[Gwarmi]

Quote:

I would like to know that too. I like them a lot, but was a bit dissapointed to read 'Made in China' instead of 'Austria'.

That can be a sweeping thought for a lot of people. China is such a mammoth market for industry that within it holds the good,
the bad and the downright ugly. Take a company like 'Little Dot' and 'HiFiMan' - their products speak for themselves and many enthusiasts consider them to be equal to many other manufacturers overseas with the exception that they can produce at a
cheaper price. This was obviously the main motivation for AKG but I'd be really surprised if the materials or manufacturing methods were compromised in any way.
 
Sometimes the 'Made in..<insert country>' tag can be very misleading. I can admit that when starting out in this hobby assuming that a small, battery powered amp 'Made in USA' by Boost-a-roo would have to be decent. Oh no, it was far and away from anything remotely acceptable with its hiss, grain and pop. It just added a bucket load of line noise and amplified it with a strange
echo effect.
 
Fiio (Designed and made in China) by comparison, makes the Boost-a-roo look like a cheap, nasty gimmick - which it is in my opinion.

 

[roBernd]

after +30h of burn-in (I know... not enough for some of you) I put on my K240 Sextetts (MP) for comparison.
I guess I'm just not in the market for the bigger AKG Families but I love the K240 family.
So far:
(40x/601x/70x/ and probably K50x as well) < K240M < K240S < K242HD < K240 Sextetts (MP)
less details, oh so much body and soul...
 
What's wrong with me

I feel like the best way to end my struggle is to desert my beloved AKG-Camp and join forces with the Sennheisers (HD 650 or the rumored HD700)...

 

[JamesMcProgger]

Quote:

after +30h of burn-in (I know... not enough for some of you) I put on my K240 Sextetts (MP) for comparison.
I guess I'm just not in the market for the bigger AKG Families but I love the K240 family.
So far:
(40x/601x/70x/ and probably K50x as well) < K240M < K240S < K242HD < K240 Sextetts (MP)
less details, oh so much body and soul...
 
What's wrong with me

I feel like the best way to end my struggle is to desert my beloved AKG-Camp and join forces with the Sennheisers (HD 650 or the rumored HD700)...

Takes time to get used to new sound signatures after being fond for one special can. I know it has happened to me. but give it time, try hidding the sextetts away and using only the K601 for some days or a week, and if you still dont like it, well sell it and get another one, its fun at least.
 
BTW K601 is very picky in amplification dunno if that's your issue?

 

[JamesMcProgger]

First time with the K601 properly driven.
 
Been listening 3 albums by now:
Gazpacho - Missa Atropos
Genesis - Selling England by the pound
 
Gentle Giant - Acquire the Taste
 
I have to say I was missing out a LOT by driving these with the mini3 all this time, because I did not had any better, the Gilmore Lite makes it more powerful and sparkly, also adds it a nice tight punch.
 
I ******* love this so much 

 

[tdockweiler]

Now you just need to try the K501

I prefer it to the K601, but my K601 isn't going anywhere ever. It's one of my favorites.
I agree that the K601 needs a fairly good desktop amp. A receiver or portable amp just won't do it justice.
The K501 + the Headroom Micro amp is the best combination I've heard yet. The K501 loves that amp and I'm not sure why.
It's soundstage is just so huge and nothing sounds too distant. Some of the best mids I've heard in a headphone.
 
 
Quote:

First time with the K601 properly driven.
 
Been listening 3 albums by now:
Gazpacho - Missa Atropos
Genesis - Selling England by the pound
 
Gentle Giant - Acquire the Taste
 
I have to say I was missing out a LOT by driving these with the mini3 all this time, because I did not had any better, the Gilmore Lite makes it more powerful and sparkly, also adds it a nice tight punch.
 
I ******* love this so much 

 

 

[jimpah]

Just bought mine today, after many many years of consideration. I'm awfully happy so far with them, I've listened to them for hours in stores before, but today was the day when I finally got myself my own pair. I've loved AKG for years as well, just recently bought the Q 460's, lovely portables imo. This is just another addition, and they're just lovely. One lucky owner, finally! =)

 

[Ziilot]

Has anyone compared Shanling PH100 and Heed Canamp?
 
I had Heed Canamp about a year ago but I sold it because I needed money then :/
 
Now I'm using these cans with Beresford Caiman, but its headphone out isn't really good.
 
I find treble bit fatiguing in a long run so I'm going to buy headphone amp. 

 

[Viennaconnect]

Hi guys, i am owning these since some months, just having listened with them for let's say appr. 100 hours total max.
 
I am no big believer of burning in as to make headphones that much better sounding, but i do not want to start a discussion, just wanna report my personal experience and thoughts.
 
First i was a big noob, just plugging them into an old integrated amp of the early ninety's (Philips FA 890) not knowing that the amp's output was suffering with power, impedance and therefore it sounded not very exciting. I had to listen at volume levels around 13 o'clock to have it "loud" but it never was distorted, it just felt like "narrow" and "not bright".
 
Then i was thinking of a headphone amp and borrowed a musical fidelity M1 HPA just to be sure there was no lack of power or incompatibility regarding the impedance of the headphone output.
 
I was not amazed, i did not really hear a big difference. Noise level was lower, volumeknob did not have to be near 12 o'clock and it was loud, well, but sound quality? i just did not experience any big difference in sound terms like clarity, brightness, space, punch, resolution and so on...just words here, i mean personally i did not have any "wow"-feeling. Admitted, they are good, but maybe i expected something more outstanding. Somehow it sounds too narrow, too near-your-ear, hard to describe. Well, they sounded satisfying when i was listening too acoustic guitars like in sungha jung's perfect blue album.
 
