[SteveFord]

My source was a Sherwood S-3000V tube tuner.
The Jolida with new JJ Tesla tubes worked better than the Woo Audio 6 for amplification.
In the end I  preferred the more immediate DT880 sound for conventional headphones and sold the Jolida and the AKGs.

[Bob2]

Hey Terry,
Please no need to apologize. Your original post was just the spark I needed to give the 701's a little love.
I believe that there has been a problem with them from day 1. I'm glad that you are enjoying how your 701's sound. Very cool! I'm going to look into repairs but won't invest too much.

Adydula, I have been using my pc as a source. I have an asus xonar sound card in it. This is feeding a music fidelity dac. This has a tube section in it. This feeds a Woo Wa6 amp. Although this is more of a lo-fi set up, it's where I'm at for the moment. Been using this with my HE-500's which is marginal power for these.

Currently looking for new headphones that will work with my gear...oops. Think I just derailed this thread.
My apologies Terry!

[charmerci]

headphone output of a yamaha rx-v870 receiver  (tone controls engaged.  bass dial set at 3o'clock.  treble dial full-out, "bass extension" is on).

AudioSource model eq 100 equalizer  (and i have this adjusted to allow a "boost" at 30hz and 60hz, a mid-range "boost" at 1khz,

 

[adydula]

Hi Bob,

I see Asus now makes a usb dac...$599 or so.

You might want to try an external USB dac to your amp to see how it works with the 701's...

The ODAC from JDS Labs is a inexpensive USB Dac to try....

Alex

[Bob2]

adydula,
Thanks so much for the info. Did not know asus was building dacs.
I'm new to dacs and just getting to know the Music Fidelity dac I picked up just before christmas.
It has a tube stage which seems to pair well with my tube amp. Also usb output.
Thanks, Bob2

[adydula]

http://www.asus.com/Sound_Cards_and_DigitaltoAnalog_Converters/Xonar_Essence_One/

Fyi..

Alex

[ajzepp]

Had a K701 set on loan from a friend for a couple weeks and didn't care for it. Ran it out of an 02 amp. I tried to like it. I wanted to like it. I really did. But I couldn't. And this set was well broken in and competently driven.  Didn't like them any better driven by tubes at the Woo audio room at CAF either. Thin... hard... bright... Not my cup of tea. Insert standard "to each his own"/ymmv disclaimer here.

When the price dropped on Amazon, I jumped on a pair and like you, I REALLY wanted to like them. I loved their look and they were very light and comfortable. In the end I just could never adjust to the weird highs they had (to my ears). The low end wasn't exactly robust, but what was there was very clean, which I liked a lot. But every so often the highs would just screech at me and I sold them a few  months later. I don't regret trying them out, especially since I know so many are fond of them...there are just better options out there for me.

[brooklyn]

I am a true novice with headphones but I've been using the AKG Q701's for about a month now with a PS Audio GCHA headphone amp from a Mac Mini source. My first impression straight out of the box wasn't good but they now sound much better.

These headphones sound very neutral top to bottom and agree with much of with the OP describes. I don't find any harshness at the top end, as a matter of fact, I would like a tad more sparkle. I think the amp might be a little to laid back for these headphones but it's hard to tell with my limited experience.

With good recording these headphones really shine, the sound stage is awesome and the bass is nice and tight and controlled but there are times when the high's are a little laid back as mentioned above.

I think the brake in period is over and would be surprised if I hear any difference from this point on. Overall, I believe the 701's was a good choice for my first serious headphones although I would like to try a different amp in a few month's and see how that goes.

     

[Noseyears]

Gaming with the Q701 is a wonderful experience, they have an impressive soundstage with accurate bass. I've found that they really benefit from more powerful amps.  Quincy Jones and AKG worked really well to improve lots of things over the K701.

[adydula]

Funny,

I just got 2 new video cards for the gaming pc and was using the Q701's with the O2 amp and ODAC.
Playing Skyrim....OMG what a wonderful sound presentation....really life like and awesome....

LOL

Alex