Comments about AKG K701 Open-Back Reference Class Stereo Headphones with Varimotion and Flat-Wire Voice Coil Technology:

The audio quality is the best I've ever heard from any pair of headphones. Extremely rich sound (they seem to sound much better after clocking in a few days worth of listening). The open back nature makes the quality better but it completely leaks the sound, making these really not for travel or portable listening, but mainly for use at home or studio. They are very comfortable, however the top strap can hurt after an hour or two (although it may depend on the shape of your head) --- which is really the only reason I gave them a four instead of a five. Amazing headphones, I don't suspect I will buy another for a very long time!

Comments about AKG K701 Open-Back Reference Class Stereo Headphones with Varimotion and Flat-Wire Voice Coil Technology:

I use these for audio engineering. Greatest reference headphones money can but. So so so accurate sounding. Not too much low end (thank god) perfect balance of sound. Anytime you bring a pair of these in a studio they always turn heads, and people know your doing something right.

Comments about AKG K701 Open-Back Reference Class Stereo Headphones with Varimotion and Flat-Wire Voice Coil Technology:

I have set up a Mac Mini as a music server and go out via a Firewire connection to an M-Audio Firewire 410 used strictly as a Firewire DAC. I connect my AKG K701 to one of the headphone outputs of the 410 for absolutely amazing sound. I can now appreciate the various High Resolution 24-bit 96 kHz and 176.4 kHz music files that could not be heard through USB connections. These are fabulous headphones. I recommend them most highly.

Based on other reviews, I allowed a full 140 hours of break-in using very dynamic music before the sound really opened up. Prior to that time, the K701s sounded OK, but were not very efficient.

Comments about AKG K701 Open-Back Reference Class Stereo Headphones with Varimotion and Flat-Wire Voice Coil Technology:

Please set your cd player for repeat and burn these in for a good long while. When done you will be rewarded with tonally accurate music reproduction like very few products can achieve.These headphones sit atop your head with an ease that will become addicting. The open design and space from transducer to ear allows the sound to fully develope and aids in the imaging and spatiality. [...] Highly recommended to all with good gear and good ear's. Cheer's !

Comments about AKG K701 Open-Back Reference Class Stereo Headphones with Varimotion and Flat-Wire Voice Coil Technology:

This is my 2nd pair...great

Comments about AKG K701 Open-Back Reference Class Stereo Headphones with Varimotion and Flat-Wire Voice Coil Technology:

Greate sound, and very comfortable.

Comments about AKG K701 Open-Back Reference Class Stereo Headphones with Varimotion and Flat-Wire Voice Coil Technology:

You hear the word "reference" get thrown around alot in the world of audio. Even radioshack carries "reference headphones"* For once we have a product that lives up to that name sake.

The k701's are true reference, in that they don't alter tone and have infact been individualy referenced in order to assure this quality.

With a pair of k701's one can actualy tell the difference between a stereo dvda and a cd. What more could one ask for in a pair of none balanced headphones sans amp? I mean other than a shorter break in time...and not pinching the top of your head to the point of migrain half way through Tommy.

Still givin the price and performance, well to the best of my knowledge you realy can't do any better.

You will have to lay down the cash for a decent headphone amp though, and I don't recomend a usb amp. Usb amps can only handle 16 bit audio, while most computers have 24 bit audio cards.

*Coby CV-200 "Digital Reference" "Super Bass" Stereo Headphones...You cannot be both digital and reference, let alone "super bass digital" while maintaining "reference". By very definition you are either "digital" or "reference", and once you throw in "super bass" you certainly can't be used as reference monitors - for anything greater than a Britney Spears album.

Comments about AKG K701 Open-Back Reference Class Stereo Headphones with Varimotion and Flat-Wire Voice Coil Technology:

I sold mine at a loss and kept my old Grado SR-80 ($ 95) headphones. The AKG sound pretty good, they just don't have the "live" sound typical of Grado Labs headphones. I use these headphone for hours before serious listening and also listen to them with an older Berhinger headphone amp. They also sound just fine with a Samsung P2 audio player.
The AKG 701 sound much more detailed
than the Grado and much more comfortable too, although the AKG are a little light on bass. (I know on paper they go down to 10 HZ, but in my opinion they don't seem to have enough bass, but as I said before they sound VERY detailed in case you like that type of sound).

Comments about AKG K701 Open-Back Reference Class Stereo Headphones with Varimotion and Flat-Wire Voice Coil Technology:

I found K701 superior to anything below $600-800. In fact, I do not see any reason to look for better headphones, as these reproduce full range sound in absolutely transparent and natural way. Perfect for classical music, jazz, or anything else.

