[ro114]

Just got my white Q701s today ^.^

Even after just a little bit of listening without amplification(M stage on the way) I think they sound pretty awesome 

Also I think the bass is excellent, even though that's the the complaint people are often aiming at it. It's not overpowering but it's definitely there. I'm very happy with them thus far.

 

[Madmollusk]

Excellent, Magick Man! I'm so glad that I'm not alone in hearing similarities between the Qs and the HD800s; I was reluctant to post my initial impressions suggesting this, and I vacillated for days before actually doing so. I kept doubting myself, and more than once I actually said, "There's no effing way headphones that cost $230 can compare with headphones that cost $1400." But my ears insisted otherwise. Finally, I did some A/B testing and, what d'ye know, my impressions held firm. (The HD800s, of course, are without a doubt the superior headphones, but  sonically speaking, these two cans share a strong family resemblance.) I switched and re-switched my sources and amplifiers, trying different combinations, but all this work merely consolidated my early impressions: these headphones sounded eerily similar to me. 
 
Eventually, I  brushed aside my doubts and posted my thoughts, tempering them with numerous caveats and disclaimers--a wise strategy, I think: I do not want to provoke the gods of technical objectivity; they are an ill-tempered lot, and I fear they may smite me for subjectivity and impertinence.
 
In all seriousness though, I'm thrilled that someone with high-end equipment has now corroborated this opinion, and by the looks of your headphone inventory, you must be a real headphone aficionado!  (Btw, the Cary SLI-80 is a stunningly serious looking tube amp. I just saw a picture of it online and had to retrieve my jaw when it hit the floor and rolled under my desk.) 

 

[lostmage]

I just got Hifiman HE-300s today to replace my Sennheiser HD428s, which were the previous best pair of headphones I owned, I'm just now getting into all this stuff after all, and I'd have to say I don't know if I really like them yet. I'm still considering returning them and getting some Q701s, but I keep hearing "They're really analytical and boring, thin, cold" and all that stuff, but I feel as if I'm missing out on some of the mid range on these Hifimans.
 
The mids are there on these, but they aren't the main attraction, and they seem like they blend a bit, and the soundstage isn't really much better then my Klipsch IEMs. Would the Q701s be better to get, given my gripes with my he-300s? I'm getting some serious buyers remorse here. I don't want everything sounding really far away and inaccurate, but I do like an open soundstage, and I probably couldn't tell much of a difference with the accuracy yet.
 
And if so, is the Fiio E10 enough to power the Q701s?

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Again, the K701 is the dry, analytical one. The Q701 is the fuller, more musical version.

 

[lostmage]

Quote:

Again, the K701 is the dry, analytical one. The Q701 is the fuller, more musical version.

Haha, ok, sorry I didn't get through a lot of the thread, so that exact question has probably been repeated a lot, but I still read a lot that calls it that, but still less analytical then the k701.

 

[KimLaroux]

Quote:

I just got Hifiman HE-300s today to replace my Sennheiser HD428s, which were the previous best pair of headphones I owned, I'm just now getting into all this stuff after all, and I'd have to say I don't know if I really like them yet. I'm still considering returning them and getting some Q701s, but I keep hearing "They're really analytical and boring, thin, cold" and all that stuff, but I feel as if I'm missing out on some of the mid range on these Hifimans.
 
The mids are there on these, but they aren't the main attraction, and they seem like they blend a bit, and the soundstage isn't really much better then my Klipsch IEMs. Would the Q701s be better to get, given my gripes with my he-300s? I'm getting some serious buyers remorse here. I don't want everything sounding really far away and inaccurate, but I do like an open soundstage, and I probably couldn't tell much of a difference with the accuracy yet.
 
And if so, is the Fiio E10 enough to power the Q701s?

 
I felt the same way the day I received my Q701. Just keep them a week or two to give them a chance. You're probably SO used to the HD428s sound, that anything different would sound bad to your ears at first listen.
 
I know I fell in love with my Q701 after a month of use, even though I disliked them the day I received them.
 
Do you have an AVR? A stereo? Just for fun, try your new headphones into everything you own that has an headphone out. You might be surprised.

 

[Duncan]

I'm joining this merry group with my first AKGs, arriving shortly
 
...About to retire my Cardas '05 DT880s, they've served me well

 

[lostmage]

Quote:

 
I felt the same way the day I received my Q701. Just keep them a week or two to give them a chance. You're probably SO used to the HD428s sound, that anything different would sound bad to your ears at first listen.
 
I know I fell in love with my Q701 after a month of use, even though I disliked them the day I received them.
 
