[kramer5150]

Glad I found this... so this mod increases bass impact.  Does it also increase deep bass extension below ~40hz?  Or is it more of a bass boost "hump-spike".  I always find that I need to dial in a ~3db boost at 32Hz on the iTunes EQ.
 
Has anyone compared a modded 701 with the newer more bass-heavy models?  Which of these is it closest too in overall sound signature?
 

 
 
 
thanks

 

[Rob80b]

  Although the differences are obvious, both are satisfying in their own way and with the mod I would not really miss one without the other.

Hold the press, I’m going to have to eat my own words; just cruising along listening to Underworld’s live “Everything, Everything” and everything (no pun intended) was OK and then threw on Depeche Mode’s “Ultra” while I had the HD700s on, the second cut "The Love Thieves" had incredible bass slam and depth, almost too much (almost 

).
So of course I then tried the modded K701s, sorry no go, there was more bass than before the mod but the body, definition and pressurization did not hold up to the Senns, just saying.

 

[Ashade]

  Glad I found this... so this mod increases bass impact.  Does it also increase deep bass extension below ~40hz?  Or is it more of a bass boost "hump-spike".  I always find that I need to dial in a ~3db boost at 32Hz on the iTunes EQ.
 
Has anyone compared a modded 701 with the newer more bass-heavy models?  Which of these is it closest too in overall sound signature?
 

 
 
 
thanks

 
I personally have not heard the K712 so I cannot answer the question directly but I will say the bass port is definitely worth it. I wouldn't say there is an extreme boost under 40Hz. It's more a mid bass and low mid boost. For what I've read, it's very similar to the K712, slightly less warm probably. Some people A/B'ed both the modded version and a K712 and ended returning the second, because they couldn't justify the difference in price. The HD700 is the most similar thing to a modded Q701 with a boost in the subbass, and I would say with a slightly larger soundstage and a more refined treble.
 
EDIT:
 
Apparently what I say makes all the sense. I would like to see a measurement of the modded Q's:
 

 

[Ashade]

  Hold the press, I’m going to have to eat my own words; just cruising along listening to Underworld’s live “Everything, Everything” and everything (no pun intended) was OK and then threw on Depeche Mode’s “Ultra” while I had the HD700s on, the second cut "The Love Thieves" had incredible bass slam and depth, almost too much (almost 

).
So of course I then tried the modded K701s, sorry no go, there was more bass than before the mod but the body, definition and pressurization did not hold up to the Senns, just saying.

 
I found exactly the same situation today... Definitely, the HD700 is a real upgrade with respect the Q701. Just listen to Tom Sawyer from Rush. It just shines!

 

[SethG911]

So I ordered my AKG Q701 the other day and had been having a love hate relationship with them... until this mod.
 
On one hand they made all my other headphones including a set of Sennheiser 558 I ordered the same day, sound like muffled garbage.  They made music an ethereal experience... in fact the first night I had them I stayed up til 3 in the morning just trying out different songs.  They ruined my ears for all my other headphones.  But I didn't hold that against them.
 
On the other hand I was just not having "fun" with them in terms of bass.  They prevented me from tapping my foot because I was too distracted by the low impact of the bass.  It sounded tight, but had no thump, no soul.  I really wanted to use them for gaming as well, mostly for Battlefield 4.  I was coming from using a wireless set of Corsair Vengeance 2100 for gaming, which have unrealistic, but THUMPING bass, which made gunfire and explosions crazy amounts of fun, but music was grainy and unnatural.
 
Since my main use was going to be for gaming, I had all but decided that they were not worth the 200 dollar investment solely for music purposes.  I'd been reading these forums and various mods for the Q701 even before I ordered them, so the idea was not new to me, but I began listening to music with them again shortly before boxing them back up... and they won me over again.  I figured screw it, I may as well give the mod a shot to see if it could give me the bass I craved.
 
It did not disappoint.  Nice pronounced thumps for both gaming and hip hop.  Though I do have to say as a disclaimer, I'd started becoming accustomed to the lack of bass from the stock Q701 and feel it helped me "refine" my palette from the rattling loose bass I was accustomed to.  Now the bass not only fills every void it had left before, but turning on bass boost (I know start cringing audiophiles) is almost unbearable because of the vibrations (not rattling) the Q701-m sends into my ears.  Thanks so much for documenting this mod on here, you guys rock!
 
I have to say, the blooming audiophile in me is noticing a bit of muddiness in the mid bass that was not previously there.  Almost like I have a tiny tiny bit cotton in my ears.  This could also be due to the fact I was blasting a .50 cal sniper rifle at relatively high volumes in game prior to listening to my music again.  I will have to report back in the morning after my hearing returns to normal.

Thanks again everyone in this awesome community, especially tdockweiler.  Your devotion to the Q701 astounds me, and is one of the main reason I decided to give the mod a try.  I figured anyone that can post that much about a single headset must have a damn good reason, and I am a firm believer now that you are correct in doing so.

 

[Ashade]

Just four words: The Q's are outstanding!

 

[SethG911]

Nope nix that critique I made earlier.  I am no longer hearing the muddiness I was earlier in the mid to high bass.  Sound pretty much flawless today, so happy!