Comments about AKG K701 Open-Back Reference Class Stereo Headphones with Varimotion and Flat-Wire Voice Coil Technology:

Very nice balanced sound. May not appeal to those who prefer boomy bass response, but these are very accurate. Can't beat then for the price.

Comments about AKG K701 Open-Back Reference Class Stereo Headphones with Varimotion and Flat-Wire Voice Coil Technology:

Use mine for long periods with very good comfort. Breathable fabric covered muffs eventually mold nicely to head shape and wick away moisture, aides cooling. Shapeable, elastically suspended headband stays nicely in place; one exception, a single pressure point exists at top-dead-center of the undulating underside of the headband, noticed only after hours of use. Fidelity, range, and dynamics are superb. Perfect if you desire some penetration of ambient sound, as in multi-tasking; they are intentionally designed not to be completely isolating. Very enjoyable after 50 hours of break-in to perfect the fit and open up the diaphrams. For pure music enjoyment in a quiet room they are spectacular.

Comments about AKG K701 Open-Back Reference Class Stereo Headphones with Varimotion and Flat-Wire Voice Coil Technology:

For the clearing out price of around [$] theseheadphones cannot be beat! The 702's won't soundmuch different at twice the price.

Comments about AKG K701 Open-Back Reference Class Stereo Headphones with Varimotion and Flat-Wire Voice Coil Technology:

i'm very satisfied with those headphones. a REAL audiofil ones .

Comments about AKG K701 Open-Back Reference Class Stereo Headphones with Varimotion and Flat-Wire Voice Coil Technology:

Very good stuff. The only minus is the size - I would never go out with them, but for listening music at home, or for Djing it's perfect.

Comments about AKG K701 Open-Back Reference Class Stereo Headphones with Varimotion and Flat-Wire Voice Coil Technology:

These AKG k701s are ridiculous. While doing a bunch of research on headphones, I noticed they were the bomb back in 2006, and had gone down in price. I pulled the trigger and bought a USB amp too. If you're looking for great headphones for home audio, these are the ones.I use them primarily with my computer and they are phenomenal for pretty much any kind of sound or music. Soooo much better than the Bose or whatevers I'd been using before. Like orders of magnitudes better.The real measure of how awesome these k701s are is how many people I've enthusiastically recommended them to: in a month and a half - 20 plus.[...]One minor quibble: packing it in its case and moving it from place to place can get a bit tedious. However, k701s aren't really designed to be traveling headphones. I leave them at home.

Comments about AKG K701 Open-Back Reference Class Stereo Headphones with Varimotion and Flat-Wire Voice Coil Technology:

The headphones sound great, but the open back is unsuitable for cubicle use. My bad, I didn't realize that the open back would be as completely transparent as it is. I'd like to swap them for the closed back version, [...]

Comments about AKG K701 Open-Back Reference Class Stereo Headphones with Varimotion and Flat-Wire Voice Coil Technology:

These are absolutely the best headphones I have ever heard. Ever. They are incredible. Try them out for yourself, and do side-by-side comparisons with any other headphones. If the 701's you are testing have already been broken in (they need an extremely long (at least 100 hours) break-in period) you will almost certainly prefer them over anything else.

Comments about AKG K701 Open-Back Reference Class Stereo Headphones with Varimotion and Flat-Wire Voice Coil Technology:

Great! Clean, crispy and rich sound. I would like a bit more bass, but overall awesome for all genres (heavy metal to classic)

Comments about AKG K701 Open-Back Reference Class Stereo Headphones with Varimotion and Flat-Wire Voice Coil Technology:

These are VERY good professional headphones, also for audiophiles. They are NOT great studio phones for overdubbing acoustic instruments or vocals in that they are open back and thus there will be some leakage. They ARE good for understanding stereo imaging, levels and placement. They are low-pressure, low-fatigue; I use them to work late at night for hours without problem while bothering no one with noise.
They are slightly over-hyped in the high mid-range (around 2K) but I understand this diminishes over time with burn-in.

Comments about AKG K701 Open-Back Reference Class Stereo Headphones with Varimotion and Flat-Wire Voice Coil Technology:

Ear cups are very comfortable and the sound is not tiring on the ears, long listening is possible... er probable. Headband self-adjust needs mitigation for comfort (hat, foam pad, rubber bands even). Working-in the leather strap works to an extent, YMMV.

Needs a headphone amplifier for optimal low-end response, though does quite well with what you give it. Also requires ridiculous amounts of burn-in... it's said between 400-800 hours of good use to warm them up, mine were pretty good about the 700 mark.

It's not for the bass-obsessed. Noisy homes also need not apply, as you won't be able to appreciate the fullness of the sound due to the open-back design.

I used to hate live recordings :P