Amping for AKG Q701 - Page 2

Quote:

Originally Posted by fabio-fi 

You have a valid point. 

 

At the end..the most important thing is being happy even if you bought an expensive or cheap amp. 

Of course. I imagine many people can be happy with the 70X without spending a ton of money on an amp. The only reason I brought up the $1000 amp issue was that one of the posts before mine mentioned that the fiio e10 was sufficient....sufficient for who? The Burson wasn't sufficient for another forum member, and he had to upgrade from that....another guy is happy with the e10. Depends on the individual's needs. If you have a mastering studio, like Acix, you're going to want to invest in the best that you can afford. Obviously not everyone needs that kind of perfection nor can most folks afford it. It's probably good to just forget the gear sometimes and lay back and enjoy the music.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lejaz 

It's probably good to just forget the gear sometimes and lay back and enjoy the music.

Thats what really matters. 

How about saving a few dollars and get the Sennheiser HD558.

I really do think the Q701 is easier to drive than the old K701. Sure, they have the same drivers, but look at the HD-650.

Many people have reported they were a little easier to drive then before, but there is no proof. I felt this was the case too.

I remember back when I was new and not very educated about audio or even heard about this forum. I just knew that the K701 needed an amp and I bought the Total Airhead portable amp.

What's funny is that back then I never knew about line out docks so I used my Ipod 15G straight to the Airhead. It actually drove the K701 well enough, but would constantly give me the red blinking lights even with new batteries.

This means it's over-voltage. Even when it was not loud I'd often have issues. It was really frustrating. Nearly every single headphone was fine, but the K701 gave me issues. I had the DT-990 at the time too. This was back in 2006-2007 I believe.

I have the same Airhead and when I use the Q701 with it, it never EVER gives me the red light/clipping blink. I can basically crank it up really high with very few problems. This time i'm even using a LOD!

I personally really wish I had skipped all my portable amps and gotten a full desktop amp sooner. It sure is nice now how there's portable amps that can drive the K701 and Q701 quite well.

I bet if one had both the K701 and Q701 side by side, the volume control levels would be slightly different.

I do think investing in a very good desktop amp is totally worth it for the Q701. It's really amazing the difference in sound between my Airhead, E9 and Micro Amp. Micro Amp sounds the best of course.

It seems like with portable amps the soundstage is much, much smaller. I've noticed this on many headphones such as the DJ100 too.

I agree with this. The K701 needs more power relative to a lot of other headphones, but relative to what most devices can output it's absolutely not a problem. 

Regarding K701 vs Q701:

http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/AKGQuincyJonesQ701.pdf

http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/AKGK701.pdf

Thems the numbers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MalVeauX 

Heya,

 

E10 is sufficient. The Q701 is not difficult to run. A lot of the 70X series, for some reason, has this huge "needs mega amplification" hype which makes no sense to me.

 

Very best,

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by obobskivich 

I agree with this. The K701 needs more power relative to a lot of other headphones, but relative to what most devices can output it's absolutely not a problem. 

 

Regarding K701 vs Q701:

http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/AKGQuincyJonesQ701.pdf

http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/AKGK701.pdf

 

Thems the numbers.

 

Most of the external sound cards/DAC's will drive the Q701(some better). I think a minimum cost amp will be for around $180 (used on the FS forum), like the Corda/haedfive, M-stage.

Fiio E9 will be fine, same for O2. Cost doesn't dictate anything but cost. 
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acix 

Most of the external sound cards/DAC's will drive the Q701(some better). I think a minimum cost amp will be for around $180 (used on the FS forum), like the Corda/haedfive, M-stage.

Quote:

Originally Posted by obobskivich 

Fiio E9 will be fine, same for O2. Cost doesn't dictate anything but cost. 
 

 

I think the E9 is fine too, but really depends on source. E9 + a good DAC is the bare minimum I would suggest. Haven't heard the E10 yet though.

From what i've heard, the E9+E10 should be better than the E7+E9. I'm not a fan of the E7 at all. Seemed to have fairly edgy treble somehow.

I like the E9, but hated the E7+E9 combo.

It makes no sense, but the E9 + HRT Music Streamer II is a very nice setup (use my Micro Amp though). Yes, a DAC that costs more than the E9

I'm one of those that somehow has no clipping with that combination. I guess i'm lucky.

I felt the Fiio E9 did a good job with the AKG 702s, It just I didn't agree with the OPA2134 which cause me to open the fiio E9 up and change the op-amp for the headphones output to the LT1364. Which I liked better with the headphones.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tdockweiler 

 

I like the E9, but hated the E7+E9 combo.

 

 

whats wrong with the e7/9 combo? 

From the sound of it, he didn't like the E7 as a dac  and it's sound signature.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sinphase 

whats wrong with the e7/9 combo? 

When I tried this combo it seems that it made ALL my headphones much more bright and fatiguing than they should be.

As I mentioned earlier, the E7 felt like it had fairly edgy treble. I mean, the E7 is supposed to be neutral right? Not hearing it..

There's a few others out there that think so too. Maybe it's just a frequency i'm ultra sensitive to.

Now some say amps/dacs need burn in. I won't say they're stupid and that it's impossible, but I never did burn in...an amp/dac

I was actually surprised that I actually prefer the crappy Nuforce Icon Mobile (udac?) to the E7. Yes, despite those bad measurements.

I think the E9+E7 would be nice for maybe the HD-600/650, but never tried that. When I used the E7+E9 with my 598 it seemed to be less smooth sounding.

I removed the E7 and the E9 was back to it's old self.

I also disliked the E7 (as an amp) with my DJ100. Seems like it made the mids on it a bit recessed, which makes no sense. Someone once told me the E7 has recessed mids, so maybe this is the case.

I actually prefer the E5 as an amp to the E7.

Supposedly the E10 might be warmer than the E7, so it should be a better match. Don't think anyone has compared the E7 to the E10 for use with the Q701.

Somehow the only amps I like from Fiio are the E5 and E9! Didn't care for the E11 or E7 at all. Probably just sound signature preferences? Not sure..

With the E9 I don't feel it's trying to do anything to help the sound signature of the Q701. Seems to keep it how it is and not try to improve it too much.

Q701 does deserve a better amp than the E9 though despite how good it is for the money.

Sometimes it does feel like the E9 gives many of my headphones an artificially huge soundstage. Don't know how or if this is even possible.

Even on my DJ100 it's like the soundstage has grown.

I'm not trying to stir up an argument, but I've never got the "sound signature of sources" - I run the E9 straight from a soundcard (and have tried a few variations over the years (amps and sources)); the K701 don't seem to "care" any which way as long as the media isn't encoded like garbage. I have noticed that the E9 doesn't handle as "hot" of a signal as the CI (which uses the same TI chip), but beyond that, neither seems to "care." Just my two cents. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by genclaymore 

From the sound of it, he didn't like the E7 as a dac  and it's sound signature.

Yeah, didn't like it as an amp too. It's amp part seems as weak (if not weaker) than the E5.

I remember even the amp part having a similar signature, which is just strange.

When connect up to the E9, it was like a double whammy on my ears. Wonder why..

Now, most people will love it, so maybe it's just me. Found it a bit weird how I could determine what the E7+E9 was doing to the signatures of my headphones.

Seem to be messing with their sound signature too much for me. These are all on headphones that are known to be a good match with the E9.

Again, maybe amp/dac burn-in really does exist and I didn't give it enough chance

Maybe the E7 signature's gets smoother with use? Sounds silly to me, but I won't say I don't believe it.