[cAsE sEnSiTiVe]

To the OP: Don't necessarily worry about what others have to say about the 701, both good and bad. Your ears aren't theirs, and vice versa. What you look for and value most in music reproduction isn't always going to jive with other enthusiasts.
 
I bought the K701 approximately when they first came out, and found that they had many strengths. However, in the areas of reproduction I find most important to ME, they fell a bit short. So they became an ex-headphone. When price is figured into the equation, they are a very good value for your dollar, especially if purchased used.
 
As others have mentioned, it's not the easiest 'phone to drive, and if not driven properly, can sound a bit thin and anemic....which tends to rob one of the visceral impact that a good recording can allow you to experience.
 
I hope you find them to your liking when you receive them. Make sure to thoroughly break them in, and give them a fair shake by pairing them with good components.
 
My $.02

 

[naurispunk]

Quote:

 
1) Their amps were insufficiently powered (That K-on anime girl powered it with an Ipod)
 
2) K701 is really REALLY picky with amps, you can have a rather expensive amp and it wouldn't match well (e.g. Concerto for me)
p.s. The Concerto is a wonderful amp, it's really really good, but it just doesn't match with the K701 IMHO.
 
5) Lean on bass (mostly when underpowered), not good with rock
 

Goddamn amps. Are there any amps that have been generaly accepted as great ones with AKG 701? It seems there are 1000 threads about this subject with 10 000 different answers. The one that seems to be getting only good feedback is Burson HA 160 which costs $700. I've been toying with the idea of buying it (or at least starting to save up for it). But are there any other amp below that price that compares to Burson's? Something for like $300-$400?
 
Main attraction of Burson for me is that this thing seems to be good for just about anything so not only would that serve as a great amp for 701s but also it seems like a pretty good investment in general.
 

 

[leezhunjin]

Quote:

Goddamn amps. Are there any amps that have been generaly accepted as great ones with AKG 701? It seems there are 1000 threads about this subject with 10 000 different answers. The one that seems to be getting only good feedback is Burson HA 160 which costs $700. I've been toying with the idea of buying it (or at least starting to save up for it). But are there any other amp below that price that compares to Burson's? Something for like $300-$400?
 

 
Well, the K701 needs a warm amp with lots of juice. Would be grateful if someone told me what voltage and current does with the sound, because all i see in the specs is the wattage, which is V multiplied by I (Current)
 
I'm still very new to this hobby, only been in this for 2 years and i've got a limited budget. I have an Eddie Current ECSS which suited it rather decently, though it still can't power the K701 properly. I've heard it out of a Rudistor RPX-33 which was quite good.
 
For something around 300-400, there are people saying that the Lyr is good, i'll get back to you on that once i manage to listen to the Lyr with the K701. That might have to wait till August though, I'm overseas right now.
 
 

 

[grokit]

Some cheaper high-gain amplifiers have matched up well with the K701/2. I think that they respond well to a high level of gain as well as a high level of power. Some have reported that the Fiio E9/i works well, and I have used the Indeed G2 and the Maverick D1 with decent results.
 

 

 

[samh]

i've also heard a lot of good things about the 701/2 paired with the lyr (i'm planning on springing for a lyr eventually) - six moons audio ran a quote from one of the schiit guys concerning the 701/2 pairing with the lyr
 
 
 
 
On AKG K701: "One of my favorite headphones and Lyr is a scarily good match. It turns the K701 into one of the most naturally dynamic and resolving conventional designs available. Failing that try the K701s with Valhalla. Yes I know it makes no sense but it works." 
 
might be marketing goodness, but sounds like a nice endorsement to me
 
edit: here's the link http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/schiit/10.html

 

[ocswing]

If you ask Schiit themselves they say the Lyr is a good fit. I know that's still marketing, but it is straight from the horses' mouth as opposed to a review site. On the Schiit site itself they say that the Valhalla pairs well with the K702. I sent an inquiry about the Valhalla and the Lyr for the K701 and a future DT990, and Jason from Schiit responded that the Lyr is the way to go if you have the budget. Another plus is that the Lyr has enough power for the orthodynamics, so it's an amp you can reasonably keep while you upgrade your phones in the future. I'm sure there are some other options in that price range as well like maybe the Audiotailor Jade.

 
 

 

[Sylverant]

Want to know something funny?
 
