Q701 impressions thread
Jan 13, 2012 at 7:17 PM Post #211 of 9,602


Quote:
 
that might just be 20awg. try to get non silver plated 20awg and see if it sounds similar.



I'm thinking that too but I have also tried both mogami and silver plated copper 26 awg on my grados and the silver had different properties and a lot of people agree with me. It's because silver is a better conductor. I'd love to be able to get some full silver cables but that is a big cost for what might end up being not a huge reward. I have also tried the mogami 26awg with the q's and I really didn't like it that much the stock cable was a bit better.
 
Jan 13, 2012 at 7:23 PM Post #212 of 9,602


Quote:
I'm thinking that too but I have also tried both mogami and silver plated copper 26 awg on my grados and the silver had different properties and a lot of people agree with me. It's because silver is a better conductor. I'd love to be able to get some full silver cables but that is a big cost for what might end up being not a huge reward. I have also tried the mogami 26awg with the q's and I really didn't like it that much the stock cable was a bit better.

 
just playing devils advocate:

but you said its silver plated, meaning that there's a minute amount of silver compared to the copper. most applications just use silver plating to prevent tarnishing of the copper. you said you had 20awg silver plated copper. theres a huge difference in conductor size between 20 awg and 26 awg.
 
i would be curious in seeing if there is any difference if everything else was identical, 20awg copper, 20awg copper + silver plating, and 20awg copper + silver strand wound in.
 
see if you can find any specs on your cable, and see how much silver is actually on the cable itself.
 
 
Jan 14, 2012 at 12:20 AM Post #214 of 9,602
You may find this crazy but I'm sitting here comparing the Q701 to the HD-598. I really do think AKG might have improved the stock cable (over the K702). I've noticed that with my setup and stock cable it sounds nearly as warm as my recabled HD-598?! Not quite, but close. Even on the E9 with the same cables it has a similar sound. Everything is very full sounding and well textured. Not even remotely thin or lacking. I switched to a different cable (plain old copper) and it sounds much different. HD-598 is fairly warm and not as warm as the HD-600, but pretty close.
 
Right now I'm using the HRT Music Streamer II to my Headroom Micro Amp using a Monoprice Cable interconnect cable. Don't ask me why, but this cable is good for the Q701. I think the stock AKG Q701 cable is really quite good! Not sure why this is.
 
If anyone is curious, IMO the Q701 has more detail, a clearer sound and a slightly more accurate soundstage. When comparing the size with a good recording, the size often seems the same. Both with a good recording make it seem like there's stuff coming from outside my headphone. I think the Q701 is technically better, but you can't go wrong with either and it all comes down to preference. The HD-598 is much smoother sounding (not by much) and more forgiving though. The treble on the Q701 never bothers me as long as it's not due to the recording. HD-598 definitely isn't as forgiving as the HD-650 though IMO.
 
I checked on the K240 Studio cable and it looks like it has the same part # as the K702 cable except for one missing zero at the end. I'm going to connect it to my Q701 and see if there's any difference. For you cable haters, it could be that the K240 Studio cable is just thinner if it IS any different. Maybe the Q701 cable has a higher capacitance like the Canare cable? It actually sounds like Canare wire (yes, I know wire isn't supposed to sound like anything). Canare wire on the K702 SHOULD tame the highs slightly too. Don't remember testing that experiment and with short cable length it probably doesn't matter. It always did seem like Canare rolled off the highs on any headphone.
 
For fun, someone can try the Q701 cable on their K702
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EDIT:
 
BTW I'm surprised how good these sound straight out of my Total Airhead portable amp! I have the volume cranked up on bass heavy songs and no clipping and that red over-voltage light. Pretty nice! Too bad more portable amps didn't have the red blinker. I remember the K701 always giving me the red blink of death on my Airhead. With the K601 it's always going off. Same with the Sextett, but who's dumb enough to use a 600 ohm headphone with a portable amp!
 
I also noticed that when I had the DHC copper cable, it's like someone had turned up my volume when I connected it when using the same amp volume setting. Guess there's a technical reason behind this, but I forget.
 
Q701 seems twice as fatiguing when way under-amped too. Anyone notice that?
 
 
 
Jan 14, 2012 at 1:27 AM Post #215 of 9,602


Quote:
So we should just listen to the guy who has NOT tried both with his own ears? How do you know they don't sound totally different or exactly the same? Just service manuals? Are you kidding me?
Then again...we are talking to the guy who gives a 1/10 rating to a headphone just because he doesn't like the sound of it. This tells us a lot. I don't even know if you're just trolling or what.
 
