Brand new K701

[tassardar_ 0]

Heh just got my brand new K701 today. Kind of sad though that the moment I got a new set one was up for sale in the classified >.< Lol anyway thanks to stereo for providing me great service. I got to test a whole range of headphones together with my sister before deciding on the K701. The competing headphones were HD650 and W1000. Also tested the all mighty GS1000 for the fun of it.

 

My sister being a musician is way better in describing the qualities of the headphones lol. W1000 was just too upfront and all the music including the background is just being thrown forward. Too much quanitity too little quality. HD650 was very balanced, clear and had quite alot of air in them. K701 was the top for clarity with the best emphasis on the correct elements (Dunno how to phase them properly so pardon me )

 

K701 had the correct balance in the sound and the best clarity to boot among the lot. Its biggest weakness was that the soundstage just wasnt wide enough. W1000 had a fantastic soundstage but the sound was to mechnical with too short of a decay time. HD650 on the other hand lost out in terms of clarity and comfort.

 

Following my sister advice I chose the K701. Currently burning them in to see how good they can go.

 

On the other hand, my sister did note that the GS1000 was just fantastic. Shes a pure musician not a audiophile and doesnt use any expensive equipement to listen to music like I do. She felt that the GS1000 was just 1 step above k701 in almost any aspect. As a first timer, she felt thought the gs1000 wasnt worth the 1.6k price tag but definitely a 1k+ headphone paring a hifi set.

[Absolute0 0]

Interesting observations. All the cans you auditioned are some of the most popular and acclaimed ones in the market, and more likely than not, personal preference and system synergy would dictate one's choice.

 

As you have rightly done, the best way to decide would be to audition all of them yourself. And what better place than SE or Jaben to do that?

[tassardar_ 0]

Indeed lol. But dam i saw ur k701 classified. Could have got a burn in one from u!! lol Anyway if ur selling any of ur other high end gear do tell me kekeke.

 

Yeah auditioning them is important. at this price point, its all about preference and synergy. Quality is really insignificant in difference lol. My sis told me tat she prefer gs1k though and tats wayyy out of my budget -.-

[sghound 0]

u know what? i had the exact same experience when i got my 701 from stereo. i tried almost all the top cans you've mentioned & more. after going thru all the cans, the AKG tops them all easily. it's a huge veil lifted, and played the best thru more genres than the rest. as for the GS1000's, i easily preferred the cheaper RS1, but my skull could never take the Grado discomfort. excellent drivers though.

 

here's the tricky part. the 701's were driven by a most excellent headamp at stereo, the Higher Fidelity HF-HA01. i only realised that when i took the whities home, burnt it in continuously in the corner of my storeroom for at least a month. the existing amps i had, dugood ea-600 & ibasso P1 just could not drive the 701's without breaking up and congestion during complex passages, the bass was also difficult to wring out. all this while, the superior staging and super smooth mids and highs were still there. i then proceeded to look for the ideal all over town. borrowed a friend's Creek & Rega headamps, but they sounded worse than my amps. tried the MF X-Cans V3 hybrid, Lehmann SS, Diva hybrid, Sugden SS, Lite Audio Mosfets, they're all good amps in their own right & but with the 701's they still suffered from congestion. they just didn't give me the same effortless drive like the HF could. and all of my auditions were using sources that were many times more expensive than the budget Marantz stereo uses.

 

thus i might have to save up for the HF after a tiring search.

 

Heh just got my brand new K701 today. Kind of sad though that the moment I got a new set one was up for sale in the classified >.< Lol anyway thanks to stereo for providing me great service. I got to test a whole range of headphones together with my sister before deciding on the K701. The competing headphones were HD650 and W1000. Also tested the all mighty GS1000 for the fun of it.

 

My sister being a musician is way better in describing the qualities of the headphones lol. W1000 was just too upfront and all the music including the background is just being thrown forward. Too much quanitity too little quality. HD650 was very balanced, clear and had quite alot of air in them. K701 was the top for clarity with the best emphasis on the correct elements (Dunno how to phase them properly so pardon me )

 

K701 had the correct balance in the sound and the best clarity to boot among the lot. Its biggest weakness was that the soundstage just wasnt wide enough. W1000 had a fantastic soundstage but the sound was to mechnical with too short of a decay time. HD650 on the other hand lost out in terms of clarity and comfort.

 

Following my sister advice I chose the K701. Currently burning them in to see how good they can go.

 

On the other hand, my sister did note that the GS1000 was just fantastic. Shes a pure musician not a audiophile and doesnt use any expensive equipement to listen to music like I do. She felt that the GS1000 was just 1 step above k701 in almost any aspect. As a first timer, she felt thought the gs1000 wasnt worth the 1.6k price tag but definitely a 1k+ headphone paring a hifi set.

