wah you can always take it out any wash it ma

AKG K701 Review - Part I

Burn-in period: null

A big thanks to Walabies, I'd received my K701 at 11:35am today. The box was really huge, but when I open the inner box I was rather disappointed to see the K701's size. It's not as big as the pictures displayed at Headfi, and certainly the cups ain't as big as a CD as what some Headfiers described.

Close examination on the build quality, and I would rate it a B. I won't say the build quality is top notch, but the plastics are of high quality (the material resemble those Lego blocks). And lolz, I place the AKG to my nose - fresh new leather! The attached cable was freaking loooooooong (now the AKG is on my head and the cable is all over my legs)! Unfortunately the cable is rather soft (when compared to Grado) and the ¼" plug looks rather cheap.

Ok here comes the SQ review. Equipment wise,

Source: Creative EMU0404 PCI (EMU patchmix the ASIO strip was set to -7DB whereas the main mix is at 0DB)
Headamp: Little Dot II+ with stock tubes
Cables: PcWork's Canare ¼" EMU custom breakout, Midi Specialist's Belden ¼" to RCA
Software: Foobar2000 v0.9.4.1 on ASIO
Comparison cans: Well burn-in Grado SR80

Initially with my LD2+ paired with the SR80, the volume knob on the amp is set at 12 o'clock position, but for the K701 I need to turn another quarter to 3 o'clock. Sufficient to say, the LD2+ manage to pump enough power to the K701. Good thing lolz as I always worried that I need to change another amp after getting the AKG.

First song I'd fed was Jane Zhang's我用所有报答爱 (The Banquet theme song). Initial impression was obvious: no more "in-your-face" music. It sounded a distance from my ears, and the AKG manage to pick up a little more details than the SR80. Surprisingly I picked up something unique bout this song. At some part of this song, Jane Zhang's high keys actually lasted much longer as from what I heard from my SR80 (meaning she can maintain the key longer than what I heard from my Grado). And also I can easily distinguish the position of each instrument. But on the negative side, K701 doesn't give me the "touching" feel when I listen to this song. The feel just ain't there.

Next song: Jane Zhang's 天下无双 (神雕侠侣's theme song). Close my eyes and immerse myself, and I can actually feel as if she's singing in the mountains. Very very airy! I never like this song on my SR80, way too high pitched. But I would say this song sounded decent on the AKG.

Then I tried the Ultrasone test tracks. The funny part is when the first track starts I immediately turned my head to the right. Geez, the soundstage was freaking scary, as it really sounded as if it came from outside of my room!

After that I tried some pop songs, but frankly speaking the AKG sounds bad. Honest. Really bad. Muffled, blurry, bass ain't deep enough compare to my SR80. I thought it's only me, but my girlfriend gave the same feedback also. It only excel in wide soundstage. Oh well, gonna let it burn-in first.

nah, more like impressions immediately after i rip open the box. 2 hours past, and i would say it just got better

p/s: not sure this time is placebo or not. Need to listen back to my SR80 to confirm the changes in sound.

flat - yeah, its flatter than my Grado. Highs don't go that high, low ain't low either. But i would say the K701 is very natural/neutral. I'm listening to Musical Fidelity's free sample CD now, and its much more immersing on the AKG.

Analytical - not sure as i haven't done any detailed comparison with the Grado. I won't say they are the exact opposite of Grado in terms of sound signature. Lets say... tamer highs, not-so-deep bass, wide soundstage. I'm digging out all my classical now

i'm patient enough, but can't help bashing it due to its "inferior" sound quality.

yeah, LD2+ is good (free advertisement for you ). I don't have that song though.

Well i use classical to nitpick my Grado's weak points. Frankly, listening to classical on my AKG is much more immersing than on my Grado.

Can you PM me your phone number? I'll sms you when its convenient to come over. My gf's parents might be away from home for a few days, very soon...

