[movi]

certainly for this price point i would look at the FUN or even the Sparrow. there are a few reviews here of the FUN and lots of information. still waiting for people to share their experiences with the Sparrow since it just came out. i have been looking into whether either of these would drive the HD-650s, and so far i'm getting the feeling from people's responses that both should have more than enough juice, so they should have no problem with the K702's either

 

[Ypoknons]

I've heard Compass (Fun's predecessor) to K701. It's a good amp, I'd be a happy listener with it, but it's not hard to beat if you spend a bit more. I'm playing the role of the unwitting shill for amps in general, no doubt 

. 

 

[dromios]

I really wanted to get the C2 but Kingwa and many others advised strongly against it without a decent source, so I'm either going with the FUN or Sparrow.  If money wasn't an issue I'd certainly get the FUN + Earth, but unfortunately it is so the Sparrow is something I'm looking a bit more into.  Waiting for Kingwa to get back to me at the moment I wanted to ask him about the differences between the Basic Version and Version A.  The damn FUN is so appealing though, especially with the Earth OPA.  If only the Sparrow had the capability for HADM, it'd be a no brainer.  Has anyone had experience with the Basic and A versions of either of these neat products?
 
I asked David from LD and Kingwa about how their products line up with an iPod + Dock as a source with two totally different responses.
 
David says "An iPod with lossless is perfectly fine as a source.  You may want to use a dock-out connection as that would be the most similar to to a line-out that most sources provide."
 
Kingwa says "I think the FUN is better.  The Ipod not a good source.  The FUN from laptop is absolutely better."
 
I don't want to cast aspersions but I didn't see a DAC/AMP combo on LD's section of Audiophile China, maybe that had some influence in his decision.

 

[K3cT]

Kingwa is right.

 

[dromios]

Just opened up the AKG K701's and I have to say, even using a Total Bithead as a DAC/AMP I'm VERY impressed.  I'm glad I chose these over the HD 595's, they're on a totally different level in my opinion (relative to the music I've tried thus far).  Can't wait to see what a decent amp/dac combo will bring to my ears

 

[Pariah1]

My first "real" headphone was the 595's. I bought them back before I really knew better (I didn't even know about this forum). They are decent, but they can not match my 702's or Grado 225i's either for that matter. And the thing is they almost cost the same as the those two much better cans, although the 702's used to be more expensive.
 
I'm in the process of looking for a solid state amp to drive my 702's. I have a hybrid EF-1 which is a good amp, and it is great with my 225i's, but I feel it can't really drive the 702's to their full potential.
 
Anyway, good luck and glad you choose not to stick with the 595's like I did for too long. The 702's just blow them away!