Edited May 11, 2007 by sghound

[tassardar_ 0]

Hmm lucky I tried according to my budget. Stereo had the amp that I used so I used it as my benchmark equipement. Seeing how capable the headphones Is, I probably need a better source and amp in the future but tats later keke. On a side note, I notice the K701 leaks a considerable amount of sound. At comfortable level, everyone around me can listen to wat im listening. Grados on the other hand doesnt leak as much lol

Edited May 12, 2007 by tassardar_

[Absolute0 0]

the existing amps i had, dugood ea-600 & ibasso P1 just could not drive the 701's without breaking up and congestion during complex passages, the bass was also difficult to wring out. all this while, the superior staging and super smooth mids and highs were still there. i then proceeded to look for the ideal all over town. borrowed a friend's Creek & Rega headamps, but they sounded worse than my amps. tried the MF X-Cans V3 hybrid, Lehmann SS, Diva hybrid, Sugden SS, Lite Audio Mosfets, they're all good amps in their own right & but with the 701's they still suffered from congestion. they just didn't give me the same effortless drive like the HF could. and all of my auditions were using sources that were many times more expensive than the budget Marantz stereo uses.

The K701's sound great out of most mid to high end amps (and in fact the Ray Samuels portables), but they can really shine with a good amp that can pump lots of current. But I'm surprised they sound congested with some of the amps you listed, given their calibre. I suspect the problem might lie with other components in the chain, such as a less forgiving source compared to SE's budget Marantz.

 

On a side note, I notice the K701 leaks a considerable amount of sound. At comfortable level, everyone around me can listen to wat im listening. Grados on the other hand doesnt leak as much lol

I was under the impression that Grados leak the most due to the very open design.

[tassardar_ 0]

Headphones are really a grade higher compared to IEMs. After using the K701 for several hours, I can clearly see the difference is quite a huge gap. Even the triple.fi compared to k701 seems weak in almost every aspect lol. But headphones just need a damn good amp and decent source to really make it shine. Any good sugestion for a mid range desktop amp. Preferrable something with extremely low maintenience

[Absolute0 0]

Any good sugestion for a mid range desktop amp. Preferrable something with extremely low maintenience

 

Then you'd probably looking for solid state amps. I've used the Headamp GS-1 and it is very competent. You can also try the Ray Samuels HR-2, the Heed Canamp, the Corda Aria/HA2 MkII SE. Actually there are so many amps on the market nowadays, it's tough making a decision when you can't audition them all!

 

[tassardar_ 0]

Hmm their price is also mighty high but hehe thanks for the recommandations. For tube amp wise at the price point of abt 500 any good one to recommand?

[kyaw 0]

Hmm their price is also mighty high but hehe thanks for the recommandations. For tube amp wise at the price point of abt 500 any good one to recommand?

 

maybe a used Cayin HA-1A? I am eyeing on the Woo Audio tube amps myself.

[loop_ 0]

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.p...229933HEADPHONE

http://www.cattylink.com/CAT-6210.htm

 

At usd2xx it beats the ppx, according to the reviewer...sounds very interesting. Beware of tube amps if you want a low maintainance one though..you'll just end up buying more and more tubes..

 

 

[tassardar_ 0]

Pretty much why im looking for solid state lol. But tube amps have their advantages over their ss counterparts. Only thing is how do I find a ss amp arnd here lol. I dont really like importing stuff >.< (K701 on import is way cheaper but I always love to test out and have local support for them). So far I only import the hornet and it took longer then expected to reach

[loop_ 0]

problem is that the singapore home-headphone amp market is a bit too small la...jaben and se carry mainly portable amps...very tough. Importing is hit-and-miss but with an active classifieds you can always sell at a discount..to people like me...

[tassardar_ 0]

And I will start bleeding tons of cash lol. Everytime I do a conversion I lose money lol. Good thing about audio gear is that even at second hand they rarely lose their quality maybe except their asthetics. Currently the only thing im eyeing in the forum is the gs1k but at 1.2k if i get it i wont have a decent home amp to run it (ATH HA20 is decent but seriously a waste on such a gd phone).

 

Source isnt that hard to find though, just the home amp which is a pain in the ass unless importing.

 

The K701 i notice is a little bright when first used, but the brightness kind of tone down over time of use. Its getting better but still a long way off from my speakers >.< lol

Edited May 13, 2007 by tassardar_

[PPkiller 0]

u know what? i had the exact same experience when i got my 701 from stereo. i tried almost all the top cans you've mentioned & more. after going thru all the cans, the AKG tops them all easily. it's a huge veil lifted, and played the best thru more genres than the rest. as for the GS1000's, i easily preferred the cheaper RS1, but my skull could never take the Grado discomfort. excellent drivers though.

 

here's the tricky part. the 701's were driven by a most excellent headamp at stereo, the Higher Fidelity HF-HA01. i only realised that when i took the whities home, burnt it in continuously in the corner of my storeroom for at least a month. the existing amps i had, dugood ea-600 & ibasso P1 just could not drive the 701's without breaking up and congestion during complex passages, the bass was also difficult to wring out. all this while, the superior staging and super smooth mids and highs were still there. i then proceeded to look for the ideal all over town. borrowed a friend's Creek & Rega headamps, but they sounded worse than my amps. tried the MF X-Cans V3 hybrid, Lehmann SS, Diva hybrid, Sugden SS, Lite Audio Mosfets, they're all good amps in their own right & but with the 701's they still suffered from congestion. they just didn't give me the same effortless drive like the HF could. and all of my auditions were using sources that were many times more expensive than the budget Marantz stereo uses.

 

thus i might have to save up for the HF after a tiring search.

 

 

hmm... what kind of input is available on the higher fidelity?