Please also tell us what cables you've tried to not believe a copper cable can improve a headphone's soundstage. Oh wait, you're one of those science guys who say it's impossible without actual proof it doesn't. Please don't give me the excuse that it's in the recording. I think we all know this. When I was new I wanted to believe cables make absolutely zero difference in sound. After doing my own research I've found that this is not true. I do still think that they improvements are usually minor and not worth hundreds of dollars. Stock cables are mostly junk and that even cheap Mogami is an upgrade. If people don't believe in cables, then that's fine. I'm not trying to preach to people that they're wrong. Cables non-believers love to do this all the time, but yet never bothered to do much testing to try and prove that they're wrong. I still don't believe any cable is worth hundreds of dollars.
 
Nobody here is telling people to go out and buy a headphone they don't need. Nobody is going to fork over $250 for a headphone without doing their research.
 
I don't know about everyone else, but I'd much rather listen to the opinions of people who actually used the headphones they're commenting on, which you haven't.
 
If someone tries the Q701 and can't hear any difference, then what's the big deal? Please tell me where are all the people who feel they're the same? I think there's two of them...none of them have yet posted on this thread.
 
I think it's pretty obvious by now from people who tried them both that they sound a bit different.
 
BTW I was one of the people like you who believed they were both exactly the same..then I actually tried them with my own ears..again, which is something you haven't done.
 


Yeah, I gave a headphone I thought sounded bad, a bad rating. Weird right?
I would also describe myself as "one of those science guys". Thanks.
 
I might not have heard both headphones, but this man has:
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/akg-quincy-jones-q701-sound-and-measurements
"After seeing the measurement data I would say that other than the cosmetic differences, both headphones are identical."
 
Jan 14, 2012 at 1:34 AM Post #216 of 9,602


Quote:
Yeah, I gave a headphone I thought sounded bad, a bad rating. Weird right?
I would also describe myself as "one of those science guys". Thanks.
 
I might not have heard both headphones, but this man has:
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/akg-quincy-jones-q701-sound-and-measurements
"After seeing the measurement data I would say that other than the cosmetic differences, both headphones are identical."


I'm not in complete belief that FR response is everything, and that some of the subjective experiences we perceive do not have a married objective measurement (yet?)
 
I see some differences in those graphs regardless (I agree they're subtle).  Ideally he would measure them multiple times and I could see the variance of the output, and then maybe I could get an idea if the differences observed between the K and Q were significant.  One measurement tells us science guys very little you have to admit
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Jan 14, 2012 at 2:08 AM Post #217 of 9,602


Quote:
Yeah, I gave a headphone I thought sounded bad, a bad rating. Weird right?
I would also describe myself as "one of those science guys". Thanks.
 
I might not have heard both headphones, but this man has:
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/akg-quincy-jones-q701-sound-and-measurements
"After seeing the measurement data I would say that other than the cosmetic differences, both headphones are identical."


No, you gave TWO headphones you didn't like a 1/10. That's rather childish. I mean I could understand a movie, but giving a headphone..two in less than a week a 1/10? Get real..you do realize that people have different sound signature preferences right? It's kind of like those people who say the AD700 and M50 are overrated garbage because they don't match their sound signature preference. Or how AD700 is worthless because it has no bass. I'm not willing to trust anyone's reviews when they give a headphone a 1/10 for sound. I think the only headphone on earth that deserves a 1/10 for sound are the Parts Express Mini Headphone or some random dollar store earbud.
 
One single person has heard both? Like his opinion matters? As if his opinion was proof of anything? Even his graphs are not the same! I like his reviews, but that's one person. I wouldn't be surprised if someone can't hear any difference. I'm aware of one other person who also felt they sounded the same.  There's some people out there that think the HD-650 and HD-600 sound exactly the same. Do you believe them too? Please report back when you find others that have heard both. So far I think it's safe to say there are more people who say they sound different than those that don't. I don't even know why I am bothering to reply to you when you haven't even heard either of them. I'm sorry, but I trust my own ears and don't need someone else to tell me they're wrong.
 
Feel like a broken record wasting my time with this, but the Q701 is very similar to the K702. To my ears it feels as if the Q701 is a 10% improvement over the K702. The differences to me are not really minor. They sound so different to me that it feels weird even discussing the q701 in the K701 appreciation thread.
 
If you want to compare them yourself then we can continue this discussion...I don't think any of your assumptions help anyone really. You really need to hear them with your own ears before making all these claims.
 
