[tdockweiler]

 
 
Quote:

I never said you were wrong except from an objective point of view. In addition, I was implying that I've had troubles with the Q701's trebles even under the so-called "less analytical" DACs and that an ODAC probably would not have made much of a difference. In other words, even if I heard the Q701 + ODAC, my impressions wouldn't be much different, if at all. But clearly you are overly sensitive with impressions that OTHERS have. If I said the E9 gave less of a soundstage to the Q701, your typical response would be, "HAVE YOU EVEN HEARD THE Q701 WITH THE E9???". Now why does that sound familiar 

 It doesn't really matter either way because your impressions wouldn't be any more accurate than mine.  
 

Why oh why must be keep going on and on with this subjective vs objective crap. I DON'T CARE. Every single impression here is subjective. I can't believe you haven't figured this out.
If this bold part was the case, then why not just use an E7 and be done with it? I bet the E7 will sound exactly like the ODAC too. I guess they both measure the same huh? Complete clones! Sure.....
 
Again..I don't care about your impressions. If you called the Q701 too bass heavy and with not enough trouble, that is fine with me. Nearly everyone here is going to reply saying otherwise when it's not the general consensus of how a headphone SHOULD sound. There's even people here that think the HD-650 has too much treble.
 
Quote:

 
I guess it was my fault for posting in a Q701 appreciation thread in the first place, though I was out to post an honest impression between the Q701 and HD598. But any negative impression of the Q701, whether it's honest or not, seems to followed thru with comments such as, "you didn't amp it well enough" or "you gotta burn these in more". Right. People will do anything to justify their purchases. I guess that's the difference between myself and many others on this site. I have not yet spent a single penny on audio equipment. Nada. Zero. I could not have cared less if the 598s sounded awful. If they did, I would've sold them for another headphone by now. 
 

 
If you describe the Q701 differently than most of us,  I have to ask what was used to drive it. This is the Q701 thread in case you haven't noticed. You get the same thing in the HD-650 thread. Yet you don't even have the Q701. The Q701 can sound dramatically different with every single source or amp. Some amps don't even drive the Q701 well enough. It's very easy to make the Q701 have too much treble with the wrong source. Maybe sometime you'll discover how very possible this is. The same way with how the wrong amp can make the HD-650 way too bassy. My K601 can even get annoying lower treble peaks with the wrong amp. Minor issues with headphones are sometimes due to amp or dac issues. Usually it's just due to them not liking the signature. It's quite easy for me to not like a specific headphone with the wrong amp. This is one reason I bought the ODAC. I wanted it to sound better with my 598 and DJ100.
 
My general rule for synergy is to try to buy a fairly transparent and uncolored amp as possible from now on (very slightly warm is OK). I hate how I can buy a nice $250 amp and it sounds amazing with a few headphones, but not ALL of them. My Asgard was that way. The E9 is basically pretty good for all of them unless excessively power hungry. Sounded good with my DJ100, Q701, HD-650 and HD-600. It even managed to sound OK with my K601!
 
I've found the E10 a poor match for the 598 because it seems to make the mids of this headphone much too forward and fatiguing. Due to darker signature it makes the HD-598 sound even worse. It's also not a good match for the DJ100 to my ears. Not horrible. The DJ100 and 598 are not a good choice with darker amps/dacs. Slightly warm is OK.
 
I also dislike the HRT MSII for the Sennheiser stuff. It made the HD-598 and 600 seems fairly muffled to my ears. This DAC seems to be slightly warm and not a perfect match for everything.
 
The Q701 itself is fairly warm by itself, but adding a warm DAC (or amp) might be useful for some. I think that's why some people love the HRT MSII for it. Maybe the E10. The MSII isn't very warm though I think.
 
Now the HD-650 I think for my preferences needs a really transparent and dead neutral DAC and amp. I liked the HD-600 on the Asgard, but not so much the HD-650. I don't know why...
 
 
Quote:

 
So why was my comment about the E9's output impedance any different? It should have been "ok" with you.

 
It's only because i'm tired of people acting like it's 10 ohm output impedance is GUARANTEED to mess with the Q701's signature. If you said it might, then that's another story. I wonder how many people have ignored this combination because of all these science dorks claiming it would automatically do this. Yet they haven't even tried it.
 
