[loopfreak]

If you go little over your budget lake people g100 is great choice
13.2 Veff in 100 ohms = 1742 mW
8.5 Veff in 40 ohms = 1806 mW
You need to smack those akg with sheer power and transparency, they will sing all right 

 

[wgb113]

As mentioned the Schiit Valhalla was "voiced" using 701s.  It doesn't get released for another 5 weeks so we'll see about those claims.  It's just outside of your budget @ $350.
 
Bill

 

[Yonv]

I have an ibasso D10 that I use on my desktop and ipod with my 701s. It works and sounds great and is alot of fun with the opamp kit.
http://www.ibasso.com/en/products/show.asp?ID=39
 
I also have the Woo wa6se that really makes the 701s sing but its not a fair comparison.
http://www.wooaudio.com/products/wa6se.html

 

[uofmtiger]

The Heed sounds great with k701s. I also have a x-can v3 and prefer them with the Heed.

 

[Zombie_X]

Quote:

Musical Fidelity X-CAN headphone amplifiers, as in the X-CANS/V2/V3/V8 or V8P are hybrid amps with loads of power and a trademark sound emphasising detail, clarity and musicality, similar to the AKGs. There are loads appearing on ebay as second hand. The super build quality means they retain more or less the original prices, so the X-CANS/V2 start about £100.
 
A new V8P is about £400, but it is being replaced with a purely solid state amp.

Definitely these amps have great synergy. But the X-CanV8P is hard to find now. Another good choice is the Audio-GD C2/C2C.
 
I personally have the ROC amp by Audio-GD and it's so neutral, matching headphones is not a problem. The big draw about the ROC is that it sounds like your source, that means nothing is added. Well that isn't fully true as it does sound smoother, but that maybe because it's a powerfull solid state amp... or maybe my ears .

 

[Acix]

The DAC is also important .

 

[Zombie_X]

Quote:

The DAC is also important .

Yes the DAC would be the second most important gadget in your set-up. A smoother DAC would mate nicely with the K702's analytical nature. Perhaps get the 'Music Hall DAC25.2' or 'PS Audio Digital Link III' as they both are smoother sounding.

 

[iittoo]

The following desktop amps will have good synergy,The heedcanamp for solid state amp and the tube amp wise i would say Diva audio tube headamp "Goya" which is available only in singapore sadly..It was designed especially for AKG headphones K701,K601 and also not to forget the K501.
 
The price of the Goya Tube Headamp will be 564 usd without shipping.

 

[sheya]

I haven't listened to any of their stuff, but the Schiit products look fantastic for the money.  Given their design principles, the pedigree of their designers, and the 15 day money back guarantee, I think they might be worth trying.  A DIY amp would cost about as much to build as what they charge, if you were to use as nice of a chassis as they have.
 
You might also consider getting a DAC with a built in headphone amp if your listening is primarily to digital.  A Lavry DA10 is a great DAC with an excellent headphone amp, and down the road you could always get separate headphone amp if you wanted.
 
Happy hunting.
Aaron.

 

[dcpoor]

I enjoy the k701 with the M3 and Dynalo. The audio-gd c2c as well, but that's no longer available.

 

[baka1969]

I've had good results from several amps with the AKG K-70x headphones. On a budget the Millet SSH Tube ( $115*) does surprisingly well. I've had great results with the Headroom Micro Amp ($220*). The Little Dot MKII and MKIII ($150-$200*) are both really nice if you a tube amp). The Matrix M Stage ($250*) is an excellent amp with plenty of power. My favorite amp is the Gilmore Lite (dynalo) amp ($350-$500*) that makes the 70x headphones effortless.

Peace,

* all prices are approximate street values

EDIT:

The uDac, iBasso, vDac, and DacMagic are DACs worth looking into.

 

[Acix]

Quote:

You might also consider getting a DAC with a built in headphone amp if your listening is primarily to digital.  A Lavry DA10 is a great DAC with an excellent headphone amp, and down the road you could always get separate headphone amp if you wanted.
 
Happy hunting.
Aaron.

For the K-702, I highly recommend the Apogee mini DAC balanced. I would like to try out the DA10/11.