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.
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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 Nataku from Calgary, Alberta, Canada on 2010-08-13
Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: Comfort, Sound
I bought these at the same time as the Headroom micro amp and it is one of the best purchases I have ever made.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you?
Posted by NatureSoundLover from Belgium, Ghent on 2010-04-28
Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: Superb staging and space, fast but not agressive, good price
Cons: Could do with just a drop lower base.
Their sound...well that would make me buy them still even if they had pink ribbons attached allover as well and a big litted up signature "the owner scores 30 in IQ test". I really couldn't care least after hearing the first sounds coming out of these.
Whatever you hear coming out of their drivers has some undeniable elements of naturality. That is the quickness which is not accompanied with aggressiveness and detail without sharpness. Amazing. I would not call them neutral because that suggests the sound is rather uninterestingly-appropriate. This is not the case with K701. If the source and amplifier are proper they are full of life. Also there is no low, midrange and high tones, the sound is one. That's a huge achievement in my opinion. Second and best thing about them is the placement of instruments. Its a problem of many headphones. AKG K701 can render the instruments precisely in distance and unravel all details of the recording space reverberation. Lots of realistic air effects. The flutes finally sound like real breath driven instruments and the piano calms you down and embraces you in a satisfying hug. Just close your eyes and it will be very easy to imagine participating in the concert. There is no colorification and no "wow" effect listening to these. They rather pull you in with time and let you know you like what you hear by the amount of time spent listening without a smallest each to skip any pieces off anything you put on.
Unfortunately I believe that most of what you can hear and what makes these headphones so different cant at all be measured. Its that affinity you get with the musicians and the instruments when you listen and forget yourself that speaks for itself.
These headphones are definitely not for people looking for quick rapid emotions. Rather than a "one night stand" you could have with Bayerdynamic DT880, AKG K701 offer lots of real love getting you much more committed to what you're hearing in the long run.
If there is anything more I could wish to change in headphones of such a reasonable price is a lower base rolloff. Ending at 50Hz K 701 leave you with a slight lack of depth and weight of the instruments. If the next version makes that up, I'm the first to buy them. Some more serious design would not hurt either but in the worst case, hell with it, i'll wear them, pink ribbons.
7 out of 7 people found this review helpful. Did you?
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 may 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: I looks pretty nice. It comes with a 2 year warranty. The stand it comes with is not great, and you should probably invest in something other than it if possible.
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Did you?
