[Hifihedgehog]

[size=medium]Question: What/When/Is AKG releasing a new top-of-the-line headphone?[/size]
I thought I saw information for this somewhere, but Google and me are not working together after 15 minutes of searching.

 

[estreeter]

I think you might be better served by investing in better sources before getting too concerned about anything AKG have in the wings. Everything from the K501 to the 702 needs a good headphone amp and decent source underneath it. Assuming that you are about to invest heavily in audio, I wouldnt write the K701 off just yet - as longtime AKG fans will tell you, newer doesnt always mean 'better', regardless of what the marketing department would have you believe.

 

[4lx]

There was a thread somewhere a few days ago about them maybe bringing back the K1000 into production, not sure if that's what you were referring to. other than that i have not heard about them making a new headphone.

 

[krmathis]

From this thread...
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/let...-k1000-435161/

Email:
Quote:

Hi, I am a huge fan of your K1000 headphone. Which sadly went out of production some 3 1/2 years ago, without getting a successor. Sad to say, but the K701/K702 is not up to its sound quality level. Now that your competitors Sennheiser, Grado and Ultrasone have announced/released new top-of-the-line models I sure hope you have something up the sleeve as well. If not, I ask you kindly to consider it. Either by reviving the K1000, which in my opinion are up there sound wise, or come up with a worthy successor. Thanks for taking the time reading this email. Best regards xxx

Answer:
Quote:

Dear Mr. xxx, Thank you for contacting AKG and for your friendly words about our K 1000. We plan to launch a successor of the K 701 in foreseeable time, possibly CES 2010. Kind regards Horst Werner AKG hotline hotline@akg.com

So there are hopes for a new 'phone at CES 2010, in January.
Sadly does not seem like we will see a K1000 successor or revival.

 

[pearljam5000]

i think they're dumb because the market now is much bigger than it used to be and they could easly sell 15000 K1000's a year,we should send them a link to head-fi !!!

 

[krmathis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pearljam5000 /img/forum/go_quote.gif i think they're dumb because the market now is much bigger than it used to be and they could easly sell 15000 K1000's a year,we should send them a link to head-fi !!!

Really!?

Since you are so certain the demand is this high then I highly suggest you get in contact with AKG. The sooner the better.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by estreeter /img/forum/go_quote.gif as longtime AKG fans will tell you, newer doesnt always mean 'better', regardless of what the marketing department would have you believe.

True, but I'm hoping that AKG will self-correct after the K-701.

 

[Cankin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif True, but I'm hoping that AKG will self-correct after the K-701.

I'm hoping that AKG will build their new flagship based on K701 sound sig.

 

[saisunil]

701s need to be recabled and need to be burnt in for more than 500 hours to become world class. No I have not heard Senn 800 and I am awaiting for my PS1000 for months ... Thus far for me Recabled and Fully burnt in 701s are extremeley faithful and uncolored compared to any other Senn or Grado offerings (other than PS 1000 or HD800). If only they had more bass - I'd not even think of getting anything else ... but they get everything else right.

I have two recabled 701s - so I decided to put one on sale and kept reducing price - I am glad I did not sell / let it go. I sent this to an aquaintence (audio equipment designer) and he was amazed - said that my 701s through his own designed headphone amp is better than not only any other headphone heard but also it sounded / imaged better than his home system - which is a reference grade.

701s do need a proper amp - high powered - tube or SS.

Having said that - I look forward to any flagship offering from AKG - hopefully they will keep it under $1000 mark.

Cheers
Sunil.

 

[tintin47]

OP, if you are waiting for the new AKG flagship, I would be prepared for them to cost >$1000, considering the recent surge of flagship phones from grado, ultrasone, beyer, and senn.

 

[pearljam5000]

I'm sorry but the K701 is a joke when compared to the K1000.
it's unlistenable.

plus,1000 is higher than 701 so i think that's an indication which one is better

 

[Sherwood]

They discontinued them because they could not sell them. Once the tooling wore out it wasn't worth it to replace everything. The K701, on the other hand, has done very well for AKG, so clearly their interests lie in staying under $500.

It's a shame, really, because the K1000 is magical, but there are plenty of them floating around for those who want a pair.

 

[rhythmdevils]

AKG stopped making them cause they weren't selling well. And they weren't that highly regarded here either, until they were discontinued and became exclusive and rare, and the prices went up. Now, all of a sudden, they're tooted as the best dynamics all over the place. A couple years ago, they were much more controvertial.

So if even if they started making the K1000 again, it would just loose popularity, IMO

 

[rhythmdevils]

Quote:

Originally Posted by saisunil /img/forum/go_quote.gif 701 701s 701s 701s 701s

you should hear a K401 or K500. They do have less bass than the K701 though...

 

[pearljam5000]

I don't care about all that stuff,all i care about is the sound,if they sounded like **** to me i would say so,i'm sure others like them because of their sound too...
i think that if they strated making them again they will sell a ton of them,because the market of headphones is much bigger than it used to be(thanks to head-fi of course) and alot more people are willing to pay 1000$+ for headphones,if this wasn't the situation then beyerdynamic&sennheiser&Grado&Ultrasone wouldn't release headphones that cost 1000$+ all in one year.