[NinjaSquirt]

I recently bought a pair of K702s with a cable upgrade for $250 and am loving them but I've been reluctant to plug them into my Schiit Valhalla before I did some research (hopefully I'll get some answers here).
 
I understand that the K702 is quite power hungry although at only 62ohms but from research I've also gathered that power hungry comes in the form of high impedance as well as something needing a lot of current (No idea what I'm talking about). From what I understand, the K702 belong in the latter category.
 
I've tried searching for records of people using the combo and have only come up with two comments about the combo being good so I wanted to get some expert advice before I plug them in and blow something up. I know it's unlikely but one can never be too careful.
 
Am I going to get a giant change in sound for the K702?
 
Also, I'm looking to get a pair of Fostex T50RP because there's just so many excellent reviews for them at their price (Someone tell me where I can actually get them for $70 cause I've heard that's the lowest price around) and would like comparison to either the Beyer DT 880 or the K702 so I can have a point of reference. I've read reviews but they can only take me so far.
 
Lastly, is the Schiit Valhalla going to be enough to power the K702 and or the T50RP?

 

[rawrster]

You can plug it in and find out for yourself how that combo works? I don't really see the issue of plugging your headphones in that amp.

 

[fabio-fi]

Quote:

You can plug it in and find out for yourself how that combo works? I don't really see the issue of plugging your headphones in that amp.

This is the best you can do, and let us know how they sound. 

 

[Gwarmi]

Malveaux might chine in at some stage,
 
He recently, purposely tried to kill some cheapie headphones with his Schiit Lyr
and that behemoth of an amp did not manage to kill them.

 

[Chris J]

 
Schiit claim that the Valhalla works quite well with the K701 and K702 series. So you can infer from that that the Valhalla will not destroy the K70x and it does have enough power for the K70x series.
The whole thing about K70x or Q701 needing a lot of power is an Urban Legend.
I have no problem using my iPad to drive my Q701s to a reasonable volume..........the 'phones don't sound amazing thru the iPad but it's OK for YouTube videos, etc.
I can also use my Q701 with my La Figaro 336C which is an OTL vacuum tube amp similar to the Valhalla.
 
"Power Hungry" is a very complex statement but usually it comes down to the headphones being very inefficient.
K701s are not super efficient........but you can drive them from an iPod, just don't expect great sound and tons of volume.
If you use them with an iPod you will find out how bad the headphone jack on an iPod sounds!

 
Try sending a note to Schiit, they are pretty good at answering questions.

 

[maverickronin]

OTL tube amps don't usually work well with current hungry, low impedance headphone like the K702 but the Valhalla seems to have lots of current for an OTL amp if the reports are to be believed.  It shouldn't hurt your 702s.  The usual problem with OTL amps and 'phones like the K702s is that they run out of current and clip before you get to a reasonable listening volume but that won't hurt anything unless you enjoy listing to badly distorted music for long periods of time.
 
If you want a pair of T50RPs then sing up for an in stock email alert at B&H or something.

 

[Chris J]

Quote:

OTL tube amps don't usually work well with current hungry, low impedance headphone like the K702 but the Valhalla seems to have lots of current for an OTL amp if the reports are to be believed.  It shouldn't hurt your 702s.  The usual problem with OTL amps and 'phones like the K702s is that they run out of current and clip before you get to a reasonable listening volume but that won't hurt anything unless you enjoy listing to badly distorted music for long periods of time.
 
If you want a pair of T50RPs then sing up for an in stock email alert at B&H or something.

Another problem with OTL amps is that they have a fairly high output impedance:
 - so they have low damping factor, which means loose, distorted bass
 - and the amps high output impedance may interact with the headphones impedance to cause frequency response variations