new cans in the house

sucks2beme

I just picked up local set of AKG q701's in black.
The price was $100.
Good news- they look like new.
Bad news- they smell like an ash tray.
So I've done a couple things. An extensive cleaning plan to clear out the smell.
Not done yet, but it's greatly reduced.
While I had everything pulled apart, I did the bass port mod. So far, so good.
They seem to sound pretty good. At a 100 clams, very good.
I'm going to have to run through the Senns and the Grado ps500 to see
how they stack up. Off the top of my head, the ps500's were warmer, but
more to follow.

gudnoyez

Man getting that smell off of things is hard, try wiping them with a rag and vinegar, or put them in a box along with some baking soda that might help eliminate the odor. Sounds like a deal you got there. But having a pair on your head right next to the sniffer might be annoying.

sucks2beme

I pulled it apart. Pads, back foams and front foams. Al plastic was wiped down- smell is off that.
The inside front and back foams were washed out and dried on low heat in the dryer on a
sweater rack- so no tumbling. I wiped the earpads with cloth and citrus upholstery cleaner-
dried the same way. The smell has largely gone away. The leather headband and the pads
still hold a bit of odor. I had also let it sit overnight in a bag with a sock full of baking soda.
I will try immersing the pads in soap and water and doing the dryer trick again in a couple of days.
That's a lot of work to save $50-$80. But I needed to pull it apart anyway to open up the
bass ports to improve bass. It goes a long way towards making these a good overall set of cans.

sucks2beme

Ok- impressions.
The akg house sound is a lot different than classic Senn sound.
As noted by reviewers, there are some oddities in the low treble, and stock low bass is
quick, but could use some boost. With the bass port mod, better. In foobar
I'm using the advanced EQ, so I have a lot of control. Right now I have
a couple of db boost from 0 to 300 hz. I also dropped a couple db from 3k on up.
Good sound for it's price point. Keep in mind you can buy this one brand new for
$200 online. The hd650 is too heavy in the low end. The Grado ps500, unlike most other
Grados has a warm sound to it. Not HD650 dark, but a pretty good warm. The thing about
warm or dark in a headphone, it doesn't hit you with those tiresome quirks in a lot
of recordings.But it also doesn't give you the detail or sparkle.
The akg q701 with the mod and a bit of eq(nothing radical) sounds very good.
The fit is very good. The pads are very deep, and are large in diameter. No problems with
anything touching your ears.Also , it doesn't get warm like Senns can. Or kill you
with the rough, on ear sandpaper feel you can get from Grados. (note: old guys with
lots of ear hair know what I'm talking about. Ear stubble!). The fit reminds me of the
Senn HD800, which takes this idea a bit further. Some people may find the bumps on
the bottom of the headband to be annoying. They also come with a 10 and 20 ft
removable cord! Also, please be advised, if you don't plan on an amp, don't buy these.
They are power hogs. My summery, 100 smackers well spent.

AsSiMiLaTeD

I've got a pair of those laying around here somewhere, along with the 702 anniversaries. I should pull out both pair for some listening time...

txcoastal1

Just to let you know both you guys suck. I was pickin around the head phone booth at magnolia again to day and it's you guys fault for sucking me into that headphone room at Skips house.

When my wife asks for new purse money I'm gonna tell her you guys stole it.