[guitarmann88]

AKG K612 pro and Little Dot 1+
 
Hi everyone.Recently i bought the AKG K612 pro to use them at midnight, because my neighbors complain about my Dali Ikon 1 speakers.My first impression after one hour of listening, is that they sound very cold and clinical with very bad bass performance.I don't have a headphone amp, so I use them with my Yamaha R-S500 Speakers amp.At 0 db there is a bass cliping and i don't know the reason.I Listen contemporary jazz and classic rock(flac&alac)
I want a softer and warmer sound, so I am thinking to buy The Little dot 1+.Does anyone have experience with the combination of LD 1+ & K612 Pro?

 

[kid vic]

AKG K612 pro and Little Dot 1+

[COLOR=333333]Hi everyone.Recently i bought the AKG [/COLOR]K612 pro to use them at midnight, because my neighbors complain about my Dali Ikon 1 speakers.My first impression after one hour of listening, is that they sound very cold and clinical with very bad bass performance.I don't have a headphone amp, so I use them with my Yamaha R-S500 Speakers amp.At 0 db there is a bass cliping and i don't know the reason.I Listen contemporary jazz and classic rock(flac&alac)
I want a softer and warmer sound, so I am thinking to buy The Little dot 1+.Does anyone have experience with the combination of LD 1+ & K612 Pro?

I don't have personal experience with that (or any little dot amp) but i can promise you your not yet getting the full experience of the K612. I will say though that their very neutral, neither warm nor cold. As for the bass presentation only a few headphones can get the visceral bass feel of speakers and even then its not the same. I use my K612's for the same genres plus more and find them very satisfying but i suspect youd appreciate the k7-series more. I will let you know when my K7XX's arrive.

 

[Punnisher]

I don't have personal experience with that (or any little dot amp) but i can promise you your not yet getting the full experience of the K612. I will say though that their very neutral, neither warm nor cold. As for the bass presentation only a few headphones can get the visceral bass feel of speakers and even then its not the same. I use my K612's for the same genres plus more and find them very satisfying but i suspect youd appreciate the k7-series more. I will let you know when my K7XX's arrive.

You can't make promises about gear you've not heard.
 
I've listened to the Little Dot I+ and think it's a very capable amp, especially with low impedance headphones. You also have the option of op-amp and tube rolling to get more out of it.
 
Given the 601 and 612 are 120ohms which is in the "mid range" in terms of impedance, results can vary. Personally I think their impedance is suitable for tube, ss or hybrid amps because it isn't to low nor too high for any of those topologies.
 
I can vouch for the quality of Little Dot amps, especially for the price. I haven't listened to that exact pairing, so I can't offer any opinions on the sound.

 

[cel4145]

AKG K612 pro and Little Dot 1+

[COLOR=333333]Hi everyone.Recently i bought the AKG [/COLOR]K612 pro to use them at midnight, because my neighbors complain about my Dali Ikon 1 speakers.My first impression after one hour of listening, is that they sound very cold and clinical with very bad bass performance.I don't have a headphone amp, so I use them with my Yamaha R-S500 Speakers amp.At 0 db there is a bass cliping and i don't know the reason.I Listen contemporary jazz and classic rock(flac&alac)

You've already provided your answer with the first part of that sentence. You've reached the limits of the headphone amp setup in the S500. Just because your speakers might have more headroom at that volume setting doesn't mean the headphone jack will.

I'd also suggest looking into the Schiit Magni 2 Uber. Should have a little more power for the K612s than the Little Dot I+.

 

[kid vic]

  You can't make promises about gear you've not heard.
 
I've listened to the Little Dot I+ and think it's a very capable amp, especially with low impedance headphones. You also have the option of op-amp and tube rolling to get more out of it.
 
Given the 601 and 612 are 120ohms which is in the "mid range" in terms of impedance, results can vary. Personally I think their impedance is suitable for tube, ss or hybrid amps because it isn't to low nor too high for any of those topologies.
 
I can vouch for the quality of Little Dot amps, especially for the price. I haven't listened to that exact pairing, so I can't offer any opinions on the sound.

Ok, nor should I make promises I can't keep. Allow me to rephrase my statement:
"given that its rare for the headphone section of a receiver to compete with a dedicated headphone amplifier in my opinion you are probably not getting the full experience the K612's will provide. In addition if you are so inclinde to believe in burn-in one hour of listening (given that you didn't mention a burn in period) is hardly enough time".
 
Happy now?

 

[guitarmann88]

Thanks for the response guys!!The burn in period of my 612's is 48hours approximately.I do believe that I really need to buy a nice Headphone amp to enjoy my K612.After Christmas holidays I will buy and try The Little dot I+ with various tubes or BRAVO OCEAN.

 

[Punnisher]

  Ok, nor should I make promises I can't keep. Allow me to rephrase my statement:
"given that its rare for the headphone section of a receiver to compete with a dedicated headphone amplifier in my opinion you are probably not getting the full experience the K612's will provide. In addition if you are so inclinde to believe in burn-in one hour of listening (given that you didn't mention a burn in period) is hardly enough time".
 
Happy now?

Oh I see, initially I thought you were commenting on the I+. In that case I'd agree that a dedicated amp is the way to go.