Do you have an AVR? A stereo? Just for fun, try your new headphones into everything you own that has an headphone out. You might be surprised.

I do have a few things that I could try that with. I did buy these though mainly to try them. I wasn't sure if I would like them, and the Q701s were my fallback plan. Still, I have likes and dislikes about them, but after trying these, I think I would like the Q701s more. The HE-300s sound similar to the HD428s to me, for whatever reason. Maybe it's because the soundstage is smallish on both of them.

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

And if so, is the Fiio E10 enough to power the Q701s?

 
 
It will do in a pinch, but the E10's amp bottlenecks them and gimps their soundstage and detail bit.
 
I would look at desktop amps.

 

[LugBug1]

Quote:

 
 
"Eventually, I  brushed aside my doubts and posted my thoughts, tempering them with numerous caveats and disclaimers--a wise strategy, I think: I do not want to provoke the gods of technical objectivity; they are an ill-tempered lot, and I fear they may smite me for subjectivity and impertinence."
 
 

Brilliant.

 

[LugBug1]

Quote:

Again, the K701 is the dry, analytical one. The Q701 is the fuller, more musical version.

Sorry but I think we need to stop this old pedjudice agains't the K's. Its too much of a grey area. And not enough too establish a big difference like you have just described.  Every review I've read of the Q's describes the sound I have with my K702's. And they aren't any different from the 701's apart from the cable.
 
If you look at the bigger picture, you will find on average the same amount of people complaining about the Q's describing the exact same deficiencies as was once described when the K's were the only AKG reference phone. Also, there are always going to be differences with headphones of the same model. Just like guitars.., I have 2 Fender strats made several years apart and I can hear differences between them even though they are the same guitar with the same pick-ups, wood etc, different colours mind you! (not the best analogy I know) You either like them or you don't, the K/Q's are headphone Marmite.
We all must like Marmite on this thread, Even if it comes out of a lime green jar!  

 

[Duncan]

Well, mine have arrived - and the soundstage is very good, however I feel they have less bass than the DT880s... hopefully it'll fill out a bit with burn-in
 
Initial impressions are very good

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Sorry but I think we need to stop this old pedjudice agains't the K's. Its too much of a grey area. And not enough too establish a big difference like you have just described.  Every review I've read of the Q's describes the sound I have with my K702's. And they aren't any different from the 701's apart from the cable.

If you look at the bigger picture, you will find on average the same amount of people complaining about the Q's describing the exact same deficiencies as was once described when the K's were the only AKG reference phone. Also, there are always going to be differences with headphones of the same model. Just like guitars.., I have 2 Fender strats made several years apart and I can hear differences between them even though they are the same guitar with the same pick-ups, wood etc, different colours mind you! (not the best analogy I know) You either like them or you don't, the K/Q's are headphone Marmite.
We all must like Marmite on this thread, Even if it comes out of a lime green jar!  

I for one have owned both, and WOULD definitely differentiate them as such. While they are similar sounding, the tonal balance shift from dry/thin to warm/full is fairly obvious to anyone who has heard both. The end result is that one is immediately enjoyable (Q701), and the other demands specific amps to change their signature to a more enioyable, and less analytical one.

It was enough for me to hate the K701 for music, and love the Q701, so yeah.

Duncan: The bass is just less on the Q701 than on the DT880. Nothing will change that. You essentially trade off bass for mids.

 

[Duncan]

Quote:

The bass is less on the Q701 than the DT880. Nothing will change that. You essentially trade off bass for mids.

Fair play, definitely cannot argue with that statement, even with zero hours on the clock, the mids are richer

 

[Chris J]

Quote:

 
Eventually, I  brushed aside my doubts and posted my thoughts, tempering them with numerous caveats and disclaimers--a wise strategy, I think: I do not want to provoke the gods of technical objectivity; they are an ill-tempered lot, and I fear they may smite me for subjectivity and impertinence.
 

 
Yep, that's about it.
And that's why I try to avoid the Science Forum.
Anybody ever notice that it seems to be the loud, arrogant, condescending technical objectivists that get banned from Head Fi?
 
 
Quote:

I for one have owned both, and WOULD definitely differentiate them as such. While they are similar sounding, the tonal balance shift from dry/thin to warm/full is fairly obvious to anyone who has heard both. The end result is that one is immediately enjoyable (Q701), and the other demands specific amps to change their signature to a more enioyable, and less analytical one.
It was enough for me to hate the K701 for music, and love the Q701, so yeah.
Duncan: The bass is just less on the Q701 than on the DT880. Nothing will change that. You essentially trade off bass for mids.

 
Gotta agree on the Q701 - DT880 comments.  In their own way they're both great 'phones.