OK, it's really the AKG 7XX, but I thought seven triple-X sounded more interesting. A huge huge thanks to Massdrop Will+Danny for supporting our community. Yes, the box actually says 7XX. I cannot confirm or deny if it is the 702 or 712 or 701. I really don't know. I'm not sure how much this unit is going to drop for, but I'm getting some indications this might be quite the deal considering what I am about to say.

I'm going to be very straightforward with this one. Taking into account what I think the drop price may be, I really love this headphone. It is not perfect, there are some minor issues, but overall it is well balanced and works for a variety of music. It even passed the MFSL Nirvana Lithium test. Those of you may recall years ago when I listened to this same track with K550s (the early ones with the spiked treble) and had to jump out of my seat and rip them off my head. Well I assure you this is not the case here.

The 7XX do not sound lean or cold like the early K701s. The 7XX has a warm full bodied sound with a slight hint of glare on metal percussion. There's definitely a broad elevation in the bass the balances out and helps mask a lower-mid treble bump. Even then, the nature of the bump seems mild. It's evident, but isn't difficult. And the rest of the treble is on the rough side, it could be smoother, just not as smooth as a high quality silk dome tweeter. I'm just nitpicking here. That's what I do.

Overall, I really do like the K701's tonal balance. However, what impresses me even more is it's resolving capability. It's pretty darn good. Good articulation. Good attack. Good clarity except in the deepest bass. These are the traits that I know drew lots of people to the K701. The last headphone I had my hands on was the Z7, and the Z7, even with mods, sounded soft in comparison.

It's late, and instead of teasing you guys, I'll just post some quick measurements. Just a sec.

1/27/2015 update:

Q: Now that the hyper is over, how to the K7XX compare against the venerable HD600?
A: K7XX are complementary / different from HD600. Better quality bass, but poorer treble, no upper vocal peakage, but lower treble peakage. It's really going to depend upon your sensibilities. Personally, I've opted for the K7XX (I had to chance to get the HD600). There are good arguments either way.

MEASUREMENTS: http://www.changstar.com/index.php/topic,1902.msg51365.html#msg51365
CSD COMPARISON TO K701: http://www.changstar.com/index.php/topic,1902.msg51384.html#msg51384
INITIAL THOUGHTS FROM LFF: http://www.changstar.com/index.php/topic,1902.msg51847.html#msg51847
L+R FR OVERLAY: http://www.changstar.com/index.php/topic,1902.msg52510.html#msg52510
UB MEASUREMENT (more open baffle): http://www.changstar.com/index.php/topic,1902.msg53997.html#msg53997
PERVENETS THOUGHTS: http://www.changstar.com/index.php/topic,1902.msg55054.html#msg55054
HANS MEASUREMENTS: http://www.changstar.com/index.php/topic,1902.msg56970.html#msg56970