[i luvmusic 2]

 IMO the Q701 pads are stiff they are not comfortable at all for me, Headband Bump i have no issue  Clamping force and the stiff PADS is a bit of issue for me.If i'am going to rate Q701 comfort in the scale of 1 to 10 it will be 5 for me. 

 

[Liu Junyuan]

I have HD-25 II for closed and Q701 (bass mod) for open. North of there, the only things that I've heard that put forth a good value for money proposition are the LCD-XC (which I seemed to like more than the -X!) and LCD-3 (and far above those the Abyss and SR-009!) That's not to say there aren't better headphones north of the HD25 and Q701 - there most definitely are many - just that I don't think there are any that give big enough improvements to be worth the asked large amounts of extra cash.

Put another way the "budget" headphones sector is very competitive and you can get a lot of performance for 150-200.

All IMHO - the usual disclaimer about head/ear shape making headphones very subjective.

While I agree the Q701 is an excellent value, to say nothing between them and the LCD XC are fairly priced is hyperbole. The HE-500 (to be replaced by HE-560) are nothing if not aimed at providing true Hifi sound at a relatively reasonable price. I mean, that is what these cans are known for.

With that said, however, I appreciate your enthusiasm for the Q701!

 

[darrenyeats]

While I agree the Q701 is an excellent value, to say nothing between them and the LCD XC are fairly priced is hyperbole. The HE-500 (to be replaced by HE-560) are nothing if not aimed at providing true Hifi sound at a relatively reasonable price. I mean, that is what these cans are known for.

With that said, however, I appreciate your enthusiasm for the Q701!

Actually not heard those - the HE-400 probably fall under the category of "better than the Q701, especially if you like a darker kind of sound but I'm still not tempted to switch". Who knows, maybe the HE-5x0 will be my personal value oasis on the way to the -XCs/-3s, look forward to trying!

 

[mrk]

Whipped out the soldering iron and related tools and shortened the longer of the two stock cables. It's about 1.6 metre which is perfect for desk usage.
The 3 metre will get used elsewhere:

 
 
I used a Neutrik connector which is all metal and seems very good quality. Neutrik do a good installation diagram and I just had to search out an AKG wire pin out for sleeve, tip and ring and all was good. The solder ended up being slightly messy but nothing major. I think the flux I used could have been applied a bit neater.
 
 
The stock 3.5mm end vs my DIY:

 
 
Right angled because I need it mostly for this:

 

[ruthieandjohn]

EBay sells 3' 1/8" cables for the Q701 with in-line iPhone remote for $12.95. Just ordered one. But they AREN'T the matching lime green, but Professional Black. Darn!

 

[ruthieandjohn]

While I agree the Q701 is an excellent value, to say nothing between them and the LCD XC are fairly priced is hyperbole. The HE-500 (to be replaced by HE-560) are nothing if not aimed at providing true Hifi sound at a relatively reasonable price. I mean, that is what these cans are known for.

With that said, however, I appreciate your enthusiasm for the Q701!

Much as I Love my Q701s, my HE-500s do have the better sound... More bass and equal or better treble.

But they aren't Lime Green!

 

[Liu Junyuan]

Much as I Love my Q701s, my HE-500s do have the better sound... More bass and equal or better treble.

But they aren't Lime Green!

Haha. This is true. I couldn't convince myself of the lime green variant but I've been curious to see them in person at some point. Your post has augmented this curiosity further.

 

[Liu Junyuan]

While I agree the Q701 is an excellent value, to say nothing between them and the LCD XC are fairly priced is hyperbole. The HE-500 (to be replaced by HE-560) are nothing if not aimed at providing true Hifi sound at a relatively reasonable price. I mean, that is what these cans are known for.

With that said, however, I appreciate your enthusiasm for the Q701!

Actually, I've thought through my post and realized there are loads of great values. Just read a thread extolling the incredible value of the DT 880 and HD 600. :confused_face_2:

 

[Solrighal]

The real USP of the Q is that it is heavily discounted. If it were to be compared with the Sennheiser HD650 it would be game over. IMO.

 

[Nymrej]

 
I'm a new owner too. Does anyone have any idea as to what to use to stick in between the restraining bar to move it up? The headphone fits on my head, but it's a little tight and I feel a bit more space on both sides would increase the comfort.

