[Danpyre]

Could I just use a piece of aluminium foil to wrap it up instead of polysthene foil?

 

[Danpyre]

Also, I've heard that (with the Vali), this mod makes the Q701s flatter.  Can someone confirm this?

 

[Chris J]

Also, I've heard that (with the Vali), this mod makes the Q701s flatter.  Can someone confirm this?

I've seen measurements, can't remember what amp was used.
The bass mod measures flatter, but I reversed my bass mod as I thought the bass was subjectively overpowering or dominating the sound spectrum of the Q701.
YMMV!

 

[roes]

Hi,
 
I'm in the market for a new pair of headphones. I'll be using it for composing hiphop/triphop/indietronica and mixing/mastering to a certain extent (not pro-level).
 
I was set on the Sennheiser HD650 due to the great reviews and dismissed the AKG K701 due to the frequently reported lack of bass (which I like in my music). That was, until I stumbled upon this thread.
 
How do you think the Sennheiser HD650 compares to the modded AKG K701? Which has the nicest (yet balanced) bass in your opinion?
 
Thanks in advance!

 

[Chris J]

Hi,

I'm in the market for a new pair of headphones. I'll be using it for composing hiphop/triphop/indietronica and mixing/mastering to a certain extent (not pro-level).

I was set on the Sennheiser HD650 due to the great reviews and dismissed the AKG K701 due to the frequently reported lack of bass (which I like in my music). That was, until I stumbled upon this thread.

How do you think the Sennheiser HD650 compares to the modded AKG K701? Which has the nicest (yet balanced) bass in your opinion?

Thanks in advance!

To be honest, you really have to hear the two headphones, they really are like night and day, even if the Q701 has the bass mod.
The HD650 is a warm, mellow headphone.
The Q701 is a brighter, more analytical sounding headphone.

 

[HaruHaruHarHar]

Okay, been using this mod for roughly a month or so. There are pros and cons to this Mod. I've been playing around with my HD650, HE400, DT880 and K701 at work and at home. At first, I was somewhat impressed that the Mod actually works. Bass extends deep, not as tight but still detailed. A slight Bass bump, i'd say 3db? The mids and highs sounded the same at first listen.
 
After awhile, I thought the soundstage got wider but not as deep and I guess for that extra Bass, something must've been taken away. I found that the Instrument separation wasn't as good as it used to be. Not that it was excellent to begin with, haha, so it wasn't a biggie at first. The thing I find intriguing and interesting are the vocals. For certain recordings, especially badly mastered female recordings, you could really hear the detail. It's there in my other headphones, but this kinda opens it up and makes it more apparent. Anyone got this? Bare in mind, I have an extra pair of K701 to compare with. Haha.
 
To summarise things,
 
Pros:
Extra 2-3db of Bass
Bass still detailed
Mids are more detailed or just emphasised
Highs still extends well and are no longer fatiguing
Has a Warm and Fun Sound as compared to it's previous clinical state (Although I like the original)
Changes how the K701 plays rock and metal songs.
Somewhat like an HD700 now.
Soundstage seems wider
 
Cons:
Bass isn't as tight as it used to be.
That extra bass is there for most tracks, but there are some, for some reason it didn't turn out so well, as I think the Bass wasn't tight enough and didn't have sufficient body for it.
That extra detail retrieval or whatever it is on the mids, can be bothersome. I'd rather have the HD800 etc for doing those.
For a Fun headphone, you have other headphones that could fill this gap. Unless you just want the mids of this headphone. But i'd say, just get the K712.
Lacks Instrument Separation now.
 
In conclusion, it's a unique sound. Atleast now, if I were to switch from the HD650 or HE400 to the Modded K701, I don't get that weird feeling that i'm missing a lot of Body and Bass. It definitely is musical in a different sense, but you'd need to get your ears to get accustomed to the new sound.
 
Having said that, is it a keeper or not?
 
I'm keeping this, at the same time having an extra pair that's unmodded for reference. I like them both. It's a good try but I'm not sure if this is for everyone.

 

[econaut]

Anyone having compared the bass mod with the gel ear pads? Either in comparing bass mod vs gel pads and/or the sound with bass mod AND gel pads?
 
I have the K702 with bass mod and I am interested in checking out the gel ear pads as well, but they are expensive (100€)...
 
If anyone wonders what the gel ear pads are, read this post.

 

[HaruHaruHarHar]

  Anyone having compared the bass mod with the gel ear pads? Either in comparing bass mod vs gel pads and/or the sound with bass mod AND gel pads?
 
I have the K702 with bass mod and I am interested in checking out the gel ear pads as well, but they are expensive (100€)...
 
If anyone wonders what the gel ear pads are, read this post.

I have both pads. Unfortunately, they're pretty different sounding. I have an Unmodded K701 & K702. and a modded K701.
 
I'll make this brief.
 
Unmodded with Gel Pads:
- Slight extra Bass body
- Tamed Trebles
- Mid is more forward and has body
- Soundstage kinda became smaller. Both closer and in width. But no biggie.
- Definitely more warm sounding, but not to the point that it sounds like the K702 Annie.
 