I will keep trying out and maybe i should go for a better DAC/AMP.

 

[hostarn]

Yo. I got a pair of these. I m looking for a new headphone amp o it as I gave my JAN6418 http://diyaudioprojects.com/Tubes/6418-Tube-Preamp-Headphone-Kit/ to a friend who has a pair that works better with that. I m going to inspect this thread for tips on what affordable amp to get. Because I m not getting rid of my beloved K601, not even after buying the K 1000>

 

 

[verde57]

I'm using them with the Xonar ST at "extra high gain" and they work perfectly, almost like real speakers, after burn-in the bass got a lot stronger.

 

[iamthecat]

Hi everyone, I'm new at this forum, so don't judge me harsh
 
I'm now proud owner of AKG K601 headset, arrived a few days ago, basically it's my first "serious" headset and after reading some reviews of it I've come to the conclusion that these babies need proper amplification.
My K601 are still sealed in package as I don't want to spoil the first impression and want to order an amplifier first. I have narrowed the amplifier range to just 2 (yes, two), but you can persuade me to buy the one that is not on my list if a good reason is stated
 
The budget is 300$. Sources: PS3 and omg-whats-that-holy-crap PC sound card (planning to get DAC later). So I've come to these two amplifiers:
 
Matrix M-Stage (read a TON great reviews about this one but the thing bothers me is that some people claim stock OPamps to be crappy (and I don't want to mess with OP change) -- if anyone can approve/disapprove, you're welcome);
Little Dot MK V (also a TON reviews about this one but no single review describing the performance with K601s).
 
Of course, there are Slee Solos and Black Cubes and CanAmps and whatever else, I just don't think that the 601s deserve that much money to be invested in.
 
And again, if anyone can recommend the amplifier based on their own experience (just not the FiiO ones -- these are out of the question), I wll gladly take your opinion into consideration.
 
Thanks in advance.

 

[Gwarmi]

Quote:

Hi everyone, I'm new at this forum, so don't judge me harsh
 
I'm now proud owner of AKG K601 headset, arrived a few days ago, basically it's my first "serious" headset and after reading some reviews of it I've come to the conclusion that these babies need proper amplification.
My K601 are still sealed in package as I don't want to spoil the first impression and want to order an amplifier first. I have narrowed the amplifier range to just 2 (yes, two), but you can persuade me to buy the one that is not on my list if a good reason is stated
 
The budget is 300$. Sources: PS3 and omg-whats-that-holy-crap PC sound card (planning to get DAC later). So I've come to these two amplifiers:
 
Matrix M-Stage (read a TON great reviews about this one but the thing bothers me is that some people claim stock OPamps to be crappy (and I don't want to mess with OP change) -- if anyone can approve/disapprove, you're welcome);
Little Dot MK V (also a TON reviews about this one but no single review describing the performance with K601s).
 
Of course, there are Slee Solos and Black Cubes and CanAmps and whatever else, I just don't think that the 601s deserve that much money to be invested in.
 
And again, if anyone can recommend the amplifier based on their own experience (just not the FiiO ones -- these are out of the question), I wll gladly take your opinion into consideration.
 
Thanks in advance.

\
 
 
 Well call me nutty but I drive mine out of a Violectric V200 ~ many would say ~ what a waste, good for them 

 
 I personally feel that when properly amped with a stellar amp they will easily deliver an almost reference experience
 ~ that's the catch though ~ how do you get your head around spending that much on a high quality source and amp
 for a headphone that sells for $250-$300USD ~ they're way better than that in my opinion. Few people ever find out
 for themselves for a myriad of reasons that are too numerous to mention.
 
 My advice would be the Audio NFB-5 Dac/Amp at $330USD or the Violectric V90
 
 Both offer over 800mW of juice ~ the Violectric V90 would be best with it's figures :-
 
(Close enough even though actual K601 impedance is 120ohms)
 

Output Voltage in 100 Ohms​	15,2 V
Output Power in 100 Ohms​	2300 mW

 

 

[iamthecat]

Thank you for advice, Gwarmi!
 
Never heard of Violectric brand before, but, man, V200 is so beyond my budget! I won't say that this thing is bad for 601s in any way, but.. but .. but.. it is damn expensive
I like the V90 better than NFB-5 at this point, 'cause I need RCA inputs/outputs, the DAC will follow as separate piece later on.
Still even the V90 is twice my budget. "Made in Germany" speaks for itself, I guess.
 
Please, everyone else in this thread is welcome to set out the opinion on goo/above-good amplifier for 601s, that would fit 300$ price mark.

 

[mikeaj]

120 ohms is more like the nominal at 1 kHz, and it's higher than that elsewhere, but this is common for a lot of headphones.  (Higher impedance is easier to drive in general, at least until an amp runs out of voltage at very loud listening levels.)
 

 
Given the sensitivity around 100 dB SPL / 1V rms, I'm not really convinced by needing more than 3-4V of clean output, unless you're listening to extraordinarily quietly-mastered music at high volumes.  I rarely need anything approaching those levels.  At normal listening volumes on most music, much less is needed.  Any non-tiny, non-budget amplifier is going to be able to do 3-4V into 120 ohms or so, just some better than others.  So just look for something that you think is built well and will match your preferences (and IMHO, free from audiophile mythological marketing BS).

 

[iamthecat]

Quote:

Any non-tiny, non-budget amplifier is going to be able to do 3-4V into 120 ohms or so, just some better than others.  So just look for something that you think is built well and will match your preferences (and IMHO, free from audiophile mythological marketing BS).

Thank you very much, dear sir! I did like that single idea very much indeed.