[eyal1983]

Me x3
I sincerely urge you to upgrade from the Fiio amplifier I see on your profile page (if that's the case).
You don't know what you're missing... especially with classical

 

[Me x3]

  Me x3
I sincerely urge you to upgrade from the Fiio amplifier I see on your profile page (if that's the case).
You don't know what you're missing... especially with classical

 
I only use the DAC part on my Fiio to feed a Yamaha A-S500 where I plug my headphones. I don't use the amp on my Fiios since the first time I plugged my headphones into the A-S500.
As you might know the amplification topic is quite controversial around here!
In my experience, going from E07K/E10 to the headphone out of the A-S500 was a surprisingly large step up in sound quality in all respects.
I'm pretty sure there are some good dedicated headphone amplifiers out there that deserves a lot of attention, unluckily it's quite difficult to import one to Argentina nowadays, in the future, we'll see!
For now, I'm really satisfied with the A-S500, I wasn't surprised with it doing a great job driving my bookshelves after all the great reviews, but with headphones? Well, it's far better than I expected.

 

[jodgey4]

I own the Q701's and have auditioned the T1's... the T1's are very neutral and similar to the Q701's, with more mid bass, and a bit more of a sterile sound. I think those + a warmer amp would be a superb combo, to counteract the sometimes cold nature. The K812 Pro is of course the most obvious upgrade (yes, I've heard it)... but much too far out of your range. The Sennheiser HD700 is pretty underrated if you can deal with the peaky treble, though the T1 is closer in style to the Q701's.

 

[Show]

I own both the Q701 and the T1s. The T1 is far better suited to classical music than the Q701. The highs are much more focus and rolls off at a much higher peak... much higher, and the lower string instruments really shine as the bass has better texture. 
 
The mids are better than the HD800 but at a tradeoff for soundstage. It's a little closer, but just as clear and well defined.

 

[eyal1983]

Me x3
Good, i'm very glad that is the case
 
AKGQ701
Keep in mind that the T1 are super revealing.
Meaning that its treble will sound VERY harsh and piercing, if listening to low-grade material ("YouTube" comes to mind...)

 

[NannerBeans]

If you're looking for open headphones I would personally go HE500. I'm more interested in closed headphones though so would really want to get my hands on a Fostex TH600 or TH900 if I could. As for amp I really like my o2/odac. 

 

[AKGQ701]

Thanks to everyone who has posted their opinions and advice, glad to hear that the general consensus is that Q701==>T1 will be a great upgrade. Plan on grabbing those as soon as I find a good used deal. I'll certainly post my opinions on both headphones if anyone is interested.
 
Just as an aside, I've read that the Schiit Valhalla is the best budget amp to pair with the T1, but those reviews were made around 2 years ago. Does anyone know if this still holds true today? I realize this isn't the appropriate thread location for this question but I'm just looking for a quick answer.
 
Thanks again for your help

 

[jodgey4]

Any OTL amp that can provide a good amount of voltage should be great, and the new 2nd revision of that amp should only be better. Another option is the Bottlehead Crack + Speedball.

 

[AKGQ701]

  Any OTL amp that can provide a good amount of voltage should be great, and the new 2nd revision of that amp should only be better. Another option is the Bottlehead Crack + Speedball.

That's another one I'll keep in mind, though I've never DIY'ed anything audio related yet. Looks like Little Dot's offerings or a darkvoice 336 could be viable options as well.

 

[eyal1983]

The darkvoice 336 hasn't existed for a long time now...
you must have meant - LaFigaro 332c or 332s
 
http://www.yuking09.com/pro.asp

 

[AKGQ701]

  The darkvoice 336 hasn't existed for a long time now...
you must have meant - LaFigaro 332c or 332s
 
http://www.yuking09.com/pro.asp

Yes, that is what I meant, thank you for the correction.

 

[MarcoGV]

  As the title suggests, I am looking for the next step up from the AKG Q701, which I have owned now for about 3 years. In terms of musical preferences, I mainly listen to classical and instrumental music, but I also listen to fair amounts of contemporary rock and pop music.
 
As much as I enjoy the Q701, I do not enjoy listening to rock and pop music with them, even though they do excel with classical. After searching through various forums, it seems like the Hifiman HE-500 is a contender for being an upgrade, while many other opinions I have read state that the only true upgrade from the Q701 is the Sennheiser HD800 (which is way out of budget for now).
 
With a budget of around ~$600-$700, what headphone would be a viable upgrade from the Q701?
 
Key aspects of the headphone I am looking for include airiness, soundstage, instrument separation, natural timbre, and a balanced, neutral presentation. 
 
Bonus points: Suggest an amp/dac to pair with the upgraded headphone, as I have sold my Matrix M-Stage I used with the Q701.
 
Thanks for taking the time to read this and I appreciate any advice or suggestions.

