile...I just don't post much I bought my last pair of headphones a few years ago with advice from Head-Fi as well.
 
Quote:

   
Yeah they must of changed the bumps, i almost want to put a hole in one to see what's inside 

That look's good man

 you also like blue i see.
 
I also tested a bunch of headphone's, including most of the AKG line apart from the K812, and also landed on the Q's, as far as price/performance goes, i didn't hear anything that could match them.
 
After the Mod they sound almost identical to the K712 which cost twice the price. There's something special about their sound too, maybe a bit of Quincy dust?

 

For what it's worth, my bumps are rock hard (I'm sure there's innuendo somewhere but I'm just going to skip right past it). They are definitely not made from any kind of soft foam.
 
And yeah, I like blue a little bit...
 

 
...maybe a little too much.

 

[Smugsie]

   

For what it's worth, my bumps are rock hard (I'm sure there's innuendo somewhere but I'm just going to skip right past it). They are definitely not made from any kind of soft foam.
 
And yeah, I like blue a little bit...
 

 
...maybe a little too much.

Holy schiit @_@

 

[johanchandy]

 
 
Hey everyone, just finished a few weeks of headphone testing and finally landed on the Q701, so I thought I'd join in the fun in this (very long) thread! These are unlike anything else I've ever heard. I read a lot of stuff that didn't leave me with high expectations, but these suckers spoke for themselves. I've finally found my ideal mid-fi headphone.
 
It was between these, the Beyerdynamic DT800, and the Sennheiser HD600. The HD600s and DT800s were both really great--if it had just been between them I would have had a much harder decision--but every time I put the Q701 back on, I couldn't stop grooving to the music. Despite what everyone says, these headphones really made me want to bang my head.
 
Particularly interesting is that I listen to mostly metal, which even Q701 fans said they wouldn't be good for--but I couldn't disagree more. The mids are just perfect for metal, and the separation and soundstage just make it sound like I'm hearing it for the first time.
 
The only downside to me was the slight lack of bass. I'm not the basshead I once was, but the Q701 was a bit too toned down in the bass for my tastes. The bass port mod, coupled with a bit of slight EQ, really fixed that right up--now these things are pretty damn perfect. I don't even need to turn on the bass boost on my Fiio E10 anymore.
 
That bass port mod was a little more daunting than it seemed reading through the thread, but I made it through alive. I definitely had to unscrew the second "layer" of plastic to get at the sticker (as shown in this post) and it was a little nerve wracking, but everything went great.
 
So thanks for the awesome thread, and I'm proud to be joining the club! Attached is a little pic of my setup to reward you for reading my rant.

I listen to mostly metal as well, and I find my bass port modded q701's exceptional with most metal unless it's poorly recorded. I'm listening to "Wanna be God" by Helloween right now and it sounds truly magical. I was surprised it did so well in death metal, listening to Omnium Gatherum had my head banging! 

 

[darrenyeats]

  The tape shrinks the soundstaging and mids no?

I removed the tape three times (before I upgraded from an E12 to ODAC combo) so I really don't want to try it again that will presumably test the lifespan of this tape.

This is the kind of comment that has me hesitating about the mod.
 
If the mids shrink with the tape, that means mids are more prominent with the mod?

 

[Smugsie]

  This is the kind of comment that has me hesitating about the mod.
 
If the mids shrink with the tape, that means mids are more prominent with the mod?

Sorry, I meant mids are less prominent with the mod.

However do not take my word for it, I did the mod and found this difference when I was using the E12. The ODAC made the Q701's fuller and I'm not sure how the mod sounds with full amping. 

What IS confirmed by a lot of users is the reduction of soundstage width and airyness.

I'm going to leave my Q's as it is and just pick up V-moda M100's for my basshead needs.

Edit: having straight and curved tweezers alongside careful picking around the tape will definitely leave the tape intact.

 

[johanchandy]

Anybody know of any IEM or portable headphone that has a similar sound signature to the modded Q's?

 

[darrenyeats]

What IS confirmed by a lot of users is the reduction of soundstage width and airyness.
 

With the mod?

 

[Smugsie]

  With the mod?

Correct, with the mod.