Modded with Gel Pads:
- Has a lil more impact rather than body. With the normal velour, the bass was boosted but was less tight
- I like the trebles here, I guess this has more resolution and detail
- Now with the mids, it's kinda tricky and it depends on the song genre and gender. I find this to be smoother than the velours. Less clinical, so it's a plus. But you'll still hear micro details from certain female tracks. Kinda like the HD700's mids, but more forward.
- When I did the mod, it kinda opened up the soundstage and sacrificed instrument separation. This kinda helped tone that down. Couldn't really say there's a big difference, but it's there. Not really gonna bother you.
 
To buy the gel pads or not to buy.....
 
For the sake of trying and you have the dough, by all means, go ahead. Worth it? Personal preference. I think they're all good and have they're own respective pros and cons. Just that I don't see why should a Gel Pad cost 100€. Might as well save it for another investment.
 
Hope that helps. My apologies if I missed anything out

 

[econaut]

 
[...]
 
Unmodded with Gel Pads:
- Slight extra Bass body
- Tamed Trebles
- Mid is more forward and has body
- Soundstage kinda became smaller. Both closer and in width. But no biggie.
- Definitely more warm sounding, but not to the point that it sounds like the K702 Annie.
 
Modded with Gel Pads:
- Has a lil more impact rather than body. With the normal velour, the bass was boosted but was less tight
- I like the trebles here, I guess this has more resolution and detail
- Now with the mids, it's kinda tricky and it depends on the song genre and gender. I find this to be smoother than the velours. Less clinical, so it's a plus. But you'll still hear micro details from certain female tracks. Kinda like the HD700's mids, but more forward.
- When I did the mod, it kinda opened up the soundstage and sacrificed instrument separation. This kinda helped tone that down. Couldn't really say there's a big difference, but it's there. Not really gonna bother you.
 
[...]
 
For the sake of trying and you have the dough, by all means, go ahead. Worth it? Personal preference. I think they're all good and have they're own respective pros and cons. Just that I don't see why should a Gel Pad cost 100€. Might as well save it for another investment.

 
Thanks a lot for your quick and informative reply
 
Just to make sure that we are talking about the same mod - I mean this one here: http://www.head-fi.org/t/660408/reversible-akg-k701-bass-mod
 
From your answer there emerge two questions:
 
- I thought the difference regarding the sound between K702 and K702 Annie was solely the gel pads?
 
- I wonder how you would describe the sound of the AKG modded with the velour pads in comparison to the two you mentioned?
 
You mention cons, but to be honest, I don't see any drawback in adding the gel pads. If I get you correctly, the only drawback would be a tad less micro details in the mids, which seems negligible or even preferable to me, since right now I eq 2,5 kHz down - 2 dB.
 
Cheers!

 

[HaruHaruHarHar]

   
Thanks a lot for your quick and informative reply
 
Just to make sure that we are talking about the same mod - I mean this one here: http://www.head-fi.org/t/660408/reversible-akg-k701-bass-mod
 
From your answer there emerge two questions:
 
- I thought the difference regarding the sound between K702 and K702 Annie was solely the gel pads?
 
- I wonder how you would describe the sound of the AKG modded with the velour pads in comparison to the two you mentioned?
 
You mention cons, but to be honest, I don't see any drawback in adding the gel pads. If I get you correctly, the only drawback would be a tad less micro details in the mids, which seems negligible or even preferable to me, since right now I eq 2,5 kHz down - 2 dB.
 
Cheers!

Hey, sorry for the late reply. Been busy all week. Finally remembered about this. Anyhow, yup, it's the same mod.
 
- The Tuning on the Annie is different. Had Gel pads on both and they sounded different. The annie still having more Bass than the stock K702.
 
- To make it simple, the mod (Velours) made the thing Warmer and easier to listen to. You can say it's more musical than clinical now.
 
- With the Gel Pad (I guess you wanna know about it too) kinda adds detail and resolution to the highs. It's just somewhat clearer and non fatiguing at all. Bass has better impact, and mids are smoothen out. On velours, it's a lil grainy.
 
Cons is just the price to be honest. Its so expensive, you can get a decent second hand K701/702 with that amount. If you don't have headphones like the HD650 lying around, I guess the Gel Pads are good and they're really comfortable too. I use my AKG even more now over my Senns sadly. The only thing my HD650 has is that Bass Body and Impact, but I found it kinda heavy and slow.

 

[econaut]

Thanks a lot for the reply. I got hold of almost unused gel pads for 55 Euros now and will report on my take on them, when they arrive - and after burn in time ;-P

 

[Shaffer]

Thanks a lot for the reply. I got hold of almost unused gel pads for 55 Euros now and will report on my take on them, when they arrive - and after burn in time ;-P

Very curious about your impressions.

 

[gabriberta]

try with a piece of foam on the hole

 

[xardas1977]

absolutely. I done bass mod on my K701 (reversible) - I was really disappointed... I am happy that i didnt throw away stickers. Return to stock version...But, to each their own  

 

[Shaffer]

absolutely. I done bass mod on my K701 (reversible) - I was really [COLOR=222222]disappointed... I am happy that i didnt throw away stickers. Return to stock version...[/COLOR]But, to each their own  

What didn't you like about it, if I can ask?