[Chris J]

Quote:

Has anyone tried both the O2 AND Magni with the Q701? Which one did you prefer?
 

 
There is a thread started by a guy who compared the O2 and ODAC to the Magni and "whatsisname" DAC.
 
He said the two combos sound identical. I'm not surprised. They probably sound virtually identical to the E09K + E17.
 
I'll post a link when I find the thread, i.e when I have more time!

 

[Kodhifi]

A lot of what's out there about the Q701 is innocent ignorance of the differences it has with the K701. They are different cans with a different sound signature, they weren't just rebranded, they were refined.
 
The Q701 for instance has much more bass than the K701, it is also easier to drive to comfortable levels. My Q701's are louder than my Beyerdynamic DT880 250ohm!
 
The biggest problem I had with the Q701 out of the box was how god awful colored the sound was for the first few hours. It was so bad it had me checking my system to make sure I didn't have some wonky EQ setting turned on in my effects chain.
 
The sound improves leaps and bounds the first few hours and then more slowly after that.
 

 

[demontux]

a lot of people are talking about the far soundstage, i dont really feel that, sound feel just the way i want it to be. vocals sounds amazing, and the band just serround you, the Q701 are very very musical !!!!! not analytic at all.
maybe its because the drivers do not touch your ears it has more fine listening experience and airness like a high end stereo speakers.
 
anyway i am so happy i bought those, i would love to hear from an experience guy if there is such a huge significant imporvment with an amp, cuz now the headphones are amazing for me, i am very happy i bought them change my whole listening experience.

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

 
There is a thread started by a guy who compared the O2 and ODAC to the Magni and "whatsisname" DAC.
 
He said the two combos sound identical. I'm not surprised. They probably sound virtually identical to the E09K + E17.
 
I'll post a link when I find the thread, i.e when I have more time!

Yeah I saw that but he wasn't using the Q701.
I'm sure the Magni probably sounds similar to the O2, but then again some people probably can't tell the difference between an E5 and a Lyr.
I honestly might fail a blind test with the E9 and Magni. If I passed, it'd have to be with songs i've listened to thousands of times. The E9 does seem fuller sounding, but less accurate and not as transparent. I actually think I might prefer the Q701 with the E9 despite not being technically better.
 
I don't know how people out of nowhere got this idea that the Magni is as transparent as the O2. I know Schiit supposedly claims it's supposed to be as flat as possible. Or at least that's what someone says they said! I've only seen one frequency graph of the Magni though.
 
To my ears the Magni sounds transparent. The Q701 does sound a bit fuller sounding with the E9 compared to the Magni. E9 measures mostly flat too except for some minor bass and treble roll-off (I think).
 
Think i'll get an O2 one of these days...

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

a lot of people are talking about the far soundstage, i dont really feel that, sound feel just the way i want it to be. vocals sounds amazing, and the band just serround you, the Q701 are very very musical !!!!! not analytic at all.
maybe its because the drivers do not touch your ears it has more fine listening experience and airness like a high end stereo speakers.
 
anyway i am so happy i bought those, i would love to hear from an experience guy if there is such a huge significant imporvment with an amp, cuz now the headphones are amazing for me, i am very happy i bought them change my whole listening experience.

I never found the Q701 to have an abnormally huge soundstage. The K702 did, but I only think it's due to my brain being fooled due to it being less warm and having more treble.
To me the K702's soundstage never sounded right to me, but I was using it with an Asgard I think.
 
I also never understood this thing about some claiming the Q701 has poor imaging or a bad center image. To me this is nonsense! The Q701 has a better center image than the HD-650 and imaging is very good. Must be my imagination, but it did feel like the soundstage and imaging got more accurate when I got the ODAC.
 
The Q701 most definitely needs an external amp IMO. It's much smoother sounding with a good amp too. The Q701 is a bit thinner sounding without an external amp. A litle more harsh sounding with some music too. I find the Q701 a lot more fatiguing without an external amp.
 
My minimum requirements for the Q701 are the Total Airhead plus headphone out of my portable player. I know it's like "double amping", but LOD cable method doesn't sound as good. Sort of as if the Q701 isn't getting enough power.
 
If you need an amp you could try the $90 Fiio E9 or Schiit Magni. I didn't like it with the E11 unless i used the headphone out of my portable player for extra power.

 

[derbigpr]

Quote:

Yeah I saw that but he wasn't using the Q701.
I'm sure the Magni probably sounds similar to the O2, but then again some people probably can't tell the difference between an E5 and a Lyr.
I honestly might fail a blind test with the E9 and Magni. If I passed, it'd have to be with songs i've listened to thousands of times. The E9 does seem fuller sounding, but less accurate and not as transparent. I actually think I might prefer the Q701 with the E9 despite not being technically better.
 
