The Mio Project

[Za'afiel]

Sir Za'afiel... you do little to refrain me from wanting to nab myself a Mio this very instant!

Well, I have to thank everyone here at Headphiles though, because I've gained a renewed interest in my current cans - and it's fun pulling out all my old CDs and players just to tinker with these puppies.  All in due preparation for the day my ears taste the sweetness of which is Mio.

I can't really say I could call my first encounter with the Mio's all that magical... but like you said, they need a good source to be appreciated.  Lacking on the lows?  I don't think that's much of a problem for me, unless I want to listen to techno.  I tried on my old K414Ps and realized how bassy they were... makes me wonder how I ever lived through sounds as muddy as that.

Be very careful.  If I weren't spoiled by the HF2 and RS1, and had these K701s a lot earlier, I'd seriously think these are the most "correct" sounding cans ever made, and everything else becomes colored.

Correctly deserving the title of most wallet draining because you will hunt down gear that will make these babies sing sweetly.

I still like my music colored and upfront, though.

[donunus]

ahh but the perceived clean sound of the k701 is also a coloration. I'm gaining back some respect for akg though because these el cheapo k44s i just got have a good sound sig with good PRaT. Now I wish AKG had a high end model that was this alive while being more refined at the same time. The k701 sounds a little overdamped to me and doesn't feel too dynamic.

[edsamac]

Be very careful.  If I weren't spoiled by the HF2 and RS1, and had these K701s a lot earlier, I'd seriously think these are the most "correct" sounding cans ever made, and everything else becomes colored.

Correctly deserving the title of most wallet draining because you will hunt down gear that will make these babies sing sweetly.

I still like my music colored and upfront, though.

The soundstage characteristics are what's really getting my attention.  I have some odd fixation for imaging and depth to the point that I feel like I'm asking for the impossible out of two speakers stuck just a few centimeters from your ears.

If it's as airy and spacious as people claim, then that's something I'm DEFINITELY going to have to hear for myself.  Scary thought, because that's just gonna be a slippery slope for me towards more purchases... aaah!

[Za'afiel]

ahh but the perceived clean sound of the k701 is also a coloration. I'm gaining back some respect for akg though because these el cheapo k44s i just got have a good sound sig with good PRaT. Now I wish AKG had a high end model that was this alive while being more refined at the same time. The k701 sounds a little overdamped to me and doesn't feel too dynamic.

Thanks for bringing me back to solid ground; it must be my overly extended fascination for these cans acting up. I've wanted one of these since 2009.

The soundstage characteristics are what's really getting my attention.  I have some odd fixation for imaging and depth to the point that I feel like I'm asking for the impossible out of two speakers stuck just a few centimeters from your ears.

If it's as airy and spacious as people claim, then that's something I'm DEFINITELY going to have to hear for myself.  Scary thought, because that's just gonna be a slippery slope for me towards more purchases... aaah!

Once again I regret not being able to listen to the K1000 last December, which quite possibly might give you the impossible.

[edsamac]

Thanks for bringing me back to solid ground; it must be my overly extended fascination for these cans acting up. I've wanted one of these since 2009.

Once again I regret not being able to listen to the K1000 last December, which quite possibly might give you the impossible.

K701s color = white.  Mmmm... :9

I think I'm a little biased towards the AKG "color" myself.  I tend to feel that the SennHD201, for example, is a little "tinny". D:  But I digress...


Who has the 1000s?   This I must hear!

[donunus]

hehehe sorry for bringing down the spirits. i also don't understand why I am interested in getting a q701 even though I didn't like my k701. Maybe its because I hope I get one of those better production runs. The one I got was the really bright one with earsplitting treble

[Mochan]

Reports from HeadFi say the Q701 sounds a bit different from the K701.  Claims from HeadFi are that the Q701 has more bass, and that really has me thinking. I am almost 100% content with the K701 save it's missing a little something in warmth and low end, I keep wondering if the Q701s fix that problem. My K701 isn't uber treble happy so I am quite happy with it.

And yes edsamac, the soundstaging is for real. These have the best soundstage and separation among all the cans I own and have owned. In fact, it's the soundstage that prompted me to get the Mios in the first place (well, that and, well, Mio). To beat these you really need to start going into Stax and HD800 territory.

[edsamac]

hehehe sorry for bringing down the spirits. i also don't understand why I am interested in getting a q701 even though I didn't like my k701. Maybe its because I hope I get one of those better production runs. The one I got was the really bright one with earsplitting treble

My hunches tell me it's the bass calling you.

And yes edsamac, the soundstaging is for real. These have the best soundstage and separation among all the cans I own and have owned. In fact, it's the soundstage that prompted me to get the Mios in the first place (well, that and, well, Mio). To beat these you really need to start going into Stax and HD800 territory.

God is messing with me, haha!

I'm going to have to start my own Project Mio.  I'll peg it at 1 to 2 years... hopefully.  I'm quite confident that my momentum won't propel me into Stax territory, haha!

[donunus]

I'm not much of a basshead either. It was just the sharp peak at around 2.5khz and 7khz that bothered me. The ad700 has probably even less bass than the k701 but I enjoyed those more. Its really the peak that our ears create around 7khz in the treble region that the k701 doesn't compensate for IMO. All about HRTF and diffuse field EQ

[Mochan]

l'm definitely a basshead but in this case it's not the lack of bass that was really bothering me. I can understand what Don says, the Mios are a little bright, there is a peak somewhere in the treble that kind of annoys on certain songs. What I'd like though is a little more warmth and "plumpness." Collie's K701 had a plumper sound, but separation wasn't as good as on mine. This did make them more musical though.

[edsamac]

l'm definitely a basshead but in this case it's not the lack of bass that was really bothering me. I can understand what Don says, the Mios are a little bright, there is a peak somewhere in the treble that kind of annoys on certain songs. What I'd like though is a little more warmth and "plumpness." Collie's K701 had a plumper sound, but separation wasn't as good as on mine. This did make them more musical though.

Does this have something to do with the build quality issue I've been hearing about the K701s?  I like warmth very much, but it's something I can live without.  So long as vocals retain a distinct human quality, that's enough for me.

The ultimate term I ascribe to lively, well-rounded lows would be "velvety".  Do the 701s deliver in that department?  I, for one, believe that you don't need to have a booming low frequency response in order to get a nice, velvety punch.  Bassy, as the term implies, gives me the sense of a drowned out low to mid-low - to the point that the vocals sound choked and lost. D:

[donunus]

The separation on the k701s werent that great to me either because of the treble peak. It sort of made things sound washed out to me as if everything had a shhhhh sound to it. It is right below the sibilance region so its more shhh than sssss in sound. MarkL's review on headfi nailed it when he said it was as if one were listening to music with a big seashell covering the ears. I am not sure if all k701s have that though. If only these things didn't change with burn in and we could all just try before we buy, it would be much less mysterious and complicated.

[donunus]

edsamac, I believe you might like hd600s more than k701s with your description

[Mochan]

Velvety is not a term I would use to describe the K701. Definitely more an HD600 thing.

[edsamac]

Velvety is not a term I would use to describe the K701. Definitely more an HD600 thing.

Hmm... Not that I'm giving in to pressure, but I wonder if the Q701 would deliver in that respect.