[Ashade]

Hey, I've got a quick question on the Q701's. Does this bassport mod just add a bit of midbass to the sound, or help with extension/impact as well? I heard a properly amped unmodded Q701 and loved it for it's mids and highs, excellent for the music I listen to most (Live rock/prog rock/post rock concerts and Ambient/Post Rock), except I didn't like the extension of the bass. Their was enough presence for me, though I wouldn't mind more, the kick drum just felt a bit high in the mix in a vertical sense of the meaning. This was the first pair of open back headphones I've heard, so I honestly don't know much of what I'm talking about, but any comments would be great.

Also, would the K712 pads or another pair of pads help with this?

The bass port mod helps with the whole frequency of bass and even slightly intrudes the low mids (this is more difficult to notice thought). you will start feeling the kick on every bass frequency though it doesn't get crazy in the very low end (from around 40Hz and below). It's VERY noticeable, maybe a bump of 3-4dB.

Apparently swapping pads helps as well. I suppose both combined is excessive, and considering the mod is free, unless you want to come back and forth frequently, I wouldn't bother about the pads.

 

[Extra]

The bass port mod helps with the whole frequency of bass and even slightly intrudes the low mids (this is more difficult to notice thought). you will start feeling the kick on every bass frequency though it doesn't get crazy in the very low end (from around 40Hz and below). It's VERY noticeable, maybe a bump of 3-4dB.

Apparently swapping pads helps as well. I suppose both combined is excessive, and considering the mod is free, unless you want to come back and forth frequently, I wouldn't bother about the pads.

Interesting, thanks. Do you think a solid state (Magni&Modi) or tube (Aune T1,Hifiman EF-2, etc) would be better with the mod? I tried it on an original Schiit Asgard, Magni, Aune T1, Hifiman EF-2, Fiio E12, and a JDS Labs Objective 2, and liked the sound of the T1 the best, though I fear it's warmth (though it's actually quite neutral for a tube, as it's only for the DAC) might make it too warm for my taste. If anyone knows of a good around $200 amp for the Q701 sound with a slightly warmer and extended bass that would be great.

 

[Hairspray]

First one who writes a comprehensive review about the 'non-modded Q701 + K712 pads' gets a beer.

 
Quote:

 
One thing I'd like to try is the deeper K712 pads on a non-modded Q701 and see what that sounds like. Should be a good option for those that are not capable of doing the Q701 mod. K712 pads on the modded Q701 gave me too much bass and it was very nice for some music (like rock) but not so good for others. Kind of like warmth overdose. The mid-bass hump stuck out way too much and it reminded me of the one on the MDR-V6.
 
I really need to buy some K712 pads because I bet I could perfect the sound by removing the outer foam of the grill or replacing the grill itself with one that's more open.
 
Just a note that K712 and Annie pads are not the same. Annie pads for ME were terrible in comparison. Those were more likely to go flat and probably why AKG got rid of them. The K712 pads never went flat and were slightly more comfortable. I'm guessing they use a higher quality foam that retains it's shape better.
 
Someone who's not comfortable doing the Q701 mod should try some K712 pads (not Annie pads). I bet the results will be pretty good.
 
NOTE: I only tried K712 pads on my modded Q701 for maybe 20 minutes. I wasn't able to test anything else.

 

[80smusicboy]

Today my new HD650 arrived. Bought used, but so lightly so, that they might still "burning in". Didn't expect such a bassy sound. The Q701 is too bass light, the HD650 is a tad too bass heavy (soundstage is smaller, but very cohesive). Still, my Q701 are for sale, as I think I prefer the more laid back sound to just sit back and relax.

 

[jasonb]

  Today my new HD650 arrived. Bought used, but so lightly so, that they might still "burning in". Didn't expect such a bassy sound. The Q701 is too bass light, the HD650 is a tad too bass heavy (soundstage is smaller, but very cohesive). Still, my Q701 are for sale, as I think I prefer the more laid back sound to just sit back and relax.

Do the bass mod on your Q701. It should fall right in the middle between the two after that.

 

[80smusicboy]

  Do the bass mod on your Q701. It should fall right in the middle between the two after that.

It's a good idea, but I also prefer the confort of the HD650. The Q701 earpieces, being circular, sit quite loosely on the ears and they interfere with my jaw.

 

[jasonb]

  It's a good idea, but I also prefer the confort of the HD650. The Q701 earpieces, being circular, sit quite loosey on the ears and they interfere with my jaw.

Gotcha. From reading your sig, it appears you are using a Fiio E10 as an amp/DAC. Both the HD650 and Q701 would benefit from more power and a more resolving DAC.
 
The Fiio products are great for the price though. I had the E17 for almost a year and used to use it for my Q701. I loved it until I tried better gear.

 

[80smusicboy]

The FiiO E10 is a temporary solution as my laptop didn't have the punch to drive the Q701. With the FiiO I can listen to both 'cans at 3-5/8 in low gain. If anything, the Q701s are harder to drive than the HD650s but I know, volume isn't everything. Far, far from that, actually!

 

[jasonb]

  The FiiO E10 is a temporary solution as my laptop didn't have the punch to drive the Q701. With the FiiO I can listen to both 'cans at 3-5/8 in low gain. If anything, the Q701s are harder to drive than the HD650s but I know, volume isn't everything. Far, far from that, actually!

This is not the first time I have read this statement.
 
Enjoy what you have for now, but if you feel the urge to upgrade, get a bigger amp and a higher end DAC. You'll notice the difference. Going from the E17 to what I have now was a pretty big change.
 