Before giving up on the Q701, consider trying the bass port mod: http://www.head-fi.org/t/660408/reversible-akg-k701-bass-mod and the links on the first post of http://www.head-fi.org/t/582276/q701-impressions-thread.

 

[terry parr]

being an owner of both the K-701's and the LCD-3's, i don't know if i would be looking at a h/p that sounds too similiar to your Q-701's.  mind you, this is just my opinion, but based on what i know from having both h/p's that i mentioned above, i enjoy the very different sound signatures of each.  there are some recordings where the LCD 3's really "bloom" and are a joy to listen to.  (on a well-recorded trio jazz piece where you get a chance to enjoy the enhanced quality of the low registers of the acoustic bass and the lower octaves of the grand piano).
 
on other material, where there is a generous amount of low-end frequencies in the mix already, the 701's may be preferable (especially if the recording contains some upper-level harshness). in that case, the LCD-3's will exacerbate this and just make this quality sound even worse, whereas the 701's are able to make most upper-register frequencies sound clean with no distortion.  the 3's don't do high frequencies very well, as a whole (on most recordings).  you sometimes hear a bit of "sizzle" in the highs on some recordings with the 3's, where the 701's will reproduce the exact same passage cleanly.
 
depends on the source material, but the 701's can actually "out-shine" the 3's, and be more enjoyable to listen to for a more organic-sounding balance from low-to-high frequencies.
 
long story short (and i'll elaborate on my impressions concerning either phone, if you want me to), but if it were me, i would search for a phone with a markedly different sound signature than the Q-701's, and then enjoy the differences between the two.
 
just my take.  (for what it's worth).  i just thought that this idea was worth considering, and i'd "throw it out there."   good luck in your search, man.
 
you got a suggestion for the 880's as a "good all-rounder".  i'm not really sure if any such h/p exists, without making major compromises somewhere.  but, i've never heard the 880's, so i don't want to "talk out of my arse", since i've never heard them.
 
i'm not saying that you've got to spend the kind of money that the LCD 3's demand.  but i would still audition some h/p's that are known to have a different sound signature from the Q-701's, and let your ears be the judge and see if you wouldn't enjoy having a set of phones that'll give you a different sound presentation always within arms' reach.

 

[tomb]

Might I suggest a Grado?  The RS-1 or PS500 might be something you'd like.  The signature is as close to AKG K/Q701's as any other on the market.  The difference being that the Grados are not so "clinical" and have decent bass punch.  Grado's are fantastically "musical" compared to the dry detail in the AKG.  I own both K701 (original low-SN Austrian version), K712, and Grado PS500's.  I've also spent extensive listening with RS-1's.  I think if you want a little less high-end detail and authoritative bass punch/low-end bass, then go for the PS500's.  The RS-1's are probably faster with a lean toward acoustical instruments.  One warning: there's nothing that will give you the soundstage of the AKG's except perhaps Sennheisers (HD580/600/650), but the overall sound signature with those are very different.
 
I have had a Grado friend tell me that the T1 is somewhat similar in sound signature, but you are talking a huge jump in price - almost night and day.
 
Most orthos - unfortunately - seem to focus on the bass end of the spectrum and tend to have a pretty good roll-off on the high-end.  I don't know why they are designing them that way, maybe it's something inherent in the design?  Some of the HiFiMan orthos have an impressive high-end, but JMHO, I'm not ready to experiment that much $$$ on their level of refinement or reported quality control.  That may seem strange when I'm recommending Grados, but they have a pretty long history/heritage.

 

[terry parr]

yeah, tomb if i had it to do all over again, i don't think i would've gone for the LCD-3's.  (and i wasn't suggesting to the OP that he do that).  what i was mainly suggesting is that he audition as many different phones as possible.  that way, he decides for himself where he's willing to make sonic compromises.
 
with so many h/p choices on the market these days (a good thing), you discover after listening to a few different makes and models that one h/p will do this well (while not being quite so good at doing that).  and so it goes.  i still have notes relating to the phones that i have auditioned
 
unless you have unlimited resources to (continue) throwing money at this (mostly enjoyable, but sometimes frustrating) hobby, then most of us will be compromising somewhere. i feel like i'm compromising with a h/p that retails for 2K.  (!)
 
the common sense approach is to find the h/p that will deliver most of those qualities that you like while knowing what you're giving up.  (and while not costing a mint).  but, you won't know how to make comparative, fine distinctions between different phones just based on the opinions of others. opinions here on this site can be very helpful, but they can only take you so far.  (the informed ones, anyway, where people have an opinion about gear that they've actually heard and spent time with).  inside joke for head-fi, there.
 
 but use the opinions of others (including mine, or anybody else's), as a loose guide.   
 
maybe try and get to that place where "diminishing returns" begins.  (but, that's a subjective judgment call that all of us make for ourselves).