[kman1211]

I ended up just using a K612 headband on mine. Fixed all the comfort problems.
 

 

 

[biggbenn74]

I know devodonaldson has done this, but does anyone else here have experience with the AudioQuest Dragonfly Red + Q701 + mobile phone? I'm considering selling off my DarkVoice to get one because 99% of the time, my source is an iPhone. Worthwhile investment for $200?

 

[Ph43l]

  I ended up just using a K612 headband on mine. Fixed all the comfort problems.
 

 

 
if i may ask, how did you remove the headband without breaking those silver plastic caps at the end of it?
or did you glue them back on?
 
i´d love to take the headband off without destroying anything!

 

[tdockweiler]

Hard to believe i've been using this headphone since October 25th 2011!
Probably had the bass mod in place for the last 2 years. I can't imagine going back to it without the mod.
 
The only thing I don't like about this headphone is that it doesn't sound equally as good on every amp.
 
Not a fan of it on the O2, Magni or Bravo V2.
 
So far i've found it seems to sound best on the Headroom Micro Amp and Ifi iCAN.
It sounded nearly identical to how it sounds on the Micro Amp with the original Schiit Vali (version 1). I don't suggest that amp though for anything but the Q701..
 
Strangely it sounds pretty great on the Fiio E9 variations if you can't spent $200+ on an amp.
Not even sure if that amp is made anymore or if there is a replacement.
 
BTW I just picked up a DT-990 32ohm version for $147 new and it doesn't really sound like it had any more bass than the modded Q701. Strange. The DT-990 is most definitely NOT a bassy headphone to me.
 
The DT-990 sure does make poorly recorded music sound REALLY REALLY bad. Usually when the headphone sounds bad it's not the headphone at all!

 

[Bansaku]

   
if i may ask, how did you remove the headband without breaking those silver plastic caps at the end of it?
or did you glue them back on?
 
i´d love to take the headband off without destroying anything!

Pretty sure the whole headband assembly was swapped out. 
 

 

[kman1211]

   
if i may ask, how did you remove the headband without breaking those silver plastic caps at the end of it?
or did you glue them back on?
 
i´d love to take the headband off without destroying anything!

I replaced the whole headband assembly, I opened up the headphone as if doing the bass port mod and replaced it that way. You have to be careful not to break the solder joints while doing this though or scratching the headphone while taking the grill off.

 

[Danpyre]

So, when my dad resoldered my Q701 after it had the inside soldering come out, he ended up damaging the outside grill. However, he accidentally left a loose screw in it. How do I take the Q701 grill off without damaging it?

 

[jodgey4]

They kinda just twist off, you can see it in the bass mod videos. (It's the inner circle, to be clear).

 

[akg fanboy]

Hey guys, long time q701 owner here. After cutting the bumps on the headband some months ago, it still wasn't comfortable enough for me so I entirely ripped out the whole headband and the headband holding mechanism and replaced them entirely with my own quick headband I made which is much more comfortable. I also removed the black foam inside the earcups long time ago.

So I decided to buy myself another q701 (stock), this time second hand. It was only $80 so it was too good of a deal to pass up. After comparing these with my comfort modded q701s, I immediately felt the sharp pain on the top of my head which I definitely did not miss, but one thing I also noticed was that these have noticeably more bass than my comfort modded q701s and a bit less air in the treble. I removed the black circle foams thinking that these were the culprit, and they still have noticeably more bass. Would there be any way of finding out if these q701s are bass modded without taking them apart?

 

[Ph43l]

  I replaced the whole headband assembly, I opened up the headphone as if doing the bass port mod and replaced it that way. You have to be careful not to break the solder joints while doing this though or scratching the headphone while taking the grill off.

 
thanks for the info!
i just taped a piece of cloth over it for now - does the trick until i´ll do it properly, sound is nonetheless marvelous.

 

[xClariS]

Hi guys, had these headphones for around 4 years now and feel the earpads are finally dying and is ruining the comfort. Any good earpads to get? Was just planning to get some random ones on ebay for $30 but don't know if theyre any good. Thanks.

