[SirMagnificat]

  Wow this is a big thread! I am looking to replace my Audio Technica ATH-A700 with a better pair. I use a Creative X-Fi Titanium HD sound card and have no amp currently. I am really close to ordering the ATH-R70x but wanted to know if there is anything better around the same price? If not (or it's a close matter of opinion), what amp would work well with the ATH-R70x? I am looking for something that doesn't break my bank and if it's portable, that's a good thing. FiiO E12? Cayin C5?

 
At that price, there are a lot of really good options, it's really impossible to say what is "best". The Sennheister HD600, for example, is very similar to the R70x and highly regarded.  The AKG k7xx (Massdrop only) is also similar and quite a bit cheaper; it has a wider soundstage but slightly less neutral tonality. I find the k7xx better for gaming. If you want a neutral sound in an open back heapdhone, you should look into those 2 headphones as well (and I'm sure others can recommend even more).
 
Do you have the A700 or the AD700x? The former is closed back, and the latter is open back with a huge soundstage but not much bass. The R70x has a narrower soundstage than the AD700x, but this imaging is really good.
 
As for amps, you will want one since these headphones are pretty hard to drive. I'm not sure about portable options, but for home use something like a FiiO E10K for home use is probably pretty good option.

 

[deadman_uk]

   
At that price, there are a lot of really good options, it's really impossible to say what is "best". The Sennheister HD600, for example, is very similar to the R70x and highly regarded.  The AKG k7xx (Massdrop only) is also similar and quite a bit cheaper; it has a wider soundstage but slightly less neutral tonality. I find the k7xx better for gaming. If you want a neutral sound in an open back heapdhone, you should look into those 2 headphones as well (and I'm sure others can recommend even more).
 
Do you have the A700 or the AD700x? The former is closed back, and the latter is open back with a huge soundstage but not much bass. The R70x has a narrower soundstage than the AD700x, but this imaging is really good.
 
As for amps, you will want one since these headphones are pretty hard to drive. I'm not sure about portable options, but for home use something like a FiiO E10K for home use is probably pretty good option.

 
I have the ATH-A700 (not the AD700 and not the A700x) which are closed. After reading lots of pages about the headphones in this price range, I have decided on the R70x over the HD600, HD650, HD700 and various AKG models. I read the DAC on my Creative X-FI Titanium HD sound card is pretty good so in order to save money, I am only looking for an amp, not an amp and DAC combo. I have 2.1 Razer Mako speakers which I currently have plugged into my sound card. The A700 headphones plug into the speaker jack of the Mako volume control pod. If I were to get the R70x and an amp, how would everything plug in? I don't really want to unplug the speakers everytime I use my headphones and vice versa. I also watch movies on my Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge smartphone so I assume I would need to amp up the r70x when using my phone? If so, how would this work? what equipment/cabling would I need?
 
I am really a newbie when it comes to audio, I just want something nice and affordable.

 

[SirMagnificat]

You probably want something with a line out (outputs constant volume) or preamp out (volume knob controls output volume) to send audio to both the speakers and your headphones. You'd send the audio to the headphone amp, then send the (secondary) output of that to your speakers. I'm not sure what inputs your speakers take, but typically this would be a 1/8" to RCA adapter or just a 1/8" cord.
 
The Fiio I mentioned above has a line out. You'd send audio to it from your computer via USB then send the line out to your speakers. I'm not sure if the Fiio is always on or has a switch (since it's USB, it may just be on if the port has power), but it would need to be on to send audio out. It's $70.
 
The amp only options people typically recommend for cheaper amps are the Objective-2 (O2) and Schiit Magni, both of which are $100. Neither of those has a line out, but the Schiit Magni Uber ($150) has a preamp out.
 
Another option would be to split the audio line out from your audio card. You'd run RCA cords with something like 2 of these to both your headphone amp and your speakers. If you already had an amp, this would be the cheapest option.
 
Hope this helps.

 

[deadman_uk]

All this is all new to me and I am a complete noob with amps and dacs.
 
