[CloudMoose]

 

Interesting, I had the Mini-I before but sold it off before I got the Mav Tubemagic A1. I've tried it with Mullard tubes but it sounded too muddy with the Qs, maybe not enough power getting to the tubes. The Telefunken tubes in there now sounded great as far as SQ but the soundstage was too wide. Yes, it can get too wide folks... it almost felt like two separate hemispheres of sound. I am pairing the A1 with the Yulong D100 so your experience might be slightly different. The Mini-I is warm in nature so I can only imagine that and a tube does great things for the Q. Believe it or not though, in comparison to the Mullard and Telefunken, the Raytheon tubes are bright sounding.

BTW, the Mini-I is only balanced if you're running via XLR outs. The RCA outs are not balanced. I might go back to the Raytheon tubes and try the Q701s again.

Thanks for the impressions.
 
It was my understanding that the Mini-I has two AD1955 DAC chips would it not still use both to decode regardless of balanced or single-ended output?
 
I understand that you're only going to be balanced if you've got the proper equipment running the XLRs out of the mini-i.
 
Also, my impressions may be different than most as I split and recabled my Q701 with Mogami 2534.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

You're still using both dac chips yes but to utilize full balanced you'll need to use xlr out to a balanced amp. The SE hp jack is not balanced but it does use both Dac to decode.

 

[Stillhart]

Can I gush some more?  I'm really loving my Q701 with the bass mod.  I was listening to this album https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iw12zvPubyc and it was track 4 or 6 where I was thinking to myself, "Man, this crazy bass would sound great on my X1!"  I popped them in and relized again that, though the bass is massive, it's also kinda sloppy.  The Q has a much more controlled bass that just feels better to me.
 
I love the Q so much that I decided to get rid of the X1's.  As fun as they are, the Q just does everything better except for mega-bass.  But I must not be a bass-head because I'll take deep, controlled bass over massive, sloppy bass!  Add on the sparkly highs and the massive soundstage and the Q's are just all I want right now.
 
Well, I mean except for an amp so I can get the most out of them.  With the money I will recoup from the X1, I should be able to snag a nice amp no problem.
 
There's not enough gushing in this thread.  We need more of it. 

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

If you want to experience bass unlike any other that he400 will have you going ommmmggggg. It's not going to be balanced like the Q across the board but ortho bass is on another league.

That razor dog deal is fantastic.

 

[Solrighal]

Can I gush some more?  I'm really loving my Q701 with the bass mod.  I was listening to this album https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iw12zvPubyc and it was track 4 or 6 where I was thinking to myself, "Man, this crazy bass would sound great on my X1!"  I popped them in and relized again that, though the bass is massive, it's also kinda sloppy.  The Q has a much more controlled bass that just feels better to me.

I love the Q so much that I decided to get rid of the X1's.  As fun as they are, the Q just does everything better except for mega-bass.  But I must not be a bass-head because I'll take deep, controlled bass over massive, sloppy bass!  Add on the sparkly highs and the massive soundstage and the Q's are just all I want right now.

Well, I mean except for an amp so I can get the most out of them.  With the money I will recoup from the X1, I should be able to snag a nice amp no problem.

There's not enough gushing in this thread.  We need more of it. 

Yesterday I took delivery of my latest purchase. I bought an ODAC XL & O2 Desktop amp. My Q's have been transformed. So much so that last night I had my first beer(s) of the year to celebrate. Impressions to follow.

 

[tdockweiler]

Last night I reversed the bass mod for testing. Just watched one movie and listened to music today for a few hours.
I almost immediately missed the modded version within the first hour.
 
My main reaction was like "Hey, where did my soundstage depth go?" It's like there was SLIGHTLY more width, but everything seemed more shoved in my face and more in my head/close up. It was almost annoying. Of course this depends on the tracks. Even the "Buena Vista Social Club" cd (which is good for testing) sounded a bit "off". The modded version just seems more accurate to the recording. Maybe the stock version seems a bit more colored. You could either prefer stock or modded. Some might even find a way to get the sound halfway between the two. I think for that you could try replacing the outer grill foam with another material. I used a thin piece of gauze type material and it sounded really good. Could be hearing things though!
 
With the outer grill foam removed the sound is too harsh for my ears, especially with some ear piercing female vocals (in Jpop)
 
One idea is to take measurements with first the grill installed, but without foam and then with the grill completely off.
 
I once tried the modded version with no outer grill and it was pretty awful...
 
BTW when you compare the HD-650 (which is actually fairly neutral to me..my pair anyway) to the modded Q701, the Q701 gets the soundstage depth right. It sounds almost exactly how it does on the HD-650. On the stock Q701 it's a bit different..
 
Of course you need really specific tracks, because some of them have almost no sense of depth IN the recording.
 
Recording depth seems so hard to judge on some headphones. Especially with no good DAC or weak amping. I remember when I had my first headphone and CD player, it just didn't exist and everything came from one same spot it seemed like.
 
