The AKG K701 are comfortable and breathable critical listening headphones with a great sound quality. Unfortunately, they do not have a detachable or spare cable like the K702 or the K712 Pro. They're also not meant for outdoor use so they have poor isolation and no control options for mobile devices. On the upside, they're surprisingly lightweight for their size and they deliver in the sound department.
Our Verdict
Poor for mixed usage. The AKG K701 are best used for critical listening. They're a bit too big and bulky for casual use and their open designed means they won't be suitable for outdoors. This makes them poor for office, sports and commuting but they deliver a great and spacious sound quality that's suitable for critical listening.
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Excellent audio reproduction.
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Comfortable design.
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Very sensitive to ambient noise, by design.
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Open-back design, so they leak a lot.
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Big and bulky headphones.
Great sound quality for neutral listening. The K701 are super comfortable and have a great audio reproduction. Bass mids and treble are well balanced, and the large and open ear cups give these headphones a spacious and immersive soundstage. They're treble can be somewhat inconsistent a bit sharp but overall they have a good sound that will please most neutral listeners.
Poor for commuting. The open-back design purposely doesn't block any ambient noise, so even at high volumes, you will still be able to hear the hustle and bustle of a busy commute.
Not made for sports. They're bug bulky, and unstable. They will quickly fall off your ears if used for exercising or working out.
Poor for office use. They're open headphones that purposely leak a lot which will be distracting to those around you, and they do not block any noise. You will be able to hear most of the noise in your office environment.
Mediocre-at-best for gaming. They do not have a microphone and have no active features or customization options that would make them more suitable for gaming. On the upside, they're comfortable, breathable and have a good sound. Also, since they're wired they have no latency which would make them a decent choice if you do not care about having a mic.
- 5.1 Mixed Usage
- 7.8 Neutral Sound
- 3.9 Commute/Travel
- 5.0 Sports/Fitness
- 4.7 Office
- 4.5 Wireless Gaming
- 6.5 Wired Gaming
- 1.6 Phone Calls
- Updated Mar 24, 2020: Converted to Test Bench 1.4.
- Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.1.
- Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.
- Updated Feb 16, 2018: Converted to Test Bench 1.2.
- Updated Aug 10, 2017: Converted to Test Bench 1.1.
- Updated Mar 01, 2017: Converted to Test Bench 1.0.
- Updated Sep 01, 2016: Review published.
- Updated Aug 30, 2016: Our testers have started testing this product.
- Updated May 20, 2016: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
Compared To Other Headphones
See our recommendations for the best wired headphones, the best headphone brands, and the best audiophile headphones.
The AKG K702 are slightly better headphones than the AKG K701, but overall are very similar. The K702 have a detachable cable that is easily replaceable if damaged, which makes them a bit more durable and better-built, but that’s about it. Most people won’t hear a difference between those two models.
The AKG Q701 are AKG’s collaboration with record producer Quincey Jones (of the AKG K701 model). This means they are practically identical, but with slight improvements like a detachable cable to make them more durable. Their frequency response are practically the same, so most people shouldn’t hear a difference between these two models. The Q701 have a lime green color scheme that is a bit flashier, but that’s about it.
Test Results
The AKG K701 look almost identical to the K702 and K712 PRO. They have the same retro design with large circular ear cups and a headband with a self-adjusting strap. The open-back ear cups are well padded and covered in a suede-like fabric that gives the headphones a more premium appeal. However, like the other models in this series, they're bulky and little too big, to casually wear outside.
The K701 are very comfortable headphones. They're surprisingly lightweight for their size and the well-padded ear cups fit well around most ears. They don't cause any fatigue during extended listening sessions.
These headphones like the K702 and the K712 Pro are big, bulky not really portable. The retro headband makes them quite large and since they don't fold into a more compact format, they will be too cumbersome to carry around on your person if you do not have a bag. They also don't come with a case or pouch, which is slightly disappointing.
The build quality of the AkG K701 is decent but has a lot of moving parts. They have dense ear cups, and the headband design is flexible enough to handle an above-average amount of physical stress. Unfortunately, the headband has a lot of moving parts for the adjustable padding. These are potential weak points where the headphones could get damaged by wear and tear.
These headphones are not designed for sports or intended for outdoor use. The ear cups will sway and slip off your ears during physical activity, and the non-detachable cable will yank the headphones off your head if it's hooked on something.
Great frequency response consistency. Like most other open-back headphones, the AKG K701 has very good consistency in delivering its bass. The maximum deviation we recorded was 3dB at 20Hz, on only one of our human subjects. The treble range consistency is also great with the K701, however, at higher frequencies they are prone to larger deviations because of their large ear cups.
Decent bass range performance. LFE is at 79Hz, which is below average. Low-bass, which is responsible for low-end thump and rumble, is lacking by more than 5dB. Mid-bass, which is responsible for kick and punch, is also lacking by more than 2dB, resulting in an overall bass that is lacking a little in thump and punch.
Excellent mid-range performance. Low-mid and mid-mid are nearly flawless and within 1dB of our target. High-mid shows a bit of boost around 2KHz, making the overall sound of these headphones a bit forward.
Above-average treble range performance. Low-treble is overemphasized by about 3dB, adding a bit of excess brightness and detail to vocals/leads. They also show more than 4dB of overemphasis in mid-treble, increasing the presence and sibilance of vocals and lead instruments.
Poor isolation. Due to the open-back design, the AKG K701 doesn't isolate below 1KHz. Above that, they achieve about 12dB of isolation, which is sub-par.
Poor leakage performance. The significant portion of the leakage is spread from 200Hz to 20KHz which is quite a broad range. The overall level of the leakage is also quite loud, making the leakage of the K701 audible to those around you.
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