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AKG Q701 Quincy Jones Signature: Help choosing an Amp and DAC!

post #1 of 5
12/29/11 at 9:18pm
Thread Starter 

So I'm new to head-fi and just ordered my q701s from Amazon. I did a lot of research and am pretty confident that they best fit my style in both aesthetics and sound. I'm having a huge problem deciding what amp and DAC I should get though. I would be listening from my desktop, which has a dedicated sound card, my Macbook, and my iPod. I would be using these mostly for music and movies, but also a little gaming. I want to keep it under $300 for the amp and don't even know if I need a DAC. If I do, I'd like to keep that under $200.

 

After doing some poking around on the forum, I've thought up some combinations but have no idea if they would work or not. I would like to have a portable amp/DAC combo be the DAC and then a separate amp to actually power these cans. I don't know whether to be a cheapy and just go with the FiiO E7/E9 combo, or go with a different portable amp/DAC like Total Bithead and pair it with a Matrix M-stage or a Schiit Asgard. Any suggestions? Would I even be able to use a portable amp/DAC combo with a bigger amp so that I have a lot of power with my desktop, but can still use an amp on the go with my Macbook?


Edited by phah0124 - 12/29/11 at 9:22pm
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post #2 of 5
12/30/11 at 3:07pm

E7+E9, desktop and portable all in one, everything ya need.

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post #3 of 5
12/30/11 at 7:19pm

Hi

I am almost in the same boat, except my Q701 hasn't arrived yet, I am getting impatient. For the $300 budget for a HP amp it seems like the matrix m-stage is getting a lot of praise around here, but that's me talking not from my own experience. By the way there's a new version of the m-stage with a built in USB DAC, but you lose one RCA connection out of the two available, you might want to check it out, on tam audio.

As I live in Lebanon, good gear is not readily available, so I order my stuff from the US, mostly from Amazon, get it sent to me through DHL Express Lebanon. So it's usually a long wait before I get my stuff, 20 to 30 days.

When I ordered my Q701, it was after I started reading the "K701 appreciation thread" here on head-fi, I was at the page 44 - 45 mark and it was mostly praise for the K701. After a bit the tone completely changed and it worried me, so I am impatient to get my new toy and try it for myself to see what it will feel like.

By the way on an off topic, can you please tell me how you like your Q701?

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post #4 of 5
12/30/11 at 8:12pm
Thread Starter 
Will the e9 have enough juice to power the cans well though? And if it doesn't, is it possible to dock the e7 with a different amp, say the schiit Asgard? I'm just curious. I'll probably go with the e9 and wait to pair it off eith the e17 when it comes out in January, unless I can pair it with a better amp than the e9. As for how it sounds, it gets to me on Wednesday because of the holidays. Will post once I find out. My general feeling though is that most people who didn't like it, either didn't let them burn in, listened to the wrong type of music for these cans, or thought the bass was too subdued.
Edited by phah0124 - 12/30/11 at 8:13pm
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post #5 of 5
12/30/11 at 10:06pm

No, the Asgurad and Bifrost. The DAC would be for your Q701's at your desk so you can listen through the music on iTunes, Foobar,etc; and the Asguard is a generic headphone amp where you'll need an iPod dock, turntable,etc.

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