I didn't spend a whole lot of time listening to these. Something about them just isn't as pleasing as the K7XX. They sound brighter, more shouty, and more fatiguing. I did notice they seem to have angled pads compared to the K7XX. Not sure where the other differences lie, if any (aside from headband bumps).

Attached some quick measurements of the left channel with a K7XX left channel comparison as well. I figure the right channel will match up nicely anyway.

I cannot confirm this myself, but my understanding from reading countless HF posts on this is that the only difference between the K7xx and the Q701 are the pads with the Q701 being angled and not memory foam and the K7xx being non-angled and memory foam.

I like the Q701 but agree with them being brighter and more fatiguing, but not necessarily more "shouty" (although maybe on certain tracks). I find these two cans different enough to have a hard time believing they are the same drivers, but some say they are. Notwithstanding that it has more negatives than the K7xx, I still do not want to give up my Q701 and do not think that the K7xx is simply an improvement on the Q701 that can replace the other for me (although that will undoubtedly be the case for others). The K7xx gives up some of the soundstage and detail that I like in the Q701 and to me is a bit of a Sennheiser-ized version of the Q701 (which, in and of itself, is not necessarily a bad thing, but which makes the two cans more complementary than I would have expected). For example, I still prefer the Q701 for classical and certain acoustic music generally, and other times am just more in the mood for the Q701. Also, if I am looking for maximum separation to try to figure out guitar parts in songs, I would reach for the Q701 over all other cans in my possession.