 

[U-3C]

Hi guys, had these headphones for around 4 years now and feel the earpads are finally dying and is ruining the comfort. Any good earpads to get? Was just planning to get some random ones on ebay for $30 but don't know if theyre any good. Thanks.

I got the earpads from eBay. Kinda hate them, but that's because the ones on my Q701 were memory foam before, and I've forgotten how the stock earpads compared to the ebay ones.

Right now, I use Brainwavz's angled velour. Soft, but a few complaints:

1. They are near impossible to get on by hand. After so much tugging and stretching, my thumb hurt for two days. After they have stretched, though, is easy to get them on a second time. I literally spent hours non stop of constant tugging just to get them on.

2. They are not as large as original pads.

3. At first, they may itch because the velour pricks your skin. They seem to go soft over time. I don't feel them anymore.

4. They are dust magnets.

However, despite these issues, once I've gotten them on, I will never use the terrible ebay pads again. Those are just so stiff, they hurt my head after a day's use.

If you do happen to choose those, feel free to pm me. I might not be able to make the process easy, but maybe I can at least make it seem possible. Those pads really need a LOT of hard stretching, and mounting them while keeping the foam disk centered is quite frustrating. :/

...but they are so soft...



I have heard that some use double sided tape and simply taped the Brainwavz earpads on. I guess that works too?



Inside of angled pads. These are usually an oval shape to fit the ear, after stretching, they will be round, but smaller than the stock pads. I try to stretch them all I can so they don't touch my ears when in a perfect position, but I still wish they will get a bit larger.




Front side of angled pads:



Back side of angled pads:

 

[xClariS]

I got the earpads from eBay. Kinda hate them, but that's because the ones on my Q701 were memory foam before, and I've forgotten how the stock earpads compared to the ebay ones.

Right now, I use Brainwavz's angled velour. Soft, but a few complaints:

1. They are near impossible to get on by hand. After so much tugging and stretching, my thumb hurt for two days. After they have stretched, though, is easy to get them on a second time. I literally spent hours non stop of constant tugging just to get them on.

2. They are not as large as original pads.

3. At first, they may itch because the velour pricks your skin. They seem to go soft over time. I don't feel them anymore.

4. They are dust magnets.

However, despite these issues, once I've gotten them on, I will never use the terrible ebay pads again. Those are just so stiff, they hurt my head after a day's use.

If you do happen to choose those, feel free to pm me. I might not be able to make the process easy, but maybe I can at least make it seem possible. Those pads really need a LOT of hard stretching, and mounting them while keeping the foam disk centered is quite frustrating. :/

...but they are so soft...

I have heard that some use double sided tape and simply taped the Brainwavz earpads on. I guess that works too?



Inside of angled pads. These are usually an oval shape to fit the ear, after stretching, they will be round, but smaller than the stock pads. I try to stretch them all I can so they don't touch my ears when in a perfect position, but u still wish they will get a bit larger.




Front side of angled pads:



Back side of angled pads:

Dammit sounds like a pain to do. Thanks for the detailed response though haha.

 

[U-3C]

Dammit sounds like a pain to do. Thanks for the detailed response though haha.

By the way, about the earpads being small...not sure if this will help but I got the idea while typing that response for you:

 

[Martel]

Hi all,

My first post here.

I bought the Q701 yesterday and just started using them tonight.

I had a very interesting first date with Mr. Quincy Jones Signature Reference Headphones and I think its appropriate to tell the whole thing for you to understand where I'm at with them.

But first, I think it would be more appropriate to let you know a bit about me.
I'm a 36 y/o French Canadian. Former Studio Engineer. Started working with big pop star in my province in 1999 but it didnt last long. I burned myself taking too much project at the same time trying to do the studio sessions with the artists and also do the mixing in a very short amount of time. What resulted is me not sleeping much for the time it lasted ....and then burnout.

I've always been interested in Rap instrumental production and later on in Electronic production.
As a Rap producer I always had to dig for records so of course I've listened to a lot of Soul, Jazz and Funk. 

Now back to the Headphones;

First I made an extensive research on the Q701 compared them to the HD600 and DT880.
I was very curious when people pointed out that the AKG were in a world of their own in the Spatial stage side.
I was also concerned when people were saying that they were uncomfortable.

