AKG Q701 - These headphones just won't die
9mon 23d ago by lemmy.blahaj.zone/u/Kit in buyitforlife@slrpnk.net from slrpnk.net
I replaced the pads on my AKG Q701 headphones today for the 4th time. It made me realize that I've used these headphones for at least 40 hours a week for 14 years straight. I've had to repair the left side speaker solder joint a few times, but they're designed to be easily torn down and repaired. Truly BIFL headphones.
I've heard that the newer AKG K702 headphones are identical but I can't vouch for that. They go for around $250.
Plot twist: they listen exclusively to Russian shortwave numbers stations.
Close. I originally got them exclusively for ASMR listening, when ASMR was a brand new concept.
Did you also burn your tongue because you ate pizza before it was cool?
Huh?
Oh. :( That wasn't very friendly.
I was just goofin', friend :)
Aw ok, much love ❤️
Feel good about whatever you want :) I just always thought it was odd to kinda boast about when you find a certain type of art or whatever, but only after someone pointed it out. I've been guilty of the same thing many times, was just poking fun, not trying to be harmful, just playful I suppose
I recalled that joke from a teenage memory long ago. You're 100% right
That was a lot longer before 10 years ago.
The term ASMR was coined in 2010. I think it didn't really catch on until 2011.
I would have sworn you were wrong, but I guess I assumed that it was around long before I learned the "correct" term for it. Turns out I just learned it at the same time everybody else did, basically.
I see. I was thinking of binaural audio. My mistake.
The first time I saw the term online was in 2006/2007, long before people started making videos to try to trigger it.
That's impossible, the term didn't exist until 2010 when Jennifer Allen created it because she wanted a "scientific sounding" term to describe the sensation.
I remember where I lived and what computer I owned when I first read about it. I definitely didn't live there in 2010. I don't know who Jennifer Allen is, but is it possible she read the same web page I did and borrowed the term?
I have a set of nearly-10 year old Q701s (same headphones, just lime green and branded Quincy Jones)
Other than the elastic suspenders weakening (looks like yours did the same; they all do!) and the plastic sliders cracking, they've been great. I replaced the elastics and the pads, but I wish the sliders were easy to do.
Do you happen to have a link to the replacement elastic? I had no idea that it could be replaced
I used hair elastics, based on a repair tutorial I found on Youtube; let me see if I can find it.
Dental rubber bands end up being better/longer lasting in my experience.
I have those ones too! Complete with the broken elastic and clips. We need someone who’s into 3d printing AND audio to make a batch of clips.
AKG K702, $600 Canadian. Too bad. 🤷♂️
You can order them from thomann but you'd have to pay for international shipping. Probably still cheaper though.
https://www.thomannmusic.com/akg_k702.htm
There's also the k712 if you like more bass:
As a Canadian, I can say with certainty: check eBay, they’re usually listed for a lot less.
Damn. Maybe snag a used set on Ebay?
They used to be quite cheap. It's crazy to see them priced that high.
I left consumer gamer headset world when the new steel series replacement wanted to use software to do what hardware did on a previous gen where no software was required. I got a pair of these for $250 years ago. Absolutely the best move.
TIL that you can replace the pads. My AKG headphones pads are worn out and I thought I must buy new ones. Where is the best place to do it?
I got these pads for under $10 on Amazon. You just rotate the pads counter-clockwise and they pop off, no tools needed.
Thank you! Have to try that with mine 😊
Wow, that's a lot of time listening. Some headphones can be fatiguing, but these must not be!
Do you listen to music mostly?
It's a toss-up between music (almost entirely Lofi Hiphop), ASMR, podcasts, movies, and gaming. I originally got this set specifically for ASMR because I figured the soundstage would be great (it is) but found them to be well-rounded for every use case.
AKG has fantastically comfortable headphones.
I've got some Audio-Technica ATX-M50 headphones that are probably about that old. I've replaced the pads a couple times and the cable once but they're still going strong.
I got my wife a pair of the newer ATX-M50x about a month ago because she got tired of her cheap sets dying all the time. We'll see if the quality is still there on current models.
I got the M50x after my M50s broke, the plastic that holds the ear cup snapped. It's been about 7 years and they're still doing great, haven't had to replace the foam yet.
It's crazy how good headphones can be when you just buy a good set from a good audio brand. I am ashamed of how much money I spent on "gaming" headsets that wouldn't even make it a year and had shit microphones and audio quality in general. About 10 years ago I bought a pair of AudioTechnica open air headphones and I love them so much, and they still work exactly like the day I got them. Comfortable to wear all day too.
I spent $15 on a cheap Chinese Bluetooth headset that has lasted longer than any other set. I don't know why.
AKG 553 MKii checking in. I've had mine for years. Just replaced the pads and they're good as new
I recently treated myself to these Hifiman Arya Organic headphones along with a balanced cable and a proper audiophile DAC. Really hoping they last as long as yours, because I'm so extremely happy with them.
As a fan of Hifiman headphones... good luck. Their reputation is more or less the opposite of AKG and Beyerdynamic for this sort of thing. I baby my HE-6 because they are irreplaceable.
They are gorgeous too
Impressive
I found some K501s on the side of the road a few years ago. The only thing that needed to be fixed was the rubber band in the head band which was easy to replace. Apart from that these things are still perfect and I can see them working for another few decades. Truly great headphones.
ATH-AD700 from 2009.
Still using it when playing FPS games. Still with original pads since using generic pads will change the sound. Can't find pads replacement with original shape. Never have problem with cable and driver.