 
Quote:

Define forgiving. The HD-598 is more forgiving than the Q701 but far more accurate to the source, without a doubt. 

 
More forgiving, but more accurate to the source? Huh? The problem I have with the 598 is that it makes nearly everything easy on the ears. It's harder to find out which track is really bad. This is why I like it sometimes. I'll listen to it when I don't want to be bothered by my garbage tracks. It takes all those recording flaws and doesn't shove them in your face. Listen to any harsh and fatiguing tracks on it and they're not so bad. You're aware that they're bad, but not fatiguing. Now the HD-600 makes it even better. The HD-600 is supposed to have more treble than the 598, but it doesn't sound that way to me.
 
Listen to both the HD-580, K601 and Q701 doing A/B comparisons with terrible music. All of them give you a general idea of how these should sound. To me, making a headphone more forgiving is a coloration. I don't want my stupid headphone "fixing" my music for me due to recessed treble. This idea of the HD-600 and 598 having neutral treble is not something I agree with. Long ago I thought the 598 had neutral treble, but now I think it has a little less than that. Overall it's a balanced sounding headphone.
 
I would say the HD-580 is pretty close to neutral treble. It's less forgiving than the HD-600 that's for sure. I know many think it sounds the same as the HD-600, but I find it even more neutral (and better sounding).
 
Since you're describing the Q701 as the K702, there is no point in going on and on about this. I do think the K702 has it's issues, but my Q701 has never sound like the K702 thankfully. The K702 did fatigue my ears.
 
If the 598 was more accurate than the Q701/K702, you'd think more people would be using them in a studio. Maybe you can get all the studios to replace their HD-600s/K702s with 598s!

 
 
 

 

[iim7V7IM7]

 

[tdockweiler]

BTW the Q701 + ODAC is sounding so amazing right now I don't want to sleep. No issues in about one hour.
When I actually go to sleep i'll be looking forward to listening to it in the morning. Probably won't be able to sleep.
This TOO REVEALING for the Q701 crap might be a bit wrong. I want to give it some time first before I eat my words.
 
Maybe I don't have good hearing, but the Imogen Heap albums seem very well recorded. They sound good on nearly every headphone it seems like.
 
I think it's safe to say I now prefer the ODAC to the HRT MSII.
 
NOTE: With the ODAC, Q701 and Micro Amp i'm 1000% required to use HIGH GAIN AT ALL TIMES (which is more like ULTRA HIGH GAIN) to get the best sound. Yet the volume is at 8-10%. Ugh. Annoying.
On my HRT MSII it sounded perfect on medium gain. I kept switching back and forth yesterday but didn't notice much change.
 
There is no change on any of my other headphones with gain settings. People kept telling me over and over that low gain is best most of the time. Even on medium gain my Q701 needs to be at only 40% volume.
It's nearly impossible to use my HD-600 on high gain. You'd kill your ears.

 

[NimbleTurtle]

Quote:

 
That's OK, you don't have to prove yourself to me.
 
My condescending remark was cancelled out by your condescending "People who aren't bothered by the treble have little experience with live performances, which is why they have little experience judging timbre and tonality, or even soundstage/imaging for that matter".
 
So we're at a clean slate now. 
 
Seriously though, which headphones do you recommend?

I'll give you that one. Perhaps I should have said, "From my numerous experiences with live performances, I can't possibly understand how people can perceive these headphones as anything but natural, especially in regards to their treble". But it's no less condescending than people who badger others for not using an amp. Clearly, some opinions are more authoritative than others, because they have more experience to back them up. 
 
Sennheisers in general are far more tonally balanced and their representation of timbre, especially in the 6xx region, is good though I have no idea how they compare with even higher end headphones. Even despite the annoying treble on the Grados, I found their representation of timbre to be more accurate than the AKG 701 series as well, with smaller but more natural soundstage. The Beyerdynamics line had this sense of airiness that most headphones didn't have, except perhaps something like the AD700, though again they were overly bright. But I felt their instrumental separation and timbre, once again, was more realistic than the 701 series. 
 
