[SeanR111]

I was considering buying a pair of AKG K702's and I've read the few forums already on here about what amps to buy for them.  I have a Roland Quad-Capture audio interface as my DAC currently and I know that the output impedance for the headphone out is 47 ohms.  My question is basically if I wanted to buy the 702Ks would it be absolutely necessary to buy an amp for them too, or would the Quad-Capture be able to drive them reasonably well?  I don't think it would since the 702K's impedance is 62 ohms, however I don't completely understand the underlying mechanisms so I thought I should ask the more knowledgeable people on here to confirm.  I'm on a pretty tight budget so avoiding buying an amp would be ideal, especially since most of the amps suggested for the K702s are $250+

 

[x5_spoonman]

I would also like to know.....
 
I would also like to know the quality of the DAC that the quad capture uses. 
Right now I use my 5 year old onboard realtek which absolutely sucks!
 
Am I right in thinking that the headphone output has to be a minimum of 1/8th of the impedance of the headphones?
 
Rolands specifications are a bit ambiguous.
Is the headphone output 47 ohms or is the headphone output only able to drive up to 47 ohms headphones?
 
Please can someone clarify this.
 
Thanks

 

[Acix]

Yes, the K702 will need some solid state amp to drive them, and I'll suggest to go for the best...the SPL amp's. For around $200 you can try to get some used Meier corda jazz/headfive, but will be better to save some money and to get a better amp. Sorry guys not much shortcuts here.

 

[scott5526]

I've got the K702 so I can vouch for their need of an amp to sound ideal.  It might hurt your budget a little at $300, but you could invest in a Bellari HA540 tube amp.  It has loads of gain and is a pretty clear amp overall so you wouldn't need to upgrade your amp for a while.  I've heard that it can even drive the HD800 fairly well.