Amp for Q701

[SpartyOn]

Hey,
 
I recently purchased a AKG Q701 and I am planning on running it out of a 2011 13" macbook pro while listening to a lot of folk and maybe indie music. I was wondering what should i get in terms of an amp. Would i also need a dac? I run ALAC files and some 320 mbps files too.
 
I was thinking about purchasing things under 100 dollars hopefully.
 
I was looking at the Bravo V2 amp except someone under another post stated that it would be bad for low impedance headphones? Would that be bad for the Q701 because I think 65 ohms could be considered low?
 
I was also looking at the Fiio e10, Fiio e7 or maybe its Pyle Varient. 
 
I was also looking at the PA2V2 
 
Overall i dont really think i need a portable set up.
 
Do you guys have any suggestions? Thanks!

 

[McPatD]

They like juice. I use an objective DAC and E09K. Very happy with the setup.

 

[Spareribs]

There may not be much of difference with a cheap amp since the Mac book pro already has a pretty good internal amp.

If you really want to smooth out the sounds and refine it a bit more, you have to spend more. I can't really give a recommendation because there are so many out there. But generally an amp with power, not some little box that runs on batteries.

On the other hand, if you are happy with no amp or just a cheap little amp, go for it. Enjoy the music most importantly.

 

[manbear]

I used an 18V CMOY from JDS Labs with the Q701, and it helped a lot. If you enjoy the Q701 with no amp, that's fine, but an amp will bring out the bass and soundstage. However, you need to get a DAC along with an amp. Plugging your headphone jack into the amp is a no-no, because you are just amplifying the signal after the stock headphone jack's cheap parts have already had their way with it. Fiio has a really cheap DAC, the D3, you could use with the optical out on the mac. It's $30. D3+ CMOY would be around $80. 

 

[SpartyOn]

Thanks for replying!
 
Quote:Spareribs

 There may not be much of difference with a cheap amp since the Mac book pro already has a pretty good internal amp.

oh i didnt know that the macbook had a good amp in it thanks for the heads up. 

 

[SpartyOn]

Thanks for the replies!

There may not be much of difference with a cheap amp since the Mac book pro already has a pretty good internal amp.
 

Oh i didnt know that the macbook already had a good amp inside of it.
 

  I used an 18V CMOY from JDS Labs with the Q701, and it helped a lot. If you enjoy the Q701 with no amp, that's fine, but an amp will bring out the bass and soundstage. However, you need to get a DAC along with an amp. Plugging your headphone jack into the amp is a no-no, because you are just amplifying the signal after the stock headphone jack's cheap parts have already had their way with it. Fiio has a really cheap DAC, the D3, you could use with the optical out on the mac. It's $30. D3+ CMOY would be around $80. 
 

I was looking into the D3 and it seems like it would be a good add if i get an amp like the E9.
 
Would It be easier to just get an e10 and call it a night? I understand its not an optical input from the macbook but would it make a huge difference?

 

[manbear]

Oh i didnt know that the macbook already had a good amp inside of it.

I was looking into the D3 and it seems like it would be a good add if i get an amp like the E9.

Would It be easier to just get an e10 and call it a night? I understand its not an optical input from the macbook but would it make a huge difference?

There's nothing better about optical. I was just pointing out that the D3 is a cheap DAC you could use, since you should have optical on your computer.