[Dubstep Girl]

Well after my PS Audio Digital Link III arrived, i fell in love with HD 650s again, seeing they are capable of so much more than i imagined, i was kinda disappointed that i had already placed in the order for my k 701s, and felt that they would go to waste. boy was i wrong...
 
out of the box, they sounded kinda bad, slightly too bright, soundstage was messed up and the sound was very thin and weak. 
however, i had faith in them, i played some random songs and let them burn in.
 
after 2 days of burn in, i am totally impressed by them and have grown to like them more than the 650s and more than my sr325s.
 
people do not lie, the detail on these phones is just phenomenal! best detail i've ever heard, things the hd 650 would hide and veil are suddenly being noticed. these phones are just so detailed and while being very neutral and slightly clinical in sound, they still are quite musical and aren't as boring as some people put them out to be (perhaps with a bad source/amp they will sound that way, but i feel these phones are pretty decent as far as musicality goes).
 
the soundstage is perfect, very airy open and lively, instrumental songs just shine and these are also really good for trance music. female vocals are just near perfect and all the nice ambient sparkly noises you hear in trance songs come out sounding just right.
really makes some songs sound super realistic too, footsteps, instruments, breathing, its all done just right.
 
the bass is definitely not weak, its just balanced in with the rest of the music. i have finally begun to feel that even my hd 650s are too strong on the bass on some songs (ie. norah jones and other slower songs have an overpowering bass guitar on the songs that drowns out the vocals too much). while the bass might have to be boosted up a notch for some genres, its just about right, definitely the cleanest tightest most defined bass i have heard out of any cans. light drums sound very realistic and quite punchy and i am surprised by the bass on these cans on some of the songs, its fast, tight, and quite dynamic.
 
the midrange is very good, more upfront than the 650s and more detailed than the grados, just perfect, can't say too much more.
 
the highs...are beautiful, definitely more pronounced than the 650s highs and definitely less bright than grados. the highs are never shrill and never bright despite what some people say, some of the best i've ever heard.
 
 
i can't wait till they are finished burning in, after 20 hours, i can say that these are some of the best cans i've ever heard and definitely keepers, will update once my WA6SE comes in later this week.
 
 

 

[apmusson]

Glad you are enjoying the k701s.

I have tried numerous headphones on many different setups. HD650s, HD600s, HD800s, T1s, DT880s, DT770s and others. I have also owned a few of them but have always retained my K701s for the reasons you state. I have found that they pair very well with hybrid valve amps (I have a musical fidelity xcan v2 and v3 for this).

Enjoy the burnin. They need several hundred hours to truely shine.

Adrian

 

[fusedpro]

If I already had an amp that paired well with these phones, I would more than likely jump on a pair of K701s/K702s. Alas, I have an Asgard that I can't seem to let go of. Can't really complain, even though I will probably never make a decision, I really enjoy researching things like this for some reason...

 

[NinjaSquirt]

Very well put impression, I currently own the Beyer DT880 but already have an itch for the K701 (K702s actually since I read they're the same sonically) because they apparently have a wider soundstage and clinical presentation. If you've heard the DT880s, could you give a comparison?
 
I've also heard that they require something like 500 hours to burn in, so if you enjoy them now I'm guessing it'll only get better.
 
Also, there have been a couple really critical reviews stating a plasticky mid on the K701/K702s, can you comment if you heard that specifically now or did hear it when the headphones were brand new?

 

[brokenthumb]

Nice review.  I love my 701's!  Female vocals are heavenly and Pink Floyd sounds amazing from these.  I find the 701's present the music as is and doesn't try to color the sound.  The 701 can be Fun, laid back, or neutral depending on how the song was recorded.  A nice reference can.

 

[Dubstep Girl]

Quote:

Very well put impression, I currently own the Beyer DT880 but already have an itch for the K701 (K702s actually since I read they're the same sonically) because they apparently have a wider soundstage and clinical presentation. If you've heard the DT880s, could you give a comparison?
 
I've also heard that they require something like 500 hours to burn in, so if you enjoy them now I'm guessing it'll only get better.
 
Also, there have been a couple really critical reviews stating a plasticky mid on the K701/K702s, can you comment if you heard that specifically now or did hear it when the headphones were brand new?

 
k 701 is way different than the dt 880s, less bass (only on bad sources, bass really opens up with good amping/DAC) and definitely a wider soundstage and better highs (prounounced but not harsh in any way) i believe if i remember from the last time i've heard 880s (600 ohm version).  880s are pretty good and definitely are neutral, but the k 701s do give you a different experience. 
 
i don't find the mids on the k701 to be "plasticky" at all. they definitely weren't the best sounding mids when they where brand new, but they open up pretty quickly. right now they are very well balanced mids and i can't find anything wrong with them. k 701s are really a unique headphone thats definitely worth a listen, im starting to like them more than my 650s now.
 
and i know people describe them as clinical, i said the same thing, however it does depend on the source and the type of music, these headphones aren't bland or thin in any way. they defintiely are on the neutral and reference side of things, but can be quite musical if given the right type of music on a decent system. 

 

[Sort]

The right music on the701's is breathtaking. Great with electronica, chiller jazz, and female vocals. I tend to hear complaints about rock, and the more noise you add to the mix, the less you can enjoy the amazing clarity and sound separation. I love waking up to the day with an eight-song playlist on my 702's, but I also like switching to my Senn 600's for more boisterous music in the afternoon.
 
That to me is the biggest flaw with these cans: you can't just genre jump in your playlist that well. For example rock songs emphasize treble and bass in how they were recorded, so lots of times, a flat EQ will seem like the mid vocals just get swallowed up. Then though if you go from rock to jazz and you've amped up the mids a couple levels, it's too prominent.
 
Nothing's perfect, and I enjoy them a ton.

 

[RexAeterna]

glad your liking them but my experience with them is the midrange seemed very odd sounding and the soundstage seemed too expansive for most songs. i tried them off some powered/active Denon mixer though when i heard them. it didn't seem to compare well to my sextetts LP and 240DF's.

 

[Il Mostro]

Quote:

The right music on the701's is breathtaking. 

THIS.  I also have DLIII (Cullen IV)  Acoustic, vocals, jazz, etc. are so right with these phones.

 

[Gatepc]

Glad your enjoying them I know I do. I've heard a lot of headphones and for the price and for my own taste I have not heard a pair under $500 that I like more. I enjoy the soundstage as that's one of the most important things to me. Yes they do have a slight upper mids peak but I find that it works well for the music I listen to since it aids to female vocals and helps separate them more. I also enjoy the massive amount of detail. When I got these I thought they had an insane amount of detail but then I heard them on my newer amp (Burson 160) and wow, it has a whole new level of realism and detail on this amp. These headphones definitely scale well.

Enjoy your headphones!

 

[Dubstep Girl]

i just love the mids on the k701s, i don't listen to my hd 650s as much except for lower bitrate music and for bassier music, however, the hd 650s sound signature sounds veiled in comparison to the k701s more open nature. its just im finally realizing how dark the hd 650s are. i still love them but, they are good for some types of music while k 701s are more appealing on others.