[recarcar]

Anyone have experience modding these in any way?

 

[ThurstonX]

  Anyone have experience modding these in any way?

 
Short answer, Yes.  Long task... go through this thread.  I've read about many mods, and I've written about my own involving wool felt to attenuate the upper mids(?) a bit.  Combined with the bass port mod (with foam covering the port), I find them much more enjoyable with a wide variety of music without sacrificing the crisp clarity and soundstage for which they are known.

 

[recarcar]

Thanks for the reply! Will definitely go through this thread! 

 

[elwappo99]

  Anyone with black and white versions of the Austrian and China  made 701s give some feedback on creaking noises please?
 
I have the white China made ones and as you know the white is glossy plastic as ar ethe green I think. The black are in matte textured finish and don't appear to creak when pressed especially around the cable socket area.
 
Here's a video of what I mean:
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2X-kjgZXu4

 
My Austrian made also creak. Right around the 0:33 mark is what mine do. 

 

[i luvmusic 2]

I have mine for almost a year now and i don't have any issue so far.

.

 

[Evshrug]

If you're thinking about spending that much on a dac/amp you might be better off upgrading your headphones instead.

the q701s aren't as hard to drive as everyone says it is.

Two things to keep in mind though, one the other guy was thinking to upgrade his amp (driving force) and his DAC (different from driving a headphone, this is about providing a cleaner keener source), two this amp's current deep discount in no way changes the fact that this was AKG's former flagship on-tier with the top quality models from other manufacturers, so, in short, subjective taste and the Q701's ability to scale with gear may mean that in some cases there ISN'T a headphone they can spend more money on and enjoy more, while they can enjoy the benefits of upgrading their audio chain.

Everybody's mileage may vary, for example you have an experience of the Q701 being easy to drive, while my amping experience is that while even a FiiO E5 or iPod 5th Gen headphone jack supplies more than enough power to crank up louder than I'd like, I have sampled more than a handful of different amps (and tubes) and found each to affect the tone and refinement significantly to the point where I conclude that what you put behind the Q701 makes it scale significantly. Headphones do certain things on their own (and IMO make the largest difference), and amps have their certain effects as well as DACs have certain effects. Someone may find the HD800 too fatiguing or the flagship Fostex too bass strong or LCD's too wet and soundstage narrow (and heavy), and yet find the Q701 to have a mix of characteristics they fall in love with and put hundreds of dollars into backing it up with high-end equipment that scales it up to their endgame setup (until something else they love comes out, who really sticks to endgame forever in this hobby? ). That's basically me, although I SLIGHTLY prefer the K712 for it's comfort and mids and slightly less revealing highs, and I use a $220 tube amp (that I got for less) and a Schiit Bifrost Über (that I got used) on my "reference" setup with either the K712 or Q701.

Anyone with black and white versions of the Austrian and China  made 701s give some feedback on creaking noises please?

I have the white China made ones and as you know the white is glossy plastic as ar ethe green I think. The black are in matte textured finish and don't appear to creak when pressed especially around the cable socket area.

Here's a video of what I mean:

[Video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2X-kjgZXu4[/video]

I've never noticed the creaking on either my glossy white Q701 or matte black K712, but let me watch your video and I'll check it out.

EDIT
response video:
[Video]http://youtu.be/Xmq49UhtPfw[/Video]
Btw, anyone know why YouTube made this "unavailable for mobile" when my other videos are fine? I recorded it with my iPhone, so the original uncompressed video plays fine
Edit 2: LOL the inline embedded video plays fine from this post, just another way the YouTube website is a poor interface.

Lord.

It's a good band, I really only know the most famous song (music vid was a free iTunes download right around when people started taking notice) and another they play at our mall, she's pretty good at knowing when to throw in meowing musical hooks. All the black stuff she put on during the Grammy's IMO made a pretty girl look... Well they didn't make her look healthy or attractive, and didn't seem to match her soul when she was talking and giving her thanks speak and crying.

 

[bobby12]

Two things to keep in mind though, one the other guy was thinking to upgrade his amp (driving force) and his DAC (different from driving a headphone, this is about providing a cleaner keener source), two this amp's current deep discount in no way changes the fact that this was AKG's former flagship on-tier with the top quality models from other manufacturers, so, in short, subjective taste and the Q701's ability to scale with gear may mean that in some cases there ISN'T a headphone they can spend more money on and enjoy more, while they can enjoy the benefits of upgrading their audio chain.

I'm running my q701s out of my DX90 as a usb dac and it sounds great. I've tried different, more expensive amps, and the differences were minimal to none. A few pages back, some people were claiming they don't hear the difference between their $30 sound card and a $200 amp.

If he's willing to buy an amp that costs many times the cost of his headphones then maybe he's unsatisfied with it so far and want more. If that's the case then he'd be better off upgrading his headphone.

 

[jodgey4]

I've tried different, more expensive amps, and the differences were minimal to none. A few pages back, some people were claiming they don't hear the difference between their $30 sound card and a $200 amp.

