[Maquiavelito]

Hi, first let me disclose that I am totally new to the audiophile scene and, frankly speaking, am finding a lot of the technical stuff a bit over my head at this point.
 
I just bought a pair of AKG K702 headphones and paired them up with the Magni amp and Modi DAC from Schiit (all of which I'm running from my laptop as the source and playing FLAC files).  I like the Magni/Modi as it works quite nicely with my cheaper headphones.  But, it seems that with the AKG K702 I have to crank the volume knob up to about 80% full volume, and sometimes more, to get real punch, and even then it's not terribly loud.  The sound quality seems fine to me, but I am really underwhelmed by the lack of volume they seem to have.  
 
What I'd like to know is whether or not the apparent lack of volume is a reflection of the fact that these headphones are notoriously difficult to amp and they just don't work well with the Magni/Modi set-up.  I understood that if you have at least a 1:8 ratio in the impedance of the amp and the headphones you're OK (feel free to laugh at my ignorance if I'm way off here), which I think I've got with this set-up.  My problem is that, being new to all of this, I really have no proper frame of reference, and for all I know what I've got is how it should be.  
 
I'm now considering ditching these headphones and going for something else that would be more compatible with the Magni/Modi set-up I've got.  Honestly, I'm not quite sure what to do because it seems, based on what I've been reading, it's a bit of an art form matching high-quality headphones to an amp/DAC set-up.  
 
Anyway, I'd be interested to hear people's comments.
 
Thanks,
 
M.

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
Nothing wrong with your `stack. The AKG's are difficult to make loud on most amplifiers. I've never had that problem myself. But I also have devices that allow me to adjust gain, and are powerful. So I can make anything loud. But then again, I don't want my headphones loud. I just want normal listening level with over-head (room to spare).
 
The real question should be, do you like the sound of your AKG's for your music? Or are you turning them up super loud because you're looking for the mid-bass impact that they lack? What are you looking for, with this "real punch?"
 
Very best,

 

[pwwaring]

What kind of setup do you have on the laptop, and any chance you have the volume turned down below 100% for the digital interface output?  

 

[Maquiavelito]

Hi, thanks for you response.  Like you, I generally just want normal listening level with room to spare; and that's something I find I don't quite have with this set-up (with some music, yes; with others, no).  I don't listen to my music super loud as a matter of course, but, like many people, I like to crank it up once in a while.  I'm finding that it's hard to get that with the set-up I have.  I like the sound of the AKGs, but it bothers me that I don't have much room to spare (in some cases none at all) and makes me think I'm not getting the full potential out of these headphones.  Without that extra volume when I want it, a lot of my music just seems to lack presence.  That's why I was reconsidering the headphones.  But perhaps I should think about acquiring a more powerful amp.
 
Ideally, what amp would you recommend for these headphones (say, for around $300)?  Alternatively, what should one look for in an amp to go with this headphones?
 
Thanks,
 
M.

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
The Asgard 2 itself would be a different animal than the Magni and it will match your Modi, style wise. It's a better amplifier in terms of quality. It has gain options. That itself will raise volume to whatever level you please. Raise it to high gain and then simply adjust volume, you should have tons of over-head with that, even though it's nearly the same power output. Alternatively, the Matrix M-Stage pairs well, but again, has similar power output to what you have, and also you can look into something with tons of output, like an AudioGD NFB11.32, 12, 15.32, etc, which is a DAC/AMP but with 2~3x the power output compared to those amps mentioned.
 
Very best,

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Hi, thanks for you response.  Like you, I generally just want normal listening level with room to spare; and that's something I find I don't quite have with this set-up (with some music, yes; with others, no).  I don't listen to my music super loud as a matter of course, but, like many people, I like to crank it up once in a while.  I'm finding that it's hard to get that with the set-up I have.  I like the sound of the AKGs, but it bothers me that I don't have much room to spare (in some cases none at all) and makes me think I'm not getting the full potential out of these headphones.  Without that extra volume when I want it, a lot of my music just seems to lack presence.  That's why I was reconsidering the headphones.  But perhaps I should think about acquiring a more powerful amp.

It really sounds like the volume controls on the computer are set too low.
You want to set all the volume controls on the computer to maximum and only use the volume knob on the Magni for adjusting the volume.
Also try using Foobar2000 for playing audio files.

 

[Maquiavelito]

Actually, the volume on the PC is maxed out, both on the main volume control for Windows and the volume control on my player.  But I will look into Foobar2000 for playing files (I've heard good things about it), and have been thinking about making a change in this regard anyway.  Thanks,
 
M.

 

[Maquiavelito]

  Heya,
 
The Asgard 2 itself would be a different animal than the Magni and it will match your Modi, style wise. It's a better amplifier in terms of quality. It has gain options. That itself will raise volume to whatever level you please. Raise it to high gain and then simply adjust volume, you should have tons of over-head with that, even though it's nearly the same power output. Alternatively, the Matrix M-Stage pairs well, but again, has similar power output to what you have, and also you can look into something with tons of output, like an AudioGD NFB11.32, 12, 15.32, etc, which is a DAC/AMP but with 2~3x the power output compared to those amps mentioned.
 
Very best,

 
Thank you, MalVeauX, for these recommendations.  Seems I should have spent a bit more time researching compatibility before spending the money.  Live and learn.