That's one difference I hear between the ODAC and Modi. The Modi seemed to have better depth. How the heck is that even possible?!
 
EDIT: Going to force myself to use the Q701 stock for testing for a week or two.I don't use my headphones as much now though and right now it's split between the HD-650 and Q701. I still think my DJ100 with M50 pads sounds just a good though

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

I'm listening to the Q701 with the Vali and boy does it sound great. The chain is Dell Laptop - Audio-GD NFB-10SE (as DAC only) - Schiit Vali - Qs. My nice interconnect comes in tomorrow, in the mean time I'm using bottom drawer stuff.

First, the volume pot movement is the best match out of all my HPs. For the softer classical musics I can go to 1-2 o'clock. For the louder recordings I'm at 10-12 o'clock.

It is indeed a very transparent amp this Vali. It adds enough subtle tube sound to make the music a little more musical..feet tapping stuff really. Female vocals has that hint of sweetness. Pluck of strings has a nice ring to it and violins that already sound sweet with the Q just got an extra dash of sweetness. Not overly to where it sounds sloppy or slow but just the right amount of tube sound. (Is decay the right term to use for that tube sound? Mayne not) Try Amber Rubart's "Novocaine" on the binaural album Sessions from the 17th Ward. I'll edit with the Spotify link tomorrow. If you haven't experienced a binaural album with your Qs yet...YOU'RE IN FOR A TREAT!

Speaking of binaural albums, that brings me to soundstage. The Vali leaves soundstage something to be desired on most phones (the He-4 with the Vali can be compared to IEM soundstage, I kid you not). On the Qs (and esw9) the soundstage doesn't seem to be as closed in. The Vali and Qs pairing actually creates a more desirable soundstage to me. Whereas before some recordings can get too far out there (Ottmar Liebert's - Up Close binaural CD for example), the Vali brings it in nicely for some intimacy but still out of your head sound. I'll get the Spotify link on that as well tomorrow.

So what's the catch? Well to be honest this is a matching made in heaven so not much to complain about but maybe 30-45min wait to get optimal sound out of the Vali, 10m minimum in my book to prolong those tube life. That's another thing, you can't swap or tube roll. Schiit offers $20 plus shipping for post warranty tube replacements so that's not a big worry. The amp also gets warm to the touch, nothing too crazy but i wouldnt go stuffing it into a tight space. This is my first Schiit product so maybe it's raised my expectations for future pairings now... if your Qs are your main rig and ponder whats the best way to get more out of em (that is if you have transparency via DAC already), I'll have to say a tube amp is one thing to look at with the Vali as one of the top contenders. I think its a lot to be gained sound-wise for the price. Ever hear of diminishing returns? This is the opposite for me right now going from the built-in of the Audio-GD to the Vali. The Audio-GD's built in amp is no slouch either. Increasing returns, something you'll never hear around here lol

 

[Solrighal]

Nice write-up my friend. I also considered the Vali but in the end I opted for something I could source in Europe and went for the ODAC XL & O2. Your impressions regarding soundstage surprisingly mirror my own. I actually have less but it's much more focused and solid sounding. I can only compare it to my Fiio E18 which, although having plenty of power on paper, didn't really take a grip of the music much. Hard to put into words really. I get the sweetness too. I think un-amped the Q's are a bit dry and lean, shrill even with some tracks, but now everything sounds so right. I'm not sure though how much of this improvement is down to the DAC and how much is the amp. Maybe it's just a combination of both. Whatever, for the money it's a no-brainer. The Vali is hardly big bucks either. Such a refreshing change eh? Now, cables. What's the thoughts on DAC to amp cables? The ones I'm using right now are 1m long. Ideally about 4" would do the job since the DAC and amp are so tiny and stacked together. Trouble most cables are so thick that a short length wouldn't be able to bend properly.

 

[Fishwater]

I'm listening to the Q701 with the Vali and boy does it sound great. The chain is Dell Laptop - Audio-GD NFB-10SE (as DAC only) - Schiit Vali - Qs. My nice interconnect comes in tomorrow, in the mean time I'm using bottom drawer stuff.

First, the volume pot movement is the best match out of all my HPs. For the softer classical musics I can go to 1-2 o'clock. For the louder recordings I'm at 10-12 o'clock.

It is indeed a very transparent amp this Vali. It adds enough subtle tube sound to make the music a little more musical..feet tapping stuff really. Female vocals has that hint of sweetness. Pluck of strings has a nice ring to it and violins that already sound sweet with the Q just got an extra dash of sweetness. Not overly to where it sounds sloppy or slow but just the right amount of tube sound. (Is decay the right term to use for that tube sound? Mayne not) Try Amber Rubart's "Novocaine" on the binaural album Sessions from the 17th Ward. I'll edit with the Spotify link tomorrow. If you haven't experienced a binaural album with your Qs yet...YOU'RE IN FOR A TREAT!

