AKG K501 question

[dk123]

Hi everybody,

I have been reading this site for a while, and have really learned a lot.

Anyway, I have been thinking of getting a pair of K501s, and I'm wondering if anyone could suggest an inexpensive (preferably under $100 or so) headphone amp that would work well with them. I don't own much in the way of high-end audio equipment, and I am assuming that the headphone jack from my Yamaha receiver won't provide enough power for these headphones to sound good. Thanks in advance for any replies.

 

[number1sixerfan]

I'd suggest looking for a used bada ph-1 headphone amp. They go for around $100. It is a tube hybrid amp. It really shows off the akg's famed mids and helps the low end presence a bit. If you are looking for solid state, then a used pimeta might be an option.

 

[Aman]

The K501s require a LOT of power, so that is one thing to consider.

Now, this doesn't mean that they won't be heard well enough under a receiver, they just may not sound their best.

If you could, I would wait and hold off until you could afford a better amp.

Unfortunately, I can't think of ONE good amp for under 100 dollars accept for the CMOY, but I think that would only minimally increase it and would just be a waste of money considering how much power the K501s SHOULD have.

Anything higher or equal to a Gilmore Lite, or a Perreaux SXH-1, would be sufficient.

 

[wang228]

I an a noob here too and the only headphone amp i've used is my self built pimeta (opa627,2x buffer). So please take my words under this frame of referenfce.

The pimeta is in my opinion fairly good at bringing out the mid/highs and the airness of the headphones. The tight quick bass of the K501/pimeta combination makes my HD650 (on the same pimeta) sound muddy for certain music in comparision. The combination is especially amazing with thick orchestral music as it is quite resolving and airy. But more often and not, I also feel the lows and ambient missing. Music can sound rather thin and become worse if the recording is dry to begin with.
The bottom line is, a pimeta would be good for K501 if you are looking for a detail/airly sounding combination for not so much money. I do not recommend it if are looking for something lusher and warmer. I actually think the headphone output of my speaker amp (audiosource amp two) does a better job if this is what you prefer (due to its high output impedance).

hope this helps,
wang

 

[Andrea]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dk123 Hi everybody, I have been reading this site for a while, and have really learned a lot. Anyway, I have been thinking of getting a pair of K501s, and I'm wondering if anyone could suggest an inexpensive (preferably under $100 or so) headphone amp that would work well with them. I don't own much in the way of high-end audio equipment, and I am assuming that the headphone jack from my Yamaha receiver won't provide enough power for these headphones to sound good. Thanks in advance for any replies.

My advice is to make sure you try it with your receiver before buying a dedicated amp... It might go surprisingly well with it, in fact its electrical characteristics are rather favourable for the sort of pairing. I've been considering the K501 too, but NOT an amp to drive it as my Pioneer is supposed to do the job very appropriately.

 

[dk123]

Thanks for the the replies.

I don't know if it helps any, but according to the manual from my receiver the output level of the headphone jack is 0.51V and the Impendance is 330 ohms. Is this usable?

 

[wang228]

To my ears, the headphone jack of my audiosource amp with 330 ohm output impedance drives K501 just fine. Such high output impedance does affect the tonality of the sound (usually more apparent bass) but not necessarily for the worse. There are many treads on headfi on the effect of output impedance on the frequency response/damping characteristic of the system. Do some search if you are interested.
0.51 V (at what load?) seems a little low but i think it should be fine as the voltage swing of a receiver are generally not a big problem in my experience.... i'm not sure though. Somebody more knowledgeable could chime in on this.

 

[dk123]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wang228 0.51 V (at what load?) seems a little low but i think it should be fine as the voltage swing of a receiver are generally not a big problem in my experience.... i'm not sure though. Somebody more knowledgeable could chime in on this.

I think it's 0.51 V @ 8 Ohm...but I'm not sure. Anyway, thanks for the help.

 

[patricklang]

I have been very happy using k501's with a meta42, 2 buffers per channel. There was a noticable difference with the second buffers, it tightened up the bass and sped up the phones quite a bit. I assume a pimeta would be the same. A PPA is a step above, but I'd say my dual buffer meta42 is 70-80% of the quality of a PPA with diamond buffer when paired with the k501's. I would rather pick up some better cans before going to a PPAv2, but I think the meta42/501 combo cannot be beat at the price point.

 

[sbulack]

I've been very happy with how a Go-Vibe (with OPA2227 opamp) drives my K501. These are $69 shipped (within the US) from http://www.go-vibe.com