I used a razor blade to break the glued connection on both sides of the restraining bar; I didn't break the seal entirely holding together the two glued pieces, just the outer connections that go around the arches.  I then inserted the kind of tiny screwdriver you'd use on glasses or the like in the small gap.  I shimmied the restraining bar up.  NOTE: on one side I got tiny notches since I didn't get quite enough separation.  I'm fine with that: I'd rather have a cosmetic imperfection only I will ever see than risk breaking the two parts of the restraining bar apart. 
 
If you have luck with another method, let us know!

 

[Stillhart]

The real USP of the Q is that it is heavily discounted. If it were to be compared with the Sennheiser HD650 it would be game over. IMO.

You're probably right.  But as it is, it's less than half the cost.  Now I wonder how the K712 compares to the HD650...

 

[Solrighal]

You're probably right.  But as it is, it's less than half the cost.  Now I wonder how the K712 compares to the HD650...

I've never heard the K712 but I'd be willing to bet the words brighter & wider will be in there somewhere.

 

[Ashade]

   
Do it mate, its worth the endeavor! I mean, they are a bit picky I admit, but if you persevere with it and tailor your system specifically the result would be very rewarding. Its like a buffed up Q701 (even bigger soundstage, more textured & tighter bass, smoother highs), while fixing its drawbacks (non-existent bass, harsh highs/sibilance, obvious super-stereo effect).

 
The day I tried them I said: This is the ultimate thing! I know I will eventually end up with those headphones.
 
Quote:

  I've decided that the Q701's are in fact one of the most comfortable cans I've ever tried... pads are near perfection, headband bumps are no problem, and the suspension works really well. Plus... they're light, and I can wear them when my (quite short) hair is wet after I shower (I like the way my hair dries naturally without excessive manual drying), unlike with Audeze vegan pads.

 
I found the HD700 and HD800 waaaay more comfortable, but they are at another completely different price tag sooooo...
 
Quote:

  You're probably right.  But as it is, it's less than half the cost.  Now I wonder how the K712 compares to the HD650...

 
I honestly didn't find the HD650 that impressive. I mean, it's a pretty good headphone, but the jump between Q701 and HD650 is minor compared with the difference in price or the jump between HD650 and HD800. Just MHO. I've never heard the HE500, but I bet is worth much more than the HD600 or HD650.

 

[Evshrug]

Damn, I'm in for a long ride of re-doing those v0s as Flacs aren't I

I'll definitely try the bass mod.  I do like bass. I especially liked how movies and FPS gaming came to life with oomph on the X1 so if the bass mod does indeed level out the high bias to balance with the lows as you say then I'm all for it!

I don't know if Foobar has this, but if you have iTunes and maybe an iPod, you can set iTunes so that when you insert a CD, it automatically starts importing as Apple Lossless and ejects when finished. All you have to do then is manually load the next disc when the tray comes out, you can listen to music or play a (light) game while you do this.

Oh god, don't get me started.  I have a massive box of CD's in the garage and a HDD full of 128k and V0 MP3's.  

(Yes, 128k.  I had the Rio MP3 player, one of (if not THE) first portable MP3 players.  I believe it had 32MB of storage, expandable to 64MB.  MP3 CD's were a much better option at the time, but the skipping!!!)

I ripped about 10-20 of my favorite CD's to FLAC and I've been slacking on the rest.  Going to have to bite the bullet and do it at some point tho...

I remember the Rio! I was looking into the bulkier Nomad that was available around that time because it held more songs and was at least less bulky than CD binders, but then the iPod came and offered the best of both worlds (and rocked mine!).

really? no one here taking my post seriously? 

I think that the reason most of us are bemused/surprised is because, looking at your picture, you put the Q701 pads on without taking the DT880 pads off. I might attempt swapping AKG & Beyer pads, but I'd never double-stack them because the beyers clamp enough with the current pad thickness and you tend to lose bass if your ears are further away from the drivers.

 

[Chris J]

Whipped out the soldering iron and related tools and shortened the longer of the two stock cables. It's about 1.6 metre which is perfect for desk usage.
The 3 metre will get used elsewhere:


I used a Neutrik connector which is all metal and seems very good quality. Neutrik do a good installation diagram and I just had to search out an AKG wire pin out for sleeve, tip and ring and all was good. The solder ended up being slightly messy but nothing major. I think the flux I used could have been applied a bit neater.


Right angled because I need it mostly for this:

How do you like your NAD D 3020?
Do you think it works well with the Q701s?