What happens if I plug the R70x headphones into my mako speakers control pod or at the back of my sound card without an amp? Doesn't my sound card have a built in amp? I just want to get the full potential out of the R70x when I buy them. Here is the back of my speakers:
 

 
 
The Magni 2 Uber, if it can allow me to use both my speakers and headphones together seems affordable and has good reviews. I won't get a separate DAC like the Modi because I'll use my high end sound card for this job and save money. 
 
I appreciate your help and if you could be as helpful as you can this would enable me to place an order soon  

 

[SirMagnificat]

 

What happens if I plug the R70x headphones into my mako speakers control pod or at the back of my sound card without an amp? Doesn't my sound card have a built in amp?

 

 
Your soundcard does indeed have an amp. The output of the card is probably a line level output, meaning it's a fixed volume which is intended to be used with an external amplifier. Tou could certainly plug in your R70x to this output – it just might not sound as good or go as loud as you would like since the R70x is a high impedance headphone.
 

The Magni 2 Uber, if it can allow me to use both my speakers and headphones together seems affordable and has good reviews. I won't get a separate DAC like the Modi because I'll use my high end sound card for this job and save money. 

 
I haven't listened to a Magni 2 Uber myself, but it seems like it would do what you want. You would run soundcard -> Magni Uber -> headphones (via front jack) + speakers (via rear RCA outputs). Keep in mind that the volume knob on the Magni will control the volume of your speakers with this setup. If you don't want that behavior, look for an amp with a line out instead of a preamp out.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

What you need to do use use your r70 with the headphones out on your pc and leave the speaker to the line out.


The other option is to get a dac/amp combo unit (not a stack) that has a headphone out and line out the back. Your soundcard should have both already, if not just a headphone out.

 

[deadman_uk]

   
Your soundcard does indeed have an amp. The output of the card is probably a line level output, meaning it's a fixed volume which is intended to be used with an external amplifier. Tou could certainly plug in your R70x to this output – it just might not sound as good or go as loud as you would like since the R70x is a high impedance headphone.
 
 
I haven't listened to a Magni 2 Uber myself, but it seems like it would do what you want. You would run soundcard -> Magni Uber -> headphones (via front jack) + speakers (via rear RCA outputs). Keep in mind that the volume knob on the Magni will control the volume of your speakers with this setup. If you don't want that behavior, look for an amp with a line out instead of a preamp out.

 
I did some reading shortly after asking that question but I think you're wrong regarding the amp. The Titanium HD has a headphone port but it is not amped. I will get the Magni 2 Uber regardless as it probably will allow me louder volumes and better quality sound.
 
So the way you suggest would mean I don't need my Razer Mako volume control pod? I never liked the design anyway. Say I wanted to use the control pod for the volume, is there such thing as a preamp out to line out converter? How you explained the setup is very useful, thanks but is an RCA cable an RCA cable? or do they come in different qualities? I may have gotten one with my sound card or speakers, I'd have to check.
 

What you need to do use use your r70 with the headphones out on your pc and leave the speaker to the line out.

Thanks for your reply but I am not understand what you mean. Are you saying plug my headphones into the the headphone out on my soundcard and plug the speakers via RCA into the RCA ports of the sound card? If so, where does an amp come into this? I would have to use the setup that SirMagnificat explained above?

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

Your soundblaster's hp out has an amp, even if it's an inferior one. The line out should be used for your speakers

 

[deadman_uk]

According to to ROBSCIX on this forum and guys on Hard forum, my sound cards headphone port does not have an amp. I'll quote ROBSCIX
 

 No, while this card does have a dedicated headphones output, it does NOT have a dedicated amplifier circuit.

 
At the bottom of page 1 http://www.head-fi.org/t/519358/x-fi-titanium-hd-headphone-amp
 
Doesn't matter to me either way though. 

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

So then it's a line-out? If there's no amplifier circuit...then shouldn't it be a line-out? How does one control the volume on the HP out?

Anyways if that's the case you should be looking into something that has RCA inputs and outputs. A great match with the R70X would be either the Project Sunrise 3 or even better the Project Horizon 3.

