AKG new N90Q
Nov 15, 2016 at 7:31 PM Post #213 of 380
  Any direct comparisons with K3003?

IEM vs full size? What the heck, i'll give it a shot.
 
N90Qs have more and better bass. You can adjust the EQ as well to give a very heavy sound with significant sub bass or tune it for a more lean sound. 3003s can be tuned to a degree as well but the jumps between the three filters on the 3003s are a bit too big for me to use them very often.
 
3003s have a better midrange in that it's more level with the bass. Think of the N90Qs as a slight V shaped sound over neutral and the 3003s as a slight bright sound signature over neutral.
 
The N90s have a very natural and accurate treble. BUT they don't have the spectacular sparkle the 3003s have which can sometimes make bad recordings sound REALLY bad. The N90s are a bit more forgiving. The very high end extension of the N90s isn't quite as good as the 3003s 
 
The N90s have built in DAC AMP, which is cool but I'm a little bit sad you can't by pass the amp to run it off of a Lyr or something.
 
Tough to compare the two but i love em both for different reasons.
 
N90s are comfortable but they do have some noticeable weight to them. obviously IEMs are totally different in this regard.
 
Nov 15, 2016 at 10:02 PM Post #214 of 380
IEM vs full size? What the heck, i'll give it a shot.

N90Qs have more and better bass. You can adjust the EQ as well to give a very heavy sound with significant sub bass or tune it for a more lean sound. 3003s can be tuned to a degree as well but the jumps between the three filters on the 3003s are a bit too big for me to use them very often.

3003s have a better midrange in that it's more level with the bass. Think of the N90Qs as a slight V shaped sound over neutral and the 3003s as a slight bright sound signature over neutral.

The N90s have a very natural and accurate treble. BUT they don't have the spectacular sparkle the 3003s have which can sometimes make bad recordings sound REALLY bad. The N90s are a bit more forgiving. The very high end extension of the N90s isn't quite as good as the 3003s 

The N90s have built in DAC AMP, which is cool but I'm a little bit sad you can't by pass the amp to run it off of a Lyr or something.

Tough to compare the two but i love em both for different reasons.

N90s are comfortable but they do have some noticeable weight to them. obviously IEMs are totally different in this regard.


Which would you prefer for classical?
 
Nov 27, 2016 at 9:29 PM Post #216 of 380
Which would you prefer for classical?

Probably the 3003s, but some classical tracks with a timpani would sound great on the N90Qs as the bass impact would be better.
 
Jan 20, 2017 at 1:38 PM Post #217 of 380
I just got my N90's, and overall I'm very happy with them! The one thing that was a big dissapointment for me is that they do not work on a digital mode with iPhone's lightning connector, even with the lightning <-> USB- cable :frowning2: So basically, when I'm on the road, I must use the iPhones lousy analog connector, which makes highs sound fuzzy and lows powerless.
 
So my question is; how could I get the best possible sound quality out of N90's with iPhone, when on the road? Naturally I cannot use any 230V powered USB- hub on the road, so is there any other way to get N90's to work with the lightning connector? Or should just invest on some good portable DAC/amp, such as Oppo HA-2 etc.? It sounds quite strange to invest on a high quality DAC/amp, when N90's would anyway transform it back to the analog and the digital again....
 
What should I do??
 
Jan 20, 2017 at 2:34 PM Post #218 of 380
Do not do that my friend.
 
You cannot bypass the N90Q dac ! Which means, if you plug a dac into another dac, the sound will be 90% weird. For exemple, through the mojo, it sounds really bad.
 
The best choice would be to use it with a phone Android or a DAP with OTG ability :wink:
 
Buy a samsung S3 and use it as a dap, it costs nothing and read all formats :wink:
 
Jan 20, 2017 at 4:00 PM Post #219 of 380
  Do not do that my friend.
 
You cannot bypass the N90Q dac ! Which means, if you plug a dac into another dac, the sound will be 90% weird. For exemple, through the mojo, it sounds really bad.
 
The best choice would be to use it with a phone Android or a DAP with OTG ability :wink:
 
Buy a samsung S3 and use it as a dap, it costs nothing and read all formats :wink:

 
Well of course I cannot bypass N90's DAC, but if I use iPhone's analog output (like I'm now doing), there already is two DAC's in a row. I was just thinking that since the iPhone's DAC is a weakest link in a chain, maybe replacing it with a better DAC would do it? Actually my friend tried N90's today with his high-end headphone DAC/amp, and he was really happy with it.
 
And I really would not want to change my iPhone to Android just because of this. Since I use my headphones when driving for hours, I also don't want to use a separate player and a phone,since I'm using N90's also as a "handsfree" for my phone calls.
 
Your comment about "DAP with OTG" sounded like an interesting idea... But instead of a separate player, would there be any portable device available that could be connected to the iPhone's lightning output, and which would give out "good enough" digital signal for the N90's?
 
Jan 21, 2017 at 2:26 PM Post #220 of 380
But hey; now I noticed that there actually is a powered version of lightning <-> USB- adapter for iPhone:
 
https://9to5mac.com/2016/03/27/review-lightning-to-usb-3-camera-adapter-a-podcasters-best-friend/
http://www.head-fi.org/t/802408/new-apple-lightning-to-usb-3-camera-adapter-39-an-official-answer-for-usb-dac-and-ipad
 
Has anyone tried that with N90's??
 
Jan 21, 2017 at 9:18 PM Post #221 of 380
I haven't, but even if it does work, you'd need (to review) (1) N90Q with its full-resolution Micro-USB-to-USB-A Cable, (2) the Lightning-to-USB-3 adapter, (3) a lighting cable to bring power to that adapter, (4) a portable battery with which to power the adapter, and finally (5) your iPhone to stream the music in the first place.
 
Seems like it would be much easier, as I believe iPads don't give the error message with the N90Q, to use (1) an iPad (mini if they work), (2) the classic lightning to USB camera adapter, and (3) your N90Q with their high-res USB cable.
 
If you can find a third-party manufacturer to make you a micro-USB-to-lightning cable, you can dispense with #2 from the above list.
 
I have yet to find such a manufacturer. There are microUSB to lightning adapters but not cables.
 
Jan 22, 2017 at 1:24 PM Post #222 of 380
That setup overall is not a problem for me; if it works, it would be more than fine for my purposes. iPad is still not an option, because as I said, I'm using N90's also as my hands-free setup when someone calls.
 
So, if no one informs me that is does NOT work, I will surely give it a try next week! :=)
 
Jan 22, 2017 at 4:00 PM Post #224 of 380
K701 is much brighter and airier; N90Q has more bass impact and is probably a better all-rounder. The use-cases and price tiers though are so shocking different that I can't imagine picking between them. It would be like choosing between a midrange Lexus sedan and a Tesla Roadster.
 
Jan 22, 2017 at 4:13 PM Post #225 of 380
  K701 is much brighter and airier; N90Q has more bass impact and is probably a better all-rounder. The use-cases and price tiers though are so shocking different that I can't imagine picking between them. It would be like choosing between a midrange Lexus sedan and a Tesla Roadster.


Well the fact its wireless, if its able to outduel a purists wired mid-fi champ, then it can be taken into consideration. It looks really nice, and its technology sounds impressive. I was watching the video of that lady being interviewed by Tyll and his challenging questions.

Anyhoo, if its , as you say, a better all rounder, then it probably isn't as gimmicky as it sounds. I say as it sounds, because well it was made to sound like the second coming of Christ by the lady. And also b/c Quincy thought the 701 was the best of the best of the best, and this thing got a Q on it.
 
oops thought they were wireless bluetooth
happy_face1.gif
 
 

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