I find your question to be strange though. I'm not out to recommend anything. Every headphones have pros/ cons and with the Q701 in particular, I see too many cons to appreciate the pros. 

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

I'll give you that one. Perhaps I should have said, "From my numerous experiences with live performances, I can't possibly understand how people can perceive these headphones as anything but natural, especially in regards to their treble". But it's no less condescending than people who badger others for not using an amp. Clearly, some opinions are more authoritative than others, because they have more experience to back them up. 
 
Sennheisers in general are far more tonally balanced and their representation of timbre, especially in the 6xx region, is good though I have no idea how they compare with even higher end headphones. Even despite the annoying treble on the Grados, I found their representation of timbre to be more accurate than the AKG 701 series as well, with smaller but more natural soundstage. The Beyerdynamics line had this sense of airiness that most headphones didn't have, except perhaps something like the AD700, though again they were overly bright. But I felt their instrumental separation and timbre, once again, was more realistic than the 701 series. 
 
I find your question to be strange though. I'm not out to recommend anything. Every headphones have pros/ cons and with the Q701 in particular, I see too many cons to appreciate the pros. 

 
See..you keep clumping all these 701 series into the same thing. They don't sound the same to most of us here. If this was the case we'd just go out and buy whatever one is cheaper. Maybe you need to go to the store again and try out several pairs and tell us if any sound differently. Maybe you can go into the K702 thread and complain to them that your 598 is better. As far as I know, that's the only reason you're here.
 
This bold comment is just so bizarre. The Q701 (or even K702) having a less natural soundstage than a Grado is just nuts. Yes, that's my opinion. The Grados i've heard have such a terrible soundstage and their imaging is just plain bad. That's the biggest negative about the 225i.
 
Yeah, my HD-600 is just sooo balanced with that bloated mid-bass and non-existent treble. Totally the way live recordings are! You can have bloated mid-bass and lack of treble, yet it's more natural than a headphone that has a tad extra treble and neutral bass.

 

[NimbleTurtle]

Quote:

 
 
Why oh why must be keep going on and on with this subjective vs objective crap. I DON'T CARE. Every single impression here is subjective. I can't believe you haven't figured this out.
If this bold part was the case, then why not just use an E7 and be done with it? I bet the E7 will sound exactly like the ODAC too. I guess they both measure the same huh? Complete clones! Sure.....
 
Again..I don't care about your impressions. If you called the Q701 too bass heavy and with not enough trouble, that is fine with me. Nearly everyone here is going to reply saying otherwise when it's not the general consensus of how a headphone SHOULD sound. There's even people here that think the HD-650 has too much treble.
 
 
If you describe the Q701 differently than most of us,  I have to ask what was used to drive it. This is the Q701 thread in case you haven't noticed. You get the same thing in the HD-650 thread. Yet you don't even have the Q701. The Q701 can sound dramatically different with every single source or amp. Some amps don't even drive the Q701 well enough. It's very easy to make the Q701 have too much treble with the wrong source. Maybe sometime you'll discover how very possible this is. The same way with how the wrong amp can make the HD-650 way too bassy. My K601 can even get annoying lower treble peaks with the wrong amp. Minor issues with headphones are sometimes due to amp or dac issues. Usually it's just due to them not liking the signature. It's quite easy for me to not like a specific headphone with the wrong amp. This is one reason I bought the ODAC. I wanted it to sound better with my 598 and DJ100.
 
My general rule for synergy is to try to buy a fairly transparent and uncolored amp as possible from now on (very slightly warm is OK). I hate how I can buy a nice $250 amp and it sounds amazing with a few headphones, but not ALL of them. My Asgard was that way. The E9 is basically pretty good for all of them unless excessively power hungry. Sounded good with my DJ100, Q701, HD-650 and HD-600. It even managed to sound OK with my K601!
 
I've found the E10 a poor match for the 598 because it seems to make the mids of this headphone much too forward and fatiguing. Due to darker signature it makes the HD-598 sound even worse. It's also not a good match for the DJ100 to my ears. Not horrible. The DJ100 and 598 are not a good choice with darker amps/dacs. Slightly warm is OK.
 
