[lordearl]

Reading through the millions of posts about the DT880 and K701 got me thinking - everyone pretty much accepts Mr Meier knows his human hand amp has a Beyer glove, but what is the concensus for the AKG cans & more specifically, the K701?

Also, many ppl point out that Beyers sound great with tubes, but the majority of Meier users have SS amps -- is there a similar scenario for AKG?

 

[georgep]

I have read about the Meier/Beyer synergy, but Jan Meier has stated that he develops his amps with the use of Sennheiser's HD650. By the way, the K701 soulds great with his older amps (I have not heard any of his newer "Shanling-styled" amps).

 

[ManAtWork]

Quote:

Originally Posted by georgep /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have read about the Meier/Beyer synergy, but Jan Meier has stated that he develops his amps with the use of Sennheiser's HD650. By the way, the K701 soulds great with his older amps (I have not heard any of his newer "Shanling-styled" amps).

I read that he also used K701, let me ask him for the answer.

However, it seems he was not using the HD650 to tune the sound in newer product which means CORDA OPERA and later - those have warmth sound. Because in my view, HD650 isn't too suitable in warmth sound, but those high analytical like Beyer, AKG Kx01 cans etc. would be benefit with that new Meier's sound.

 

[georgep]

I do not have my home email inbox available to confirm, but my recollection from email correspondence with Jan Meier was that he tuned all of his amps with the HD650. I will double-check later.

 

[cmirza]

I would also consider the fact that on the Meier-Audio homepage, Beyer headphones are the most prominently featured headphones that he sells.

Newer Meier amps just tend to have a warm sound that pairs well with bright headphones. Beyerdynamic, AKG K701, Grado, Senn HD595, etc... all tend to sound great with Meier amps.

 

[orkney]

Hi,

I have no insight into Dr. Meier's design process but having used K701s, HD-650s and now DT-880 600s with my Opera I'd say that his amps sing with even brighter or drier or [insert solid-state descriptor here] more analytical headphones. I couldn't get the K701s to open up at all with my other (portable) amp. The Opera sounds anything but thin and glassy and seems to have some significant tube amp qualities despite its SS-ness. During the last few days I've been able to listen through the Opera and the Cary SLI-80 Signature, and while I'd love to have a Cary sitting around, I actually find the Opera to be the more transparent, dynamic and open of the two. So I'd say that the K701 and DT-880 would be well-served by the Opera at least. Having said that, by far my favourite phone to pair with the Opera is the Denon D5000, which is absolutely stunning driven by this amp, easily the best headphone sound I've ever heard. A note: my old Perreaux SXH1 is still an excellent, tubey wee amp and is magical with some phones and fine with others, but the Opera seems to be never less than very good indeed with all the phones I've tried and astonishing with a few of them. In other words, it seems to have broad, rather than narrow, headphone synergy. This is a rare good thing IMHO.

best,

o

 

[georgep]

I found the email from April of this year - Jan indicated "I always use a HD650 as a reference headphone when developing/designing a new amp." Also look at what is pictured atop the Opera on his webpage. Now that obviously does not mean he does not use other cans as well.

 

[lordearl]

OK - so whilst we may have established that Meier amps aren't designed specifically for Beyers, one can hardly deny how much success Beyer users have had with a Meier combo.

Are there any notable K701 / brand x amp combos?