Customer Reviews: Read 13 more reviews...
 Closest thing to the sound of live instruments November 4, 2007
K. Swanson (Austin, TX United States)
25 out of 26 found this review helpful
How much do you like music? Do you ever shut off your life entirely so that you can listen to your favorite music alone in a dark room for hours at a time and let your mind float away to a more perfect world?
If music is your joy, your balm, your solace, your raison d'etre, then I can't think of a better way to spend 270 bucks. In fact, after owning the 701s for a year, I'd say that I would gladly pay a grand for these and not mind at all.
I was a Sennheiser man for over 25 years, as AKG cans always sounded a little too processed for me. I preferred the open soundstage and realism of the Senns. But these 701s quite frankly blow away the Senn 650 and 600, the other top-end audiophile phones that, along with Beyer, comprise almost all of the headphone market for those who demand the very finest musical reproduction available. At that level, these are beyond a bargain. They are a gift.
I look forward every single day to putting these on. They are not for ipods unless you have a decent little pre-amp, like the HeadRoom series. But plug 'em into a good component system and they will change the way you think about recorded music. They have deep, tight bass...real bass, not a simulacrum. I can hear Jaco's callouses on the strings, no joke. Classical recordings come alive to the extreme, as the mids are so sweet and rich that a good string section becomes a sensual delight. The top end is likewise astonishingly present and forward but always relaxed and welcoming. In short, these present perfectly balanced musical sound. The better the recording, the more they shine. My best pieces of vinyl have never sounded better. They are also the quietest cans I've ever (not) heard; nary a hum or crackle to be found.
One major caveat: they MUST be broken in for at least 300 hours before their true glory becomes apparent. I put my 701s in a drawer, covered 'em with sweaters and left Oregon's Out Of The Woods on repeat, loud, for 10 days when I got them. The harsh, brittle sound that made me cringe when I first heard them out of the box was replaced by shimmering joy. I was in heaven (that sublime album had something to do with it as well). Little did I know that there is an upper deck in heaven, and it showed up at about 500 or maybe 600 hours of playing. My friends the 701s now have over 1,000 hours on them, and as I listen to them at this moment I can truthfully say that only seeing a band live or playing my guitars gives me the same visceral musical thrill. I love good speakers, and a sub will give you bass that headphones never could, but the intimacy and sparkling detail of the 701s is untouched by even the finest electrostatic speaker.
Speaking of e-s, in the 70s and 80s e-s 'phones were the ne plus ultra. I heard many models, and not even the best pair for thousands of dollars sounded as clear and clean and warm and above all enticing as the 701s. These headphones remind me why I love music so much, and why it makes me so happy. And they do it every day, for hours. They also make dvds sound absolutely incredible; 24-bit recordings sound even more indescribably luscious. They sound great with all music, but well-recorded acoustic music, jazz, classical, bluegrass, opera, doo-wop, etc, truly comes alive in a way I had not experienced until I heard the 701s.
And did I mention that they are easily the most comfortable cans I've ever worn? I often forget I'm wearing them, even after 4 or 6 hours at a stretch. They look ok too, but who cares what headphones look like? It's all about the sound, and the magnificent engineers at AKG dialled it in right this time around.
I think that not only are the 701s the finest headphones you can find, but that at 270 dollars they represent value that is almost non-existent these days.
My very highest recommendation.
One of the very best mid-priced headphones November 12, 2006
Amazonian (San Francisco<P>San Francisco, CA United States)
19 out of 22 found this review helpful
Buyers have abundant options for mid-priced headphones, and at $300, you should expect stereophile quality. The AKG 701 is thought by many to be one of the very best all-purpose headphones. While they can handle pop music well, they really shine wth classical, where their elegance and smoothness of tone come to the fore. At the same time, they're extremely detailed - some feel too much so - allowing you to hear details in the music missing in some comparably priced headphones.
Strictly speaking, this headphone works best with a headphone amplifier. At the same time, it's one of the more comfortable headphones around, with pads that you almost forget you're wearing. The ingenious desgn automatially adjusts pressure for different heads, and the open design allows for a pleasing sense of space. That latter feature means that you won't want to wear these when you can disturb others, because sound does leak.
LIke many top headphones, these have been noted to improve with use as its diaphragm relaxes with use. While these headphones sound just fine out of the box, they improved markedly after a break-in period of up to 300 hours. (This is likely a function of the diaphragm's dual-layer design.) You can speed up the process by playing pink and white noise through the headphones at a solid, comfortable volume for a day or two.
I've owned a number of headphones, but the K701 leaves me comfortable with all types of music. At this price level, it's not so much finding the "best" headphone as getting the one that suits your tastes and needs most satisfactorily. After a long, hard search, the K701 does the trick for me. In its short time in production, users have rated it as tied for top headphone in its range. (The Senn HD650 is the other headpone, which boasts a lush sound, albeit with an overabundance of bass.)
Best headphone i've ever owned easily December 22, 2006
Travis Dockweiler (kalamazoo, mi USA)
19 out of 26 found this review helpful
I have way to many headphones. For years i've been trying to find the perfect pair. For the past year i've been using Sennheiser HD-555's and have had no problem with them and they sound good even when using a portable MP3 player such as the Ipod or Zune. They're dirt cheap now and if you don't want to pay too much, those are a good value for the money, but are not quite portable. You also don't need a headphone amp for them to sound good.
