[Chris J]

 
Quote:

I'm a hair away from ordering an M-Stage for the Q701s.....Just doing some last minute research....

Just do it!!!
 
Edit:    Ooops!    You already did!   You're going to love it!
I'm really digging my "Q and M" combo, now we need to start that M Stage Op Amp rolling thread..........since you don't want to, (LOL!) I think I will tonight.  

 

[Groundloop]

Currently, I'm very interested in Q701 and I'll be happy to read more replies on this thread. My primary HP is a pair of K601.
 
On praising Q701, please state what other HP you have used and how do they perform to each other.

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

Just do it!!!
 
Edit:    Ooops!    You already did!   You're going to love it!
I'm really digging my "Q and M" combo, now we need to start that M Stage Op Amp rolling thread..........since you don't want to, (LOL!) I think I will tonight.  

Thanks. 
 
It's not that I don't want to start a thread, I just thought one of those guys who have already rolled in a dozen different opamps would have more insight.  But it doesn't seem like they're going to start one, so maybe I will have to jump on it

 

[tdockweiler]

Hopefully more people can compare the K702/K701 to the Q701. Doing it with stock cables would be best.
I'd like to say there is absolutely no difference in sound, but I'd be lying. Just not what my ears heard.
 
I can't point out enough to people that the differences are not huge. Enough though to make the Q701 a keeper for me at least. I kept buying and selling the original K702 so many times.
My guess is just a combination of that button, possible different cables or something else. Maybe AKG burns the Q701 in for 500 hours in it's factory

 
To me it's like AKG took a list of complaints about the K702 and improved the sound slightly. It wouldn't surprise me at all. They seem to do this with many of their headphones.Just look at the K271 vs the K272HD.
 
Maybe there is a specific frequency on the K702 that bothers some and not others. Perhaps those that never had any issues with the original K702 would notice less of a change in the treble. To me, the differences in the soundstage size/accuracy is the most obvious. That and the mids are much fuller sounding to my ears. Not sure why. What I really love is how much better the Q701 is for gaming. It's soundstage is no longer abnormally massive for me in games. That's why previously I had preferred the K601 for gaming over the K702 I had.
 

 

[chicolom]

I'd be curious to compare the Ks to the Qs.  Aside from straight up ordering the Ks though, I don't think there's any place I could compare them.
 
I just like the Q701 enough that I would be curious to hear different variations on it.
 

 

[Groundloop]

@tdockweiler - since you have lisened to both K601 and Q701, how do you find they sound to each other? Doing the math, it seems that getting a Q701 will cost me about 2.5x the price I paid for K601. Does it worth it?
 
The more and more I read, the more Q701 seems to be the perfectly balanced headphones for me - open sounding with great detail, well defined but not aggressive low bass, handling faster music better than say HD 650.
 
Thanks.

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

@tdockweiler - since you have lisened to both K601 and Q701, how do you find they sound to each other? Doing the math, it seems that getting a Q701 will cost me about 2.5x the price I paid for K601. Does it worth it?
 
The more and more I read, the more Q701 seems to be the perfectly balanced headphones for me - open sounding with great detail, well defined but not aggressive low bass, handling faster music better than say HD 650.
 
Thanks.

Q701 is definitely not worth 2.5 times the cost of the K601. The K601 here in the USA is about $200 new and I got my Q701 for $224, which is a steal!
To me, the Q701 has much better treble extension, more detail, larger soundstage, a clearer sound and perhaps more forward upper mids. It's weird because when you compare the two, the K601 just seems close to being a dark headphone, but it's really not. Just compared to the Q701. The K601 is also much warmer sounding to me. The K601 always felt like it had much more bass than the K702 (even graphs reflect this) but I'd have to compare the bass between the Q701 and K601 some more. K601 I like alot and I should compare them more. K601's mids might be a little more engaging for some music, but I don't know for sure yet. I clearly remember the mids of the K601 being much fuller sounding than those of the K702.
 
I previously preferring the sound of the K601 to the K702 in many ways, but the K702 did do a few things better. Right now it's definitely the Q701.
 
I can't say it enough, but this Q701 sounds like a mix between an old K702 and an HD-600. I know that sounds weird. K601 was closer to that description though.
 
BTW I got a K400 in and I do find the mids more engaging and more fun than those of the Q701, but no big deal. It'll be a nice comparison. K400 loses out to the Q701 in many areas, but that doesn't mean much to me.

 

[chicolom]

Headfonia did a review of the Micro amp -> http://www.headfonia.com/headroom-micro-and-portable-micro-amplifiers/
 
I was surprised to read his impressions on the soundstage...

 

[DomieMic65]

Speaking of money in Europe you can find the K701 with 189€ while the Q701 costs  466€... Isn't it too much??
(sorry guys I know it is a Q701 appreciation thread but...)