I don't know how people out of nowhere got this idea that the Magni is as transparent as the O2. I know Schiit supposedly claims it's supposed to be as flat as possible. Or at least that's what someone says they said! I've only seen one frequency graph of the Magni though.
 
To my ears the Magni sounds transparent. The Q701 does sound a bit fuller sounding with the E9 compared to the Magni. E9 measures mostly flat too except for some minor bass and treble roll-off (I think).
 
Think i'll get an O2 one of these days...

 
 
How far do you turn the volume knob on the Magni and E9 when using Q701? Which one has more gain / volume headroom? Also, is there any hiss apparent on either of them at higher volumes when music is not playing?

 

[Chris J]

Quote:

Yeah I saw that but he wasn't using the Q701.
I'm sure the Magni probably sounds similar to the O2, but then again some people probably can't tell the difference between an E5 and a Lyr.
I honestly might fail a blind test with the E9 and Magni. If I passed, it'd have to be with songs i've listened to thousands of times. The E9 does seem fuller sounding, but less accurate and not as transparent. I actually think I might prefer the Q701 with the E9 despite not being technically better.
 
I don't know how people out of nowhere got this idea that the Magni is as transparent as the O2. I know Schiit supposedly claims it's supposed to be as flat as possible. Or at least that's what someone says they said! I've only seen one frequency graph of the Magni though.
 
To my ears the Magni sounds transparent. The Q701 does sound a bit fuller sounding with the E9 compared to the Magni. E9 measures mostly flat too except for some minor bass and treble roll-off (I think).
 
Think i'll get an O2 one of these days...

 
This here's the link for anyone else interested:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/642401/comparison-and-review-magni-modi-vs-o2-odac
 
Personally, I prefer the Q701 thru the E09K headphone jack over the E17 headphone jack.

 

[Archernick]

Hey guys. I love the Q701's to pieces, a massive upgrade from my Razer Megaldons. Paired with my Xonar Essence STX they sound beautiful, until this horrible rattling noise appears in the right driver.
 
Disclosure: this is my 2nd pair from Amazon.co.uk. The last pair had the same issue where any heavy bass frequencies would make the right earphone/driver rattle of sorts. I recorded a video below with my mic to the driver in question where you can hear what I mean.
 
 

[size=12px][color=rgb(51, 51, 51)] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-UMCgFBdcM&feature=youtube_gdata[/color][/size]

 
It's at the 9-11 seconds where you can hear the rattle, when the bass first hits the video. Ignore the lightsaber noise as that doesn't reproduce it.
 
I've checked with multiple people who own a pair and none of the settings I have should produce this, here is what I have for more disclosure:
 
AKG Q701's
Asus Xonar Essence STX
 
Xonar Audio Center settings for the Essence STX
 
High Gain +12db 64-300 ohms (The other settings are Normal Gain +0db <64 ohms and Extra High Gain +18db 300-600 ohms)
Soft Rock EQ Setting - Increases the bass a tiny, tiny bit. With this off the problem is still around.
Never go above 40% volume, usually stay at around 32% for general listening.
 
Anyone got any ideas on what it could be? I've sent Amazon my 2nd request for a replacement, because I really, really want to like these headpones.

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

 
 
How far do you turn the volume knob on the Magni and E9 when using Q701? Which one has more gain / volume headroom? Also, is there any hiss apparent on either of them at higher volumes when music is not playing?

 
If I have my volume at 100% in Windows the Q701 only needs to be at around 20-25% or so on the Magni (using ODAC). I'll double check this tonight, but it's VERY low.
Sometimes I just reduce the volume control in Windows, but I can't really notice any differences in sound quality.
 
For some reason my K601 is the only headphone I have that needs to be up around 40% or so.
 
On the E9 I believe the Q701 is at around 30-35%.
 
The Magni does have a ton of gain. I always say that i'll be shocked if anything exists that needs to be at past 75%. I know volume doesn't always mean much..
 
BTW using the DJ100 with the volume in windows at 100% is kind of scary! I don't think it needs to be past 10%. Totally overkill for the DJ100 which is 38 ohm.
 
On my Micro Amp my Q701 is always at 45% on medium gain. This is basically like low gain on most amps, but on the Micro, low is really only useful for IEMs.
Not that anyone asked! High would be at about the same level as the Magni.
 
I've never heard any noise or hiss with any headphone other than my DJ100. On my DJ100 (38ohm) I heard some hiss/noise, but it was due to a crappy cable with poor shielding!
I got it from Guitar Center and it's one of those generic brands. I then tried a Monoprice, RCA and metal shielded GE Ultra Pro cable and it was dead silent! This was the actual cable going to the headphone though.
Someone said the Monoprice cables don't have shielding, but I think this is impossible! Mogami has very good shielding too.
 
I get some weird bass distortion/crackling with my Magni when using thin cables. I don't have a clue why. It's now even occurring with my new Monoprice cables (the thinner versions). Only on one headphone though. Makes no sense.
When I switch amps it's gone.
 