How do you do it? Wired headphones never last too long for me. The cable starts breaking after a while. What's the trick?
@cristian64
Possibly the quality of the cables *_and how you treat them_*.
I've never had a cable from a quality pair of headphones break.
No special treatment. It's good quality cable I guess. Cable lable ArtLink Titan Japan
The faux leather on my Beyerdynamic DT770 started chipping off the moment the Chinese bought Beyerdynamic. Go figure
Oof. The headband on mine isn't stock - it came with a bumpy headband that wore down over time. I swapped to this leather headband made from a scrap of recycled leather a few years ago and it has held up perfectly.
Yknow you can just say the specific company that bought Beyerdynamic that caused the quality dip and not "the Chinese"
Any headphones without a replaceable cable is just trash.
Usually the phones last forever. Its the cable that's the weak point
Pardon my ignorance, please.
What are those connectors?
That's quite interesting. I can see the benefits offered by each arrangement, curious to me that they opted to swap pin functions from 3-to-4 (as opposed to adding the extra ground on the extra pin and keeping everything else the same,) but I suppose this also ensures that things don't 'half-work in a weird way' if someone uses the wrong connection method.
For sure, I've replaced the cable on this set a few times due to getting tangled in chair wheels or my kitten chewing on the cord
I have a set of K553 PROs that don't die. I've had to epoxy the audio cable back into the can and replace the foam twice, but they're still going after 10 years. Love these things.
Those are basically a closed-back version of mine, right? They look badass.
Yours have that sweet leather strap and a different connection. I am not sure if the drivers are the same. Either way, I got these off of MassDrop before it was enshittified.
Damn, those look sick! Are they over the ear or on-ear? Hard to drive? I might pick up a pair to use at the office since open-back isn't a great choice for that environment.
Btw the leather band on my Q701 isn't stock. It's just scrap leather that I cut to shape when my old headband wore out. Got the scrap for free on a recycling group.
These are over-the-ear monitors for studio recording. I use them in conjunction with standard desktop monitors and a few other things to mix audio. They're not hard to drive, but they do have a lot of headroom and clarity. I have also used them with my cell phone occasionally without issue.
The band looks sweet. Good work.
Holy shit I completely forgot about massdrop. Man. What a throwback.
They are still around as "drop". massdrop.com redirects to their new site, but they aren't what they used to me IMO.
Yeah sorry I completely understood what you meant, I remember when you could find the best stuff there and then it went to shit. Like around ten years ago it seems.
I'd had a pair of K702s, and yes, the whole family is more or less just slight tweaks (K701, K701, K712, K7XX, Q701). I did have a part that kept wearing out though, the little elastic bands that let it auto adjust. They sell the part cheap, but since you need to order them from AKG, the shipping was killing me. I ended up modding them to not longer auto adjust but just fit my head specifically.
Edit: I'd like to shout out to Beyerdynamic for also being on this "headphones that just won't die" train. My DT-770s are easily as old as OPs.
Bad news: Beyerdynamic was purchased by another company this year, so that may change.
That is sad news indeed. The good news is that I already own two sets of Beyers and they will hopefully outlive me.
My modded Fostex T50RPs are ancient too!
I have zero intention of replacing them.
I replaced the pads on my akg k371. I don't listen much anymore but they're still ok
I have the Chinese clone version of these, Superlux HD681-AIR. They're only $25-30 but have flat mids, deep (but not overwhelming) bass that extends below 20Hz, and slightly siblant highs that can be fixed in EQ—but what really sells them for me is the perfect soundstage and imaging. You get amazing 3D audio from two drivers with no fancy software gimmicks required. In games you can pinpoint sounds with millimeter precision. And naturally this (along with the excellent bass response) makes them ideal for music and movies as well. It's A near perfect headphone for the gaming/entertainment PC.
No joke, I've bought and returned $500 planar magnetic headphones that didn't sound as good as these. That said, I'd recommend getting a good pair of velour earpads because the ones in the box are flimsy and cause ear pain. But for the price it is impossible to do better.
https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/headphones/measurements/brand-superlux/hd681-air/
https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/superlux/hd-681(this review is for the older, non AIR model but the two headphones are identical, other than a resistor added to the drivers in the AIR version to help address the siblance issue.)
That’s awesome. I’ve had my AKG K371s for about 5 years now. I replaced the ear cups once because they were in such bad condition. Otherwise, they’ve been the best headphones I’ve ever owned.
Waow ! Only 4 times in 14 Yr life span ‽
I have Beyerdynamic DT990 Pros because they're so repairable. Changed the pads a few times and recently, after over a decade, I modded it to have a removable cable as the old cable's connector started to misbehave.
I used to use steelseries headsets but they kept breaking in similar ways and just wanted some decent quality, repairable headphones.
Can definitely recommend. Sound is amazing.
When I was playing Counter-Strike a lot, I got into Steel Series because a lot of the players used it and EVERYTHING broke sooo fast... Like I would play around 30 hours a week so that was... a lot but still. My Steelseries mice would last me a couple of months, my headsets half a year. I would RMA them and the RMA would break super fast too... Only good thing about them nowadays are the XL Mouse Mats...
Nowadays, in terms of gaming stuff, I'm back to a mix of Corsair & Logitech.
With use and age membranes change and the sound changes with it. Unfortunately you'd still need to change the driver / membrane combo on a regular basis if you want to keep the sound quality of these cans.
This is true for any cans, and AKG are on the long-life side of headphones.
Thanks for this. I bought a secondhand set of AKG K702 headphones. The difference is they have a unplug-able cable.