I won't go in depth with this review. Lets just say real quick that these make the HD-555's sound terrible. The difference is like night and day. I shouldn't compare the two since these cost three times as much! I've never been so impressed with a headphone until I heard these! I've tried out maybe a dozen headphones so far.
These sound perfect. Everything is balanced out just fine. There is bass, but it's not bass heavy like some other headphones. The detail of everything is just amazing.
I can't possibly list this as a negative, but these are hard to drive with just an Ipod or Zune. If you must listen using a portable device then please do yourself a favor and get a headphone amp if you don't have one. With the Zune and the volume at 20/20 the sound is a little low. The volume goes up louder on the Ipod, so maybe that would work better. If anyone wants to know, I can always check for you. I bought a headphone amp just for these! That lone is proof of how much I like them! I hated having to do that, but in the end it was all worth the extra trouble.
A good portable amp makes these sound twice as good. I have the Headgear "Airhead". It's not super cheap, but I felt it was worth it. Just make sure to set the high-gain option or you will not notice a difference in sound volume with these particular headphones.
These are somewhat comfortable. They don't really hurt my head or anything, but I wouldn't want to wear them for more than 6 hours! For comfort, the Sennheiser HD-555's are much better. When you put these on they automatically adjust to your head too.
It's too bad Amazon doesn't seem to sell these. They need to. I'm sure maybe they're a little more difficult to find, but it's worth the trouble. Just shop around for a good price. Even at the MSRP they would still be worth buying, but you can find them much cheaper.
Well, I think now these will be my new main pair of headphones. I really can't go back to anything else with these sounding so good.
5-18-2007 update:
I now use the Beyer Dynamic DT 990 as my main headphones. They're much more comfortable and you can wear those for hours without any pain. They also cost a hundred or so less and sound MUCH better too. Wearing the 701s for more than 3 hours was just painful. The DT 990's also can be driven by some ipods without an amp, although it's not suggested. The volume is actually more than loud enough too.
6-17-2008 update:
Sold the 990's and now primarily use the AKG 701s and Grado SR-80's. The 990's are more fun to listen to, but the 701s seem to offer more detail and a more accurate sound. Like some Sennheiser headphones, the 990's sound isn't really "colored", but maybe close. Just ordered the Grado 325i and can't wait to listen to them!
Excellent value, exceptional sound, great build quality March 17, 2007
S. Rose
11 out of 13 found this review helpful
I read the Stereophile review last year and it peaked my interest in these. Then my significant other moved in and naturally, I lost some of my stereo time. She doesn't always want to rock out when I do. So, I decided I wanted a great set of phones for times when I couldn't use the stereo.
Most people think these are ridiculously expensive. Normal people will look at you like your insane when you tell them what they cost. After all, even having spent a small fortune on audiophile equipment, I think they sounded expensive too! I thought it over a long time and looked at lots of phones. In the end I went with all the great things I'd read online and bought the 701s.
I am so glad I did.
Out of the box these headphones sound awesome. Which surprised me, as I know they need to break-in to sound their best. I did notice that listening to them at first was a little fatiguing, like the high end was slightly harsh. After a few hundred hours of playing; however, that is all gone - the highs silky and the midrange is some of the best I've ever heard. No, it IS the best I've heard. The soundstage opens up (and you thought it was already) and the naturalness of the vocals will just leave you speechless, breath taken - struck with awe.
They're that good. They really are. Bass is excellently defined, tight and there to all but the lowest octave. I think most of the concerns here are coming from people who don't realize you'll never get bass like from a speaker - after all, you don't *FEEL* headphones when the bass drum kicks.
If you settle for lesser headphones, you'll only wonder what if. Don't do that - at least not for this product in your life. If you love music, you absolutely will love these headphones.
The only drawbacks to these headphones I've found so far is - 1. it's easy to realize a whole bunch of your music wasn't recorded so well and 2. you'll lose some sleep staying up late listening. You won't be able to take them off to go to bed. Really!
When I was waiting for them to be delivered I was having some concern I'd spent too much on simple headphones. That feeling went away immediately. These phones are amazing and will let you hear your music in a way you haven't before. They are awesome. I love em!
Very realistic sounding headphones December 28, 2007
David C. Stephens (Colorado)
10 out of 12 found this review helpful
I've had my K701s for a couple of months now and I'm totally pleased with their comfort and performance. I use them when others in the house prevent me listening to my main rig. I'm using a Woo WA6 headphone amp to drive the AKGs, routing the source outputs through a Conrad Johnson CA200 that offers a bypass. The sources are a Pro-ject RM10 turntable through a Pro-ject Tube Box phono preamp and a modified Oppo 980 universal player.
The sound is very balanced, transparent and pleasing. These cans have very flat true bass with no midbass hump to screw things up. Some interpret that as deficient bass. I've seen charts showing the response flat down to 20Hz. If you like natural bass, you'll be very pleased, if you like pumped up bass, then look elsewhere.
The midrange is where the K701 really shines. I play trumpet seriously as an avocation, so I love a system that delivers natural midrange to get the sound of trumpet right. I also love female vocals. The AKGs reveal every nuance of a voice. The detailed character of every instrument is revealed.
In my opinion, you'd have to spend several thousand dollars on speakers to rival this accuracy and presentation. Headphones will never replace speakers as far as impact and presentation, but these AKGs really get the timbre correct and present a very realistic musical experience.
Dave
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