Hello,
I have the Q701 and are relatively "easy" to drive.
Yes, I know that the matrix m stage has high synergy with the K/Q701/2 series.
However, I find the Q701's much too bright and want something to tame them.
I've read that the matrix m stage is a dark amp, but not dark as a real tube amp, is it?
Would the matrix m stage with a dark op amp or a Little Dot MKIII (btw same price as the matrix m stage if you include shipping on ebay) with some dark-sounding tubes tame the brightness of the Q701?
 
Thanks for reading!

24 hour bump - just want to know which one is darker (warmer) so I can make my purchase
Thanks : )
 
Edit: Note they are the same price ~

According to this thread the LD mkIII might be the warmer of the two. Depending on your source you can try some EQ to tame the highs or it could be poor recordings/compressed files.It's also possible the Q701 are just too bright for you and a warm amp may not completely solve your issue. Hope this helps some.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/560916/m-stage-vs-mkiii

Updated
 
Dear mcjjashik,
I have not tried the Matrix M-Stage but I am currently tube rolling with the LD MKIII using an Q701. First, yes the Q701 is bright but not overly. My old K501 is more picky with treble. Anyways, in my ears the combination of
 
LD MKIII with 
6N6P-I (1985) power and
Mullard M8100 (CV4010) driver tubes
 
sounds natural, detailed and relatively warm with a decent bass (for a Q701 =) ).

I have owned both and of the two I would recommend the M-stage. OTL tube amps are not best suited to low Z phones. IMO the O2 is a better amp than both of them though...

I own the little dot mk3 tube amp, and it does have a warm sound to it, but remember one thing....you can replace the tubes with different ones (tube rolling), but the little dot mk3 did bring out alot of detail, and will definitely make your headphones sound better...a solid state amp, (which I believe you are talking about) would not allow you to alter the sound to your taste...but, good luck, and I hope I helped you in some way with your decision....

Spiderking31

Agree with Spiderking31. Tube rolling is a lot of fun and it allows you to adjust to your possibly expanding collection of differently sounding gear. It is true that the LD MKIII performs better with higher impedance headphones but I do like what I hear when using the Q701s with the LD MKIII. The right tubes can emphasize the character of the headphones whereas others compensate "weaknesses". 
 
In other words, although both are found to be great sounding amps in their rights - the M-Stage gives you one sound, which is considered as a very good choice for the AKG Q701s, the LD MKIII allows you dive into an extensive world of tube sounds. 

Another vote for the m-stage with those hp's...

Quote:

spiderking31 said:

I own the little dot mk3 tube amp, and it does have a warm sound to it, but remember one thing....you can replace the tubes with different ones (tube rolling), but the little dot mk3 did bring out alot of detail, and will definitely make your headphones sound better...a solid state amp, (which I believe you are talking about) would not allow you to alter the sound to your taste...but, good luck, and I hope I helped you in some way with your decision....
Spiderking31

Click to expand...

Good point, but you can change the sound of the M-stage quite a bit:
http://tamaudio.com/store/index.php?route=product/product&path=39_46&product_id=91
http://tamaudio.com/store/index.php?route=product/product&path=39_46&product_id=118
and my two favorites:
http://tamaudio.com/store/index.php?route=product/product&path=39_46&product_id=82   
http://tamaudio.com/store/index.php?route=product/product&path=39_46&product_id=86  
 
Make no mistake it will still sound like an M-stage but there is a big change to sound stage and the warmth/brightness of the amp.
I prefer a tube amp as well, but the M-stage does a nice job for a S/S amp.

I don't know....I'm loving the sound of my mk3...makes me wanna listen to my music alot more! Lol