i don't really judge equipments like that anymore...i just follow my instinct, i can usually tell if i like a piece of gear or not in the first hour of serious listening or so. of course most of the time it takes less than that (like lavry vs apogee). i am not saying i like a heavily sauced up sound - for example, i hate grados because they tend to impose strong sonic signatures on the music and distract me to no end. sure the hd 650s aint neutral in anyway, but they are different than the grados to my ears that they don't sound all over the place while being colored.
so far the k701s are quite a bit less tranparent (less 'air' and inner texture in the sound) and engaging than my crazy hd 650s. i know its not a fair match, but i don't need 2 pair of main headphones so unless the k701s magically transform into a total different level they have to go in 30 days... i really want to check out a pair of rewired/balanced k701s before making my final judgement...GE are you going to chicago?