[DangerClose]

Distorted bass is easy to come by. Well-articulated and textured bass, not so much. If it's all about the rumble, you may want to opt for different headphones.

It's not all about the rumble.  It's more about a small subwoofer not being an oxymoron.
 
Anyway, I went full bass mod again recently on my Q701.  I can tell it helped a lot in the fun department because I no longer noticed the headband digging into my head.  
 

I just read that the outside cover removal and going in with pliers can work.

They'd have to be small-ended pliers.  Whether grabbing it with pliers, tweezers, or something else, you might have to use a pointy knife to get it started and to pry on it.  The adhesive can be strong.
 
The main concern is probably when taking the plastic cap off on the cable side, (of the Q701 anyway), since the plug wires are in there, and they are thin and short, and there's a chance someone doing the bass mod might wind up becoming an expert on soldering AKG wires.

 

[Shaffer]

It's not all about the rumble.  It's more about a small subwoofer not being an oxymoron.

A 6" driver is incapable of producing any real bass without gross amounts of distortion, especially in the context of small computer woofer. It's as simple as that.

 

[DangerClose]

A 6" driver is incapable of producing any real bass without gross amounts of distortion, especially in the context of small computer woofer. It's as simple as that.

 
What's simple is that even a 6" oxymoron subwoofer puts out more bass than a K701.  
 
I just measured the size of my K701, and its driver is a lot smaller than 6", so it's a wonder it puts out any bass at all.

 

[Shaffer]

What's simple is that even a 6" oxymoron subwoofer puts out more bass than a K701.  

I just measured the size of my K701, and its driver is a lot smaller than 6", so it's a wonder it puts out any bass at all.

Because, situating a driver in a cup around one's ear is just like pressuring a room? This thread isn't Audio101, so let's get back on topic. Frankly, this is embarrassing.

 

[DangerClose]

Because, situating a driver in a cup around one's ear is just like pressuring a room? This thread isn't Audio101, so let's get back on topic. Frankly, this is embarrassing.

 
You're right, acting like a K701 puts out more bass than an oxymoron 6" subwoofer is embarrassing.

 

[Shaffer]

You're right, acting like a K701 puts out more bass than an oxymoron 6" subwoofer is embarrassing.

Distorted bass is easy to come by. Well-articulated and textured bass, not so much. If it's all about the rumble, you may want to opt for different headphones.

Can we now get back on topic?

 

[DangerClose]

Can we now get back on topic?

 
Apparently not.
 

A small sub is essentially an oxymoron. If you want to go deep, size matters. If deep bass is not a concern, no need for a sub. You'd be much better off with this mod.

  The 6" sub hooked to my computer rumbles the floor and walls a lot better than my K701 does.
 

 

[JulianPard]

Plainly put, bass takes a lot more power to reproduce than the rest of the spectrum. If you don't have a good amplifier, it should be your first step. This may also be why you didn't hear a more substantial difference after removing the stickers.

Thank you for the info. This may easily be the case. Waiting on these Fiio E12 sellers to come through. Thankfully this mod is reversible as I might have been left with quite a rumbly can 

 

 

[ExistentialEAR]

I assume the cover material still allows air to pass, like people that sometimes put socks in their sub woofer ports?
One could experiment with different materials or put a hole(s) in the original material to tweak the sound I noticed the 5db roll of requires boost on the low end - see innerfidelity chart. A port gives a 3db bass boost volume, 3db is generally what people can hear difference in volume so this mod within 2db of flat could make all the difference.

 

[ExistentialEAR]

the reason for having a port partially sealed may prevent backwave reflections back to ear but this is an open can so removing all together prob ok.

a different port diameter can effect what frequency the boost occurs. I suspect if the can was pretty much air sealed - pressure resistant may have been a deliberate design to even have a port that is sealed. Sort of like unlocking those extra options playing video games with secret code sequence heh.

 

[Shaffer]

I assume the cover material still allows air to pass, like people that sometimes put socks in their sub woofer ports?
One could experiment with different materials or put a hole(s) in the original material to tweak the sound I noticed the 5db roll of requires boost on the low end - see innerfidelity chart. A port gives a 3db bass boost volume, 3db is generally what people can hear difference in volume so this mod within 2db of flat could make all the difference.

It is extremely difficult to measure headphones accurately. Typically, the results at the frequency extremes are discounted in their entirety. As such, it isn't wise to base (bass) EQ tweaks on a graph.

 

[Blze001]

Just stumbled across this thread. Decided to give this mod a shot with my Q701s, took me about 20 minutes... 15 of which involved figuring out where the heck I had set my needle-nose pliers. I put on a song with some nice bass (Stylo - Gorillaz) and listened halfway through, did the mod, then listened the rest of the way.
 
They sound closer to my K550's in the bass department... but still with the 70X benefits (soundstage, treble, etc). Maybe it's a placebo, and I'm certain there are downsides that my non-hifi ears can't pick up, but overall I'm happy.

 

[Shaffer]

They sound closer to my K550's in the bass department... but still with the 70X benefits (soundstage, treble, etc). Maybe it's a placebo, and I'm certain there are downsides that my non-hifi ears can't pick up, but overall I'm happy.

I haven't found a single downside, FWIW.

 

[buson160man]

 I have had my Austrian made k701s for a long time. But earlier this year I unfortunately tripped on the headphone cable. Bummer I lost the sound. So a couple of months ago I decided to have them repaired. I thought I would do an upgrade of sorts and purchased a furutech 1/4 inch phone plug. I took the phones to a shop to have them replace the plug and repair the phones. I got my k 701s back (I really missed them) and after a few sessions wow the difference that that the furutech plug has made was definitely for the better. The ability to look into recordings and ascertain things has markedly improved. I listen to recordings and I am picking up a lot more information that was not there with the stock 1/4 inch plug. You can look into recordings and hear much deeper into the soundstage and the sense of envelopment has greatly improved. There is much better clarity and a sense of palpability that was not there before. The furutech plug is really  nice and makes for a very solid  connection . 
  The plug upgrade is definitely worthwhile. If you  loved your  k701s you will love them a whole lot more after the furutech plug upgrade.

 

[JulianPard]

 I have had my Austrian made k701s for a long time. But earlier this year I unfortunately tripped on the headphone cable. Bummer I lost the sound. So a couple of months ago I decided to have them repaired. I thought I would do an upgrade of sorts and purchased a furutech 1/4 inch phone plug. I took the phones to a shop to have them replace the plug and repair the phones. I got my k 701s back (I really missed them) and after a few sessions wow the difference that that the furutech plug has made was definitely for the better. The ability to look into recordings and ascertain things has markedly improved. I listen to recordings and I am picking up a lot more information that was not there with the stock 1/4 inch plug. You can look into recordings and hear much deeper into the soundstage and the sense of envelopment has greatly improved. There is much better clarity and a sense of palpability that was not there before. The furutech plug is really  nice and makes for a very solid  connection . 
  The plug upgrade is definitely worthwhile. If you  loved your  k701s you will love them a whole lot more after the furutech plug upgrade.

That's pretty interesting. I've mostly read around forums that improved sound from different cables was a myth. I've wanted a cable to replace the stock k7xx as it's way to long for me, but that's quite the price tag for merely a cable.