[ytisawfulnow]

I currently own a pair of ATH-M50 but i've noticed the Q701 have come down in price a lot on Amazon.com, from what i originally thought were $400 to $240.
 
Anyway, here are my questions:
 
Is it worth buying these if i already own the M50s? do they sound significantly better?
Which amp should i use to drive them? Under $100 preferred, willing to go up to $200 if i HAVE to.
How badly do they leak sound? my room is right next to my parents, door shut, i listen about 1/4 way on speakers, half way on iTunes, air con on most of the time.
If i have anything else i forgot to ask i'll post later.
 
I listen to mainly electronic music and rock music, also instrumental and ambient stuff, some hip hop... I don't like a lot of bass, M50 have about the right amount of bass for me, maybe a little too much now that i think about it.
I will also be using them for movies and gaming as well.
 
My source is an AV Receiver on a cheap (around $300) Sony home theatre system (so obviously i will need an amp)
 
I think that's about it....
yeah.

 

[chicolom]

They have a large soundstage with good separation, which is great for for instrumental and ambient as well as movies and gaming. 
 
They benefit from both a DAC and an amp.  I don't know much about using AV receivers as a source.  I think you can get a FiiO E10 + E9 for under $150 if you buy used off the for sale forum.  Maybe the ODAC + O2 would work. 
 
They do leak, but it's not the worst leaking I've heard.

 

[Gwarmi]

 They destroy the M50 on every front given proper amplification and a proper source - forget the E9 - its a gain monster, it
 will squeeze the soundstage together and lose a heap of detail.
 
 Q701 + Audio-gd NFB-12 Dac and Amp - see if you can find a 2nd hand unit for about $160 - powerful enough to drive them,
 just a hint of warmth to tame any unruly recordings and the dual Wolfson 8741's inside will be far more resolving than any E17/E9 combo.

 

[ytisawfulnow]

That's a shame, the Fiio amps are very easy to purchase and be shipped to Australia while i can't seem to find this Audio-gd amp new anywhere, i even tried the official website and it didn't work...
What do you think of the Matrix M-stage?

 

[ytisawfulnow]

And would they leak as much as the ATH-M50 when they're not on your head?

 

[Gwarmi]

Quote:

And would they leak as much as the ATH-M50 when they're not on your head?

 
 They're a fully open reference headphone - the back of the housings are fully open via a series of multiple pin holes.
 
 If you need isolation they won't be for you - shame though since bar a few exceptions - closed cans have a hard time
 keeping up with a good open can.

 

[schuh]

I have been quite pleasantly surprised at how well my E17 drives my k702s for all styles of music.

 

[ytisawfulnow]

E17 is said to be a very good headphone amplifier.

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

What do you think of the Matrix M-stage?

 
The M-stage is a good choice.  IMO the Q701s really aren't portable headphones and should be used at home, and they do better with a desktop amp then a portable one (although they still need a DAC).

 

[ytisawfulnow]

yeah, i only plan on using them in my room... the amp i am looking for has to be an amp+DAC combo like the E10

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

yeah, i only plan on using them in my room... the amp i am looking for has to be an amp+DAC combo like the E10

 
Why does it need to be a combo unit?  And what's your budget?

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

I currently own a pair of ATH-M50 but i've noticed the Q701 have come down in price a lot on Amazon.com, from what i originally thought were $400 to $240.
 
Anyway, here are my questions:
 
Is it worth buying these if i already own the M50s? do they sound significantly better?
Which amp should i use to drive them? Under $100 preferred, willing to go up to $200 if i HAVE to.
How badly do they leak sound? my room is right next to my parents, door shut, i listen about 1/4 way on speakers, half way on iTunes, air con on most of the time.
If i have anything else i forgot to ask i'll post later.
 
I listen to mainly electronic music and rock music, also instrumental and ambient stuff, some hip hop... I don't like a lot of bass, M50 have about the right amount of bass for me, maybe a little too much now that i think about it.
I will also be using them for movies and gaming as well.
 
My source is an AV Receiver on a cheap (around $300) Sony home theatre system (so obviously i will need an amp)
 
I think that's about it....
yeah.

 
Heya,
 
It depends what kind of sound you're looking for. Coming from the M50 to the Q701, you'll notice first the much bigger sound stage and way more comfortable fit. Mids will be better, more clear, crisp and tight. Treble will have more of an atmosphere to it, less of just a harsh spike. Bass will sound a bit thin by comparison, since it's open and the Q701 is not bassy, but it is at least neutral with a hint of warmth. You'll notice loss of impact in mid/sub bass first. You'll notice mid-bass is less loud with the Q701. It can still drop low and has good neutral bass, but if you're looking for serous bass, it's not going to provide that.
 
Going from M50 I would actually put you on a Hifiman HE-400 or Denon D2000/5000. No need to upgrade source either. So you can put all your funds towards a much better headphone in general.
 
Very best,

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

 They destroy the M50 on every front given proper amplification and a proper source - forget the E9 - its a gain monster, it
 will squeeze the soundstage together and lose a heap of detail.
 
 Q701 + Audio-gd NFB-12 Dac and Amp - see if you can find a 2nd hand unit for about $160 - powerful enough to drive them,
 just a hint of warmth to tame any unruly recordings and the dual Wolfson 8741's inside will be far more resolving than any E17/E9 combo.

 
You're kidding right? Have you even tried the Q701 with the E9? "Lose a heap of detail"? Seriously?
If anything, the E9 actually makes the Q701's soundstage larger.
 
If you heard it and still think this, then OK, but it seems lately that people often claim the E9 is bad for the Q701 when it's actually quite good for the price. Better than any portable amp that's for sure.
Then there are those who automatically claim the Q701's sound will get ruined due to the E9's 10 ohm or so output. If they actually tried it, they'll know this is NOT the case. Just don't use the small jack.
I've yet to have the larger jack cause any problems with even my low impedance headphones. Even the KRK KNS-8400 and my DJ100 is fine with it.

 

[Gwarmi]

Quote:

 
You're kidding right? Have you even tried the Q701 with the E9? "Lose a heap of detail"? Seriously?
If anything, the E9 actually makes the Q701's soundstage larger.
 
If you heard it and still think this, then OK, but it seems lately that people often claim the E9 is bad for the Q701 when it's actually quite good for the price. Better than any portable amp that's for sure.
Then there are those who automatically claim the Q701's sound will get ruined due to the E9's 10 ohm or so output. If they actually tried it, they'll know this is NOT the case. Just don't use the small jack.
I've yet to have the larger jack cause any problems with even my low impedance headphones. Even the KRK KNS-8400 and my DJ100 is fine with it.

 
 
 I just don't understand why someone would consider the E9 and lets say a E7 or E17 when you can source an Audio-gd NFB-12 for the same or slightly less cash.

 

[Bojakus]

Quote:

That's a shame, the Fiio amps are very easy to purchase and be shipped to Australia while i can't seem to find this Audio-gd amp new anywhere, i even tried the official website and it didn't work...
What do you think of the Matrix M-stage?

http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/NFB12/NFB12EN.htm

lists it as being $215 I think you email them them for the transactions (but i'm not sure i sent in an email, considering buying one and some bad ass headphones)