Speaking of binaural albums, that brings me to soundstage. The Vali leaves soundstage something to be desired on most phones (the He-4 with the Vali can be compared to IEM soundstage, I kid you not). On the Qs (and esw9) the soundstage doesn't seem to be as closed in. The Vali and Qs pairing actually creates a more desirable soundstage to me. Whereas before some recordings can get too far out there (Ottmar Liebert's - Up Close binaural CD for example), the Vali brings it in nicely for some intimacy but still out of your head sound. I'll get the Spotify link on that as well tomorrow.

So what's the catch? Well to be honest this is a matching made in heaven so not much to complain about but maybe 30-45min wait to get optimal sound out of the Vali, 10m minimum in my book to prolong those tube life. That's another thing, you can't swap or tube roll. Schiit offers $20 plus shipping for post warranty tube replacements so that's not a big worry. The amp also gets warm to the touch, nothing too crazy but i wouldnt go stuffing it into a tight space. This is my first Schiit product so maybe it's raised my expectations for future pairings now... if your Qs are your main rig and ponder whats the best way to get more out of em (that is if you have transparency via DAC already), I'll have to say a tube amp is one thing to look at with the Vali as one of the top contenders. I think its a lot to be gained sound-wise for the price. Ever hear of diminishing returns? This is the opposite for me right now going from the built-in of the Audio-GD to the Vali. The Audio-GD's built in amp is no slouch either. Increasing returns, something you'll never hear around here lol

Actually, I feel decay is the best way to describe some of the magic of tubes. That's what I always pick up on at least, I notice the impact & then the decay, it's why I feel while there are solid state amps that sound "tubeish" they never do it enough justice. I'm on the hunt for a tube amp for these Q's & feel pretty confident that the right pairing will bring my experience to another level. Right now the Pan Am looks like the direction I may go in although I haven't read much of the pairing.

 

[Smugsie]

Nice write-up my friend. I also considered the Vali but in the end I opted for something I could source in Europe and went for the ODAC XL & O2. Your impressions regarding soundstage surprisingly mirror my own. I actually have less but it's much more focused and solid sounding. I can only compare it to my Fiio E18 which, although having plenty of power on paper, didn't really take a grip of the music much. Hard to put into words really. I get the sweetness too. I think un-amped the Q's are a bit dry and lean, shrill even with some tracks, but now everything sounds so right. I'm not sure though how much of this improvement is down to the DAC and how much is the amp. Maybe it's just a combination of both. Whatever, for the money it's a no-brainer. The Vali is hardly big bucks either. Such a refreshing change eh? Now, cables. What's the thoughts on DAC to amp cables? The ones I'm using right now are 1m long. Ideally about 4" would do the job since the DAC and amp are so tiny and stacked together. Trouble most cables are so thick that a short length wouldn't be able to bend properly.

Yeahhhh, the soundstage did shrink a teenee bit for me on the ODAC. Although my ears grew into it, can't wait to hear impressions!

 

 

[DaemonSire]

Speaking of cheap hybrid tube amps like the Vali, how does the Little Dot I+ sound with the Q's?  I would think it would be a great matchup too.
 
And you could tube roll with it.

 

[Androb]

Hello!
Can anyone give me some tips in washing the pads? What is the best way to do it and what should I use?

 

[Solrighal]

Speaking of cheap hybrid tube amps like the Vali, how does the Little Dot I+ sound with the Q's?  I would think it would be a great matchup too.

And you could tube roll with it.

I very nearly bought one, with the same reasoning as you. I subscribed to the thread and was told that the range of tubes available don't really do anything for the Q's. I think you really need to move up the range a bit before they enhance the sound. That seemed to be the consensus anyway. Needless to say I didn't buy it and went for the ODAC & O2. I absolutely don't regret it though. This combination sounds fantastic to my ears. Easily the best sound I have ever heard. On some albums the improvements are startling. As if a blanket has been lifted away!

 

[jasonb]

I very nearly bought one, with the same reasoning as you. I subscribed to the thread and was told that the range of tubes available don't really do anything for the Q's. I think you really need to move up the range a bit before they enhance the sound. That seemed to be the consensus anyway. Needless to say I didn't buy it and went for the ODAC & O2. I absolutely don't regret it though. This combination sounds fantastic to my ears. Easily the best sound I have ever heard. On some albums the improvements are startling. As if a blanket has been lifted away!

That's how I felt when I got my ODAC. I was using the DAC section of an E17 right up until the day I got mine and the difference was significant for sure. It is definitely a good match to the Q701. It is also a good match to my near field speaker rig. 

 

[Stillhart]

An amp is definitely going to be my next purchase.  I'm strongly leaning toward picking up my friends's Matrix M-Stage, which supposedly pairs really well with the Q701.  It's in the next sort of price bracket up from the O2 and Vali/Magni, and supposedly it's a clone of a $1500 amp.  I hear it's VERY good for the price.
 
Now if I can just get rid of these X1's...