What sonic benefits have occurred from balancing your K701?

[DavidMahler]

Just wondering, for those who have taken the time and expense of balancing your K701, what changes can you make note of?
 
Please feel free to include who recabled your K701 or if it was DIY.  Also feel free to include whether it was Y split mod or one sided cable mod.  And lastly please feel free to extend more information about your amp.
 
Thanks
 
-Dave

 

[bhanja_trinanjan]

David, I feel that the K-702 sounds slightly better than the K-701. I am not the only one who hears these changes. It might be due to different material for the earpads. The K-702 also does not have that dreaded centre head bump and is very comfortable. I never balanced my K-701 but the K-702 has slightly better mid-treble integration to my ears, if not ideal. I am okay with the K-702 bass, it has exceptional control inspite of not being overly impactful. My Beyer T1 has more bass. No question. But I find a slight bulginess and smearing to the T1's bass, which spoils the party for me. But I am okay with more bass than the K-702 only if it is absolutely controlled. I would suggest that you get the SPL Auditor and a high end DAC to evaluate the K-701 one final time! Best of luck.

Spend on amp and source, not on balancing. Burson HA-160 and HeadRoom Ultra Desktop also good choices, Burson being more open and transparent and HeadRoom a bit more intimate.
 
P.S: Your username suggests you like Mahler symphonies... very large SS on the K-70x!

 

[DavidMahler]

Quote:

David, I feel that the K-702 sounds slightly better than the K-701. I am not the only one who hears these changes. It might be due to different material for the earpads. The K-702 also does not have that dreaded centre head bump and is very comfortable. I never balanced my K-701 but the K-702 has slightly better mid-treble integration to my ears, if not ideal. I am okay with the K-702 bass, it has exceptional control inspite of not being overly impactful. My Beyer T1 has more bass. No question. But I find a slight bulginess and smearing to the T1's bass, which spoils the party for me. But I am okay with more bass than the K-702 only if it is absolutely controlled. I would suggest that you get the SPL Auditor and a high end DAC to evaluate the K-701 one final time! Best of luck.

Spend on amp and source, not on balancing. Burson HA-160 and HeadRoom Ultra Desktop also good choices, Burson being more open and transparent and HeadRoom a bit more intimate.
 
P.S: Your username suggests you like Mahler symphonies... very large SS on the K-70x!

 
I DO love the Mahler symphonies!
 
I've seen people remark the 702s sound better too.  I've also seen the other way around and then I've mostly seen those who say that they sound identical.  I went with the K701s because I could find them cheaper and also because my girlfriend thinks the white looks much better, and believe it or not she was a major proponent in me wishing to auditioning these again.  I notice a weird cable issue though where the cable terminates into the headphone, it gets stuck and creates clicky sounds.  The K702 is possibly void of this issue.  Also, I saw the K702 at a store the other day and I wasn't pleased with the material as much as the 701, they looked cheaper, at least the black plastic felt cheaper, it was not shiny...maybe I'm crazy.
 
Regarding my setup......I think my home setup (as opposed to what I have at the studio which is also very very good), is very fine.  It is a TTVJ 307a and a MSB Platinum DAC III.  I don't know how this stands up against the Auditor but I would assume based on amount of current provided that the 307a is a very fine choice for the K701 in terms of driving the headphones.  My DAC is the most honest DAC I've heard to date and I've heard a lot!  I'm sure there are better DACs, but I wouldn't assume that they improve very much unless you jump way above 10k.
 
PS. I'd be curious in testing the K702 vs K701 theory.  If anyone has a pair of K702 that they'd be willing to ship to me for a day or two (I'd pay shipping), I'd be happy to supply some notes on the matter from my own experiences.