The bass is no where near my SR80, for now of course. But i do notice the sound signature is starting to change on the AKG. Lesser muffled and blurry vocals, and the bass is there but not as punchy and deep as the SR80. Whole afternoon i had been lying on my bed picking up the extra details the AKG manage to deliver.

Both have their own pros and cons. Guitars still sound much better on my SR80. But piano pieces sound nicer on the K701 due to extended bass by the AKG. Classicals too. In simple words, we can draw a conclusion: Grado only excels in rock/pop.

Nah, i'm talking crap. This baby clamps my head so tight until it won't fall off when i lie on my bed. Heck the drivers are so protruded till i cannot sleep sideways

Who say i will never accept the AKG? When you told me that the AKG is totally opposite from Grado i was quite shocked. But to me the K701 is like an SR80 with tamer highs, weaker bass impact, wider soundstage.

Wait, that means the K701 is no where near a Grado already As what i said earlier, i bought the AKG to taste different sound signature (and to listen what's with the K701 hype). I might regret getting the RS-1 as the price i paid might not justify the satisfaction i expected.

I tell you, the AKG is a keeper. Gonna feed this bugger at least 500 hours of sweet music before attending the 17th March meeting.

i can easily accept the AKG's sound signature. Tamer highs does allow me to listen to them for a longer period of time. Gonna let it burrrrn till the bass pops out.

Hmm... violins sound sweet on the K701.

same here, i'm diggin' out all my classical APEs.

@ijan are you using the K701's stock headphone stand? I'm getting really fed up with it. Duh, its so light and whenever i lift the headphones up the base comes up together (because the cable tend to get stuck with the base).

Now i kept the stand in its original box already. Both my Grado and the AKG are sharing a mug tree.

its half a meter longer than the Grado's cable but it is not as well-built as the Grado one.

nono, its gray in color and it ain't as thin as mouse cable. Its soft though. I'm thinking of changing the stock 1/4" plug to a metal one.

imho for jazz my i still prefer my SR80. I only have one jazz album from 蔡琴 and it sounds nicer on the Grado. I guess all comes to user preference though

Track 1 has wide soundstage, but only for the FIRST time you listen it. This is the track that made me turn my head to the right. And my gf says it sounded like from outside of my room too. (Note: this comes from a fresh pair of < 30mins burn-in K701). When i listen to it for the 2nd time, i don't have this special feeling anymore.

As for the seawave track, here's an interesting discovery. When you close your eyes and listen to it on the SR80, you'll feel as if the water is just at your neck level. But on the K701 the water is at my chest. Both cans displayed amazing clarity but unfortunately i only can hear the plane fly by on my AKG and not on my Grado.

Drums track... er i need to let my AKG burn-in longer. The bass is still rather weak for now.

let me continue
"lying in the heaven of music, and i lift my arms for the coffee...
and all the sudden i knocked the coffee off and it spill on mt LD MT...
and here i am, back in hell once again"

i listened to this particular track on both my AKG and Grado, and i'm pretty sure it is the sound of rain. It shifts from side to side slowly, and i could hear winds blowing as well.

honestly i'm interested on DIY cables, but i only like the plugs and connectors (not much interest on cables). So far the prettiest plug i've seen is the Canare F-10 Thinking of getting a 1/4" stereo male to replace the one on my AKG.

Here's the link: Ultrasone Test CD

Can you recommend any 1/4" stereo plugs that are high quality? The examples above are RCAs right?

this Neutrik NP3X looks nice. where can find other plugs locally?

the plug on the K701 has this cheap look. Whole thing is rubber without any manufacturer logo. But it is gold-plated though.

The whole K701 is a fine piece of art, pity they didn't redesign the plug

you mean the plug? what do you wanna do with it?

not going to upgrade my headphones anymore, so won't be selling it off lo. But you may listen to it during our July meeting (by that time hopefully i'd squeezed the bass out)

then how are you connecting them together now?