Oh yeah, if anyone was curious..the Magni drives the 600 ohm Sextett with ease. Sounds good too.

 

[winenerd]

New member of the Q701 club here, and within 10 minutes, I'm loving 'em! Everything that people mentioned that made me hesitant to the 70x's seems rather overblown. I thought that they might be way too bright, or the sound stage would be too big for intimate music. However, both the high end and soundstage are exactly what I was looking for! I'm driving them with an Asgard, which I know tdockweiler mentioned was not his fave, but sounds fantastic to me. Anyway, I dig 'em a lot so far.
 
Also, these a lot more versatile genre wise than I would have thought. Listening to some house music right now, it lacks a little bass (no biggie for me). With the huge soundstage though, it makes it feel like I'm in a club.

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

New member of the Q701 club here, and within 10 minutes, I'm loving 'em! Everything that people mentioned that made me hesitant to the 70x's seems rather overblown. I thought that they might be way too bright, or the sound stage would be too big for intimate music. However, both the high end and soundstage are exactly what I was looking for! I'm driving them with an Asgard, which I know tdockweiler mentioned was not his fave, but sounds fantastic to me. Anyway, I dig 'em a lot so far.

 
I probably make things sound worse than they probably are. My opinion of the Asgard might have changed if I had a better DAC at the time. I think back then I was into full sized CD players mostly. Supposedly Schiit made the Asgard sound better with the K702, but I don't know who came up with that or if it's true. I should point out I only had the K702 with the Asgard and not the Q701.
 
I'm loving the Q701 lately. I don't know how on earth I put the HD-650 above it on my favorites list. I think I got a little too excited and needed a break from my Q701. I still love the HD-650 though. Been listening to the Q701 with my Headroom Micro Amp for the last 4 hours. Someone will find this hard to believe, but I just upgraded it's power supply to the Astrodyne model and there is a slight improvement in sound quality. Barely audible on the HD-650 though. Bad recordings are suddenly made a bit worse and now static/hiss is much more present in recordings. Not sure why. I don't know how a silly power supply could improve anything. After comparing it to the Magni, I think it's very transparent. I won't be trying any more amps anytime soon unless it's something more colored. Maybe like a Lyr or something for the HD-650.
 
So much of my music is garbage quality (not due to bit-rate) so sometimes the HD-650 is nice. The Q701 is not too forgiving of bad recordings. Well, somewhat, but it still sounds bad. Most everything sounds good on the HD-650. It's almost like it's fixing it for me

 
I still have some 65th Edition pads on the way and maybe they'll come in early. Kind of a stupid waste of money considering they might not work with the Q701 very well. I also don't really need the Q701 any warmer or bassier. $400 is too much for a headphone when I only listen to music a couple hours a day.
 
BTW the Q701 could sound even better, but what's holding it back is crappy recordings! I'm listening to some 320kbps Jpop and it sounds like it's recorded from a Casette tape! Yet it's from CD.
 
Oh yeah.. I still think the Q701 is one of my favorite headphones for female vocals. My HD-598 has been in my closet for the last 6 months. So sad..

Never really liked the K702 for them, but I won't go there.

 

[winenerd]

Haha yeah I was just a bit worried since I ordered the Asgard while planning on getting other phones, but then there was a cheapish Q701 and went for it the same day. There was a couple other reviews saying they were not a good match, but then there was also glowing reviews of the pair. So far, so good though.

 

[jasonb]

Q701 rules! 

 

[jaymoney]

i was just looking for an upgrade from my hd595s they always left me with wanting more and i was just looking for a new pair in general and a friend told me about the q701s and they seemed pretty good. i listen to alot of rock,punk,alternative, and like rap and dubstep sometimes. if that helps 

 

[Kodhifi]

Quote:

 
The Q701 most definitely needs an external amp IMO. It's much smoother sounding with a good amp too. The Q701 is a bit thinner sounding without an external amp. A litle more harsh sounding with some music too. I find the Q701 a lot more fatiguing without an external amp.
 

I found the Q701 to be a better performer, power wise, than my 250ohm DT880's. They are almost as good as the MDR-V6 in terms of how loud they get at a particular level.
 
Using my Soundblaster X-Fi or my Iphone I get a good volume without the problems you describe when turned up all the way. They are loud but not uncomfortably so and maybe not as loud as I'd like on quieter sources like quiet classical passages.
 
When I use them with my FiiO E9 I have the gain set low (less power) and the phones plugged into the 6.5mm jack which is -6db so I'm basically cutting them -16db from what the amp is capable of, and I find 1/4 volume to be good for most material and 1/2 way up is quite loud, the point where it starts to hurt on loud material.
 
I haven't found them particularly hard to drive and I'd say that with a good source they are completely portable without an external amp.