If he's willing to buy an amp that costs many times the cost of his headphones then maybe he's unsatisfied with it so far and want more. If that's the case then he'd be better off upgrading his headphone.

I wish I could hear more gear, I've heard enough headphones for a long time, lol. A sound card could sound better than expected for a few reasons: power supply cost is hidden in the computer, and they're built in huge quantities that make them cheap. At lower volumes where the power overhead doesn't matter (THD+N or whatevs)... differences/improvement nor easily jumping out seems to be a quite foreseeable outcome... especially given how varied everyone's ears are.
But yeah, I agree. If you have a mid-fi DAC (beyond that is silly for 90% of users) and an amp that can provide enough clean power to these cans, and you're still wanting more... then new headphones need to be seriously considered. Ex-flagship status or not, there are better options on the market that could provide a listener with whatever he/she needs. Just good luck finding them at the same price/performance ratio of Q701's, haha!

 

[Evshrug]

Yeah, my experience is a mid-Fi DAC is plenty, though others swear that the difference is huge and make a bigger improvement than amping... I think a DAC makes less a difference (at least that I care about), but I know other people value different things.

Also, last time I checked, the Schiit bargain stack (IMO go for the Vali with the Q701), the used deals Stillhart mentioned for the Yulong D100 and Audio GD dac/amp, the ZxR, and STX all clocked in at around $200, no?

I generally recommend against new audiophiles going all-out buying expensive gear right away, because while they will hear an improvement using a dedicated amp (and DAC if they use cheap onboard PC audio), they probably WON'T feel like higher-end stuff makes enough improvement from something entry-level, like a FiiO E11 or E07k. Later on, the more subtle stuff becomes more easy to pick out, and that's when mid-tier gear makes sense and is good to A/B compare.

 

[bobby12]

Yeah, my experience is a mid-Fi DAC is plenty, though others swear that the difference is huge and make a bigger improvement than amping... I think a DAC makes less a difference (at least that I care about), but I know other people value different things.

Also, last time I checked, the Schiit bargain stack (IMO go for the Vali with the Q701), the used deals Stillhart mentioned for the Yulong D100 and Audio GD dac/amp, the ZxR, and STX all clocked in at around $200, no?

I generally recommend against new audiophiles going all-out buying expensive gear right away, because while they will hear an improvement using a dedicated amp (and DAC if they use cheap onboard PC audio), they probably WON'T feel like higher-end stuff makes enough improvement from something entry-level, like a FiiO E11 or E07k. Later on, the more subtle stuff becomes more easy to pick out, and that's when mid-tier gear makes sense and is good to A/B compare.

I remember him saying he wanted the D200 which is like $700. Not the best idea. I always feel bad when someone gets sucked into all the hype and purchase unnecessary things like how someone in the dx90 thread was using the DX90 with $100 earphones.
He couldn't find a used D100, so I think he settled with schiit audio or o2odac, which I'm sure he'll be just as happy with.

 

[Evshrug]

Right, like I said in the post you quoted, I recommend starting with quality entry-level stuff, those will be the best bang for the buck. Going for higher-end is entirely up to opinion and IMO best done after setting a baseline by experiencing a quality entry-level setup.

 

[marone]

Erm what?

I do no such thing in the video. What I have done in it is clear to see, I simply pressed and wiggled the cable area of the headphone. If I did anything like what you're severely exaggerating they would be broken.

I suggest you stop this kind of dramatisation as it's the kind of thing I expect to see in a tabloid newspaper.

You have a non-mainstream interpretation of ""pressing and wiggling"".

Others in this thread noticed this as well.

The problem is you.

You think you are not being violent with the Q701's, and you are.

Not much to be done. Your position is not rational, and you think that pulling on the cord attached to the headphones, until they connector begins to come loose, is acceptable.

It isn't.

If you yank on a cord and connector until it comes loose, then guess what genius - it will come loose and make a sound in the process.

That video was borderline abuse, plain and simple.

 

[mrk]

Again with the exaggerated post style.
 
I know what you're trying to do, it's not going to work.

 

[Smugsie]

  Anyone with black and white versions of the Austrian and China  made 701s give some feedback on creaking noises please?
 
I have the white China made ones and as you know the white is glossy plastic as ar ethe green I think. The black are in matte textured finish and don't appear to creak when pressed especially around the cable socket area.
 
Here's a video of what I mean:
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2X-kjgZXu4

Holy **** dude...

Ok. Jeez. Uhh.
Ok.
Everything was okay until 0:15. At least calmly apply pressure... Not try to rip it.

I attempted doing the same actions you did on the video, except with a tad less pressure in fear of actually breaking my headphones.
I have no creaking whatsoever, and it's the Austrian version, and mine are third hand. Except some scratching in the left earcup when rotating them, maybe due to wear.
However, send this to an AKG representative and see what they think. Stop trying to murder your headphones please.
Edit: Do whatever you want, but it hurts me to see headphones getting treated like this...

 

[i luvmusic 2]

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