I mean seriously...check out his reviews:
http://www.head-fi.org/products/etymotic-mc5/reviews/6060
 
Not to be a jerk, but his reviews are about as bad as reading youtube comments. If I wanted 1 star reviews, I'd go get all my headphone buying advice from Amazon reviews. I think every headphone that doesn't have a ton of bass from a Ipod Shuffle gets a low rating on Amazon. Or someone complains it has no noise canceling..when it's fully open.
 
I just have a hard time taking this person seriously...Sorry..
 
 
 
 
 
 
Jan 14, 2012 at 2:24 AM Post #218 of 9,602


Quote:
For my own amusement I tried these with an E9 and a docked Ipod Touch 2G for the first time yesterday (line out). Not sure why this is, but it sounded pretty bad. Almost as if the mids were much worse and not as forward sounding. The sound was much more distant. For "fun" i used a very neutral Clip (yes, really) and it sounded so much better. The Clip doesn't even have a line out, so you'd think the sound would degrade a lot. My Ipod Touch doesn't really sound neutral at all. I thought it was? I think the E9 drives the Q701 just fine, but does benefit from better amps.
 


How does the E9 fare when paired up with a desktop PC? Would adding the E7 or E17 make any noticeable difference?
 
I'm wanting those Q701s, but it's obvious that I need a decent amp to make them worth the price of admission. And I want the amp in hand first. Is wanting to go under $150 really asking too much? (I can possibly go with $200 if I really, absolutely must.)
 
Jan 14, 2012 at 2:39 AM Post #219 of 9,602


Quote:
How does the E9 fare when paired up with a desktop PC? Would adding the E7 or E17 make any noticeable difference?
 
I'm wanting those Q701s, but it's obvious that I need a decent amp to make them worth the price of admission. And I want the amp in hand first. Is wanting to go under $150 really asking too much? (I can possibly go with $200 if I really, absolutely must.)


I'm not a fan of the E7 at all, but the E10 might do the trick. I don't like to suggest products I haven't heard, but it's supposed to be a good match with the E9.
I actually tried the E9 connected to an old X-Fi once. It actually sounded very good, but I think most onboard soundcards are probably not very good. My HP laptops onboard soundcard is unlistenable. Keeps hissing non-stop and never figured out how to get rid of it. The Nuforce Icon Mobile is also not bad, but it's amp is weak and can't drive the Q701, but the DAC is decent despite bad measurements (I think). I believe it's the same DAC as the uDAC. People seem to think that all onboard sound is awful, but I don't think this is really true. With a laptop it definitely seems so!
 
E9 isn't too bad with the Q701 and you can always upgrade later. You could even just use it with a full sized CD player if you had to until you can get a good DAC
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I often use an old Oppo DVD player as a source and it's not too bad. The $40 old PS1 is good too for the Q701. Kind of surprised.
 
Biggest difference for me when upgrading my DAC was most more detail. Not much else, but that was with my Icon mobile. When I got the HRT the improvements were even larger. Better bass, more textured sound, larger soundstage and a lot more detail. I was actually shocked at how much the level of detail improved. No clue why there was such a huge difference. The HRT is kind of slightly warm too, so that does help the Q701 somewhat without ruining it's sound. I don't think it's signature is completely flat, but pretty close maybe.
 
Jan 14, 2012 at 2:58 AM Post #220 of 9,602


Quote:
I'm not a fan of the E7 at all, but the E10 might do the trick. I don't like to suggest products I haven't heard, but it's supposed to be a good match with the E9.
I actually tried the E9 connected to an old X-Fi once. It actually sounded very good, but I think most onboard soundcards are probably not very good. My HP laptops onboard soundcard is unlistenable. Keeps hissing non-stop and never figured out how to get rid of it. The Nuforce Icon Mobile is also not bad, but it's amp is weak and can't drive the Q701, but the DAC is decent despite bad measurements (I think). I believe it's the same DAC as the uDAC. People seem to think that all onboard sound is awful, but I don't think this is really true. With a laptop it definitely seems so!
 


At present I'm using the X-Fi Go as the DAC for my desktop when I'm using headphones. The onboard sound is Realtek, and the front jack is far too noisy for headphone use. The headphone jack on the speakers volume control (Logitech X-540) is less than worthless.
 
Looks like the E9 is they way to go for my setup. I can always build onto it with the E17 as paydays allow.
 
Jan 14, 2012 at 3:11 AM Post #221 of 9,602


Quote:
How does the E9 fare when paired up with a desktop PC? Would adding the E7 or E17 make any noticeable difference?
 
I'm wanting those Q701s, but it's obvious that I need a decent amp to make them worth the price of admission. And I want the amp in hand first. Is wanting to go under $150 really asking too much? (I can possibly go with $200 if I really, absolutely must.)


