Sennheiser HD650 vs AKG Q701 QJ

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Hi All,

Looking to get a new set of headphones.

Main purpose is for testing DACs and assuming a dedicated headamp.

The Sennheiser HD650 and AKG Q701 have almost identical pricing.

The biggest technical difference i see between the two is the impedance.

The AKG ones have a fairly constant Z about 50ohms.

The Sennheiser once have a characteristic Z 300ohms@1KHz but varies quite a bit.

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.


Any suggestions/experiences with either?
 
haha D2000 natural? not bad headphones at all particularly after a few mods, but they are not natural, not even close. they bass is so much the best mods are adding damping to the frame so it doesnt vibrate. the mids are somewhat recessed and the highs, while pretty nice, can be a little sibilant with some music. (I owned them for ~5 years, oly sold mine recently, they were heavily modded by then)

HD600 really isnt that rolled in the highs if you use an amp with enough voltage swing, AKG are nice enough, but I find them tilted unnaturally in the highs and they can creak. not a big fan of the whole Princess Leia thing theyve got going on either.

in short, of the 2 you are comparing, for longterm listening, I would chose the hd600. the 701 are quite neutral and the bass extension is there, but there isnt quite enough of it and te highs can be a bit tilted IMO. so unfortunately it really will depend on your taste, are you able to get to a headfi meet or store to audition them?
 
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all of them...D2000 are not even close to Neutral i'm afraid. still enjoyable for that bass thump.

HD600 are pretty neutral, my musicians monitors, JH-13 and Westone UM3X are quite neutral. I prefer a little boost in sub-bass for headphones and with everything else flat, not too much that it starts to dominate the mids, but it has to have good bass. I cant stand things that are called transparent and detailed because they lack real bass response; but the Denons were just too much for me in the end, I wasnt using them.

thats of what I own, but there are many options I could suggest here, most are in a much higher price-bracket though.

otherside: are these 2 about at your price limit?
 
The phones and headamp are a combination, just like amps, speakers and room.

I built Patrick's DAO amp for my modded k701's and for the first time I can hear these phones "working properly".

However, as Jeremy says, the Senn 600, rather than the 650's, make for a relaxed sound.

Perhaps you might add the Beyer DT-880s to your "audition-list".
 
yep, James has it there, the amp cannot be separated, I never actually owned the 701, just had several sets here for recabling and they either arent to my taste, or just none of my amps suited them. that makes them more picky with amp than I like, as I like different amps and it may mean they arent the best for testing different stuff. the hd600 really arent very picky, as long as there is a minimum of ~6-8v p2p voltage swing.

but you really should make an effort to try them, because they are very different headphones; different enough that you will almost definitely distinctly like one more than the other.
 
Ah Patrick,

Yes, tried the filter loading, but not those values - will try this one, and thanks - the Xfeed does tailor the perceived response a bit as well, and the re wiring also helps also.

Looking forward to your new headamp design next year, with all the bells & whistles!

Jeremy, all this headphone modding is right up your alley!
 
AKG K701

Audio Features/Specifications

Frequency Response: 10Hz - 39.8kHz
Maximum Input Power: 200 mW
Input Impedance: 62 ohms
Sensitivity: 105 dB SPL/V

I don't see the sense of driving these cans with headamps having more than 200mW unless we want a couple of curly fried voice coils.

That max input power will already generate about 116dB SPLs which we also don't want directly into our ear drums. 200mW also requires just 3.52V of input voltage at the 62-ohm impedance.

Tyll Hertsens' data here (lower right corner) http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/AKGK701.pdf are more like it for normal listening. 2mW! is aplenty...I don't think we even need headamps.
 
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Perhaps a few questions :

1. Does a moving coil still behaves like an inductor or resistor when the coil us under motion and induces back emf as a result of its velocity ?
2. Is this back emf constant with time, or in phase with the signal ?
3. Why would someone want to have a low output impedance, as well as fast current reserves, in e.g. his 100W Class A Pass Power Amp ?
4. What is your normal listening power level when using one of these power amps to drive your loud speakers ?
5. What would be the typical output impedance of an opamp (if you want to use them to drive phones) ?
6. If you have a headphone amp which can output say 200mW, what do you think the distortion would be at full power (200mW) ?
7. What would be the distortion of the same amplifier at say 10mW ?

Of course there are people who like to drive loudspeakers with 4W Class A tube amps.
No problem with that, everyone to his own taste.


Merry Christmas,
Patrick
 
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