Best components for use with AKG Q701

The Fiio E9 will work very good for those headphones for 110$ its a powerful amp for the price and those headphones will need it.  With 40 dollars left over you either looking at a Xonar DG or a used X-Fi Xtreme music or audigy 2 for a sound card.  You can save up enough money and get your self a better Dac by adding money to that 40 dollars that would be left.

 

You could get a Used Xonar STX, tho the STX headphone amp doesnt supply enough power to the AKGs but it be better then going unamp and using onboard audio. Tho you can add a better amp to the STX RCA's out later on when you save up money and use the STX as a Dac with the external amp.

 

I did see a used Fiio E7 which is a external dac/amp which slots on top of the Fiio E9 for 69 at miccastore which would turn the fiio E9 into a usb dac amp.Tho the Fiio E7 isnt a good dac it self. But thats a option too. But for 69 you might as well find a good used Xonar of creative card(Do not get Xtreme audio or audigy LE,SE)

 

If you get a Audigy 2 Use KX drivers they work great for audigy 2 and are programable drivers as in custom setting and plugins and so forth..

 

But you will deff have to get a amp because those headphones will not sound right and sound bad without a headphone amp.Sure a Audigy 2 is outdated but it better then using a amp with your onboard audio and you can just the A2  as a temp option while you save up money.

Edited by genclaymore - 9/7/11 at 4:49pm

I use a X-FI HD pcie as you can tell in my sig for a Dac to my Fiio E9 using its RCA outputs with a RCA to 3.5 cable. The card is affordable as it goes for  $129 on amazon.  I Used a STX which is another good choice but cost more, but it pretty much based on which features you want.  I havent use any external Dacs.  there was one suggested to me before I got ahold of the X-Fi HD pcie, the Music Streamer II+. I havent used it but it was suggested to me when I asked about dacs on this thread.

 

The KX drivers supports audigy 2 zs last time I checked. As I used those drivers with a old Audigy 2 I had before I got my X-Fi HD.

No  problem, your gonna have a good time enjoying those headphones and bop your head as your do your studying.

The ASUS Xonar Essence STX supplies more than enough power to the Q701 for regular listening levels, even on the default gain setting. It will drive them to around 70-90dB depending on the recording's volume. Even if you listen loud, just set it to the next highest gain setting, which will get you to 82-102, or the next highest for 88-108. Most modern recordings will be at the high end of these ranges, and most recordings in general above the mean. Keep in mind they're all estimates based on the volumes I get with a LCD-2, which will be about 2dB quieter at any given time.

 

The problem is it has a high output impedance (10.7 ohms) and that will alter the Q701's frequency response slightly. Otherwise, it's an excellent DAC and has low noise, very low distortion, and great jitter levels.

 

You'll be perfectly happy with the E9 too. Mostly I just wanted to clear up the volume misconception.

The thing is I used to own a STX, when I used my AKG 702 I knew I was missing details even if the volume got loud with the STX's hp amp out gain. Only problem with the compare is that I didnt have a STX and a E9 at the same time. I sold my STX to get the E9. So it mosty form me temp using my old Audigy 2 with the E9. That I notice what I didnt notice on the STX hp amp. Tho it moot point since I didnt have both the STX and E9 at the same time. Tho it was my Orginal plan to do so.

My advice is to get a FiiO E6 now and save some money for several months and get a NuForce Icon HD (or HDP).

I just recently ran some audio tests between lame-o laptop onboard sound and high quality circuits like the NuForce and the HP Beats Audio. The surprise is that despite the poorer noise performance, there wasn't much missing from the lame-o laptop circuit. So using the FiiO E6 will make your headphones sound better to a larger degree of significance than a better DAC.

What matters bigtime is the encoding quality of your music. I'm a big proponent of a MINIMUM 256kbps bitrate. I can't stress that enough. Poorer bitrates can't be made up for with a great DAC. Your AKGs will reveal everything. They're ruthless like that.

So my recommendations are to proceed in this order:
1. Get a FiiO E6
2. Encode your music library to a minimum 256kbps. I do lossless because I've increased the bitrate and reencoded three times. I'm done.
3. Get a spectacular DAC or DAC/Amp like the NuForce Icon HDP.

Enjoy your headphones. I assume you know that hese are one of the few headphones that have documented proof concerning the effects of burn-in and that it's long with these cans, like 72 hours (not the 300 hour garbage others talk about).

Asus - Xonar essence stx sound card is excellent with the AKG Q701. After, get a better cable.  Mogami 2534 cable excellent on the AKG Q701 (about $30 for 5 ft).

 

Good Luck,

Wilson

 

I'd go with the Asus soundcard as well. It does have a nice driving power, i had the chance to use mine with the Q701's.