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

Speaking of money in Europe you can find the K701 with 189€ while the Q701 costs  466€... Isn't it too much??
(sorry guys I know it is a Q701 appreciation thread but...)

Yes, that's too big a difference.  In the US they are the same price, or the Q701 slightly cheaper even.

 

[Chris J]

Quote:

Yes, that's too big a difference.  In the US they are the same price, or the Q701 slightly cheaper even.

Which is really weird, isn't it?
Because Austria is in Europe!
Even I know that

So you would think that Europe has the price advantage!

Yes I know, I'm stating the obvious................but the pricing is just so screwed up!
 
BTW, sounds like I got lucky, I only bought Q701 over K70x because the Q's came with a 20 foot cable...............just dumb luck.

 

[HaVoC-28]

 
Quote:

Which is really weird, isn't it?
Because Austria is in Europe!
Even I know that

So you would think that Europe has the price advantage!

Yes I know, I'm stating the obvious................but the pricing is just so screwed up!
 
BTW, sounds like I got lucky, I only bought Q701 over K70x because the Q's came with a 20 foot cable...............just dumb luck.

If you play comparing prices , europe is allways screwed : / (or almost) .
 
 

 

[Groundloop]

As I said in some other thread - Austria (where this model is actually made) and some Amazon reseller from Germany hold the record for insane Q701 price. You can buy it for 470E in Vienna and 542E online (= $750 USD!!! = 3 pairs of Q701). I can get it locally for 340E ($460) and I got my K601s for less than 140E ($190). Funny. Hopefully, K550 is listed at 250E at Amazon.de so this might be my next h-phone.

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

Headfonia did a review of the Micro amp -> http://www.headfonia.com/headroom-micro-and-portable-micro-amplifiers/
 
I was surprised to read his impressions on the soundstage...

I agree with the comments on the soundstage somewhat, but I don't think it's that bad. That review manages to be positive it seems despite a few negatives.
Surprised he seemed to like the Asgard a bit more than the Micro Amp. Maybe Schiit made some revisions to make it sound better with the K702.
 
IMO the Asgard was a poor match for the K702, but sounded great with the HD-600 (and D2000). Upgraded to this Micro Amp only because of trying to find something that played well with BOTH my K702 and HD-650.
My Asgard I had didn't seem very powerful and it just feels weird having to max out the volume just for a silly K601. Guess this doesn't mean much. I really wish I had skipped the Asgard and went with the M-Stage, but I wanted a US built product.
 
The massive soundstage of the Asgard with the K702 ruins the sounds IMO, but with the HD-600/650 or headphones with a smaller soundstage, it's no problem. I don't even want to know how bad the Asgard would be for the K501!
 
If you compare prices, the $250 seems like a better value, but IMO the Micro Amp was worth every extra penny (it's $329) and I do think you're paying a little extra for the size and build quality. Micro Amp also just seems to be a better match for more headphones.
 
Micro Amp seems to be just about a perfect match for the K702 and Q701. This is the main reason I bought it. Still plan on getting the M-Stage one of these days just for comparison. I bet they have so many similarities.
 

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

I agree with the comments on the soundstage somewhat, but I don't think it's that bad. That review manages to be positive it seems despite a few negatives.
Surprised he seemed to like the Asgard a bit more than the Micro Amp. Maybe Schiit made some revisions to make it sound better with the K702.
 
IMO the Asgard was a poor match for the K702, but sounded great with the HD-600 (and D2000). Upgraded to this Micro Amp only because of trying to find something that played well with BOTH my K702 and HD-650.
My Asgard I had didn't seem very powerful and it just feels weird having to max out the volume just for a silly K601. Guess this doesn't mean much. I really wish I had skipped the Asgard and went with the M-Stage, but I wanted a US built product.
 
The massive soundstage of the Asgard with the K702 ruins the sounds IMO, but with the HD-600/650 or headphones with a smaller soundstage, it's no problem. I don't even want to know how bad the Asgard would be for the K501!
 
 Still plan on getting the M-Stage one of these days just for comparison. I bet they have so many similarities.
 

 
Mike at headfonia seems to be turning into a Schitt fanboy!

 
Seriously though -  I take his recommendations with a grain-of-salt, as usually in his comparisons whatever gear is warmer gets his pick/recommendation.  Asgard is warmer than both the m-stage and micro amp according to his and head-fi's impressions.  I'm no interested in that.
 
The only thing that does intrigues me about the asgard is the claims of huge soundstage.  But this could be a con as well, and reports of lack of power and it's sound signature made it lose consideration from me.
 
One of the biggest selling factors for the M-stage, for me, was the ability to swap opamps and tune the sound.  I didn't want to get stuck with $250 + amp with a sound signature I didn't like. 
 
Maybe once my m-stage is settled in and I've played with opamps a bit, I could loan it to you so you can sample it.