I was going to start this little appreciation post with a rant about how you can’t buy these anymore, how everything was better in the past, and basically do my best impression of an old man shouting at clouds…
But turns out — you can still buy them!
The legendary AKG K701 open-back headphones live on.
Granted, they’re now made in China rather than Austria, and I swear they don’t sound quite the same. See? I knew it — it really was better in the old days.
At the time of writing, they go for £137.12 on Amazon. If you want an original Austrian-made pair, I spotted one on eBay for £180 + delivery — about what I paid back in the day.
There’s also a Quincy Jones edition, the Q701. And honestly, that’s all the endorsement I need. If it’s good enough for Quincy to not only use but put his name on, it’s good enough for anyone.
Why You Should Have a Pair
Before we get into it, let’s quickly go over the two main types of headphones:
- Closed-back
- Open-back
Roughly speaking, closed-back headphones are great for tracking, as they don’t leak sound into your microphone. But if you’re already used to using in-ears, those will do just as well for that job.
Open-back headphones, on the other hand, do leak — everyone around you will hear what you’re listening to. But that’s also what makes them sound so good. Because the sound can escape, the bass isn’t exaggerated or trapped inside the cups, giving you a much more natural and “room-like” experience.
Think of it like a well-designed control room: the walls aren’t completely solid. The bass passes through, rather than bouncing back and creating standing waves. Unless you’ve got a massive room, you want that bass to escape rather than hang around muddying up your mix.
That’s what open-back headphones do — they let the sound breathe.
Why I Love My AKG K701s
I’ve been mixing on open-backs for years now and consistently get great results. But recently, I discovered another brilliant use for them — while transcribing using Serato and Tidal.
With the track playing quietly through my K701s, I can still hear my acoustic guitar naturally, without even plugging it in!
It’s such a comfortable way to work — my ears stay fresh, and I don’t have to mess around routing the guitar through an interface or balancing the blend between playback and live sound.
My Tip of the Day
If you haven’t already, get yourself a pair of open-back over-ear headphones and start mixing, transcribing, or just enjoying music the way it’s meant to be heard.
You’ll save a ton of money and hassle by not needing a “room within a room” for mixing, and you can keep your setup beautifully simple.
All I do is plug the K701s into my laptop using this conversion cable, pick up my acoustic guitar, and play.
AKG K701 | Related Pages
Serato for Musicians
Serato DJ Pro can loop, slow down and pitch any tracks from Tidal. It can now also separate stems, making it the perfect transcription tool.
I use this daily and couldn’t recommend it more. Serato is not just for DJ’s, it’s the perfect tool for the working musician.
