So what's everyones beef with the K701's?

[Chekhonte]

I just bought a pair and love them. I know that they aren't liked very much around here but can't for the life of me figure out why?

[tkam]

To me they were just very boring and lifeless sounding phones.

[swt61]

Ditto.

I don't have a real strong dislike for them, but they just didn't impress me in any way.

[Dusty Chalk]

I'm in the minority, in that I neither love nor hate them. I did think when I heard them that they were perfectly good phones, if polite. Personally, I like polite -- your headphones shouldn't have to make the music exciting -- the music should already be exciting. At least they didn't err on the side of "weirdly colored" (GS1000 comes to mind). I never got a pair only because I didn't find that they did anything that any other phones didn't do, and were essentially open.

[mypasswordis]

There's a small bump in I think the upper midrange/lower treble, along with rolled off bass and treble. The pads along with the foam disc make things slightly muddy and lifeless.

[uberburger101]

They sound terribly dry and boring when underpowered (because they're such a bitch to drive).

[grenert]

I just bought a pair and love them. I know that they aren't liked very much around here but can't for the life of me figure out why?

I wouldn't say they aren't liked very much around here. I think some people, like you and I, love them, and others hate them. I've only heard two pairs of these, and I enjoyed both. Both pairs were well-used. Perhaps the drivers take some time to "develop?" Is your pair new or used?

I think they can sound thin relative to other headphones because, compared to something like the HD650, they do not have obvious mid-bass. My pair definitely has plenty of very low bass (e.g., kick drum).

The only beef I have with mine (well, the only one besides the weird, "space-age" design) is they really leak sound, to the point where they function as speakers for everyone else in the room.

[mypasswordis]

Perhaps the drivers take some time to "develop?"

Perhaps.

[mypasswordis]

first they are larval, then they become a pupa, and then they emerge as a better pair of headphones.

So did you hear a pair in the larval or pupal stage?

[Chekhonte]

LOL, I'll gladly sell the molted husk they shed after their pupal stage for a fair price.

I agree completely with the statement that they're thin sounding. The instrument seperation is exceptional even out of my zune/nuforce combo but like you've said they sound very thin with anything that been even moderately produced like rock music. With 20th century instrumental music or classical which is probably what I listen to half the time they are spectacular.

[blessingx]

It was a little weird to watch the K701s fall from grace quicker than most FOTMs.

I like them. My biggest beef is simply I prefer the HD580/600s across more genres and equipment. As tkam said, the K701s signature can make it a bit distant. Find the Senns a better middle ground between the AKG and Grados.

[morphsci]

Actually one of the problems with the K701 is how the headphones are wired. Recabling them directly to the right and left drivers opens up the frequency extension on both ends. As stated before, they are a bitch to drive (ala K340 bitchiness) and definitely suffer in the midrange when underdriven. However, recabled and edequately powered (balanced definately helps) I consider them keepers. My pair is a fairly low serial number, so keep that in mind. I also did not notice much burn-in effect on these phones. I need to get a pair of HD800's to be absolutely sure, but my current impression is that the closest phone I have heard to the HD800 is my K701, but I think the K701 trumps it in the midrange.

Edited December 6, 2009 by morphsci

[mypasswordis]

What about the HD800? That fell pretty fast.

About what I said before, I don't hate it in any way. I just find it inferior to pretty much all of the headphones I own that also happen to have cost less than it costs.

Edited December 6, 2009 by mypasswordis
dammit gotta proofread before clicking post

[blessingx]

...they are a bitch to drive (ala K340 bitchiness)

That's interesting morphsci. Makes me reconsider my power situation as the midrange is the biggest reason I side with the HD580/600. And I definitely agree there's a strong relationship between the K701 and HD800. More so than either with HD580 or K1000 (which I both have). The HD800 description of "K701 on steroids" is spot on in my book.

[Cankin]

I like K701 very much but I sold mine because I think it's about time for the new headphone from AKG.

[Chekhonte]

ug, don't tell me that the hd800 is the k701 on steroids. I want those headphones so badly that it aches already. Now I'm going to have to start selling some of the organs that I haven't already ruined.

...And yeah, the hd800's fell from grace pretty damn fast. Though I wouldn't say they fell as far as most.

