AKG K-701

I've had this pair for years now and absolutely fell in love with the design in the first place. It was said to be very comfortable and I wasn't disappointed, even though the bumpy headband could cause some pressure at times if not properly adjusted.

The soud definition was asounding, and the frequency response great, even if it sometimes felt like the lows could benefit from a small bump.

My major concern was the lengthy, undetachable cord, which I replaced with a detachable custom one at some point.

It lasted me 7 years before one of the drivers failed, but for the money, I'm happy and I WILL buy the same model again.

Hi

These headphones sound excellent when driven by a good amp and look quite stylish in a retro kind of way. They are only 62 ohm impedance but have a low sensitivity of 93dB/mW so whilst not needing a very high voltage they need plenty of current. A decent solid state amp with low output impedance is ideal (I use the open source O2 from Epiphany Acoustics) - a tube amp with high output impedance could interact with the low impedance of these headphones and cause anomalies.

The only criticism I have concerns the headband as many have commented on before. The underside has eight hard bumps which start to dig into my bald head after a while and become uncomfortable. I corrected this by sticking some light foam over the central few bumps which contact the head and they are fine now. Comfort rating is 2 stars vanilla and 5 stars after my low tech mod. Non baldies probably won't notice anyway.

The sound signature is very different from my Sennheiser HD650 - the K701 is much "clearer" to me. They have a reputation for being bass shy but if properly driven (see above) there is plenty of deep bass when needed. Both headphones sound great, just very different. I like the K701 particularly with smooth jazz, acoustic guitars and vocals. They are also good for games as the transients have great "punch" for gunfire and explosions. Sonically the K701 is the same as the K702 and Q701 just different aesthetically and with a fixed cable.

Hope this helps

Christopher