Back when the K701 was featured in K-ON I remember the price on Amazon.jp jumping from roughly the yen equivant of $400 dollars to around $600. Crazy.

 

[Currawong]

There is also, very possibly, considerable inconsistency in the frequency response of the K701. I've come across reports of people comparing their K701s and finding they had radically different levels of bass response. As an adjustable vent inside the design is responsible for the amount of bass, there is a possibility that the setting of this at the factory changed at some point, or is inconsistent. Since, to a large degree, one's enjoyment of a headphone is strongly related to the amount of bass it produces and how that makes your music sound, even with high-end headphones, this would go some way to explaining the radically different levels of appreciation for these headphones.

 

[grokit]

I thought that my K701 sounded better out of the Lyr than out of my WA22, in fact the K701 has never sounded better to me. I didn't feel the same way about the Lyr and the LCD-2, I much prefer the Audeze out of the WA22.

 

[Mochan]

Quote:

Just as I sat and waited for my AKG 701 to arrive I noticed that a bunch of people are trying to sell and/or trade 701s. For example there were like 3 ppl wanting to trade 701 for 650 and not one who said he'd like to trade his 650 for 701. And that is just one example.
 
Is this just me being paranoid or is there something to it?

Estreeter gave two big reasons:
 
1. Improper Amping
2. Newbs thinking it's an instant great without really doing their research on preferred sound sig
 
There's more to it, though. #1 still holds true today. #2 was a big factor back in like 2006 or 2007 or so when the K701s were still popular and people were buying it because it was the flagship of AKG and widely hailed as the best audiophile class headphone at the time giving great neutral audiophile sound and unbelievable clarity.
 
As time went by though, price dropped, newer models were released, and lots of hate started piling up for the K701 and people started bringing up past models which were "superior" to the K701 like the K1000 and the K501. This brings me to #3
 
3. Low price. Because of the price drop I still theorize that the K701s lost their "top class" status and started to look like a cheap pair of mid-fi cans compared to the HD650 which still retail for almost twice the price of the K701. 
 
I don't put stock into the K-On angle since as mentioned the otakus who buy the K701 for that reason are going to keep it no matter what. 
 
4. Comfort. A lot of people report the K701 as "skull crushers" on the top of their head. Usuall it's from the older models with the 7-bumps instead of the newer model with 8 bumps. Apparently the central bump on the headband really digs into the crowns of their heads. I never had this issue with either 7 or 8 bump models but everyone's head is different.

 

[wberghofer]

 
Quote:

[…] On the Schiit site itself they say that the Valhalla pairs well with the K702. […]

 
I have noticed this too, and this was one of the reasons I purchased the Valhalla. As I later switched from my AKG K701 (62 Ω) to a Beyerdynamic DT 990 (600 Ω version) I noticed that this combination worked much better. Of course the general comfort of the DT 990 is superior, but I still think the size and the shape of the K701 earpads are excellent.
 
The person who decided to sell the AKG K701 with this crown of thorns style headband should be punished in public. I don’t understand why AKG did not offer a smooth and plain headband as option.
 
Werner.

 

[naurispunk]

Here we go again - 6 posts 9 amps. It's pointless Seeing as there are so many different options it almost makes me think that amp is not that big of a deal as long as it has enough power.

 

[kn19h7]

Quote:

Here we go again - 6 posts 9 amps. It's pointless Seeing as there are so many different options it almost makes me think that amp is not that big of a deal as long as it has enough power.

You'll be "forced" to appreciate the differences if you go further in this hobby.. especially with the k701 in hand

 

 

[naurispunk]

Quote:

You'll be "forced" to appreciate the differences if you go further in this hobby.. especially with the k701 in hand

 

I know I know. I'm mostly whinning about this because I feel that format of "Forums" doesn't seem like the best when it comes to helping someone with this kind of decidion. Creates more confustion than  actually helps.

 

[kingtz]

I know I know. I'm mostly whinning about this because I feel that format of "Forums" doesn't seem like the best when it comes to helping someone with this kind of decidion. Creates more confustion than  actually helps.

It's not the format of the forums so much as the nature of this hobby. On the bright side, you have options!

As others have mentioned, the Valhalla does work well with the K701. I borrowed a friend's K701 for a couple of weeks and it sounded much better than I expected on my Valhalla. Ultimately, I still prefer my HD650, but K701 wasn't as sterile or anemic as I thought it might be.