I also dislike the HRT MSII for the Sennheiser stuff. It made the HD-598 and 600 seems fairly muffled to my ears. This DAC seems to be slightly warm and not a perfect match for everything.
 
The Q701 itself is fairly warm by itself, but adding a warm DAC (or amp) might be useful for some. I think that's why some people love the HRT MSII for it. Maybe the E10. The MSII isn't very warm though I think.
 
Now the HD-650 I think for my preferences needs a really transparent and dead neutral DAC and amp. I liked the HD-600 on the Asgard, but not so much the HD-650. I don't know why...
 
 
 
It's only because i'm tired of people acting like it's 10 ohm output impedance is GUARANTEED to mess with the Q701's signature. If you said it might, then that's another story. I wonder how many people have ignored this combination because of all these science dorks claiming it would automatically do this. Yet they haven't even tried it.
 
 
 
More forgiving, but more accurate to the source? Huh? The problem I have with the 598 is that it makes nearly everything easy on the ears. It's harder to find out which track is really bad. This is why I like it sometimes. I'll listen to it when I don't want to be bothered by my garbage tracks. It takes all those recording flaws and doesn't shove them in your face. Listen to any harsh and fatiguing tracks on it and they're not so bad. You're aware that they're bad, but not fatiguing. Now the HD-600 makes it even better. The HD-600 is supposed to have more treble than the 598, but it doesn't sound that way to me.
 
Listen to both the HD-580, K601 and Q701 doing A/B comparisons with terrible music. All of them give you a general idea of how these should sound. To me, making a headphone more forgiving is a coloration. I don't want my stupid headphone "fixing" my music for me due to recessed treble. This idea of the HD-600 and 598 having neutral treble is not something I agree with. Long ago I thought the 598 had neutral treble, but now I think it has a little less than that. Overall it's a balanced sounding headphone.
 
I would say the HD-580 is pretty close to neutral treble. It's less forgiving than the HD-600 that's for sure. I know many think it sounds the same as the HD-600, but I find it even more neutral (and better sounding).
 
Since you're describing the Q701 as the K702, there is no point in going on and on about this. I do think the K702 has it's issues, but my Q701 has never sound like the K702 thankfully. The K702 did fatigue my ears.
 
If the 598 was more accurate than the Q701/K702, you'd think more people would be using them in a studio. Maybe you can get all the studios to replace their HD-600s/K702s with 598s!

 
 
 

Even within a single post, you couldn't be more hypocritical. 
 
"Again, I don't care about your impressions" 
 
Okay so we all know you're an indifferent person who likes to live in his own world, without any curiosity for objective truth. What's ironic here is that you're offended by my impressions and trying to find some loophole to justify the way you heard them. Sure sounds like you don't care.  
 
"The Q701 can sound dramatically different with every single source or amp." 
 
Didn't I tell you I experimented with a variety of source and amps? I could find little differences going from one solid state to another, and if there were little differences, they were so negligible that they were probably just a matter of perception bias. A more significant difference would be listening to the Q701 without an amp, and then hearing it amped for the first time. 
 
"If you describe the Q701 differently than most of us,  I have to ask what was used to drive it." 
 
Again, why? I probably paired these cans with amps/ sources  far more expensive than what you own, and that isn't meant to sound condescending. Again, the Q701 "haters" are not really a minority of the Head-Fi population. There are plenty of people outside this thread that do not like these cans. My criticisms of the Q701 is anything but new and I have no idea why my impressions are being viewed as such. 
 
"If the 598 was more accurate than the Q701/K702, you'd think more people would be using them in a studio." 
 
Right I'm sure you've seen plenty of respected professionals, outside of Quincy Jones, that actually use the AKG series over other studio monitor headphones. Honestly, I thought the whole purpose of studio headphones was to have a flat neutral frequency response. Instead you have cans like the M50s with bass that overly leaks into the mids, and the AKG / Beyerdynamics which are strongly skewed towards a certain frequency as well. Seems like a marketing ploy to me, accentuating the highs to make cans seem more revealing than they actually are. 
 
"If this bold part was the case, then why not just use an E7 and be done with it? I bet the E7 will sound exactly like the ODAC too. I guess they both measure the same huh? Complete clones! Sure....." 
 
