[pbarach]

Right now, I am powering my well-broken-in K702s with a Headroom MicroAmp. I'm pretty satisfied with the sound (but the bass extension seems limited) and the comfort of the headphones, which I use only for classical music. I've read some good reviews of the Burson amp. If you have heard the K702 or K701 with the Burson, how did you feel about the sound quality? And if you have by any chance used the 701/702 phones with the Headroom MicroAmp in addition to the Burson, how would you describe the difference in the results you heard?

If you didn't like the Burson amp with the AKG, can you think of anything else better at the same price (~700) or less that you liked better?

 

[Gatepc]

My experience is that it takes the detail up a whole other level, which can be good and bad depending on the recording. Using my K702s with my Little dot it has a much warmer gentler sound that many may prefer. It also adds a little more bass quantity and for a lot of music that is not the best recording I actually prefer the Little Dot MKIII which is not as harsh and revealing of poor recordings.

With that said if its an excellent recording the Burson and the K702s come very close to HD800 level performance (i'm sure many will argue otherwise but this is just my opinion.) The bass extension is very good but the quantity still lacks a little. It definitely has more then enough power for these headphones. However with the added detail it can become a little cold and analytical on some tracks. The soundstage also is much more refined through the Burson.

Honestly though I feel that the Burson is a great amp but that the K702s really like tubes to add a little warmth. But if you already like how the K702s sound then you would probably love the Burson on it its a pretty well known combo I also find that if you pair it with a slightly warm sounding dac like the one I use which is the Music Streamer II+ that it balances it out a little. So basically the keywords here are detailed,Precise, and defined sounding. Definitely not everyone's cup of tea but I like it. If you want to warm up the sound or maybe tame the clinical nature of these headphones I think a tube amp would be a better choice I really like my Little Dot MKIII but feel that there are better tube amps for you. Perhaps something like a woo audio 6 or a higher end Little Dot.

 

[pbarach]

Thanks for the review, Gatepc. I don't mind a slightly analytical sound. My last phones were the Sennheiser 600s and 650s, both of which sounded dull and muddy in the upper midranges, with the same Headroom amp I have now--the K702 is much more to my liking, and it doesn't squeeze my temporomandibular joint like a torture device

I appreciate your mentioning the Little Dot, but I don't want to mess around with tubes.

 

[Gatepc]

Well having not heard many solid state systems I would say that the Burson is your best bet then. I must say that one of the best amps I've ever heard on the K702s (and all headphones for that matter) was the Eddie Current Super 7 (the prototype version) I personally very much like tubes but to each their own.

I have not heard your amp as mentioned but compared to it the Burson may bring out more bass impact but not more bass quantity.

Do you already have a DAC? If not you should get one to go with it. This amp is pretty much a what comes in goes out kinda amp and you should have a half decent DAC. Like I said something on the more warm side. The Burson is known by many to be a warm solid state amp but I personally don't feel it is, in fact I've yet to see a warm solid state amp. Though its not quite as cold and clinical as the audio GD amp I heard ( I don't know which one it was but I did not care for it.)

Best of luck on your audio journeys!

 

[pbarach]

Do you already have a DAC? If not you should get one to go with it. This amp is pretty much a what comes in goes out kinda amp and you should have a half decent DAC.

I have a Marantz CD5003 player. The analog output quality is comparable to that of my Denon 3910 universal player, which is excellent. I may eventually try an external DAC, but I chose this player because I did like the analog output quality. BTW it has a reasonably good headphone amp built-in, as does the CD5004 that was released a few months ago as an upgrade.

 

[Gatepc]

I have a Marantz CD5003 player. The analog output quality is comparable to that of my Denon 3910 universal player, which is excellent. I may eventually try an external DAC, but I chose this player because I did like the analog output quality. BTW it has a reasonably good headphone amp built-in, as does the CD5004 that was released a few months ago as an upgrade.

Well that should work fine, it is a higher quality source. I basically just meant don't try to run it off a $20 CD player or a built in soundcard. I have really not heard that many CD players but I'm sure it competes well since it is a higher end one. I think this amp goes very good with some top tier headphones as well like the LCD 2s so if you ever feel the upgrade bug your already set amp wise to properly power such expensive equipment. This amp also goes good with turntables from what I hear though I have no first hand experience with that. I don't know if Burson offers a 30 day return or not but it might be something to look into. That if your not happy with it you can return it no harm done.

Have fun!