 

[SirMagnificat]

 
So the way you suggest would mean I don't need my Razer Mako volume control pod? I never liked the design anyway. Say I wanted to use the control pod for the volume, is there such thing as a preamp out to line out converter? How you explained the setup is very useful, thanks but is an RCA cable an RCA cable? or do they come in different qualities? I may have gotten one with my sound card or speakers, I'd have to check.
 

 
You still need your Mako control pod (which is the amplifier for your speakers); a headphone amp can't power speakers. You would plug the output of the headphone amp into the Mako control knob.
 
What's potentially annoying about using the Magni 2 is that you will have 2 volume knobs that will control the volume of the speakers – the one on the speakers/control knob + the headphone amp. That's because the Magni has a preamp out.
 
If you use an amp with line out, the headphone amp volume control won't have any effect on the speaker volume. If I were you, I would probably get the Fiio I mentioned since it has a line out (which you don't really even need, since you can connect it via USB and leave your speakers as-is). It's true that you won't be using your soundcard's dac, but the amp is pretty good and really hard to beat for the price. Since you're new to the audio world, I would start small before spending a lot on headphone amps.

 

[deadman_uk]

  So then it's a line-out? If there's no amplifier circuit...then shouldn't it be a line-out? How does one control the volume on the HP out?

Anyways if that's the case you should be looking into something that has RCA inputs and outputs. A great match with the R70X would be either the Project Sunrise 3 or even better the Project Horizon 3.

 

 
I plug my speakers into the headphone port (2nd port on my sound card). I then plug my A700s into the headphone port of the speakers control pod. I control the volume of the speakers and headphones with the control pod. I heard it doesn't matter if I use 3.5m connection or RCA. Both the sound card and Magni Uber 2 have RCA ports, I just need an RCA to RCA cable right?
 
 

   
You still need your Mako control pod (which is the amplifier for your speakers); a headphone amp can't power speakers. You would plug the output of the headphone amp into the Mako control knob.
 
What's potentially annoying about using the Magni 2 is that you will have 2 volume knobs that will control the volume of the speakers – the one on the speakers/control knob + the headphone amp. That's because the Magni has a preamp out.
 
If you use an amp with line out, the headphone amp volume control won't have any effect on the speaker volume. If I were you, I would probably get the Fiio I mentioned since it has a line out (which you don't really even need, since you can connect it via USB and leave your speakers as-is). It's true that you won't be using your soundcard's dac, but the amp is pretty good and really hard to beat for the price. Since you're new to the audio world, I would start small before spending a lot on headphone amps.

 
I am confused. Soundcard to amp (how are they connected together? via RCA? then speakers to amp via RCA and then headphones into the front port of the amp? Having both the control pod and amp controlling the volume could be annoying but it's not a big deal for me, I can just set the speakers to max volume and control it all via the amp knob. I don't think I want to buy a FiiO E10K. I want to use the Creative software with both my speakers and headphones. The CMSS and other features especially useful in gaming and movies. I also consider from reviews I read that the FiiO E10K is an inferior amp/dac compared to the Magni 2 amp. I have read posts about people wanting to upgrade their FiiO E10K to a magni 2 and modi 2 stack. Why do I have a high-end sound card if I am going to use another DAC?
 
One question to both of you if I may, someone at HardForum said my sound card has two DACs, one high quality one that is only used in RCA connection and a lower quality one for the headphone port. Is this true?

 

[gandroider]

I'm thinking to upgrade my AD700X into this R70X. Anyone have compared them both? Or maybe suggestion whether to not upgrade or anything.
 
Thanks
 
NB: I will be using it most with Asus Essence STX soundcard on my PC. As for mobile, i'd better wear any earbud.

 

[WilliamLeonhart]

With all the comparison between the r70x, hd600 and k7xx, I just pull the triggered on the r70x. As I'm on a trip I don't have an amp with me but so far the r70x doesn't sound quite similar to my k7xx. Will come home next month and then I can have a proper showdown between the two

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

You can't go wrong unless something about the way it wears or comfort is an issue. The sound is quite different from the Akg for sure.