Obviously sound is something that can't be measured at every angle. But measurements can still provide very good estimates of what an amp/ dac can sound like. By this point I'm getting really tired of your stupidity. It's not a matter of whether something like an E7 will sound different from the ODAC because it probably will. The question is whether the differences are actually something you can hear clearly under a blind test, rather than under biased comparisons, and in addition, whether the differences are actually worth the extra cash. 

 

[NimbleTurtle]

Yawn. Rest assured I'm not coming back to this thread. Some of you guys like the Q701 too much, and rather take things too personally when criticisms are involved. It's too dangerous to interfere with people's fantasies of their Q701s as near-perfect headphones. 

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

Even within a single post, you couldn't be more hypocritical. 
 
"Again, I don't care about your impressions" 
 
Okay so we all know you're an indifferent person who likes to live in his own world, without any curiosity for objective truth. What's ironic here is that you're offended by my impressions and trying to find some loophole to justify the way you heard them. Sure sounds like you don't care.  
 
"The Q701 can sound dramatically different with every single source or amp." 
 
Didn't I tell you I experimented with a variety of source and amps? I could find little differences going from one solid state to another, and if there were little differences, they were so negligible that they were probably just a matter of perception bias. A more significant difference would be listening to the Q701 without an amp, and then hearing it amped for the first time. 
 
"If you describe the Q701 differently than most of us,  I have to ask what was used to drive it." 
 
Again, why? I probably paired these cans with amps/ sources  far more expensive than what you own, and that isn't meant to sound condescending. Again, the Q701 "haters" are not really a minority of the Head-Fi population. There are plenty of people outside this thread that do not like these cans. My criticisms of the Q701 is anything but new and I have no idea why my impressions are being viewed as such. 
 
"If the 598 was more accurate than the Q701/K702, you'd think more people would be using them in a studio." 
 
Right I'm sure you've seen plenty of respected professionals, outside of Quincy Jones, that actually use the AKG series over other studio monitor headphones. Honestly, I thought the whole purpose of studio headphones was to have a flat neutral frequency response. Instead you have cans like the M50s with bass that overly leaks into the mids, and the AKG / Beyerdynamics which are strongly skewed towards a certain frequency as well. Seems like a marketing ploy to me, accentuating the highs to make cans seem more revealing than they actually are. 
 
"If this bold part was the case, then why not just use an E7 and be done with it? I bet the E7 will sound exactly like the ODAC too. I guess they both measure the same huh? Complete clones! Sure....." 
 
Obviously sound is something that can't be measured at every angle. But measurements can still provide very good estimates of what an amp/ dac can sound like. By this point I'm getting really tired of your stupidity. It's not a matter of whether something like an E7 will sound different from the ODAC because it probably will. The question is whether the differences are actually something you can hear clearly under a blind test, rather than under biased comparisons, and in addition, whether the differences are actually worth the extra cash. 

 
What was all this about again? Sorry, i'm not usually a jerk, but maybe you'll be the first person I block for being annoying. Oh and I'm the stupid one and take things too seriously..Sometimes I think you're here just to argue with people and annoy them. Can you please go away? Maybe go whine about things elsewhere and stop crapping all over this thread.
 
I keep saying it over and over and over and it's not getting through to you. I DON'T NOT CARE about your impressions. Why would I be offended? If they're the same or different as mine, it makes no difference. I hear them with my own ears and trust my ears. Nobody is going to change my opinion of a headphone I like. If people think it sounds terrible, I don't care. I'm not here to prove to anyone what i'm hearing.
 
The only reason I reply is to point out that I disagree with what they sound like and there is that SMALL possibility that something isn't right.You know all these posts are totally pointless and contribute nothing to this thread? It's like one person going back and forth about how a headphone should sound. No it doesn't...yes it does...over and over.

 

[Chris J]

Quote:

I'm speaking of maybe a 5% difference overall. The 32ohm and 600ohm are very much alike, including the bass. The 600ohm is just slightly better controlled. Its not like going from a bassy can to a boomy one.

 
Hey, thanks man!
I guess my suspicions are correct, the Matrix M Stage is NOT the SS amp for DT880s!

