[mrarroyo]

Many of the amps listed are good alternatives, some work better with a particular headphone than another. Ideally you should attend a meet to hear for yourself with your cans and music which one you prefer within your budget.

I will throw on the mix an old amp which I still love and which IMO sounds superb w/ a few simple and inexpensive mods. The Musical Fidelity X-Can V2, it can be bought used from $140 to $170 w/ S&H. Then spend an extra $100 to perform the PinkFloyd Mods and finally go to Jameco to purchase their 1.5 amp PSU ( Jameco Electronics ICs & Semiconductors: JAMECO RELIAPRO : ADU120150E1012 ) to replace the 0.5 amp PSU supplied by Musical Fidelity.

I owned the K701 and currently own a Senn HD580, and a couple of Grado cans. All are driven superbly by the modded X-Can V2. Note an X-Can V3 would also work fine but you would need a different PSU than the one I listed above.

 

[EnderX]

I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. There are so many suggestions. I think the only one that was mentioned more than once was the M^3. How much is one pre-assembled by MisterX?

Also I really haven't heard much from the tube amp side of things. No real suggestions for a starter tube amp?

 

[EnderX]

Should I just go for a good portable like the P-51 Mustang and end this confusion and lack of consensus? lol

 

[buz]

I think the consensus is that portables aren't worth it

 

[Ypoknons]

No, unless you sell all your phones for a JH13/16. And even then, just maybe.

Choose a good home setup and don't look back. Everything suggested here is good, just in slightly different ways.

 

[HeatFan12]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ypoknons /img/forum/go_quote.gif Choose a good home setup and don't look back. Everything suggested here is good, just in slightly different ways.

Agreed. A home setup would give you a bit more options. You can listen to your portable sources with a home amp---

I'm rocking a little DV action with my ipod on a beautiful Sunday morning in So.Fla.

You can mix it around with a DAC and your laptop, as well as removing the DAC and go back to your portables with amp---

Or, you can go with an all-in-one package---

In reference to your phones, the only ones from your list I do own are the HFI-780s and I can confirm they sound great from the I+ (2nd pic). The I+ is great with low impedance phones, but from what I have read might not be a good match for the K701s.

You have many options and many have been mentioned in this thread.

Good luck...

 

[Shahrose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EnderX /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. There are so many suggestions. I think the only one that was mentioned more than once was the M^3. How much is one pre-assembled by MisterX? Also I really haven't heard much from the tube amp side of things. No real suggestions for a starter tube amp?

You've got our recommendations, now it's up to you to do some research on each of them. I'll tell you one thing though, DIY designs like the M^3, CKKIII, Dynalo will almost invariably give the most performance for the dollar because you avoid a lot of the costs that are associated with commercial offerings like R&D, advertising, overhead etc.

 

[geek101]

I have done similar search for an AMP/DAC for my ultrasone Pro 750 to listen to at work and there is no other product out there that has excellent price performance ratio and well reviewed like Audio-GD fun, I went ahead and also got the BNC module and M2Tech HiFace USB to SPDIF or BNC Interface

So far my experience with FUN and Ultrasone has been excellent to say the least. Dealing with Kingwa also has been a pleasant experience.

 

[upstateguy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EnderX /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. There are so many suggestions. I think the only one that was mentioned more than once was the M^3. How much is one pre-assembled by MisterX? Also I really haven't heard much from the tube amp side of things. No real suggestions for a starter tube amp?

Hi EnderX

I found my first M^3 in the for-sale forum and I still have it and use it with one of my rigs, so "used" might be a way to go.

I would also like to say again that you're not going to hear much of a difference between your receiver and one of these amps. And certainly what ever difference there might be won't be the magical thing you're anticipating from reading posts about how great amps are. Don't forget, a perfect amp is a wire with gain, that passes the music through with zero coloration, all it does it make it louder. And if louder is what you are after, an M^3 with a gain of 11 will absolutely clean your clock..... but no matter which way you twist it, it will still sound like your 701..... just louder.

If you really want to hear a "difference", spend your money on some 650s, 880s, or both. Then look toward an amp and dac after you've had a chance to experience more than one "sound signature".

Good Luck

USG

 

[Ypoknons]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shahrose /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'll tell you one thing though, DIY designs like the M^3, CKKIII, Dynalo will almost invariably give the most performance for the dollar because you avoid a lot of the costs that are associated with commercial offerings like R&D, advertising, overhead etc.

The thing is you get free R&D instead of no R&D (which would be rather bad). The designer bears a lot of the costs himself, because he sees it as a hobby or personal development project. The builder incurs some R&D, wasted prototypes components and the like, and this might be passed onto the consumer. DIY does lose out on economies of scale and bargaining power with suppliers, but volumes aren't that big in the niche headamp world anyways so big manufacturers don't have a huge advantage. My analysis (a bit speculative under-researched) is that the things you said, free R&D, no management overhead, limited inventory costs, limited advertising and almost no middlemen tends to tip the scales in favor DIY for value. Then there is also the matter of setting prices, I would assume DIYers mostly use cost-plus.

 

[mrarroyo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeatFan12 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Agreed. A home setup would give you a bit more options. You can listen to your portable sources with a home amp--- I'm rocking a little DV action with my ipod on a beautiful Sunday morning in So.Fla. You can mix it around with a DAC and your laptop, as well as removing the DAC and go back to your portables with amp--- Or, you can go with an all-in-one package--- In reference to your phones, the only ones from your list I do own are the HFI-780s and I can confirm they sound great from the I+ (2nd pic). The I+ is great with low impedance phones, but from what I have read might not be a good match for the K701s. You have many options and many have been mentioned in this thread. Good luck...

With all that nice gear you should host a mini-meet at your place!

 

[EnderX]

Lets take a little vote. All those in favor of me getting an amp chime in. All those in favor of me sticking with my H/K 3490 stereo receiver as my amp and getting some Sennheiser HD 650s.

Go.

 

[markkr]

amp

 

[EnderX]

And we have one for amp. I'm keeping score people lets keep it going. I have $400 to burn and need to know what to waste it on.

 

[Shahrose]

Personally, I'd go for an HD650, but I'm biased because I love those cans. The smarter choice would be to get a good DAC/amp so you can get the most out of the large collection of headphones you already own.