[xkRoWx]

I've stumbled on the AKG K701 on sale for $259 at Amazon, just wondering if anybody know when is this sale suppose to end. $259 sounds very tempting, but I live in Canada so I'm not sure how the shipping and stuff is going to add up.

 

[smrtby123]

You have to watch because these aren't being sold by Amazon otherwise you might get free shipping (idk if that applies to canada). These are being sold by a third party so you will have to check their site for shipping and what-not.

 

[intoart]

Before seriously considering K701s, you should really read the "Most disappointing headphone purchase" thread. They are the most commonly mentioned phones on that thread, and for good reason!

 

[jpstereo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by intoart /img/forum/go_quote.gif Before seriously considering K701s, you should really read the "Most disappointing headphone purchase" thread. They are the most commonly mentioned phones on that thread, and for good reason!

Pay no attention to this ridiculous statement. The K701s are quality phones. Let your own ears be the judge.

 

[cl5160316]

...or the top of your head.

FWIW i was completely set on buying the K701's based on extensive reading online... then i actually tried it, and all painful remarks about the headband were indeed true.

 

[mbd2884]

Quote:

Originally Posted by intoart /img/forum/go_quote.gif Before seriously considering K701s, you should really read the "Most disappointing headphone purchase" thread. They are the most commonly mentioned phones on that thread, and for good reason!

The K701 get plenty of love on these forums and still considered among the greats. From all the posts where I read the person did not like was their own fault. Buying blindly and often just buying the K701 because they are the K701. K701 were made for a purpose and they do it well. If the buyer is too stupid to do the research, then their disappointing experience was completely their own fault.

 

[Ishcabible]

If you aren't afraid to buy used, they do come up here for about $180. If the listing is CONUS, you can probably find someone to ship to you, like me

 

[cswann1]

Here's a LINK to Bestseller21's shipping charges page.

This is a very good price. If anyone understands what the K701 does well and what it does not do well, and is sure that they would like a pair, I'd say jump on this price. The seller is maintaining a +95% positive customer feedback so it does not sound risky.

 

[K_19]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbd2884 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The K701 get plenty of love on these forums and still considered among the greats. From all the posts where I read the person did not like was their own fault. Buying blindly and often just buying the K701 because they are the K701. K701 were made for a purpose and they do it well. If the buyer is too stupid to do the research, then their disappointing experience was completely their own fault.

+1. No one (I hope) here would be blind enough to say that they are the best balanced or that they're good with everything, but they have a unique sound and I researched and realized that before I made the plunge... and I can fully appreciate it for what it is.

So research is definitely needed and one has to figure out for oneself with common sense if their sound signature is for them.

 

[yklee118]

I have the K701. The headphone is very well made and I do not find the headband uncomfortable. Even after long periods of music listening, I find the headband position on my head to be quite good. The only bad thing that I can find fault with these headphones is the ear cups. Sennheiser has elongated type ear pieces that fit a variety of ear shapes, the K701 are nearly round thus making us long ear types rather hard to settle in. Once you get use to them however, they can be very comfortable. Read my mod thread and the sound with stock cable should be excellent. Thanks Have a great week.

 

[xkRoWx]

Shipping is $35USD..

I think I'm just going to buy a used pair off the FS forum, saving me the "1000 hour" burn in time and some shipping charges. I'm pretty sure Head-Fiers babies their headphones, especially when it comes to the "legendary" K701.

 

[intoart]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbd2884 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The K701 get plenty of love on these forums and still considered among the greats. From all the posts where I read the person did not like was their own fault. Buying blindly and often just buying the K701 because they are the K701. K701 were made for a purpose and they do it well. If the buyer is too stupid to do the research, then their disappointing experience was completely their own fault.

Not true. When I made the mistake of buying them (which was before I joined HeadFi), my decision was based on reviews that ranged from misleading to outright lies. Headroom called them "among the very best", which they are most assuredly not. Another reviewer actually called them "comfortable".

I am simply trying to set the record straight so that others will not make the same mistake: these are painfully uncomfortable with a thin, boring sound and no bass at all. (If that is what you like, I can't argue!

