[Stillhart]

I did the bass mod on my Q701 actually and though it helped to some degree, it somewhat ruined its dynamics in the midrange and it only made the upper treble roll-off all the more noticeable.

Again, note that the comparison was between a 250 ohm Pro (not Premium; in ZombieX's excellent comparison, the 250 ohm Pro is noted as the warmest of the DT 990 line and now I can clearly see why) and my current 600 ohm Premium and, to be honest, it was going off my memory. But I feel very safe in saying for myself that the Premium 600 ohm's midrange, bass and treble are faster, less grainy and more coherent than the 250 ohm Pro. In the world of Sennheiser, it would be almost like going from a HD555 to a HD600, where you get better extension, less grain and more naturalness in the long run. I personally believe it is a misnomer on Beyerdynamic's part for having made the Pro and Premium models share the same model number. I still cannot believe how good the midrange is and I was always craving for more clarity and fluency in the midrange on my 250 ohm Pros and I always was slighty annoyed by the treble, too. Not any more by a long shot!

Interesting. The biggest problem I've read with the 990 is harsh trebles. If the 600ohm fixes that, might have to give them a try.

 

[MarcoGV]

  Receiving both Q701 and NAD D3020 this weekend or early next week! Looking forward to pair them both!

I look forward to your impressions!  The Q701 pairs very well with my old NAD 3130 (despite the high headphone-out impedance).  I realize that the D3020 is a class D amplifier, and I hope that it will work out with the Q701.  By the way, will you also use speakers with the D3020?  I have a pair of Magneplanar MMGs.

 

[Fuzziekiwi]

I haven't listened to this album much because I always thought it sounded like crap on my other headphones but wow with the Q701.
 

 

[Hifihedgehog]

Interesting. The biggest problem I've read with the 990 is harsh trebles. If the 600ohm fixes that, might have to give them a try.

They do to some degree but they will not tame bad recordings in the least. If a recording on a Q701 (or $5000 reference speaker system for that matter) tends to be unbearably thin and scratchy due to over EQ'ing or brickwalled over-compression, it may sound worse on the DT990 Premium 600 ohm. Luckily, my number of such bad recordings accounts for a paltry 10 percent or so of my music library. Even then, reducing the volume works more times than not and I am still more than satisfied since to my ears, the inherent dynamics of the recording seem less unhampered by the headphone's tuning than others. Of course, if you are particularly fond of indie and bright recordings in general, you probably should not even be owning a Q701 or DT990 Premium 600 ohm in the first place and should instead obtain an HD6x0 or Audeze.

 

[ZenocideZ]

 

  Receiving both Q701 and NAD D3020 this weekend or early next week! Looking forward to pair them both!

I look forward to your impressions!  The Q701 pairs very well with my old NAD 3130 (despite the high headphone-out impedance).  I realize that the D3020 is a class D amplifier, and I hope that it will work out with the Q701.  By the way, will you also use speakers with the D3020?  I have a pair of Magneplanar MMGs.

 
There are too many mysterious specs behind D3020 - there is no internal pic of pcb found on the net, also the spec of headphone amp output is unclear, only know it can drive 600ohms headphone.... I will receive D3020 today first b4 Q701, gonna burn it first. 
 
btw, I'm located in remote Asia so cannot buy your impressive MMG. Thanks for asking.
 
now I'm looking a banana plug to female 6.5mm cable ....People use the speaker output on D3020 to drive high impedance headphone!

 

[MarcoGV]

 

 

  Receiving both Q701 and NAD D3020 this weekend or early next week! Looking forward to pair them both!

I look forward to your impressions!  The Q701 pairs very well with my old NAD 3130 (despite the high headphone-out impedance).  I realize that the D3020 is a class D amplifier, and I hope that it will work out with the Q701.  By the way, will you also use speakers with the D3020?  I have a pair of Magneplanar MMGs.

 
There are too many mysterious specs behind D3020 - there is no internal pic of pcb found on the net, also the spec of headphone amp output is unclear, only know it can drive 600ohms headphone.... I will receive D3020 today first b4 Q701, gonna burn it first. 
 
btw, I'm located in remote Asia so cannot buy your impressive MMG. Thanks for asking.
 
now I'm looking a banana plug to female 6.5mm cable ....People use the speaker output on D3020 to drive high impedance headphone!

The MMGs are indeed a good bargain in the US.  I look forward to your comments on the D3020 and the Q701.

 

[HeavenNotes]

Hello.

I have q701 and NAD 3020 and it sounds as a tube amp with soundstage and liquid sound. I love it. I'm listen jazz now.

 

[Stillhart]

Quiet in here again today.  I've been on the prowl for a portable that isn't on-ear and my research has led me to the K545.  I've read that it sounds like a closed version of the modded Q701.  Anyone around here tried it yet?

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

Someone has mentioned it to be 80% of the Qs sound quality. From what I remember auditioning them at the last meet, the treble doesn't have that air, soundstage is closed in but not terribly, bass had slightly better impact albeit a slight mid-bass hump. At least that's what I remember, that was in January and for only a 10m audition. LOD cable from an iPad straight to an e09k.

I would shoot for something with a different sound sig for the sake of variety. Maybe something kicked back, fast, and comfy. Mad Dogs 3.2 with the Alpha pad but better get it before May, they take a $30 price hike.

 

[Stillhart]

Someone has mentioned it to be 80% of the Qs sound quality. From what I remember auditioning them at the last meet, the treble doesn't have that air, soundstage is closed in but not terribly, bass had slightly better impact albeit a slight mid-bass hump. At least that's what I remember, that was in January and for only a 10m audition. LOD cable from an iPad straight to an e09k.

 
Yes, I fully expect to lose SQ over the Q701 when moving from a nice open, home setup to a closed, portable setup.  I'm okay with that given my expected listening situations.  How would you rate them in comparison to peers like the Momentum or Sony 1R?  I suspect the K545 will be closer to my preferences (modded Q) than anything else I can get for $200 or less.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

I've never tried either one of those HPs so I couldn't tell you.

 

[Smugsie]

This is my fourth drop test with the Q701's, had a heart attack and watched them drop headband first on the floor. Whew.

 

[eimis]

^ Whoa. You're sensitive. o_O I wouldn't worry about my q's cause they withstanded my tortures while doing the bass port mod.

 

[Solrighal]

The Q is much tougher than it looks.

 

[Smugsie]

The Q is much tougher than it looks.

I heard you got the HD600's. I noticed that the highs in those aren't rolled of unlike the Q701's after ~12khz, did you notice any difference in regards to those extreme highs?