[sinner6]

As an owner of the Sony V600, and the D5000, I would like to mention that the Denons are FAR FAR more comfortable, for the simple reason that they do not touch your ears. At All, nor do they have a heavy clamping force.

Regarding the "closed" aspect, please be aware that the "Acoustic Optimizer" the Denon touts in their specs is actually ports in the cup. These are a semi closed design that offer the best of both worlds in that they have the most of the spacious sound of open phones, while providing most of the isolation and bass of closed designs. I have trouble with open phones because the neighbor has a barking dog, roommate washing dishes or doing laundry, even the fridge and ceiling fan hum distracts me from the music.

The Denon's truly are the closed headphone for the open headphone lover.

 

[Pariah1]

Thanks for the info, and I wasn't at all trying to bash the Denon's or anything (hey, I've never even heard them!), in fact I'm certain they are a great pair of cans, especially the 5000's on up. I didn't know that about them either. Interesting idea.

 

[Pariah1]

Got the 702!

Haven't even been listening to it for 20 minutes, right out of the box with no "burn in", and I at least already like them.

I know that sounds like I'm a little let down or something, but I'm not, not at all. I'm just assessing it's sound as cool and detached as I can and thus I'm not going to start raving right away about how ZOMG!!!AWESOME!!!!! it sounds like some do. I also didn't psyche myself up about what to expect; I was just hoping it would sound at least "good" and thus I wouldn't be disappointed if I didn't have a religious experience right away like so many claim to.

But I am impressed, make no mistake. This can might not blow my 225i's away (and it shouldn't as those are a good/great can), but it is much more balanced, refined, detailed (hearing great micro detail already), smooth, accurate, and open than them already. It's more relaxed as well, but not at all laid back, it's just not so "in your face" and aggressive, but it's snappy, quick, and tight. And yes, it has more bass...it hits deeper and lacks the fake mid-bass bloat of the 225i's (and has more texture and articulation). Oh, and it's sooo much more comfortable!!! I can barely tell it's on my head!

That said, it seems the mids are maybe a bit recessed (well, compared to the Grado's of course they would sound like that!), with a slight slight upper mid "veil". But I think that is due to my tube amp and perhaps present tube (Tung Sol Black Glass NOS), as I noticed this a bit with the 225i's as well; and may just be the "tube" sound. Also the highs are a little brash, thin, or tinny. Not harsh or too bright, but not ultra refined either (at least not yet).

One thing I did think almost right away was: "I think I need a more powerful amp." I'm not sure, but it does seem the 702's are craving more power. I know that I can turn the dial up a whole notch above where the 225i's would be to get them to a good volume (like mid to mid high). More time will tell...

So so far damn good cans, and, in fact, in the time I spent writing this they are already impressing me more and more. I don't think these are going back anytime soon.

 

[Brandon7s]

As expected, my K701s came in today as well.

I have only listened to them for a total of about 20 minutes, due to having a busy day. They are burning in as I'm writing this from work though, and by the time I give them another listen they will have a solid 26 hours of burn in time.

I have not had any time to do an A/B comparison with my other phones, DT990\250, AD700, and my DT880\250's haven't arrived yet, so I'm probably going to save a more in-depth review and comparison to these for a later date. ESPECIALLY since I don't have a dedicated amp. I'm driving these with my EMU1820 right now.

Here's a brief comparison of my DT990\250 Pros vs the K701s. Again, no A/Bing, just going off of memory here.

So my initial impression, which seems to be similar to Pariah1's, is that I am VERY happy with these new cans. The detail is simply amazing. In the 20 minutes I was testing them out I heard all kinds of details in some of my favorite songs that I had never noticed before. The slight vocal shaking in Sufjan Steven's voice in the song "John Wayne Gacy Jr.", for instance. I had never noticed this on any other sound system. I can't wait to listen to everything through these and see what I've been missing all this time.

The soundstage is awesome. With the songs I listened to briefly, listening to a song by Sigur Ros (can't remember which one..) was the most impressive. I felt completely surrounded in the music. It was like the band was in a circle and I in the center of it all. It really adds another dimension to my collection of music.

As far as the sound coloration of the K701s goes, these cans are right up my alley. The highs are just lovely; full of detail, but without the sibilance that I was getting from my AD700s. No complaints here, for sure. And the mids were MUCH more present than in my DT990s. I guess the best way for me to describe them would be with acoustic guitar and vocals. If the DT990 Pro seemed like the singer was singing from 10 feet behind the band, the K701 sounds like the singer is just barely in front. Same with the acoustic guitar. To me, this sounds just right. Not too far forward, not recessed.

The lows are definitely lacking in presence, but they ARE well defined and clear. The level of bass quantity is very similar to the AD700; but the quality is certainly better. Also, somehow the AD700 sounds thinner in general. Maybe there's a low-mid drop in the AD700s that aren't present in the K701? The quality of the bass in the DT990 Pro is also below the K701s quality; though, of course, the AKG has nowhere near the quantity. I kinda like this, honestly. I'm not a bass head, by any stretch of the imagination; so this lower amount of bass lets me focus more on the parts of the music that REALLY interest me. I can imagine that the DT990Pro is a lot more fun when with movies and videogames; though I haven't tried the K701 with either yet.

In the realm of comfort, these are excellent. More comfortable than the DT990Pro, due to having less clamping, and more comfortable than the AD700s due to the pads NOT irritating my skin. HOWEVER, after 20 minutes of use, I could definitely notice the bumps on the underside of the headband. If this rises into a full-blown problem though, I can easily remedy this by taking a knife to them as several other members here at head-fi have done. I'll save that for it/when it really becomes an issue, in any case.

In short: the AKG K701 headphones I bought are definite keepers. The best part is, if I like them NOW, with just a the lowly headphone jack from the EMU1820 to drive them, imagine how good they will sound when my Matrix M-Stage SS amp comes in. Sure, it's a low-cost amp, but I'm hoping for the best.

- I'll probably post a separate review in a new thread once and my DT880\250s come in.


After reading how much I wrote, I gotta say.. I'm sorry if I hijacked your thread, Pariah1! It wasn't intentional.