[c61746961]

Maybe in the future, not enough spare for the match-the-amp game for me right now, though. This $4 mod and the GO450 will have to do for the time being , thanks for the tips!

 

[shuto77]

Surely. The treble, while not sibilant, is kinda hot and peaky and I'm very sensitive to that kind of problem, makes some stuff like cymbals pop above all and my ears get fatigued after a while. Also, the bass is slightly boomy and somewhat ill-defined compared to other pairs including my modded $15 TH-02 (yep, for real). The upper midrange has a dip which in combination to the slightly boomy bass makes stuff sound 'hollow', and the soundstage, whilst spacious, is somewhat fuzzy on the midrange with a weak center image. I have to say that the felt rings mod alone didn't fix many of these issues for me, while the PVC foam did a much better job at it. Many of these issues kept me from enjoying the K7XX over my modded T50RP which is a bit more linear, but that trend has changed with this mod. The K7XX is quite resolving, dynamic and clean, but I feel it's held-back by some unadressed issues inside that huge ear-side chamber. There is some evidence of this on this K701 modification guide and analysis, spoiler: this guy gets the K701 FR almost as smooth as an HD650, if the driver was the culprit, this wouldn't be possible.

OK, thanks for the information. I'm not as sensitive as you to the treble then.

Interesting that this series of cans responds so well to modding.

I'm told the AK7xx is less sibilant than the K701 and Q701 et al.

 

[c61746961]

The usual disclaimer applies: YMMV. Soundstage perception is particularly person-sensitive because it depends on the interaction of the soundwave with the pinna. I did not feel, however, that the treble became muted, just less peaky.
I think the mod is very much worth a try for all of you with the time and curiosity, if you don't like it you can undo it in 20 secs.

 

[Rhamnetin]

Sheesh... so I've only been using the K7xx for a few hours, and I've only listened to classical and played Metro: Last Light with it.  I already prefer it over my DT 880 Pro for both of those things.  When listening to classical, it keeps putting a stupid smile on my face.  I won't go into detail yet since this is still premature, although I do have to say that the mids are more forward and the sound is just so much more three dimensional.  More width, more height, way more depth, better imaging, faster and more realistic decay is all I'll say for now as my initial impressions.  I thought the two headphones would be closer in performance than this... especially in sound stage where it just slaughters the DT 880.  I can't imagine keeping the DT 880 at this rate, acknowledging I may encounter physical problems with the K7xx later on down the road.
 
- EDIT: This is my first experience with AKG too.  I think at this point I'm destined for a K812 somewhere down the line, although Stax is next in line.
 
- EDIT: Fine I'll say something else.  Pianos are more detailed, more forward, and more realistic on the K7xx.  Also, no sibilance so far.

 

[AKGunkie]

The usual disclaimer applies: YMMV. Soundstage perception is particularly person-sensitive because it depends on the interaction of the soundwave with the pinna. I did not feel, however, that the treble became muted, just less peaky.
I think the mod is very much worth a try for all of you with the time and curiosity, if you don't like it you can undo it in 20 secs.

I think it's interesting that you find the K7XX peaky and hot in the treble. If anything the 7XX is a bit too laid back for me, i think that its treble is just a bit shy of neutral. It probably has the most recessed treble of all of my HPs.

 

[c61746961]

With 'hot treble' I'm referring to the 5-8 KHz range in this instance, which is elevated, because the area between 2.5-5 KHz is recessed, and perhaps that's what gives you the 'laid back' impression, I call it 'hollowness'. The highs are not in any sense unbearable, just a little hot and distracting, and it may have everything do with the shape of my ear and ear canal, but it kinda shows in measurements. It's more of a valley+peak problem than a hump.
The headphones are very good, no doubt, but in my experience the sound can be improved further.

 

[shuto77]

I think it's interesting that you find the K7XX peaky and hot in the treble. If anything the 7XX is a bit too laid back for me, i think that its treble is just a bit shy of neutral. It probably has the most recessed treble of all of my HPs.

We discuss the AKG K7XX a lot on @madlustenvy's gaming thread, and you're literally person I've ever heard call the treble peaky. My Dunu-DN 1000 can be very hot and peaky (with the wrong tips). Still, everyone's ears are different, and my difficulty with iems have showed me that a millimeter here or there can be the difference from having a 9/10 experience or a 6/10. This doesn't account for preferences regarding sound signature, either.