)

By the way, I thought that the K701s sounded fairly decent until I heard actual good phones.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbd2884 /img/forum/go_quote.gif From all the posts where I read the person did not like was their own fault. Buying blindly and often just buying the K701 because they are the K701. K701 were made for a purpose and they do it well. If the buyer is too stupid to do the research, then their disappointing experience was completely their own fault.

Ahem.

I bought the K-701 after having owned the K-501 and K-1000 for some time. The K-701 was sorely and greatly disappointing. I had done my homework and thought that AKG made good headphones. The K-701 has a plasticky, unnatural sound. The only reason I kept it is because the Zana takes away some of the Saran-wrapped sound and it can be listenable for a bit. Still, the K-501, K-1000, K-340, and K-240DF absolutely cream it for sound quality. If you do your homework and want the AKG sound, go for just about anything else AKG has built. IIRC, even Steve Hoffman dismissed the K-701 for its unnatural sound. And out of more than a dozen pairs, the K-701 is the only headphone I own that sounds a little "off" no matter which of several amps I run it through (tube and solid state) or which of several sources (analog and digital) I use.

Further, the reason the K-701 gets so much play is only because of its price. If it cost more than the HD-650, no one would buy it. The only reason so many people buy the K-701 is because it costs less than other flagship headphones.

Everyone wants to buy "the best" at the lowest price. That's understandable. The problem is that the K-701 is the least expensive "flagship" headphone from a major manufacturer. So the K-701 usually ends up the first purchase for someone stepping up from IEMs, iBuds, etc. The K-701 is better than a lot of the crap out there, so it's their first taste of a "good" headphone, then they come here and rave about it and will throw a fit when someone with more experience points out the K-701's shortcomings.

It sounds like you're interested mostly because of price. Don't be. You can save another $50 buying a used Sennheiser HD-600. Get one of those instead. Read the reviews; you'll see them discussed in a much different light. If you can, get to a meet or another member's place to audition them. Don't just buy headphones because they're a manufacturer's top offering and they're relatively cheap.

 

[intoart]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif Further, the reason the K-701 gets so much play is only because of its price. If it cost more than the HD-650, no one would buy it. The only reason so many people buy the K-701 is because it costs less than other flagship headphones. Everyone wants to buy "the best" at the lowest price. That's understandable. The problem is that the K-701 is the least expensive "flagship" headphone from a major manufacturer.

You nailed it! Aside from the glowing reviews,that was the major factor for me. I was seriously considering HD650 at the time, but it was more expensive and Headroom (very incorrectly!) placed them on the same footing.

The K701 is a waste of money because, whether you keep it or sell it, you will end up not being satisfied with it for most music and will have to buy something else.

 

[jsaliga]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ahem. I bought the K-701 after having owned the K-501 and K-1000 for some time. The K-701 was sorely and greatly disappointing. I had done my homework and thought that AKG made good headphones. The K-701 has a plasticky, unnatural sound.

Fair enough. But just because you didn't care for them doesn't make them a bad headphone. It only makes them a bad headphone...for you. I know that sounds like I'm stating the obvious but people like to argue these things as though they are matters of fact and not matters of opinion.

You can't research your way to a set of headphones that you are guaranteed to like. That is a point I tried to make in the current thread where I let Head-Fi members choose my next set of phones.

The AKG K701 is no different from any other set of cans being discussed on this forum insofar as some people will love them, some will loathe them, and there will a lot of folks landing somewhere between those two extremes. Where any particular individual falls on that continuum is something that people must decide for themselves -- but it doesn't invalidate someone else's experience.

I used to own a set of AKG K701s and I really did like them a lot for jazz and other acoustic music. My problem with them is that I found them to be very uncomfortable to wear for more than 30 minutes at a clip. I have a set of Denon AH-D7000s that I am expecting to be delivered shortly, but no matter what other headphones I try there will probably always be some desire for that AKG sound when listening to my favorite jazz recordings. I may end up buying another pair if I can't find another can that approaches their sound with the kind of music I listen to the most.

--Jerome