Well, what came next was totaly unexpected for me.

After buying them, I came back home and installed Equalizer APO with Peace GUI. Sat in front of my TV and pluged the HDMI in and started to play with the Equalizer APO.
I was not hearing anything the EQ was doing so I decided to crank to subs freq by 20 db and the 12K+ b 20 db aswell then got tired.... closed the EQ and went to bed.
That was Yesterday.



After my shift today, I opened up the Headphone Box and brought out my new baby....I was very excited.
So I plugged them in my UR28M and thought....men, I know they are not broken yet but I'm gonna have the experience of a life time.
So I plug my Quincy....put them on the desk and put a Bill Evans Flac play list in VLC and press play
I leave and  go to the fridge, take myself a cold one and come back to the desk.
Sit on my comfy chair with a huge smile and put the quincy's on......
First I thought....hummmm, I've never noticed the acoustic Bass of Lafaro was that strong and deep....but i was like DAMN boy.....INTENSE !!!
And after 2-3 track I was like...dude What...... The mid were being compressed by the sub freq and I thought....theres NO ....FREAKIN..... WAY they mixed it this way....my headphone are defect !!!
Then I've took a look at the Freq response from Headroom ive previously downloaded.....made no sense at all.....6 db large Q at 90 would never do THAT much of a pumping effect on the sub freq.
And then BANG...it HIT me......the Equalizer APO...PALMFACE !!!!
 
So I went back in it. applied the proper correction based on the Freq Response of Headroom website.

Ended up with a more decent line and something I could rely to when talking about ''reference material''

So after all that....I've been listening to them for the last 4 hours now.
I know I need at least another 40-50 hours in them but I can say those things so far.

Where the F#WK is my Mid / Side spectrum is supposed to start and end in this ....UNIVERSE !!!
But more then that.....wheres my mid / mono representation in there....its not there...its absent...where is it ? oh, there it is ....that little quiet thing in the front.
And where does my pan effect goes.....of there it is.....from Japan to New York passing threw the middle of the earth....GREAT  !!!

So to stop my bad ironic Metaphor and go right to the point......I've never experienced anything like this before.
I'm not saying those are bad references at all....what I'm saying is that they are bringing a whole new experience and so a whole new learning curve to my brain.
The spatial range is not ellipsoidal anymore.....its like a super 8 or an omni curve on my rode K2 haha...what the hell is that ?
Who thought about that ...where am I supposed to start with this ....
Waow, thats going to be one hell of a trip.
I feel kind of sad not having anything at all In front of me in the mix anymore....its like if i lost my baby arm....

Finally, to put my emotions aside, Heres my impression of the Headphones after Equalizer APO correction and 4 hours of listening.
( I'm writing this listening to Philip Glass Koyaanisqatsi sound track. )

Comfort: 10/10
Spatial range 12 /10
Dynamic Range (avg full spetrum) 7.5/10

Representation:
Sub freq (until 30hz) : 9/10
Lows 7/10 ( too much )
Low mids 8/10 ( a tad too much )
Mids 9/10 ( pushed back but well balanced )
high mids 8/10 ( I love cream )
High 6/10 ( wheres my snare ??? )
Brillance 8/10 ( cute )
Air 2/10 ( good bye tape hiss , I miss you already )

Overall, I think I can work with that.

It'll be one hell of a challenge tho'

Thanks for reading and cant wait to read your review aswell.

JF 

PS
My Equalizer APO Settings :

GraphicEQ: 1 -50; 3 -50; 4 -50; 20 0; 30 0; 40 -1.5; 50 -3; 60 -3.9; 70 -4; 80 -4; 90 -4.8; 100 -5; 200 -5.8; 300 -5; 400 -4; 500 -2.5; 600 -1.5; 700 -1; 800 -0.8; 1000 0; 1600 0; 2000 -2; 3000 3; 4000 3; 5000 3; 6000 -3; 7000 -3; 8000 -3; 9000 0; 12500 11; 21000 0

Pre-amp : -11db