[mrarroyo]

I have a fairly low number K701 (S/N 1437) and they took a very high number of hours to fully open up. Also re-cabling directly to each driver does indeed help open them up as well as normalize their presentation. IMO they are much better sounding than the Senn HD580/600 even with the Senn being re-cabled. Interestingly enough I prefer the sound of the K501 by a good margin (both re-cabled with APureSound V3 cable).

[Chekhonte]

I have a very high number--in the 28000's. Is there a known difference in sound between the old and new? By the way, that's a lot of fucking headphones they've sold. if their dealer price is around 150 dollars then they've sold almost 5 million dollars in this headphone alone. Not too shabby.

EDIT: these are used so I assume that they're already burned in. I have only bought 2 pairs of headphones new. I'm about as cheep as they come.

[TC_Shadow]

I have a fairly low number K701 (S/N 1437) and they took a very high number of hours to fully open up. Also re-cabling directly to each driver does indeed help open them up as well as normalize their presentation. IMO they are much better sounding than the Senn HD580/600 even with the Senn being re-cabled. Interestingly enough I prefer the sound of the K501 by a good margin (both re-cabled with APureSound V3 cable).

I had a semi-low serial numbered K701 (in the 4200s) before replacing it with the K501. I think K701 is trying to be too many things to too wide of a demographic. I thought K701 sounded great when I first got them (boy, did those glass breaking sound like they were next to me). However, over time I have come to realize I didn't reach out for K701 when I was actually listening to music. Not saying K701 is not musical, I just preferred other cans for the particular types of music I was trying to enjoy at any given moment.

[Filburt]

ug, don't tell me that the hd800 is the k701 on steroids. I want those headphones so badly that it aches already. Now I'm going to have to start selling some of the organs that I haven't already ruined.

...And yeah, the hd800's fell from grace pretty damn fast. Though I wouldn't say they fell as far as most.

HD800 sounds like 701 with less mids, some more low end (not dramatic, but significant), and maybe a bit narrower soundstage. I didn't think the HD800 sounded bad, but in music where I thought the 701 could really use maybe a bit more mids, it was like they were literally sucked out on the HD800. Fine for classical and some jazz, but I thought the 701s were markedly superior for most of my other music due to that problem *shrug*.

I definitely would not call it a K701 on steroids, though. It's really just its own thing, love it or hate it.

There is definitely a pronounced difference between old and new. The first pair I had, I thought was broken as it sounded very different from the three other pairs some people I knew had. I tried a new pair after that, and while at first that pair sort of sounded like those older pairs, after another month or so of using it it was back where the first pair was. Honestly I read the complaints about the 701 and I'm just not hearing it whenever I use it, and I've used several of the Senns many many times, particularly the 580 which I've done longish term listening on.

[Guest sachu]

Don't really understand the fascination with the K701..A fostex T50RP with limited modding will easily eclipse it not to mention any of the yamaha orthos are more than a match for it. The K701 just seems dull lifeless, slow as hell with really nothing going for it.

But I guess every headphone has its fans.

[naamanf]

I like my 701s. They can seem a bit sterile at times but sometimes it works with the right material/mood. I kind of liken them to a pair of studio monitors. Nothing super exciting on initial listen but there is a lot that they reveal.

[AmanGeorge]

I love my K701 - its presentation always draws me back. To my ears, from brief exposure at meets and at RMAF, the HD800 does sound a lot like a K701 on steroids, but I'm getting one in this week and will have a better sense after that. I think the Senns are the only in-production headphone that have (and actually better) the K701 sense of air and space. which I can really find myself getting lost in with the right music.

[en480c4]

Doesn't matter how they sound... They don't fit my head. While my head may be a bit bigger than average, it's not that big. And the pads pull up on the bottom of my ears. No go.

[Salt Peanuts]

I like my 701s. They can seem a bit sterile at times but sometimes it works with the right material/mood. I kind of liken them to a pair of studio monitors. Nothing super exciting on initial listen but there is a lot that they reveal.

Basically echoes my experience with them. Also, it probably helped that I was either driving them with GS-X or B22, IIRC.

Doesn't matter how they sound... They don't fit my head. While my head may be a bit bigger than average, it's not that big. And the pads pull up on the bottom of my ears. No go.

Yeah, I doubt I would have been able to use mine if I had more hair (I shave my head regularly), as my head is definitely on the big side. They did give me a bit of a headache if wore them too long, though to be fair, most headphones give me headache with the exception of Grados.