Whats the HYPE with the AKG 701s

[vai-777]

I have a pair and have done some extensive A/B tests between the SENN HD 600 and SENN HD650 and find the AKGs to be
1. The brightest of the bunch (those who think that the 701 and hd600 are close they arent!)
2. Must turn volume WAY up to get to the same sound levels as the SENNS (I used a SPL from radio shack)
3. They dont have the detail that the SENNs do, not even in the higher frequencies.
4. The soundstage is close but not quite there.
5. MIDRANGE DOES NOT EXIST ( put on a copy of HYSTERIA and see (hear) what im talking about)
6. They are FASTER than the SENNS.
7. Makes almost everything sound as if RICK RUBIN produced it (think early SLAYER) - (BEES in a TIN CAN)
8. UNINVOLVING.

So I have heard about the burn stuff 300 hours or so they say. And all he talk about them needing a proper amp (HEED). However I dont understand why I can plug in my SENNS ( 300ohm) into the HEADPHONE jack of my MARANTZ 5001CDP ( no I dont have an amp yet) and they sound great, but the AKG 701s sound awful?

Also do the AKG 701s even have BASS or is the set I have defective, I thought the SENN 600s were a little light/neutral on BASS, but the AKG bass seems to be non exsistant (this coming from someone who doesnt like too much BASS to begin with)

 

[Davesrose]

*Gets out the marshmellows and lawn chair for this!!!!* I'll just pop on my Senns and watch the flame war. But IMHO, both the HD650 and k701 gets overhyped here. It's always the first suggestion for when someone is having problems with their setup: well just get the HD650 or k701. The k701 is getting more overhyped because it's the most recent headphone, that's all.

 

[Duggeh]

Vai-777 why do you insist on continuously posting diatribes against everything youve heard which isnt an HD6x0 INCLUDING a massive amount OF capital LETTERS WORDS when you DONT EVEN HAVE PROPER HEADPHOEN AMPLIFICATION TO MAKE YOUR COMPARISONS A BIT FAIRER.

As for my opinion of the K701, I am one of the ones of the opinion that they are very similar to the HD600, and I prefer the HD650 to both, and the Ergo 2 more than all three.

If you dont like them, then sell them and buy one of those HEED amps which you seem to lust after so much. But more importantly, try to realise how TROLL LIKE your posting often is.

 

[auris]

I don't think it's hype. You prefer Senns to the AKG sound. I prefer AKG's so much more than Sennheiser it's not funny. Personal preference.

That said, the K701s are power hungry and demand an amplifier to sound anywhere near their best. You are not listening to yours under optimal conditions. If you really like nothing about them at all, I would not bother with an amp...just sell them.

 

[TimmyMac]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duggeh /img/forum/go_quote.gif ...INCLUDING a massive amount OF capital LETTERS WORDS...

Thank you. I came here to post this.

 

[vai-777]

Quote:

Originally Posted by auris /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't think it's hype. You prefer Senns to the AKG sound. I prefer AKG's so much more than Sennheiser it's not funny. Personal preference. That said, the K701s are power hungry and demand an amplifier to sound anywhere near their best. You are not listening to yours under optimal conditions. If you really like nothing about them at all, I would not bother with an amp...just sell them.

Ther are some things I like about the AKGs but I am worried that the HEED will not be able to resolve all the issues, BASS being the most prominent issue at hand.

 

[finbad]

You have Electro-acoustic transducers for converting electric signals into sounds. The HD-650s..... What are you stupid.....

That's a rhetorical question, yours ;-}

 

[vai-777]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duggeh /img/forum/go_quote.gif Vai-777 why do you insist on continuously posting diatribes against everything youve heard which isnt an HD6x0 INCLUDING a massive amount OF capital LETTERS WORDS when you DONT EVEN HAVE PROPER HEADPHOEN AMPLIFICATION TO MAKE YOUR COMPARISONS A BIT FAIRER. As for my opinion of the K701, I am one of the ones of the opinion that they are very similar to the HD600, and I prefer the HD650 to both, and the Ergo 2 more than all three. If you dont like them, then sell them and buy one of those HEED amps which you seem to lust after so much. But more importantly, try to realise how TROLL LIKE your posting often is.

I really want to keep them, Im not trying to be a TROLL but as you may know most of society is very DEFENSIVE ( maybee thats why caps bother them so much ) I am really just wondering if I have a defective pair of AKGs

Is the BASS meant to be so distant in the mix, it really rides underneath the music as if it were being covered up or somethong. I know it a new flat wire technology being employed and I dont have anything but SENN to compatre to at the moment but they really remind me af a set of $50 sonys, unless this BURN in thing is for real and the HEED is a miracle box I can see them being worth what they cost

 

[vai-777]

ps they dont sound good out of my Arcam Alpha 5 either.

Seriously if anyone has the SENN 650 and the AKG 701 besides me please listen to somethiong that has a prominent bass line or rock in general (HYSTERIA if possible as that is the album I like to use most to compare phones) Have both phones unamped please and tell me which one reproduces music better.

For that matter try it with the 600s if you have those 2 I cant see the AKG 701S sounding anything like my 600s.though my 600s are 7 or 8 years old with thousands of hours on them the 2 phones are really like apples and oranges, night and day, democrat republican you get the idea... I seem to be one of the few who think this because I heave read other threads saying the 701 and 600 are almost identical in sound.

 

[vai-777]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hi-Finthen /img/forum/go_quote.gif You have Electro-acoustic transducers for converting electric signals into sounds. The HD-650s..... What are you stupid..... That's a rhetorical question, yours ;-}

High brow humor is just as bad as low brow humor when the poster has no sense of humor, or no sense at all.

 

[MaZa]

K701 is known to be bass light despite what frequency graphs show (they should have MORE bass than HD650 when looking that graphs!). Amplifier helps, but it will never reach the lush color of bass that sennheisers provide.

You might get used to them though. Try putting Sennheisers aside for a while and listen K701 only, when you get the Heed that is. Let your ears adjust to their soundsignature. If still not liking them, sell them. There are lot of people willing to buy them i believe.

 

[Darwin022]

um... I like my 701's. Had them since February.

They are comfortable and sound very decent when amped.

That's what mattered to me when I ordered them.

 

[norseman8485]

vai-777, please stop SHOUTING!!! Honestly, my heartrate increases when I read your posts.
That said, every headphone has its own quirks and the 701's is that it needs a lot of burn in and a good amp to shine.

 

[finbad]

Nonsense is an inexperienced poster comparing headphones without any appreciation that any given phones potential is directly tied to that which is feeding it the signal. For the ideal potential of any phone to be revealed, this principal of thinking of amp and phone as being one, is a rudimentary prerequsit to understand. However, you are sure that is not the case therefore, further discusion as to the threads bombastic proposition is useless.

 

[JSTpt1022]

The k701s are not all hype (my opinion posing as fact). But, if you insist on not amping them properly, they will not sound all that great, or at least not up to their potential. Also, the k701s actually have more bass than the 650s, as shown in the frequency respone graphs from headroom. The two just present bass completely differently. IMO the 650 presents bass as a musical event, a sound, where as the 701 presents bass as from an instrument in a distinct space in the soundstage.

Sometimes I prefer the 650, sometimes I prefer the 701, it depends on my mood, my ears that day, and what I'm listening to. The two are easily equal though in terms of a quality headphone listening experience.