claud W
Headphoneus Supremus
I have been very happy with my Schiit Vali2/Modi2Uber powering my K702s with WyWires Red headphone cable.
I have been very happy with my Schiit Vali2/Modi2Uber powering my K702s with WyWires Red headphone cable.
I use a Vali 2 and Modi Multibit with my AKG 702s and it is quite nice. My 702s are corded with a Wywires Red headphone cable that took them up a step to compete with my HD 600s with Toxic Silver Poison headphone cable.
I have been using a Little Dot 1+ with upgrade OP amp and tubes. I forget exactly what I upgraded to because it was a long time ago. It works very well with the Q701s. I am very happy with the pair but I have always wanted a pair of HD650s. I listened to a pair of HD600s with a Woo amp a few years ago and I was extremely impressed. Maybe a tad bit too warm but with the right music they sounded amazing together. I ended up joining the Massdrop on the HD6XXs a few months back. I don't want to spend the money on a Woo amp so I have been researching other amps designed for high impedance headphones.
The HD6XXs should be shipping in a few months. I know the Little Dot 1+ is not going to work well with the HD6XXs. That has got me looking into a new amp for them. Massdrop has the DarkVoice 336SE OTL for $199 but the drop ends soon. I know the DV will work well with the HD6XXs. My question is will the DV work well with the Q701s? I would love to have one amp that can power both the Q701s and the HD6XXs well but that may not be possible. I know the Q701s require decent power to drive. I also have a pair of HD598s which are very easy to drive. The LD 1+ needs to be turned way down when I use it with the 598s compared to the Q701s.
So will the DarkVoice 336SE OTL work well with the Q701s?
Hi, I have a Figaro 336C (basically the same amp).
It does not work too well with my Q701. It's been year sisnce I tried that combo out, but I found the bass was rather muddy, and, very broadly speaking, just a rather unsattisfying experience.
Generally, I find my 336C sounds bets with high impedance headphones, for example, my 600 Ohm Beyer DT880 (a very nice match) and my 2,000 Ohm Sennheiser vintage 'phones; HD424.
My experiences also tell me that do not use tube amp like Figaro 336C with Q701.
Thanks for the responses. That is what I expected. I do know the Little Dot 1+ is not going to work well with the HD6XXs. The DV 336 SE OTL should be a good amp for the HD6XXs. At only $214 shipped it is worth a shot. I will try it with the Q701s and if it doesn't perform well I'll keep the LD 1+ for the Q701s. Having only one amp that can power both my headphones well might be a pipe dream.
The 336 sounds good with the stock Chinese tubes, but it sounds even better with a nice set of NOS tubes.
If you like it with the stock tubes, you'll love it with NOS tubes.
I think the output impedance of the 336 is too high for the Q701 'phones.
If I end up getting the 336 I will be sure to check out the tube rolling thread here. I am not someone who will want to constantly be changing tubes. I'll try to find a good set that match up well with the phones I'll be using and with the music I listen to, mostly rock.