[megawzrd]

AKG 501s or AT ATH-A700s?

Ok well I am in the mood to try out some new cans lately and my wallet is extended for headphone purchases. I recently upgraded from sr80s to sr225s and now I have some new hd595s burning in right now.

My quick impressions:

beyer dt990s: very comfy, nice bass, but mids were a tad veiled and highs were too sparkley (so I sold em).

grado sr80s: very nice start to the grado line, little grainy though, pad somewhat uncomfortable for long listening periods, and sound can be fatiguing (up for sale right now)

sr225s: I like the extra extension in the bass, more refined, still dealing with the fatigue of the grado sound issue and superaural pad comfort

senn 595s: my latest aquistion, just yesterday actually, I am loving the laid back presentation even though this is a more forward sounding senn I am happy how they complement the 225s, love the pads, just like i had loved my beyer dt990s




Here are the two I have narrowed it down to. They are almost the same price at the souces I have looked at:

Akg 501s: I liked hearing about the liquid mids, I would also hope that I would get one of the ones with the "brown ring" pads that up the bass a bit

Audio Technica ATH-A700: seems to be a very nice closed can, I am a little afraid of highs being a little bright, as long as they are only at or below grado level I would probably be fine, also very comfy looking.



Basically I am leaning back toward circumaurals now (until I see some reviews pop up and bite the bullet, I think the grado gs1000s will be my next and final grado; at one time my plan was sr80>>>sr225>>>rs1 but I think circumaurals are calling my name.) So in the meantime I want to get a broader experience of sound out there and that is why I am looking at the two. Thanks.

Happy listening.

 

[cmk]

What sort of music do you listen to?

 

[yellafella321]

i voted for a700...and i just happen to have one for sale...CHEAP

all things aside, the a700 is a great headphone. It was my first "real" headphone and its very very very close to the a900. It works great without an amp, and improves a bit with one.

the high's are definitely below grado level.

 

[muckluck]

Don't get the A700. Please Don't

.

<--- suffers buyer's remorse (sp?)

 

[megawzrd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmk What sort of music do you listen to?

I listen to everything except country, banda, polka, opera...

seriously though: rock (all forms), hip hop, electronica, trip hop, alternative, metal, jazz, instrumental, classical, r&b, soul, funk, folk, ambient, ...and a whole slew of sub genras/stuff I probably forgot about.

I am not trying to get "the one can to rule them all" but a wide range of performance would be nice. I have read reviews saying akg 501s are lacking in regards to music compatability as most people just list jazz, classical use.

 

[skylinedo]

might wanna go w/ something a little more top tier than the hd595 then

 

[Uncle Erik]

I haven't heard the AT, but don't think you can go wrong with the K-501.

There's a thread here about K-501 bass. It *is* there. You just need an amp with some current and don't expect it to overwhelm the other ranges. The bass is deep and clean. Also, you probably need a good 200-300 hours on a pair before it really comes out. I think some former owners gave up on them before then.

At any rate, take a serious look. In my book, they're second only to the K-1000. Possibly the GS-1000 will take that spot, but I don't have a pair of those yet.

 

[nickchen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik There's a thread here about K-501 bass. It *is* there. You just need an amp with some current and don't expect it to overwhelm the other ranges.

Maybe it is existant if you have superhyper-audiophile ears, a total "anti-bassheadism attitude" and a 1000$ equipment. If only one of these lack, they are a bassless catastrophy for the average listener IMO.

 

[megawzrd]

Well it looks like the 501s are clearly in the lead. I am not surprised since I see a lot of love for these here on head-fi. I am just surprised the ath-a900 supporters didn't weigh in on the a700 too much. Looks like I will probably be going with the 501s.

Feel free to continue to comment/vote, I probably won't make my final decision until the end of next week.

Thanks.