AKG K701 + Schiit? Does it warm them UP?

Heya,

You will not get much warmth to the K701, it's a cold thin headphone. I think you'd do better to switch to the Q701, as it is a markedly more warm headphone. Then pair it with any amp you wish.

I had the K701 with the Lyr. Doesn't warm it up. It's still a thin bassless cold listen.

Very best,

Quote:

Originally Posted by MalVeauX 

Heya,

 

You will not get much warmth to the K701, it's a cold thin headphone. I think you'd do better to switch to the Q701, as it is a markedly more warm headphone. Then pair it with any amp you wish.

 

I had the K701 with the Lyr. Doesn't warm it up. It's still a thin bassless cold listen.

Very best,

Agree. When I had the K701's I tried breaking them in continuously for over a month and regardless of what amp I tried they always sounded very thin in the bass region, even with a vintage Pioneer receiver!

Rather than tune them with an amp, equalize them. I'd shelve everything from 5 kHz to 10 kHz down until you like the balance, as a start. If you want to get really serious use some sine generator program to try to figure out what frequencies are too loud. It might not make them sound much fuller, but it should alleviate the brightness.

I guess if I still had my K701's at this point I would be looking at a Musical Fidelity M1 HPA amp. I do not own the MF amp but from what I read it could bring some much needed body and warmth to the K701s. I am looking into one for my Beyer T1s and am close to pulling the trigger.

I would give a try with the Heed Canamp. That's what I'm listening to with my AKG K601 (very similar to the 701) and I love this combination. The amp gives the required body to the bass and may rolls off the hights.

Hi,

Do not get the Valhalla at all. It's an TL design and won't give the K701 the power it needs. The OTL design with smear and bloat the sound. I have tried the combo and it did not sound so good to me at all. The K701 will be greatly under powered and will sound a bit muddy and ill defined.

The Lyr would be a good option but watch the volume. This thing has so much power it can fry drivers! The K701 is on the low end of sensitivity so you should be safe. Oh and it does sound quite nice!
 

Also if you are thinking about going to the Q701, there is no sound difference at all. They sound the same as the other K701 variant, the K702. I have owned all three versions and they all sounded the same, being bright and thin that is.

One amp I can recommend, if you can find it, is the Musical Fidelity X-CANV8. It's a hybrid amp that can output a lot of power for the K701 and also have the tubes that do warm up the sound.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikiphile 

Alright then, let me give you the big picture:

 

I recently bought the K701s and I absolutely love them. However, they do cause headaches with Rock and certain recordings because of their apparent brightness issue. They have around 70 hours. Getting rid of them is not an option!

 

The second part of my problem is undoubtedly the amping and the source. I play them through a Tandberg 3012 integrated stereo amplifier, which uses my laptop as as source. I know I need a headphone amp and a new DAC, the question was which one.

 

After reading a lot and considering budget, I steered my choice into Schiit (Valhalla or Lyr), and I chose the Schiit Bifrost DAC for the sake of synergy.

 

The problem is which one! I have read two contradictory opinions:

 

1. VALHALLA: It was voiced for the K701 and it really warms up the sound. Does this mean that it address the bass issue and make them less bright?

 

2.LYR. According to Schiit themselves, this amp drives them better, but I fear it will not warm them up sufficiently enough.

 

Your opinion on: Schiit Valhalla, Lyr and Bifrost, and the way they affect K701's performance please.