Questions about the K1000

[J-Pak]

I sold them because the bass rolloff was unacceptable for rock music. Sounded thin with emphasis on the midrange/treble.

 

[Alwayswantmore]

Try a dozen amps, and you will get a dozen different answers. I think that's why so many headfiers new to K1000s sell their phones after only a few weeks. With the right amp, you will be amazed at the imaging. With the wrong amp, they're nothing special.

As for bass, I've yet to hear really good bass without the addition of a sub. I'm hoping the F1 will allow me to ditch the sub.

 

[rshdhead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by J-Pak I sold them because the bass rolloff was unacceptable for rock music. Sounded thin with emphasis on the midrange/treble.

Strong, deep, and defined bass would affect soundstage as well. Bass need more energy and room to sound therefore should influence soundstage more so than mid and high. If k1000 has good sound field with rather weak bass, then its mid and high should be very very efficient.

 

[Meyvn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 003 Second, the bass. Now, I am no basshead, and I have gotten tired of the flabby bass from the HD650 and muffled sound. Most people agree that the bass on the K1000 rolls off at around 45-50Hz. Now that is all fine and good, but in laymans terms, what will that do to the sound? Other people have said that the bass that it does have is incredibly accurate, tight and controlled. Again, I assume it will largly have to do with the type of amping. And again, what would the best type of amping be for the bass? Next, about the sound. If I am using an all solid state power amp, and an all tube preamp, will that give me a good taste of what tubes have to offer and what solid state has to offer? Everything else seems good.

I'm actually going to very much disagree with PMS on his assessment of the bass; he's a total basshead (and is not afraid to admit it), so I think that's probably why disagree with him, since I'm not one. Keep that in mind. But I think the K1000's impact with bass is its strong point; I was actually worried about this same issue myself before I heard the K1000. I thought, 'The K701's bass response actually dips below the audible range, and I'm loving what I'm hearing overall; it could be a little bit stronger, but I don't really need it." Despite the fact that the K1000 doesn't even go all the way down to 20Hz, I actually found it seemed to have a tad MORE bass impact than the K1000. For me, coming from a non-basshead, it couldn't be any better on about 75% of recordings, bass-wise. It's tight, punchy, and tasteful. It's a totally different animal from the HD650's bass. It clearly does not have as much, but I honestly think this is a good thing, despite the slight lack of extension which I personally have not really noticed much anyway. If you're finding you miss it, just do what Alwayswantsmore and others have done and add a sub; that's what subs are for. And for the record, 'rolled off' means that the frequency response rolls off at a certain point. It just means a headphone doesn't quite cover a certain register, or that it underemphasizes it. It's got nothing to do with distortion or clipping.

As far as the imaging, I find it amazing, but I'd probably have to agree with Always on this one; it would definitely depend upon your amp. The K1000 is equipment sensitive.

On the tube pre, solid power, you'll probably get a decent idea of how both sound. If you like the tube tone you're getting out of your pre amp, I'd say a solid state power amp is a good idea, because a tube power amp would further color the sound with its own signature, whereas the solid state power amp would amplify the tone of your tube preamp. Obviously, this is a generalization, and solid state colors the sound too, but from my experience, it doesn't quite as much. You may want to experiment and see how you like it both with the tube pre and either no pre, or with an SS one.