[spike33]

Seems like alot of people should have gotten their K701s by now and burning them in. I'll get things started. I'm listening to my friend's pair which just got here today. Right out of the box, it's very nice. The mids are even better than K501s. The bass extends really far down but doesn't have the oomph that HD650 has. Treble is very clear with just a tad of harshiness right now, should go away with burn in. Soundstage is very open and wide. Not as wide as K501 but much more 3D. Comfort is on par with K501, slightly better than HD650. For headphone with low impedance and high sensitivity, it's very hard to drive. I'm listening at the same volume as HD650. To sum it up: Think DT880 with sweeter mids and smoother highs. Bass about the same.

Post your impressions here!

 

[warpdriver]

Mine's still burning in. Only have about 60 hours of semi-accelerated burn-in. Given the reputation for a long burn in as being necessary....I'll reserve final judgement until much later.

You summed it up quite nicely.

880 with even better mids, with a tad of smoothening in the treble. I would say the soundstage is more evenly distributed than the 880, comparable in overall area coverage, but maybe shallower. Detail is comparable. Treble is no harsher than the 880 even at this early stage. There is sometimes more bass than the 880 depending on the song, with impact on some dance oriented sounds, with excellent sense of coherence in the bass, more so than the 880. I expect the bass to be more prominent as more burn-in occurs because it seems even the first 50 hours made a difference.

As I said, mine's burning in....but at this rate, this 701 might make my 880 redundant for a reference. I haven't listened extremely carefully yet but it's very promising.

Comfort is high, maybe a tad bit below the 880's, but better than my departed HD600's

The thing that struck me when I first put it on is that it neither sounded dark nor treble focussed.....I got caught up in the music in the first minute. Nice!

 

[la_marquise]

And I am loving them already! They brought back all that I missed about the K501...and reminded me why I also have MS2s in my collection:

1.Fresh from the box, the soundstage is INCREDIBLE. Not quite as broad as the K501s, but definitely nice to not be smack in the middle of it all (was just listening to MS2s before FedEx man showed up.)

2.Female vocals sound more nuanced, 3-D in comparison to the HD580s. I never really noticed how much PJ Harvey changes tones in the same note until today. Or how hard she bites into her words.

3.Not a groovy set of cans though. With my DT880s or HD 580s, I really feel like tapping my feet and flowing with the music. The K701s make me listen critically, so it's becoming more of an intellectual excercise right now as I try to place instruments, breathing pauses etc.

4.DO NOT LISTEN TO RAP WITH THEM, IMO!! Somehow, it's managed to take the bite out of the "Hustle and Flow" and "Training Day" soundtracks. DJay, Al Capone et al really sound...refined?

5.Much more comfortable than the K501s. It's like the DT880s, but with a firmer grip. I am not sure whether I can deal with the MS2s for a while now...It's like resting my abused ears within comfy doughnuts right now.

6.My friend tried them, and is 95% convinced that he'll be getting them instead of the RS2s... *K701 smiley*

Overall, I am finding it to be the most revealing and analytical of all of my headphones. Then again, it could be because I am meeting them after 4 days of Grado/HD580 listening!

 

[humanflyz]

The most hi-end cans I've owned so far are the SR225 and the AT-A900s, so my headphone experience is still fairly limited, so take these impressions with a grain of salt.

First thing I noticed: incredible soundstage; best I've heard so far in all the phones I've tried. I was listening to Duel Of The Fates from the Episode I soundtrack, and my jaws just dropped.

Second, the K701s are very detailed. I could totally tell the differences in the source being used.

That's about all I can report right now, because I am too busy re-listening to all of my classical music. With the K701s, it's like I'm discovering them for the first time.

 

[spike33]

Cosmetics and accessories: It looks alot better than in the pictures. Very elegant and classy. It'd prefer a black or silver finish though. The grills and leather headband are a nice touch. The headphone holder is actually very handy. K701 sits comfortably on it with no chance of falling off (which I was worried about based on pix). The supplied mini adapter looks really sexy, gold plated too but not flexible like HD650's adapter. I doubt anyone going to use K701 on portable setup anyways though. I wouldn't be caught dead wearing it in public!

 

[gshan]

So...any regrets about buying the HD650s?

 

[Jeff E]

For those of us still considering the purchase of a pair of 701s this additional set of impressions is welcome. Thanks for starting the thread spike33. One question: Quote:

Originally Posted by spike33 For headphone with low impedance and high sensitivity, it's very hard to drive. I'm listening at the same volume as HD650.

I thought high sensitivity meant that the transducer was easy to drive, i.e. low volume setting for a given spl. Please clarify.

 

[sacd lover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff E For those of us still considering the purchase of a pair of 701s this additional set of impressions is welcome. Thanks for starting the thread spike33. One question: I thought high sensitivity meant that the transducer was easy to drive, i.e. low volume setting for a given spl. Please clarify.

The 701 is low sensitivity and also has a somewhat low 62 ohm impedence. The 701 is easy for my SS amp (Headamp GS-1) to drive. My tube amps have some trouble with the headphone if I use low power output tubes and music with demanding bass transients. The sound seems to harden and lose refinement .... although I have not actually heard the amp clip. But with higher output power tubes like the 5687/6bl7gt/6bx7gt the headphone gets plenty of power from my amps for any listening level or music.