For me, with my HP laptop's soundcard, E9 can't improve it much.  It's getting a crappy signal from my laptop (small soundstage, stuffy sounding) and just amplifying the crap.  I assume your desktop PC has better sound.
 
E10 definitely made a big difference for me.  E9 alone with my laptop didn't sound good enough over my laptop's HP out to even warrant hooking it up.  Once I gave the E9 the cleaner signal from the E10, it sounded much better.
 
Anyways, in order of quality, for me it goes like this:   E10 + E9  >  E10  >  E9 + laptop > Laptop
 
As you can see from that ^, I think E10 alone sounds better than E9 alone, when paired with my Laptop onboard sound at least. 
 
 
Jan 14, 2012 at 3:19 AM Post #222 of 9,602
Pictures of the cable made by Blue Jeans Cable, courtesy of kchau
 
 
 

 
Jan 14, 2012 at 5:23 AM Post #223 of 9,602


Quote:
No, you gave TWO headphones you didn't like a 1/10. That's rather childish. I mean I could understand a movie, but giving a headphone..two in less than a week a 1/10? Get real..you do realize that people have different sound signature preferences right? It's kind of like those people who say the AD700 and M50 are overrated garbage because they don't match their sound signature preference. Or how AD700 is worthless because it has no bass. I'm not willing to trust anyone's reviews when they give a headphone a 1/10 for sound. I think the only headphone on earth that deserves a 1/10 for sound are the Parts Express Mini Headphone or some random dollar store earbud.
 
One single person has heard both? Like his opinion matters? As if his opinion was proof of anything? Even his graphs are not the same! I like his reviews, but that's one person. I wouldn't be surprised if someone can't hear any difference. I'm aware of one other person who also felt they sounded the same.  There's some people out there that think the HD-650 and HD-600 sound exactly the same. Do you believe them too? Please report back when you find others that have heard both. So far I think it's safe to say there are more people who say they sound different than those that don't. I don't even know why I am bothering to reply to you when you haven't even heard either of them. I'm sorry, but I trust my own ears and don't need someone else to tell me they're wrong.
 
Feel like a broken record wasting my time with this, but the Q701 is very similar to the K702. To my ears it feels as if the Q701 is a 10% improvement over the K702. The differences to me are not really minor. They sound so different to me that it feels weird even discussing the q701 in the K701 appreciation thread.
 
If you want to compare them yourself then we can continue this discussion...I don't think any of your assumptions help anyone really. You really need to hear them with your own ears before making all these claims.
 
I mean seriously...check out his reviews:
http://www.head-fi.org/products/etymotic-mc5/reviews/6060
 
Not to be a jerk, but his reviews are about as bad as reading youtube comments. If I wanted 1 star reviews, I'd go get all my headphone buying advice from Amazon reviews. I think every headphone that doesn't have a ton of bass from a Ipod Shuffle gets a low rating on Amazon. Or someone complains it has no noise canceling..when it's fully open.
 
I just have a hard time taking this person seriously...Sorry..


There are more than one headphone that I have owned that I thought sounded awful. Why would I space out my reviews longer than a week? People give 10/10 all day long to products which clearly don't merit them. Giving a 1/10 is my opinion, if you don't like it, then bugger off.
 
I find it strange that you are looking through my profile to find "dirt". Look up the definition of an ad hominem attack.
 
His opinion (although he measured it too, so it isn't an opinion...) matters because he is a professional. I don't know of any professional reviewer who has taken measurements of the hd650 and hd600 and thinks that they sound identical.
 
I've posted specs, measurements, and professional reviews contradicting your claims. You've done little to defend your claims other than point out that there are headphones I dislike... congrats.
 
Jan 14, 2012 at 8:24 AM Post #224 of 9,602


Quote:
How does the E9 fare when paired up with a desktop PC? Would adding the E7 or E17 make any noticeable difference?
 
I'm wanting those Q701s, but it's obvious that I need a decent amp to make them worth the price of admission. And I want the amp in hand first. Is wanting to go under $150 really asking too much? (I can possibly go with $200 if I really, absolutely must.)



Try searching for a used Matrix M Stage.
Do a search and you find a lot of fans of the Q701 and Matrix M Stage.
I suspect it would be a lot more versatile than the Fiio series.
 
 
Jan 14, 2012 at 12:12 PM Post #225 of 9,602
You guys might find this at least mildly interesting:
http://us.akg.com/akg-news-item-us/~/item/akg-walks-the-catwalk-at-the-paris-fashion-week.html
 
No cables on the catwalk, I see...
 

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