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?
It’s a joke about you being a hipster since you hopped on ASMR “before it was cool”.
The full joke goes “Why did the Hipster burn his tongue? He ate his pizza before it was cool.”
Oh. :( That wasn’t very friendly.
I was just goofin’, friend :)
Aw ok, much love ❤️
Fwiw, as a fellow long time listener to ASMR and fan of good headphones, I think you’re cool!
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.
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 see. I was thinking of binaural audio. My mistake.
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 😊
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.
They are gorgeous too
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.
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?
No special treatment. It’s good quality cable I guess. Cable lable ArtLink Titan Japan
I’ve never had a cable from a quality pair of headphones break.
@cristian64
Possibly the quality of the cables *_and how you treat them_*.
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.
Any headphones without a replaceable cable is just trash.
Usually the phones last forever. Its the cable that’s the weak point
Little bit of dremeling and most headphones can be changed.
Stock K550’s didn’t have a detachable cord. Later variants did. I usually recable them so I can use them with all my amps.
Not the prettiest cause my hand slipped and made a gouge and time has scuffed it from plugging/unplugging but it’s been fine for 10+ years.
I also swapped out the 3 pin for 4 pin on a similar set as the OPs as well.
Pardon my ignorance, please.
What are those connectors?
They are 4-pin mini-xlr on my headphones. The Q701 had a 3 pin variant originally. Most headphones wire the ground wires from both drivers together. 4 pins instead keeps them separate. I can then use different cables to either keep them 4 pins or merge them again into three pin.
The reason for this is I have certain amps that only work with them being separated.
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
Waow ! Only 4 times in 14 Yr life span ‽
The faux leather on my Beyerdynamic DT770 started chipping off the moment the Chinese bought Beyerdynamic. Go figure
Yknow you can just say the specific company that bought Beyerdynamic that caused the quality dip and not “the Chinese”
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.
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.)
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.
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.
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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.
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.
My Q701 and K550 both recabled to have a 4 pin mini XLR connector. They’re both over 10 years old and still going strong. They don’t really leave this room so wear and tear is minimal.