 

[c61746961]

I will assume that you were referring to me.
Maybe I stand alone in calling this:





A slightly hot and peaky treble. These are all from different measurement setups and they all exhibit similar features. What I hear most resembles the first graph which was captured using in-ear mics.

Here's the HD650 for reference:


HD600 & 650 overlaid (from another rig, note the scaling, the treble features here amount to less than 3 dB over baseline)


This isn't as serious as with the Beyers, whose brightness I can't stand. In my experience, the most problematic area is the dip at 3-4 KHz followed by the rise to 7 KHz which mixed with the slightly fat bass gives it a weird, hollow-yet-bright sound in comparison to my other pairs.
You can call this nitpicking -which it probably is- but for me is the difference between picking up the AKG or another pair for a listening session.

If you don't experience any issues with the K7XX then all the better, I'm just sharing something that has improved my listening experience.

 

[BeHik]

Wholeheartedly agree - on a lot of records (particularly modern ones) K7XX treble and upper mids can be harsh sounding, on a lot of good one's though, there is no such trouble.
That is what i am experience on my jdslabs o2 amp and Xonar D1 as DAC. Now don't start telling me that it's in any way under amping K7XX's as it isn't, o2 is technically more than enough to drive these cans as they are MUCH more sensitive than their previous siblings such as K701/702 and Q701 (last one i have) and you can see it from the measurements. I still think that it's might be not best match signature-wise though.
 
I'm actually aiming at the HD600's atm after two years with AKG's, which, of course stay with me as i do love their sound but just longing for some new experience and this time more of a calmer and lusher sounding one .
 
PS it is really hard to decide between HD600's and H650's without having any chance to listen to them first. Ehh...

 

[c61746961]

I'm actually aiming at the HD600's atm after two years with AKG's, which, of course stay with me as i do love their sound but just longing for some new experience and this time more of a calmer and lusher sounding one .

PS it is really hard to decide between HD600's and H650's without having any chance to listen to them first. Ehh...

Yeah, I was thinking of selling the K7XX and going for the Senns until I tried the mod I posted. I also hear these have better bass, if that's the case, then the Senns are probably just too blurry for me.
I would recommend that you try the mod. Measurements also suggest that using the older K701/2 pads will also fill the upper midrange at the cost of more treble energy which can be tamed using felt rings.

 

[AngryGoldfish]

Well, let's hope it works out not very expensive for you. If it does, well you live and learn.. I learnt because I got charged similarly for something else in the past

 
I just looked into it and it appears that €80 is what I should be expecting. I contacted DHL regarding my €40 charge for the $80 package from Audio-GD, and according to the invoice there was a €10 "administrative fee", which duty calculator does not seem to...calculate. There was also VAT not on what the package was marked at including shipping, but on the marked value and their own version of what shipping should cost, which was €31 according to them. So in fact I paid VAT on $80 (€70) + €31 shipping, not just $80. So even if your friend marks package down in value, you may still have might have to pay a €10 "administrative fee"—I guess it is a challenge putting a sticker on a box and then a conveyor belt—as well as tax on the shipping that they decide is correct, not what you actually paid.

 

[sheldaze]

Looks like they had more than the number sold in the drop just a week ago. There is another drop.

 

[jayeshrc]

Yeah, I was thinking of selling the K7XX and going for the Senns until I tried the mod I posted. I also hear these have better bass, if that's the case, then the Senns are probably just too blurry for me.
I would recommend that you try the mod. Measurements also suggest that using the older K701/2 pads will also fill the upper midrange at the cost of more treble energy which can be tamed using felt rings.

haha, this is such a scam. let's see what happens :/

 

[c61746961]

What is? I'm not asking for anyone's money?... The felt ring and pad rolling mods are verified to work via measurements, why so dense?

 

[BeHik]

Might as well try someday! But it's not that the harshness of K7XX and Q701 specially is main reason for the desire of trying something new. I just thinking it's about time to upgrade my collection with completely different sound signature cans. + always wanted to try Sennheiser house sound, and actually planned to buy them since i started with this little hobby.
 
As to not to mislead any guests of this very thread - AKG K7XX's are very good pair of HP's, and i am really pleased with them since the day i got them. I am one of first 200 buyers and got #000024 pair here . And since then i was recommending them to my friends and some of them did get these babys and are very happy. They represents terrific value and sounds in same league as other 500$ cans, which came as no surprise as they originally were designed to be 500$+ cans.