Someone reported on Head-Fi that these have same exact ear pads as the Q701 (this person owns both cans) but did have a little more bass, so that person's speculation is that AKG effectively did their own bass-port mod on the Q701.  This is speculation and not confirmed in any way. I was expecting the K702 anniversary pads at least since this was supposed to be based off of the K702 and not the earlier Q701 iteration. Frankly, if these are the same pads and are very close to the Q701, with perhaps just a touch more bass, I may be selling these quickly (possibly unopened). Will wait for some more reports.

Are the Q701 pads memory foam?

No, they are not. So, if the K7xx are, in fact, memory foam then they are different. My understanding is that this pad difference accounted for much if not all of the sound improvements/differences.

The massdrop product description states memory foam, I'll go with that rather than some head-fi members, there is too much bogus information floating around that site.

The massdrop product description states memory foam, I'll go with that rather than some head-fi members, there is too much bogus information floating around that site.

Yes, I just checked the description on Massdrop myself and they expressly say "memory foam" and I trust they have described their own co-branded product correctly. It could be that the recipient could not tell the difference based on looks since they are both velour covered.

Edit: OP at Head-Fi does have the AKG K7xx (as clearly posted in pics), but in response to my post there checked and says that indeed the K7xx has the memory foam pads. He had been just visually comparing and they look quite similar if not identical, but when you squeeze them you can tell the difference. Apologies for sowing any confusion here.

wow...he waited all of 30mins from the time of delivery before posting impressions.

haha

I think reading impressions in the next few days won't be worth much. At least I need some time with a headphone to finally judge it. The excitement and smell of a new product can be deceiving, even for ears. Also for some, a different signature is often perceived good (until he adjusts) and by others bad, while having little to do with actual performance.