This headphone sounds very good with either SS or tubes; but my tube amps give the sound quality that extra degree of "realness" without impacting neutrality or transparency. The 701 is a lot of fun with tubes because the 701's transparency easily reveals each tubes unique sound character.

 

[vo328]

Quote:

Originally Posted by warpdriver Mine's still burning in. Only have about 60 hours of semi-accelerated burn-in. Given the reputation for a long burn in as being necessary....I'll reserve final judgement until much later. You summed it up quite nicely. 880 with even better mids, with a tad of smoothening in the treble. I would say the soundstage is more evenly distributed than the 880, comparable in overall area coverage, but maybe shallower. Detail is comparable. Treble is no harsher than the 880 even at this early stage. There is sometimes more bass than the 880 depending on the song, with impact on some dance oriented sounds, with excellent sense of coherence in the bass, more so than the 880. I expect the bass to be more prominent as more burn-in occurs because it seems even the first 50 hours made a difference. As I said, mine's burning in....but at this rate, this 701 might make my 880 redundant for a reference. I haven't listened extremely carefully yet but it's very promising. Comfort is high, maybe a tad bit below the 880's, but better than my departed HD600's The thing that struck me when I first put it on is that it neither sounded dark nor treble focussed.....I got caught up in the music in the first minute. Nice!

Warpdriver, are you driving the K701's with your Micro amp?

 

[vo328]

Quote:

Originally Posted by la_marquise And I am loving them already! They brought back all that I missed about the K501...and reminded me why I also have MS2s in my collection: 1.Fresh from the box, the soundstage is INCREDIBLE. Not quite as broad as the K501s, but definitely nice to not be smack in the middle of it all (was just listening to MS2s before FedEx man showed up.) 2.Female vocals sound more nuanced, 3-D in comparison to the HD580s. I never really noticed how much PJ Harvey changes tones in the same note until today. Or how hard she bites into her words. 3.Not a groovy set of cans though. With my DT880s or HD 580s, I really feel like tapping my feet and flowing with the music. The K701s make me listen critically, so it's becoming more of an intellectual excercise right now as I try to place instruments, breathing pauses etc. 4.DO NOT LISTEN TO RAP WITH THEM, IMO!! Somehow, it's managed to take the bite out of the "Hustle and Flow" and "Training Day" soundtracks. DJay, Al Capone et al really sound...refined? 5.Much more comfortable than the K501s. It's like the DT880s, but with a firmer grip. I am not sure whether I can deal with the MS2s for a while now...It's like resting my abused ears within comfy doughnuts right now. 6.My friend tried them, and is 95% convinced that he'll be getting them instead of the RS2s... *K701 smiley* Overall, I am finding it to be the most revealing and analytical of all of my headphones. Then again, it could be because I am meeting them after 4 days of Grado/HD580 listening!

La_marquise, what were you driving the 701's with?

 

[warpdriver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vo328 Warpdriver, are you driving the K701's with your Micro amp?

Yes, and the Micro DAC as source. I think you'll love the K701's with the Micro amp

 

[Ayreonaut]

I'm driving the K701 with my MicroStack. With the easy to drive HD555, I could tell little difference between the Micro and the headphone jack on my Denon reciever. With the K701, there was a marked improvement in punch/authority with the Micro.

My impression posted yesterday in another thread:
Quote:

Originally Posted by Ayreonaut Took 'em for a spin at home on my reciever's headphone out. Very, very nice. The highs were rather strident, but I fully expect that to go away after a few hundred hours of use. I left them playing constantly over the weekend and then brought them to work today, where I keep my MicroStack. (I'm a cubicle head-fier) Boy, these are gonna be great. Already ahead of my old HD555 by leaps and bounds in the dynamics, soundstage, and bass departments. If the stridence wears off like its supposed to, I'm gonna be a very happy camper for a long time.

I've been skimming through my music trying some tracks of different genres to get a feel for what strengths are already apparent. The dynamics are great but what really blew me away was vocals. I can hear the air in the room with the singers. The treble detail was such that I heard Diana Krall part her lips right before she began to sing.

 

[donunus]

Whats the street price on these babies by the way

 

[warpdriver]

It's the integration of the bass to the mids to the treble that really struck me when I was listening. It just sounds so balanced, there is no peakiness at all, the treble does have a slightly brittle quality right out of the box, but it's starting to go away after some break-in. The mids are really good, I didn't expect it after some people complained about the frequency response curves. Vocals sound completely wholesome....perfectly fluid.

I don't mind the color, I really like the aesthetic design, modern with a classic design cues. As some people pointed out, it *looks* like an expensive set of cans.

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by warpdriver It's the integration of the bass to the mids to the treble that really struck me when I was listening. It just sounds so balanced, there is no peakiness at all, the treble does have a slightly brittle quality right out of the box, but it's starting to go away after some break-in.

What the heck does "brittle" treble mean, anyway? One of those audiophile terms I've never gotten. Does it sound like it's about to break up or something? Or is it a sort of delicate quality?