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K701 unamped still better than most?

post #1 of 47
12/8/09 at 3:46pm
Thread Starter 
Even though I have already opened a topic about which cans (unamped) I should get for my Sony A829, I'm still not sure about the K701's.

A lot of people say it absolutely sucks straight out of an mp3 player, while others say it's still ok. The thing is, I can get the K701's for 199 euros and with that price I feel very comfortable. But the thing is, even though I would never reach the full potential of these cans without an amp, are they still better than like...a HD595 or SRH440 unamped?

Because I understand those 2 cans work well without an amp but surely the K701 must be the better overall headphone? So basically, would they sound even a little bit better than those 2 unamped? If so, I wouldn't have a problem paying an extra 100 euros because frankly...they really appeal to me.

I'm kinda being selfish though because many people here already told me I shouldn't go near the K701's unamped but I'm still wondering if it really will be that bad and I would get a much better sound quality out of the 595's or 440's. If so, does that mean I would have to crank the volume of my A829 all the way up to get good sound? Because I used a pair of Beats from a friend of mine on my player and he put the volume on 25/30 and that was definitely not good for your ears in the long term.
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post #2 of 47
12/8/09 at 5:14pm
IMO, you need a good amp to properly get the K701 to achieve its potential. And you need an amp that's a good match. I personally would not buy the K701 and plan to use it without an amp.
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post #3 of 47
12/8/09 at 5:17pm
Love or hate for the K701s is divided, as I am sure you already know if you have read on the forum at all, which is normal for most fons. What is a fairly consisitent concensus about the K701 is that they are inefficient and require power to drive them.
There are a lot of better options out there than a K701 straight from an unamped DAP, unless you are likely to invest in a suitable amp then take the advice you have already obviously received and get another option. Or you can keep asking the same question until someone gives you the answer you are looking for (validation for what you want) and go with that. Listening at high volumes can/will damage your hearing, albeit you will be unlikely to crank a K701 up loud enough with a DAP to do that, so I guess there is one possitive in purchasing an inefficient headphone for use with a basic portable source.
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post #4 of 47
12/8/09 at 5:19pm
They still sound good with no external amplification. Whether or not it's better than other cans is up for debate.
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post #5 of 47
12/8/09 at 5:32pm
Thread Starter 
Hmm...I still don't know really.

I know I shouldn't be stubborn and just buy something that is more suitable but they really do appeal to me. Like I posted in my other topic, I was pretty impressed by the Beats. Granted, I have never listened to any high-end cans like K701 or HD600 and never knew headphones would need an amp before I came to Head-Fi.

But something in my head is telling me that the K701's would still be much better than the Beats even unamped. Thing is, I would also love to get the AKG 242HD's because they are supposedly more efficient but someone else just posted that they are almost as hard to drive as the K701's. Are all AKG's like that?

I know I should listen with my own ears if I like them and shouldn't really care about what other's want me to hear but I can't audition any of them. I can't get any good model of the Audio Technica's here in the Netherlands unless I import, which I'm not really feeling. Those have also been recommended to me.

Let's say if I scrap the K701's of my list...would the Sennheiser HD600's be better than a HD595 unamped? I am willing to spend like 220 euros max and not more but I want to get the best that is available for me. I can get the Shure SRH440's for 99 euros which is quite frankly a steal but I'm also looking for a nice big soundstage and a good sound for Japanese rock and if the models I mentioned are still better then the Shure's or HD595's, I don't mind paying more.
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post #6 of 47
12/8/09 at 5:36pm
For your price range you can also look into AD700/900, SRH440/840... these should work just fine without an amp
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post #7 of 47
12/8/09 at 5:39pm
The sound terrible unamped. Well I mean you can still hear sounds but the bass in particular is absent and everything sort of gets mushy. That's my short iPod experience.
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post #8 of 47
12/8/09 at 6:22pm
It appears that you are going to buy them anyway - go ahead and report back on your experiences. It might save someone else in future.
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post #9 of 47
12/8/09 at 6:22pm
Any headphones out have some source of amp, the question is if you like it, or just want to improve it.
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post #10 of 47
12/8/09 at 6:27pm
I still think my 702's sound pretty good straight out of the iPod, but you'll have to crank the volume all the way and it still won't be that loud. The only problem here is your spending extra money on the 702 and you won't be using it to it's full potential.

It's almost like buying an HD tv and watching only youtube videos on it. That's probably a bad analogy but you get the idea.
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post #11 of 47
12/8/09 at 6:34pm
I don't have a huge basis for comparison, but I gave my K701s a shot unamped just to see, and I much preferred the sound of my Audio Technica ATH-AD700s with no amp present. Personally, I think the AD700s sound just fine out of my iPod or just straight out of a computer, but my K701s are decidedly weaker. I have no experience with the HD595 and HD600s that you're asking about, but if the Audio Technica's aren't completely off the table I definitely would vote on them.
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post #12 of 47
12/8/09 at 6:47pm
The 601s from my Classic sound like a transistor radio - in the apartment next door !
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post #13 of 47
12/8/09 at 6:53pm
Nerd123, I suggest you go on with your experiment.
We are on the same boat at this times.
I will also try an AKG K701 headphones directly plug into my Sony Discman and compared it with my beloved Grado SR60 sound.

Go on and try. Fear not...
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post #14 of 47
12/8/09 at 7:22pm
Don't even bother imo. I have plugged my K701s into a Sansa Clip/Portable CD player to see what type of volume I could get out of it and it is absolutely terrible. The volume needed to be cranked to 100% which killed the batteries fairly quickly and the SQ was beyond terrible. Bass was nonexistant and anything in the higher treble range was a bit scratchy.
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post #15 of 47
12/8/09 at 7:32pm
Get them...listen to them..report on your findings without an amp, and then save for a desktop or portable amp of good quality.
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