[wwmhf]

Quote:

 
 
x2
 
They may be harder to drive than you would expect for a 62 ohm headphone, but they're not as bad as Head-fi talk will lead you to believe. 

 
Agreed. 

 

[wwmhf]

Quote:

 
Measurements actually show that the K701/K702/Q701 are among the hardest to drive full size dynamic headphones:
 
K701:    Volts RMS required to reach 90dB SPL:    0.320 Vrms
K701 (another sample):    Volts RMS required to reach 90dB SPL:    0.283 Vrms
Q701:    Volts RMS required to reach 90dB SPL:    0.318 Vrms
DT880-250:    Volts RMS required to reach 90dB SPL:    0.299 Vrms
HD600:    Volts RMS required to reach 90dB SPL:    0.230 Vrms
HD650:    Volts RMS required to reach 90dB SPL:    0.205 Vrms
 
Additionally, their low impedance means that at the same voltage they draw much more current than the other headphones shown for comparison. When using a source with high output impedance, the voltage on the AKG's will drop more, too, making them quieter. On the other hand, their more mid-forward frequency response may increase the perceived loudness somewhat.

 
Thanks for these data and your analysis. 

 

[jasonb]

So according to all these numbers the E17 will have no problem getting the Q701 to and beyond safe listening levels. It easily and cleanly drives mine into the 80's which is about as loud as I'd ever listen.

 

[Chris J]

Quote:

So according to all these numbers the E17 will have no problem getting the Q701 to and beyond safe listening levels. It easily and cleanly drives mine into the 80's which is about as loud as I'd ever listen.

 
I ain't got no problems using an E17 to drive my Qs to any volume level I want.
 
OTOH, I wouldn't mind trying out a pair of Qs with a Bryston BHA-1 headphone amp if anyone wants to lend me one for a few months?  For research purposes, you understand.

 

[Sheik Yerbutay]

Well after reading several threads about the Q701's in their entirety... my head hurts!

 
So I decided that I am going to take the plunge on these (50/50 between gaming and music of all genres on flac or sacd's) but like so many others, am struggling on what amp to get. I have narrowed my short list to the following 3, The Heed Can Amp, LD1+ or the Creek Audio OBH-21's (have a chance to buy a used one but havent read anything about them being used with the q701's). Additionally, I plan on picking up the Mixamp 5.8 for gaming.
 
My first question is do I really need a DAC? I will be listening to the music via my AVR amp (Pioneer vsx-53) or from my laptop.
 
My second question is, do any of you have any experience with the aforementioned amps with these cans? If so, good or bad thoughts would be most appreciated!
 
Lastly, are replacing the cables a neccessity or more a personal preference?
 
Thanks in advance!

 

[Chris J]

Quote:

Well after reading several threads about the Q701's in their entirety... my head hurts!

 
So I decided that I am going to take the plunge on these (50/50 between gaming and music of all genres on flac or sacd's) but like so many others, am struggling on what amp to get. I have narrowed my short list to the following 3, The Heed Can Amp, LD1+ or the Creek Audio OBH-21's (have a chance to buy a used one but havent read anything about them being used with the q701's). Additionally, I plan on picking up the Mixamp 5.8 for gaming.
 
My first question is do I really need a DAC? I will be listening to the music via my AVR amp (Pioneer vsx-53) or from my laptop.
 
My second question is, do any of you have any experience with the aforementioned amps with these cans? If so, good or bad thoughts would be most appreciated!
 
Lastly, are replacing the cables a neccessity or more a personal preference?
 
Thanks in advance!

 
Welcome to Head Fi you Frank Zappa fan!

 

[Sheik Yerbutay]

Quote:

 
Welcome to Head Fi you Frank Zappa fan!

hahaha Thanks! Usually it takes some time for people to get the name let alone the origin

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

Well after reading several threads about the Q701's in their entirety... my head hurts!

 
So I decided that I am going to take the plunge on these (50/50 between gaming and music of all genres on flac or sacd's) but like so many others, am struggling on what amp to get. I have narrowed my short list to the following 3, The Heed Can Amp, LD1+ or the Creek Audio OBH-21's (have a chance to buy a used one but havent read anything about them being used with the q701's). Additionally, I plan on picking up the Mixamp 5.8 for gaming.
 
