Reviews by szoze

szoze

New Head-Fier
Pros: high-end sound, imaging, balance, details, comfort,
Cons: can be too bright (too good, too resolving?) for some people
This headphone really has it all. It is easily comparable with other headphones costing twice it's price. Shame it doesn't get more love it really deserves here on head-fi. 
 
A highly musical headphone with good bass, open mids and very detailed treble. It will probably earn a legendary status with time for it's unique sound and great comfort. Well done Beyer.

szoze

New Head-Fier
Pros: Beautiful sound, balanced, otho bass, sweet treble, comfortable, good allrounder
Cons: Short cable
400i is in my world actually different beast to the old HE-400 and should have another name. HE-460 would be more suitable I think. The sound is much more balanced than the old HE-400 which makes it suitable for different stiles of music. The sound of HE-400i is very clean, transparent and life-like. Compared to much more expensive headphones it can get a bit bright and congested in the mids. This is only when compared to planars costing more than double its price. HE-560, the big brother, has a bit clearer (more refined) mids, better soundstage, little less pronounced bass and a tad more treble energy. Overall the sound signature is quite similar. I am not sure if the price difference ($400) is justified in this case. The little sibling HE-400S has a bit less bass extension, messier and less defined mids and a bit more treble energy (although 400i has a bit more detailed treble anyway). The price difference of $200 is not that big but probably worth the "extras" in the sound of 400i. 
HE-400i is a worthy headphone and a nice introduction to orthodynamic headphones.
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marhol
marhol
agreed, HE-460 would be the more fitting name

szoze

New Head-Fier
Pros: Beautiful midrange, well balanced "old-time" sound, price
Cons: price, not sturdy enough
This headphone is one of the best headphones for classical music. Others in the same price range would be Audio Technica ATH-AD900, Beyer DT880, AKG k701. I think that k501 can even challenge some other dynamic headphones in higher price ranges. It is definately better than Sennheisers offerings HD650/600, for classical. This is a real classic, one of a kind.
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rezolver
rezolver
You nailed it szoze. You have an appreciation for what this headphone does best, classical music. Not only that, its fantastic with acoustics. Enjoy its sweet melodies. My K501's are with me for life.
pietcux
pietcux
Had the K401. Sadly sold it before I got a proper headphone amp. They sounded very balanced too and the comfort is still unrivaled.

szoze

New Head-Fier
Pros: pleasant sound, quite comfortable, easily exchangable parts
Cons: lacks clarity and transparency, overblown bass, quality issues (paint flaking, one of the drivers broke after three years)
As much as I cannot understand the overwhalming positive reviews of these headplones I admit that I actually can understand that people can get in love with their pleasant and forgiving sound. If you wish to get close to the soul of a recording however, you should go somewhere else because HD650 are neither natural or neutral sounding headphones. Compared to some other cans (AKG k70x or Beyerdynamic DT880 namely) these Senns are muddy to say the least and lack sparkle, transparency and sheer excitement. The bass is more prominent than with k701's but the definition of the same is not as good. Listening to the HD650 I really miss the sparkle and the excitement that should be there. When listening to accoustic music and classical there is no air at all. A huge amount of information, upper harmonics are simply absent.  It is important to say that I have had some issues with my pair. One of the drivers broke after three years of use. The paint on the headband started chipping after 2 years.
 
However I can understand that many people get in love with their sound. They sound "relaxing" in their own way and are very forgiving on the quality of the recording. The problem is that you can get all that and more at half their price.
 
Amplifiers used: Lehmann Black Cube Linear, Musical Fidelity X-Can v3, Matrix M-Stage
szoze
szoze
@miceblue No, they are definately not for everyone. People who like classical and other kinds of acoustic music should look elsewhere. HD650 sound too "dark" and colored.
alwaysec
alwaysec
each to their own
shinndigg
shinndigg
As an owner of both the Q701 and HD 650, I can say that they're both good. I find the sound of the Q701 to be too thin for a lot of music, suitable only for acoustic and classical. There's little bass to speak of. Vocals can sometimes sound recessed. It's also strangely difficult to amp for a low impedance can. It sounds great on something like Trey Anastasio and the Scorchio Quintet. But, at least in my opinion, Hd 650 beats it in most other genres.
That said, Q701 beats the 650s in the comfort departement if, like me, you have a big head, as they have absolutely no clamping force. It also has an enormous soundstage which makes it great for gaming. And they look amazing. They're the only headphone I always leave out on display. Chicks dig a guy with fancy looking headphones.

szoze

New Head-Fier
Pros: Detailed and natural sound, flat frequency response, glorious mids, nice-looking, somewhat comfortable
Cons: Need time to soften up
These are one of the best headphones I have ever heard, and I have heard a couple. I undoubtedly prefer them to Senn HD650, like them slightly more than Senn HD600 and Beyer DT880. Why? Because they have more natural sounding midrange and airier soundstage, characteristics that fit the music genres I prefer (classical and jazz). In terms of neutrality these are as good as Senn HD800. The bass is nicely extended and precise. Mind you, they need proper amplification. Don't expect them to sound great right out of an iPod. I have heard mine with MF x-can v3 and there is no synergy between the two. A better match is the cheap Pro-ject headphone amp. They sound even better if you drive them with a more powerful amp (ie Burson). I have mine coupled with a Matrix M-Stage V2 and the combination sounds really magnificent. All in all these are one of the best sounding headphones around, and one of the absolutely best values out there today.
GL1TCH3D
GL1TCH3D
@drblue
You can ask AKG about getting a recabling done (assuming the cable is the problem).

XxDobermanxX
XxDobermanxX
Great headphones
szoze
szoze
AKG k701 are really wonderfully sounding headphones at a ridiculously low price. I bought these after owning Senn HD650 and all I can say is that I felt like musicians on my records came out of the closet where they were hding for a very long time. Everything became so much clearer and more musical.
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