wah you can always take it out any wash it ma

mayb he like the special smell n color...tak sampai hati wash it...

Audio i dunno, but for electronics i could even do on the spot upgrades. Plus i'm getting my schaffner now, but not for the whole house, so one socket will be filtered.

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.

Well... some commented the K701 is lifeless... sterile...
Too much Grado's dynamicness. Hehe...
Yeah, the soundstage is a plus at the beginning.
And the extension at both ends are promising.

wah so fast writing review.. It should be the impression under 2 hours of AKG701, rite?

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.

K701 is said to be flat and analytical..

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

let it burn and then see wat she can do on u.. be patient.. i heard k701 needs the longest burn-in time to be at her full potential..

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

haha, dun look down ld2+ power
u have this song?
闫学敏-鼓诗

try it and c

Huh? Opposite to my experiencing. It isnt as punchy as Grados but goes deep.
I would like to have both of them together but nothing is perfect...
Maybe Grados are more for pop/rock lover, no classical/orchestra for me please

This post has been edited by walabies: Jan 24 2007, 05:31 PM

why must using classical music to test a headphone?

If we are not familiar wif the music at the first place.. We dunno how much it had been improve, rite?

Testing headphone wif our familiar taste is still ok, rite?

So, when i can go over,Han?

Yes yes truly agree. I don't mind anyone test their headphones with... britney spears, leehom etc etc. It's ok as long as you like the music and enjoy to the fullness.

im loving it u Grado guys wont ever like AKG or Senns sound ler if you are so that attached to Grados. but yrh0413, u should haf gone to RS1..ur bad..ur bad if you say ur SR80 is punchy, try RS1, haha!

But over the time, the k701 kicks the RS1 butt to, in all genre except for bass impact and excitement.

Nevermind, ijan is obsess with AKG.
But I am OK with AKG sound.
Go for GS1k, or MSPro?

Ijan.. how many hours of ur AKG701 burnin process oredi?!

Still like it or not?! Or the hype oredi passed?

time to sell it at Rm800?(look at the HD650 in our 2nd hand market..hee..)

what hype? i dun hype man, u see me hyping anything Its getting close to 250 hours xd..and i can say sound signature changes between 180-220.

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.