 

[Brainroom]

I noticed similar. Check out my previous post on the page before. This might be a hint that removing the tape from the port really lets the drivers breathe, and allows the notoriously long K701 burn-in process to happen quicker.

 

[marlammster]

My mod AKG 701/702 version in my opinion the most attractive acoustically formula (equal frequency response, incurred the lowest bass, smooth soft top):

1 Open cups shell as shown in the pictures above, and materials to peel off the port plugs.

2 Plugs peel off and keep to be able to return to stock. After all the activities put together as it was before.

3 Unscrew and pull the pads standard sponge rollers. We acquire a thin fleece, which cut discs identical to their model (same diameter + hole in the middle).

4 We put so prepared flakes fleece in place of discs taken out of sponge and turn off the earrings back remembering the correct orientation profiling.

Have fun with the AKG 7XX

 

[Rob80b]

  My mod AKG 701/702 version in my opinion the most attractive acoustically formula (equal frequency response, incurred the lowest bass, smooth soft top):

1 Open cups shell as shown in the pictures above, and materials to peel off the port plugs.

2 Plugs peel off and keep to be able to return to stock. After all the activities put together as it was before.

3 Unscrew and pull the pads standard sponge rollers. We acquire a thin fleece, which cut discs identical to their model (same diameter + hole in the middle).

4 We put so prepared flakes fleece in place of discs taken out of sponge and turn off the earrings back remembering the correct orientation profiling.

Have fun with the AKG 7XX

Hi marlammster
 
Believe we’ve got the jest of your translation, but to be clear, besides the bass port mod you’ve also replaced the inner foam ring with fleece, is that correct?
 
Anyway listened Dead Can Dance’s live album “Toward the Within” from 1994 yesterday which was previously wanting in more body and bass with the un-moded K701s and sort a let down with this recording, needless to say I was pretty impressed.

 
Still find my HD700s are more correct with regards to producing a more linear tone and staging but the K701s produced a much wider and encompassing aural of sound that was highly enjoyable and engaging.

 

[Shaffer]

Here's the thing about fleece and foam. Fleece mostly absorbs. Foam comes in two flavors, given our application: open-cell and closed-cell. Closed-cell (like what folks use for Fostex mods) absorbs to some degree, while open-cell attenuates the sound. The outer foam rings that sit under the pads are open-cell. Meaning, they lower the amplitude of the sound that passes through the foam. Felt, OTOH, absorbs (to some extent). The two products accomplish almost opposite effects, acoustically. Hope that made sense.

A little OT, but somewhat relevant, I've been tuning K550 using similar methodology. Meaning, open-cell rings, like the ones we're discussing, with center holes of varying diameters. The 550 sounded overly bright to me to the point of not wanting to use them. Via the tuning, I was able to tailor their frequency response to my liking.

 

[Rob80b]

Here's the thing about fleece and foam. Fleece mostly absorbs. Foam comes in two flavors, given our application: open-cell and closed-cell. Closed-cell (like what folks use for Fostex mods) absorbs to some degree, while open-cell attenuates the sound. The outer foam rings that sit under the pads are open-cell. Meaning, they lower the amplitude of the sound that passes through the foam. Felt, OTOH, absorbs (to some extent). The two products accomplish almost opposite effects, acoustically. Hope that made sense.

A little OT, but somewhat relevant, I've been tuning K550 using similar methodology. Meaning, open-cell rings, like the ones we're discussing, with center holes of varying diameters. The 550 sounded overly bright to me to the point of not wanting to use them. Via the tuning, I was able to tailor their frequency response to my liking.

We've come a long way but I posted a mod using felt "wool" rings back in 2003.
12/3/03
Quote:

Thought I would experiment with some isolation on my AKG 240DF. I am a big fan of wool felt for noise and vibration control on speakers so why not try it on the 240’s.
First one removes the ear cushions and the foam disk.
I started with quarter inch thick wool felt cut slightly smaller than the foam disks used between the driver and the ear cushions and a center hole slightly larger than the driver itself. I then placed the felt directly on the inner sides of the headphones making sure the inner hole does not cover the drivers. I then placed the foam disks on the felt and carefully reseated the ear pads.
I was only wishing to isolate some outer noise but got a lot more.
After a few hours of listening I kept noticing a larger sound stage with greater depth and air around the instruments, more of a three dimensional space.
By adding the felt I was able to control micro vibrations, probably coming from the plastic headphone shell itself, that previously mixed with the sound coming from the drivers and therefore creating a bit of distortion, which was not really evident prior to the mod.
Try it

 

[Shaffer]

Interesting post, Rob. I will try that. BTW, if you're interested in felt and its application in loudspeakers, take a look at John Dunlavy's designs, if you haven't already.

 

[ThurstonX]

We've come a long way but I posted a mod using felt "wool" rings back in 2003.

 
Thanks for sharing that old post.  I've got a lot of felt left over from modding my HE-500s.  This seems like an excellent use for it.

 

[Rob80b]

   
Thanks for sharing that old post.  I've got a lot of felt left over from modding my HE-500s.  This seems like an excellent use for it.

Make sure it's wool, synthetics are completely different if your goal is for damping, absorption and vibration.