Akg K 701 Studio Reference Headphones Review

Perfect AKG studio headphones

I finally replaced my 11-year old AKG K 701 headphones with something newer - the Sennheiser HD600's. Actually, the HD600's hit the market before the now-discontinued K 701's but they appear to be a timeless design that still finds favor with studio pros and music lovers alike. I needed the higher impedance (300 ohms) of the HD600's as compared to the newer AKG K 712's - the replacement for the K 701's. The higher input impedance of the HD600's are a better match for my headphone amp which has a relatively high output impedance of 10 ohms. If you don't have a roughly 10-to-1 difference between the output and input impedance your system it could create some severe frequency response irregularities. I was hearing this with my old K 701's driven by my new headphone amp. The HD600's solve the problem, sound great and are very comfortable. I just hope they last as long as the AKG's...

At this price point, and after having owned 5 studio headphones over a few decades, AKG K240 MKII, K553 MKII, Sony MDR-7506, KOSS PRO 4AA & 4AAA, I have found THE Referred Personal Listening Tool.

These headphones are exactly what I was looking for when I purchased them almost 30 days ago. Basically I like everything about them: The sound is perfect for what I do in the studio, that is a sound and video editing very clear and transparent with a lot of detail. I think these are the best headphones I have ever owned. The AKG K812 headphones are very comfortable, well/solid built, and easy to adjust while on your head. I also like very much a stand that comes with these headphones. I purchase the headphones with the AKG HP4E 4-Channel Headphone Amplifier - all works great!

Comparing this to AKG K240 Studio monitoring headphones it is not as good. But it's very close. This was the only headphone I could find with a removable cable at this price point. Sound quality is very good but not excellent. This may be that I haven't broken the headphones in yet, but the sound stage is stiff and the treble with percussion is a bit muddled without good separation like on the AKG. These headphones have more emphasis on the low-end than the AKG 240's though. Comfort-wise these headphones fit better than AKG from the get-go -- it took awhile for the AKG's to loosen and stop squeezing my glasses to my head. However, I wish the pads were slightly bigger or oval shaped to fit the ears more comfortably. The padding is very soft. Another reviewer noted that the Polsen's 32ohm drivers cannot be driven by an iPad, but this is not the case. I had no issues when testing with normal volumes on an iPad Mini 2. The AKG K240's are 55 ohms in comparison and are decidedly quieter. A good purchase for good quality monitoring.

Been cross shopping studio reference headphones for A WHILE, finally decided on the ATH-M50x and couldn't be happier for the price. B&H had best price on the internet and shipping was legit lightning fast. Highly recommend both!

Wonderful pair of headphones. Great flat response, I use them for a quick reference away from my studio monitors.

I use Tascam DR-10L with few mics. Best result for me - AKG LC81 MD Reference, because I need cardioid. Very small and intuitive device!

I really enjoy working with 701 headphones. They are very comfortable allowing me to work for long hours without fatigue. Very accurate sonically. Great value for $.

Unbelievable sound and quality for the price. Absolutely wonderful headphones. I have headphones that cost 4xs the price of the 701’s and they don’t hold a candle to them.