[buson160man]

We ain't disagreein', sir

. The headphones are dry and so is the amp. I like heading the music as it's intended... Not from overly warm or cold setups. I gave a rather neutral and detailed DAC/amp for this reason, with an ES9018 implementation.

I still disagree with you about the akg 701s. I have had my k701s for over five years so I know what they are capable of and obviously after five years I know what I am talking about when I voice my opinion. They are not dry sounding. I use a concept 16.5 monster vintage receiver to drive the 701s these days. While it is definitely not your normal everyday headphone amp It sounds amazing with the 701s. Of course the concept is a vintage monster receiver from the late seventies(mine was recapped and serviced) but the benchmark is a toy next to my vintage receiver. The op amp they use is a joke compared to the discrete output section of my vintage receiver. The akg 701 does not sound dry with my concept 16.5 . It is very neutral sounding with an excellent sense of space and dimensionality. The dynamics are really excellent. The bass is also resolved with more power and weight than just about any dedicated headphone amp that I have heard regardless of cost. I am sure the phones you are using are more colored than the 701s. You are not hearing the source as honestly as you think.

 

[bosiemoncrieff]

I used my q701s unamplified before getting the topping tp30 amp/dac. The sound change is everything you would expect—richer, more refined, less harsh. Still, even on some studio recorded tracks (in 320kbps aac or more) I get a little scratching or rattling sound, usually on the right side. I'm having difficulty discerning a pattern, but conclude that despite their neutral signature and highly detailed sound, they are somewhat picky headphones. Karajan and his Berlin Philharmonic seem most consistently immune (even on a recording of Meistersinger which I only have in dreadful 128kbps), but ultimately I suppose I will simply have to upgrade the amp situation...

 

[rmuhzon]

Hi guys,
I recently got my q701. I am trying to decide a budget amp for it. Unfortunately, these are the options available to me.
 
FiiO E06 Portable Headphone Amplifier
FiiO Kilimanjaro2 E11K Portable Headphone Amplifier
Fiio E11 Portable amplifier
BEHRINGER MICROAMP HA400 
 
Please suggest me the best from these.
 
Thanks a lot.

 

[jodgey4]

Fiio E11K I think is your best bet - it should have the most power. Fiio E12 would have enough power for sure, if you can find it used.

 

[tvnosaint]

I'd keep my eye on the classifieds here and save a little more. You can get some really good deals. I've seen lyrs for $225 on here. That's a great amp for the Qs.

 

[TsukiNick]

I'd keep my eye on the classifieds here and save a little more. You can get some really good deals. I've seen lyrs for $225 on here. That's a great amp for the Qs.

Would the Lyr actually be good for the Q701/K701 variants?  I would think the low impedance load would be quite bad for anything with tubes.  I don't know too much on the specs of the lyr just know it's a hybrid but when I used it with the LD MKIII it wasn't very good compared to my Schiit Magni, however it sounded pretty nice using the LD MKIII as a preamp for the Magni.
 
So main question is does the Lyr use tubes to change the sound but the actually driving part of the amp is solid state?

 

[tvnosaint]

Yes, the tubes are input stage the output is solid state. It drives the Qs very nicely. The biggest downside to me the hunt for tubes. That can run into money. But with the jjs or ge's that come with it, it's still a great amp. Likely, a used one will come with upgraded tubes or at least the option for additional money.

 

[tvnosaint]

There are a couple of geek out 450's on there now at $130. That thing sounds awesome with the Qs. It gets loud enough and has a really good dac too. It's not head banging loud but it is too loud for me sometimes to be played all the way up. Source dependent of course. It just plugs into your USB

 

[rmuhzon]

Thanks, guys. 
I know the next question is a pretty bad question, but yeah. 

Is there any significant improvement in the sound quality when using an amp if my source is a standard laptop\PC?

 

[tvnosaint]

Yes, in every way. Bass quantity and quality , soundstage clarity and separation. Amping is essential.

 

[rmuhzon]

Thanks tvnosaint. Sorry for obvious question.

 

[tvnosaint]

We all had a beginning. The q needs power to flesh out the sound. I rarely listen to mine these days but always enjoy them when they make the rotation. I still feel they are a great deal for sound. But obviously not for everyone. I understand why some say its too peaky or harsh in the treble. It's just not to my ears. I have a problem with sennheiser 6xxs treble kills me. Amping helps with the Qs short comings for sure. So does a dac. That's why I recommend a combo from the used section to people looking to amp them for the first time. Dac was as big as the amp in terms of improvement to me. Warmer dac helps with strident treble and high mids. Or of course EQ in your software. Like foobar has

 

[jodgey4]

IME, amping does nothing to the Q701's besides add volume. YMMV.

 

[Shaffer]

I have K702, waiting on K7XX to arrive to add to the stable, but that's beside the point. Frankly, I'm having a difficult time swallowing some of the comments, as I'm assuming the poster isn't actually deaf. An amplifier is used no matter what. The question becomes, can this amplifier effectively drive the headphones. An amp in a phone will make a sound, sure. If that's all that's required, why buy such revealing cans? If one can't hear a difference on the low-end, alone, with a hefty amplifier, why is there participation in a discussion revolving around sound quality? None of this makes sense.

 

[tvnosaint]

Geek out V2 is a beast with the Q. great timbre, space and dynamics. the upper mids are more relaxed and the bass gains quite a bit of weight. At 1 watt it more than powerful enough to drive the hell out of the q. at this early stage of the process with the V2 it is my favorite amp for them. I think this is due to the sweet dac section here. I'm listening to push the sky away by Nick Cave and it sounds like listening to it for the first time (the q). The big plus is that its portable. im on my porch completely engulfed in glorious sound. $300 us, pretty nice deal. computer has to be post Xp, linux or macs don't even need a driver install. Its not gonna make your ears bleed. its not even half as loud as the lyr its not as loud as the Zdac either. but its better than the latter. it will not distort at its highest register but while sitting here I've turned it down for some shocking guitar pieces on murder ballads. Edited for update