 

[Chris J]

Quote:

Not everyone has your taste. I have owned plenty of headphones, and I could never fully enjoy the more reference type of sound. I listen to music for enjoyment.
Reference sound is good and all, but its overrated. I don't care for trying to impress anyone else by saying I want music the way it was recorded. I want music the way *I* enjoy it.

 
agree 125%!
Quote:

Well, not to change the subject, but I could use a good joke to lighten up my spirit. Anyone heard any one ones lately?
 

 
How about The Bad Joke Of The Day?
 
Two atoms walk into a bar.
One atom says "I think I'm short and electron!"
The second atom says "are you sure?"
The first atom says "yep, I'm positive!"
 
 
Quote:

 
Not saying yet and not sure if this will fix it. Come up with the dumbest thing you can do to degrade a Q701's sound and you're probably right.
Here's a clue: Headfonia
 
The differences are quite subtle, but now everything seems better. All my bad music still sounds bad, but NOT as bad as it was earlier today.
I can say I never had this "issue" with the HRT MSII or any other source.

 
 
Come on man!
'fess up!
Inquiring minds want to know!

 

[KimLaroux]

Even though I unsubscribed from this thread some pages back because it was going downhill, I thought I'd share my experience from yesterday's Montreal meet.
 
Out of curiosity, I tried my Q701 with the ODAC and O2 combo that was present. Note that I did not isolate them, I tried them together. Immediately, I understood why so many people hate these headphones. It was so bright, it was as if someone had activated a treble boost somewhere in the chain. The treble was so aggressive, it was all I could focus on. I tried different albums, different genres, and it was just as painful. They sounded like tweeters strapped to my head. I actually had to take them off after a couple of minutes, because I could take it no more.
 
Let's just say I enjoy my Q701 with the NFB-12 a lot more than I did with the Objective units.
 
And no I'm not subscribing back, so don't try to reply back, I won't read. I did not even read the last 70 posts or so.
 
Edit: Oh yeah, I forgot to add. A few pages before I unsubscribed, people compared the Q701 to the HD800, dubbing the Q701 "a poor man's HD800". Well I did try the HD800 at the meet, two of them actually. Out of all the headphones that was there, and that includes all the Audeze models and many HiFiMAN, the HD800 was the one that sounded closer to the Q701. It was also my favorite, and seems like the logical upgrade from the Q701. So I totally agree what what they said: the Q701 is a poor man's HD800.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I laughed a bit too much at that bad joke. Hahaha.


I know Kim ain't replying, but it proves that the Q701 is quite picky with what you connect it to. The NFB5 is typical Audio-GD fare, meaning a slight shave off the top end for a more pleasureable and less fatiguing experience. It paired up very well with the Q701.

The O2 and ODAC won't help the Q701 any, it seems.

 

[chicolom]

I'm thinking I'll hold off on the ODAC for a while.  Hopefully Headfonia will review the ODAC at some point, but I'm happy with the HRT for now.
 
The HRT MS II is plenty O'DAC for me 

 

[lejaz]

Quote:

Even though I unsubscribed from this thread some pages back because it was going downhill, I thought I'd share my experience from yesterday's Montreal meet.
 
Out of curiosity, I tried my Q701 with the ODAC and O2 combo that was present. Note that I did not isolate them, I tried them together. Immediately, I understood why so many people hate these headphones. It was so bright, it was as if someone had activated a treble boost somewhere in the chain. The treble was so aggressive, it was all I could focus on. I tried different albums, different genres, and it was just as painful. They sounded like tweeters strapped to my head. I actually had to take them off after a couple of minutes, because I could take it no more.
 
 

So the ODAC turns the 'Q' into a 'k'.....now that's an unexpected turn for this thread to take, lol. . Your description is pretty much how I hear the 'k'.  Or at least close to how I heard the 'k' when I had it with the mkV ss amp and no 'friend or foe' mod. It's way tilted towards the bright end of the frequency spectrum. But the O2 amp doesn't add any brightness that I can hear(and FWIR it's flat as flat can be), so the brightness must be due to the ODAC. Or possibly the ODAC is also 'flat' and the NFB DAC is really rolling off a lot of treble..
<edit> those impressions were out of the 0404 DAC. The gamma1 is a bit better.