My first question is do I really need a DAC? I will be listening to the music via my AVR amp (Pioneer vsx-53) or from my laptop.
 
My second question is, do any of you have any experience with the aforementioned amps with these cans? If so, good or bad thoughts would be most appreciated!
 
Lastly, are replacing the cables a neccessity or more a personal preference?
 
Thanks in advance!

 
Regarding DACs, Yes.  There is a big audible difference between getting music from a laptop's onboard sound and a hi-quality DAC.  My laptop was bottlenecking the sound quite a bit by the time an external amp got the signal.
 
Can't say about those particular amps, but a desktop amp of some sort is recommened.  There is the new Schiit Magni amp for $99, I don't know how good it is though.
 
I don't think cables will matter as long as they are built decently.  Anything from monoprice is usually decent enough, especially for digital cables like USB.  For interconnects, I wouldn't get anything more than $15-20.

 

[Sheik Yerbutay]

Quote:

 
Regarding DACs, Yes.  There is a big audible difference between getting music from a laptop's onboard sound and a hi-quality DAC.  My laptop was bottlenecking the sound quite a bit by the time an external amp got the signal.
 
Can't say about those particular amps, but a desktop amp of some sort is recommened.  There is the new Schiit Magni amp for $99, I don't know how good it is though.
 
I don't think cables will matter as long as they are built decently.  Anything from monoprice is usually decent enough, especially for digital cables like USB.  For interconnects, I wouldn't get anything more than $15-20.

 
How well does the O2+ODAC play with these cans?

 

[wwmhf]

With a good enough DAC or CD player, Q701 plays better with a better amp. I tried a pair of Q701 on 4 different amps, the performance of these phones were very different and I could easily determine which one I liked better.

 

[Sheik Yerbutay]

Quote:

With a good enough DAC or CD player, Q701 plays better with a better amp. I tried a pair of Q701 on 4 different amps, the performance of these phones were very different and I could easily determine which one I liked better.

Hmmm... well I have an Oppo BDP-83 which has a pretty decent DAC but have no idea how I would go about connecting this to it since it doesnt have a HP jack. More to research I guess. Hahaha I have to admit, this is getting somewhat overwhelming! Perhaps I will just pick up the amp and Mixamp to see how that tides me over before picking up a DAC..

 

[autoteleology]

I can vouch for the Objective 2 being a very good amp for the Q701...

http://www.head-fi.org/t/616331/o2-amp-odac/495#post_8953261

 

[wwmhf]

Quote:

Hmmm... well I have an Oppo BDP-83 which has a pretty decent DAC but have no idea how I would go about connecting this to it since it doesnt have a HP jack. More to research I guess. Hahaha I have to admit, this is getting somewhat overwhelming! Perhaps I will just pick up the amp and Mixamp to see how that tides me over before picking up a DAC..

 
Oppo BDP-83 had a good reputation even though it had a big brother BDP-85 if I remember it. 
 
Your player should have a pair audio output jack in the back. You need to connect its stereo output to an headphone amplifier that drives you headphones.  This kind of players usually have a lot of plugs in the back. Try to find the one just for stereo output, not those for multi-channel output.
 
Also, it is a good idea to connect your BDP-85 to a TV and use its on screen menu to set up it audio output properly. The basic principle for the setup is maximize its audio performance, minimize it video activities. You only have to this once. 

 

[ciolic]

Quote:

People always assume that the sensitivity is in dB/mW - it is not. The AKG sensitivity, like the Senns, is in dB/V. In which case the 105 dB/V @ 62 Ohms = 92.9 dB/mW. The LCD-2 is rated at 91 dB/mW, the HD650 is 96.8.

That perhaps is true. I found that my macbook pro can't drive the q701 properly, may be is  because the sensitivity is too low.

 

[Ren19]

if we compare the Objective2 vs Matrix M-Stage on the Q701, wich one gives me the best ratio price/quality?