And you are right, it is not all just about volume. I was only using my E17 on medium gain at about half volume or less, so I still had some headroom. I was saying to myself, that the E17 was doing perfectly fine since I wasn't anywhere near maxing it out. When I saw the vintage Pioneer that I currently use for only $40 at a local flea market I said "why not try it and see what the fuss is all about". I was blown away at the difference right away. At first I was using my E17 as a DAC only with the SX-750, then I decided to try the ODAC, and again was blown away at the difference. In the end, the ODAC and the Pioneer only cost me about $20 more than what I had paid for the E17.

 

[80smusicboy]

In a few weeks, I'll try my Marantz CD-72 Special Edition with the HD650. It was a great CD player back in it's day (cost over 2000 dollars some 20 years ago). I also have the Arcam amplifier to try. My wallet is hoping I won't feel the urge to upgrade!  

 

[Ashade]

Interesting, thanks. Do you think a solid state (Magni&Modi) or tube (Aune T1,Hifiman EF-2, etc) would be better with the mod? I tried it on an original Schiit Asgard, Magni, Aune T1, Hifiman EF-2, Fiio E12, and a JDS Labs Objective 2, and liked the sound of the T1 the best, though I fear it's warmth (though it's actually quite neutral for a tube, as it's only for the DAC) might make it too warm for my taste. If anyone knows of a good around $200 amp for the Q701 sound with a slightly warmer and extended bass that would be great.

I'm more of the neutrality concept so I use it with ODAC + O2. If you are sold on tubes, there are many experts here that can help you but you might have to go the foam mod way. ThurstonX is one of those experts and I'm pretty sure he will gladly recommend you better than me.

By the way, E18 is surprisingly good moving the Q's. The tightness in the bass is near to the one in the O2 and that is something that I've only Benn able to listen when the Q's are properly amp'ed. I don't remember right now if the E17 moves the bass that well in the Q's.

 

[Extra]

I'm more of the neutrality concept so I use it with ODAC + O2. If you are sold on tubes, there are many experts here that can help you but you might have to go the foam mod way. ThurstonX is one of those experts and I'm pretty sure he will gladly recommend you better than me.

By the way, E18 is surprisingly good moving the Q's. The tightness in the bass is near to the one in the O2 and that is something that I've only Benn able to listen when the Q's are properly amp'ed. I don't remember right now if the E17 moves the bass that well in the Q's.

Thanks, I have preferred tube amps to solid states for the ones I've tried for the most part, although I'm open to either.
 
Does the E18 drive the Q701's well? A transportable option would always be interesting.

 

[Ashade]

Thanks, I have preferred tube amps to solid states for the ones I've tried for the most part, although I'm open to either.

Does the E18 drive the Q701's well? A transportable option would always be interesting.

Somebody might kill me for saying this but... I've been A/B ing E18 with O2 + ODAC and... I might fail the blind test. I need to listen to them further but I'm really really impressed with this little thing. E07K is far far in a lower level.

I have sometimes the feeling the E18 sounds more metallic but it might be me getting used to the newer sounds or the recordings themselves. Headphonia said it lacks microdetail and I cannot hear that on the Q's. The microdetail is superb. Maybe they were using H800.

 

[ThurstonX]

I'm more of the neutrality concept so I use it with ODAC + O2. If you are sold on tubes, there are many experts here that can help you but you might have to go the foam mod way. ThurstonX is one of those experts and I'm pretty sure he will gladly recommend you better than me.

By the way, E18 is surprisingly good moving the Q's. The tightness in the bass is near to the one in the O2 and that is something that I've only Benn able to listen when the Q's are properly amp'ed. I don't remember right now if the E17 moves the bass that well in the Q's.

 
Damn, if there's a bus I'm sure to be found under it  

 
I appreciate the nod, but I'm no expert, just an avid neophyte prone to experiment, with time and resources to try a few things.  That said, the foam mod worked for me, so I shared that experiment, as others seemed to be finding the full mod a bit much, a tad loose, not to their liking.  Where's that dead horse, cuz I'm a-gonna beat it some more:
 
The beauty of the bass port mod for the Q701 is that it's easily done, easily tweaked (with foam, or wherever your imagination leads you), and easily reversed (Blue Painter's Tape FTW!!!  The best thing you can do is try it.  Now, it's also good to have the gear with which you'll use the Q, modded or not.  As has been noted, esp. by jasonb, gear can change things.  I quite enjoy my foam-modded Q701 with my C5 portable, either from my Rockbox'd iPod Classic, or laptop/PC -> HiFimeDIY U2 Async DAC + USB isolator.  Good stuff, and not crazy expensive.  If I didn't own the C5 and HiFimeDIY DAC, I'd definitely be getting JDS Labs' new C5D (the C5 w/a nice DAC) for portable use.  Don't have an iPhone, but I could use it more easily with my Nexus 7.  I just like their stuff.
 
The only tube amp I've heard is the one I own (Schiit Lyr), and it's outside Extra's price range.  But you've tried a few, so no harm going with the one you like.  Tubes will definitely do different things with different cans, as I've discovered in the last week (yep! that's your "expert"!  Not a cheap hobby, but fun.  And all this gear can find a happy second home (or third, like my HE-500), so experiment relatively freely.  But if you have the Q701, keep it until you settle on an amp, then try the mod(s) as you see fit.
 
Don't know how much that helps, but hopefully it gives you another perspective.

 

[Ashade]

I think that's definitely the beauty and strong point of tube amps: the personalization of the sound through tube. That helps to mask the flaws of the headphones and reach the sound you like the most. With solid state you are set on the sound or you need software equalizer in most cases.