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

So the ODAC turns the 'Q' into a 'k'.....now that's an unexpected turn for this thread to take, lol. . Your description is pretty much how I hear the 'k'.  Or at least close to how I heard the 'k' when I had it with the mkV ss amp and no 'friend or foe' mod. It's way tilted towards the bright end of the frequency spectrum. But the O2 amp doesn't add any brightness that I can hear(and FWIR it's flat as flat can be), so the brightness must be due to the ODAC. Or possibly the ODAC is also 'flat' and the NFB DAC is really rolling off a lot of treble..

 
Well, that was used with an O2 also, so even together with the ODAC that's highly unlikely. Possible I guess since I haven't tried it. That would be like the amp/dac actually butchering the stock Q701 sound. Now that i've finally fixed my issues with the ODAC, the Q701 is sounding exactly how it should. Still quite revealing, but it doesn't really dramatically change my Q701 now. Still quite warm. I knew something wasn't right. However I haven't tried the O2, so maybe it's possible i'd hate the Q701 with both. I'm convinced my amp is quite transparent though, so maybe not. The sound signature of the ODAC now sounds as flat as the Sansa Clip+ to my ears. I might sell my E9 to fund the O2. That thing never gets much use.
 
The ODAC now doesn't seem that far off from the HRT MSII. The mids now are now not as fatiguing as with the HRT MSII with bad stuff. The treble is now just where it should be. The HRT MSII still does seem a little darker in comparison. Not like the E10 though. The ODAC might now actually be smoother sounding than the HRT MSII. Yeah I know that's like total opposite of before. Yet it's still much easier to locate the bad/garbage tracks.
 
Right now i'm loving the ODAC, so i'll probably be keeping it. Last night when I magically fixed my problem I listened to it for an hour or so with no nasty treble or any fatigue. Right now it doesn't make my Q701 any more analytical or less musical. Yep, i'm eating my words and that's OK!! Ok maybe a tiny less musical compared to the HRT, but not by much.
 
I'm really seriously impressed with how much clearer the ODAC is. Yeah just by something so minor as that. Kind of nice nice how I can plug in ALL my headphones and they'll sound exactly like they're supposed to. Finally.
The HRT MSII is nice, but it's not a good match (to my ears) for my Sennheiser stuff.
 
BTW I still get some bad songs popping up that sounds really ultra thin and lifeless. But now not so horrible and still listenable. Actually the one i'm describing right now is 128kbps. I just checked. Well no wonder

It actually sounds like i'm listening to the sound being played through a land line telephone! Maybe like slightly better than the stuff while you're on hold

Actually I wasn't even aware I had any 128kbps songs until today!!
 
I'm going to review the ODAC in a week. You don't know how happy I am now that i've fixed it. Definitely is now sounding like a nice upgrade. I like it so much I now MUST try the O2.
 
I still can't figure out why the ODAC only sounds good with my Q701 if I use high gain at 10%. Maybe someone else can test the ODAC with their amps too and see if they need to set some headphones at a higher gain on their amps.
Feels really wrong to have to use High Gain at 8-10% volume.
 
Now the ultimate test will see how it makes the Koss A/250 sound. Now THAT has tons of treble. You know what..I can't even stand using it due to it's treble. It seems to have more than even the DT-880/990.
Yep, i'm sensitive to too much treble. Even with lower mids that are too forward.
 
Oh yeah... I do believe there's probably lots of people who would either hate the Q701 or only like it with a specific amp. Mine sounds good from my Airhead, E9, E11 and Micro. I hated the K702 from the Asgard. I imagine fans of say an HD-650 might hate it. I prefer the AKG sound to that of Sennheiser. I'm a huge fan of the 598 though..and now finally the 580 (but not HD-600).
 
Here's some measurements of the JDSlabs O2. I guess he says to ignore any problems because they're possibly just early ones:
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/innerfidelity-september-2012-update
 
Hopefully he can measure the Micro Amp and not the Portable Micro Amp. Not sure they're 100% identical inside or what. I think Headfonia said they sound different.
 
Stupid ODAC is now making me want to stay up all night listening to...my music! Nope not analyzing it finally. About time. I stayed up until 4am last night just listening to the Q701.