 

[kid vic]

Thanks for the response guys!!The burn in period of my 612's is 48hours approximately.I do believe that I really need to buy a nice Headphone amp to enjoy my K612.After Christmas holidays I will buy and try The Little dot I+ with various tubes or BRAVO OCEAN.

let us know which one you get and how you like it!

Oh I see, initially I thought you were commenting on the I+. In that case I'd agree that a dedicated amp is the way to go.

I guessed that you misread my comment but wasn't sure. I was thinking about getting a little dot but there just not as sexy as a darkvoice (big influence on my choice).

 

[guitarmann88]

let us know which one you get and how you like it!
I guessed that you misread my comment but wasn't sure. I was thinking about getting a little dot but there just not as sexy as a darkvoice (big influence on my choice).

 A short research about Frequency Response
 
AKG K612 pro:12 to 39500 Hz
DarkVoice:10Hz~20kHz +/-1dB
Bravo Ocean:10 Hz – 60 kHz +/- 0.25 dB
Little Dot MK III:12 hz~100 Khz  (-1dB)
Little Dot I+:10HZ - 50KHz (-3 dB)
 
I think Bravo Ocean performs great.It's cheaper and also has RCA Line out to send signal to my Stereo Receiver.
But it doesn't look as sexy as the competitors.

 

[cel4145]

 A short research about Frequency Response


AKG K612 pro:[COLOR=636363]12 to 39500 Hz[/COLOR]
DarkVoice:
[COLOR=333333]10Hz~20kHz +/-1dB[/COLOR]
[COLOR=333333]Bravo Ocean:[/COLOR]10 Hz – 60 kHz +/- 0.25 dB
Little Dot MK III:12 hz~100 Khz  (-1dB)
Little Dot I+:[COLOR=333333]10HZ - 50KHz (-3 dB)[/COLOR]

[COLOR=333333]I think Bravo Ocean performs great.[/COLOR]It's cheaper and also has RCA Line out to send signal to my Stereo Receiver.
[COLOR=333333]But it doesn't look as sexy as the competitors[/COLOR].

A short primer about audio company specs:

1) Audio companies often exaggerate or lie, and measurements are often dependent on other factors other than the spec that is given (for example, frequency range at what output? RMS? Max?). Unless equipment has been independently tested, about the best you can hope for is that they won't perform BETTER than company listed specs.
2) Who cares if audio equipment goes to 30K or 50K hz? What's important is that the output is linear to just over 20K hz. Similarly with under 20hz.
3) Frequency response specs without +/- db amounts are practically useless since there may not be linear output at the extremes of the range.

 

[kid vic]

 A short research about Frequency Response


AKG K612 pro:[COLOR=636363]12 to 39500 Hz[/COLOR]
DarkVoice:
[COLOR=333333]10Hz~20kHz +/-1dB[/COLOR]
[COLOR=333333]Bravo Ocean:[/COLOR]10 Hz – 60 kHz +/- 0.25 dB
Little Dot MK III:12 hz~100 Khz  (-1dB)
Little Dot I+:[COLOR=333333]10HZ - 50KHz (-3 dB)[/COLOR]

[COLOR=333333]I think Bravo Ocean performs great.[/COLOR]It's cheaper and also has RCA Line out to send signal to my Stereo Receiver.
[COLOR=333333]But it doesn't look as sexy as the competitors[/COLOR].

Just because its stated to reach certain frequencies doesnt mean it actually will. Also, you can make an amp out of anything and it will produce sound but may not do so in a pleasing manner, that is far more important than listed specs.

 

[TeoS]

Got a K612 Pro that I drive for the moment from my Toshiba tablet . Listenable ,but not enough power obviously,and I must listen to 100% volume . I am looking for an amp and closer to my location I can buy online hifiman ef2a , fiio e12 ,e18, or maybe to try a vintage integrated amplifier or receiver on headphone out?

 

[icsi]

Did somebody an EQ for K612 PRO ?
 
I'm trying. I took graphs from here: http://en.goldenears.net/42471
and made this: http://www.megafileupload.com/en/file/591930/AKG-K612-PRO-V0-01-xgeq.html   (its not made by ear, just after the graphs)

 

[393699]

  Got a K612 Pro that I drive for the moment from my Toshiba tablet . Listenable ,but not enough power obviously,and I must listen to 100% volume . I am looking for an amp and closer to my location I can buy online hifiman ef2a , fiio e12 ,e18, or maybe to try a vintage integrated amplifier or receiver on headphone out?

 
TeoS, take a look at the Racoon SG300 tube dac/amp combo as well. It is what I currently own and use with my K612 Pro. The headphones and the Racoon have a nice synergy together. The amp easily offers more than enough power to drive the K612 as well. I rarely get beyond 9 o'clock on the volume. On new recordings, it is usually plenty loud at just 8 o'clock.

 

[anthonyl]

I have just purchased a set of the AKG 612 Pro and a new Sound Blaster Zx sound card (as I thought it had a headphone amp in it)....and I am finding that even at 100% volume..the sound is just waaaay to low. Every volume slider is at 100% and yet the sound coming out is like I would expect from say 40 or 50%.
 
Onboard sound is disabled in BIOS and headphones are olugged in to the correct jack.
 
I thought that the "dedicated headphone amp" would be enough to drive the headphones...perhaps I was mistaken.