Headphones
AKG K 701 White
The long-time leader in recording studio headphones have given us the AKG K701, a top-of-the-line full-size headphone with fabulous punch, an up-front presentation and competence across the audio spectrum. These cans are nowhere near their potential out of the box; patience and a long break-in period will be well rewarded with a head full of snappy tunes. A top-notch and world class headphone.
Check our official HeadRoom 'B-Stock' webpage for GREAT open-box deals on this item!
Product Features:
- Outstanding detail and impact from close tolerance aluminum voice coil design.
- Lightweight and comfortable, durable and well built.
- Optional re-cabling for standard and balanced operation available.
- Easily replaceable ear-pads for extended user life.
- Very well engineer by this excellent headphone maker.
- 2 Year Warranty
What's In The Box:
- Storage Cradle
- 1/4" to 1/8" stereo adapter
Applications:
AKG Acoustics in Austria has brought their considerable audio engineering skills into sharp focus on their high-end dynamic headphone designs and produced an astonishingly superb-sounding pair of cans in their flagship K701 model. Getting it absolutely right at this demanding level of reference-grade audio performance is tough and the K701 gets pretty darn near perfection. These cans deliver a dynamic and punchy sound, articulate and clear over the full audio spectrum. Precise musical detail lovers should appreciate the clean punch and tightly focused bottom-end control of these headphones. Classical and acoustic music fans will likewise love the fact that the dynamic control moves right on up the frequency range to distinctly articulate every finger pluck and rosin-on-gut string texture in the sound mix. About the only thing that we can possibly say bad about these headphones is that those who like a very laid-back, mellow-sounding, or heavy bass presentation might want to look elsewhere since these are certainly highly refined, audiophile-oriented headphones that deliver a deeply expansive soundstage image along with a textural detail and a liquid immediacy that demands your attention. And oh!...what a lovely musical demand it is!
We highly appreciate when a headphone manufacturer does a nice job evolving their products and in this case AKG has done more than just a nice job. These cans have a number of unique features that create a pretty dramatic improvement over previous AKG 'best-of-category' headphones. Their audio response is directly improved by a brand-new proprietary AKG Varimotion diaphragm that is designed to provide better pistonic motion and acoustic control. In addition, a revolutionary flat-wound voice coil design allows for greater concentrations of the magnetic field within the voice coil, thus driving the element diaphragm with more authority, which delivers a cleaner, ultra-articulate sound. Our HeadRoom experience with the K701 is that it requires a REALLY extensive chunk of burn-in / play-time to fully 'relax' sonically & sound its very best, so please assume a MINIMUM 300 hours of play-time before the full audio pleasure of these cans is completely realized. The new 'ergonomically-perfect' earcup ear pads are a soft velour-type material, very comfortable, and are designed to point the driver at the ear for a more correct listening angle. The high-end oxygen-free copper headphone cable is 'bi-wired', which we assume means the return channel for each driver remains separate until it reaches the common ground connection on the 1/4" plug. We think the K701's white color scheme is quite striking and visually effective. And if you don't particularly like the color, you'll still love how amazingly light and comfortable these headphones feel on the head with their well-designed, albeit slightly oversize ergonomics. An absolutely world-class A-1 audiophile headphone and heartily recommended! GREAT job, AKG!
FYI: For listeners wishing to use the AKG K701 with portable audio players like iPods, MP3 players, & PC/laptop computers, a dedicated headphone amp of some sort is a must for maximized audio performance due to the K701's VERY low sensitivity -- despite its fairly efficient 62-ohm impedance rating. Our entry-level HeadRoom 'Mobile Line' portable headphone amps ($99-$159usd) will do the trick nicely but the more powerful, accurate, and dynamically-quick HeadRoom 'Micro Line' series of products come very highly recommended for this superb headphone.
Specifications:
- Cord Type: Straight Left-Side
- Coupler Size: Large
- Manufacturer Warranty: 2 Years
- Cord Length: 10 ft. (3 m)
- Weight: 235 g (8.3 oz.)
- Sensitivity: 105 dB SPL/V
- Driver Type: Dynamic
- Detachable Cable: No
- Connector Type: 1/4" with 1/8" adaptor
- Noise Cancelling: No
- Microphone: No
- Wireless: No
- Warranty: 2 Years
- Impedance @ 1kHz: 62 ohms
- Ear Coupler Type: Full-Size
- Acoustic Seal: Open
- Headphone Type: Full Size
Additional Resources:
Average Rating
Posted by Snozzwangler from Berkeley, CA on 2010-02-15
Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: Great Value, Balanced and Detailed Sound
Cons: Mildly Uncomfortable, A Little Bright, Needs an Amp to Really Shine
Comfort: These headphones are fairly comfortable for short term listening. They are pretty light, and not too tight around the head. My main complaint is that if you wear them for an extended period of time (2+ hours), the padded bumps on the bottom of the headband will start to irritate you.
Durability: I can't say too much about the durability of these headphones, as I mainly leave them at home. They aren't very portable headphones.
Other: It comes with a 2 year warranty. The stand it comes with is not great, and you should probably use something other than it if possible.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you?
Posted by StratCat from Cuernavaca, Mexico on 2010-02-11
Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: Cheaper than other high-end headphones, comfortable, great sound quality
Cons: Need a good amp (e.g. NOT a CMoy)
After gathering much praise and several awards soon after being launched by AKG, it's my impression that the pendulum swinged to the opposite side and the 701's have fallen out of favor with much of the audiophile community, with only a few loyal followers still singing their praises. The advent of other high-end headphones has also meant that these are somewhat out of the spotlight. Yet this is a good thing for those who want to get high-end cans at under high-end prices.
So what can I say about their sound ? Well, let me put it this way: If you swear by your car's powered sub-woofers that rattle windows a block away, do not get this cans; if you love the way your Grados' render Brian May's guitar in such a creamy, 2-inches away from your face way, do not get these cans; if you want the warm, relaxed presentation of your HD-600's, do not get these cans.
On the other hand, if you want to hear how the last decaying reverberations of an orchestra slam fade away in an auditorium , get them; if you want to listen to the sound of Charles Mingus' skin plucking the bass strings, get these cans; if you want to have an expansive soundstage that seems to extend beyond your head; get these cans. If you want to hear the CRACK! of a rim-shot in all it's transient glory, get these cans. In synthesis: they're detailed, fast, precise, unforgiving and image superbly.
To listen to acoustic jazz, chamber or orchestral music, and choirs (Beethoven's 9th, Vivaldi's "Gloria" and Orff's "Carmina Burana" are trance-inducing in the K701's) these have to be amongst the top contenders.
They're not as good for rock, but progressive rock - with all it's sound effects and soundstaging tricks - is rendered gorgeously (try Pink Floyd's "Atom Heart Mother").
And finally, though I haven't heard anyone else state this preference, In my opinion their fast dynamics, tight, precise bass, and great soundstaging makes them great for modern electronica genres such as trance.
Just remember: you need a good amp for them. They'll produce sound out of your iPod or soundcard, but it won't have enough volume, and dynamics will be stifled; you'll need to spend at least between $150 and $250 for a nice hybrid, or solid state amp.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Did you?
Posted by jimmyjames from Raleighwood on 2010-02-10
Recommend Product: No
Pros: articulate and detailed sound
Cons: too bright, a little to a lot of in your face
2 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Did you?
