[Commanderloochy]

This is my first post and I'm relatively clueless when it come to hi-fi headphones. I've been doing a lot of research over the past couple of weeks and I want to make the jump to get headphones in the 200-300 dollar range. That's not much of a problem, I'm willing to spend that much I'm leaning toward the K702's.

My Question is: Is it worth it to buy the 702's if I buy an amp in the 100-200 dollar range? Or will I just be wasting the 702's potential on a cheaper amp?

 

[Cankin]

You can find a used CK²III at about $100-$200, and there are many decent amps starting at around $300. Used M³, or used Gilmore Lite just to name a few.

 

[MomijiTMO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Commanderloochy /img/forum/go_quote.gif My Question is: Is it worth it to buy the 702's if I buy an amp in the 100-200 dollar range? Or will I just be wasting the 702's potential on a cheaper amp?

If you've only ever eaten burnt toast, you'll never know what lightly toasted bread tastes like. So if you plan to upgrade to a better amp in the future then I don't see anything wrong with that. However, you might find it better to go with an easier to drive phone like the AD900 that don't require an amp to sound good.

 

[AP3X]

The K702's require an amp that can handle a lower ohm rating phone with higher power requirements. Most sub $200 amps do not have enough power to properly juice the K702's. They are rated a 200mW so somthing like say the LD MKIII, a great amp by all means but has to be run at full power with the 701/2. You can do that and you will probably be happy with the sound cause it is a great sounding amp but ideally you would want some headroom left over. Running at maximum capacity all the time is not really an ideal way to run.

The AKG's are fantastic phones though and paired well a good amp they really come into their own.

 

[carledwards]

Here's the inevitable recommendation of the Heed. A perfect match, IMO.

 

[Commanderloochy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by carledwards /img/forum/go_quote.gif Here's the inevitable recommendation of the Heed. A perfect match, IMO.

I'm having a hard time finding the price and where I can buy one.

 

[Commanderloochy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AP3X /img/forum/go_quote.gif The K702's require an amp that can handle a lower ohm rating phone with higher power requirements. Most sub $200 amps do not have enough power to properly juice the K702's. They are rated a 200mW so somthing like say the LD MKIII, a great amp by all means but has to be run at full power with the 701/2. You can do that and you will probably be happy with the sound cause it is a great sounding amp but ideally you would want some headroom left over. Running at maximum capacity all the time is not really an ideal way to run. The AKG's are fantastic phones though and paired well a good amp they really come into their own.

So say I was to buy the LD MKIII and ran them at full power, do you think it would damage the amp? Also if I don't run them at full power I know I wouldn't get as much volume but would I get equal sound quality running them at a lower power?

 

[ParadigmPenguin]

As has been mentioned, the K702s require a fair amount of power to drive.

Quote:

Originally Posted by carledwards /img/forum/go_quote.gif Here's the inevitable recommendation of the Heed. A perfect match, IMO.

The HEED CanAmp is a good match, however it retails for $400, which is far above the OP's budget. Finding one used for under $200 shipped would be extremely unlikely.

Commander, what is your source? If you plan on hooking this up to your computer, you will also need a DAC in addition to the amp.

 

[carledwards]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ParadigmPenguin /img/forum/go_quote.gif The HEED CanAmp is a good match, however it retails for $400, which is far above the OP's budget. Finding one used for under $200 shipped would be extremely unlikely.

Granted, it's not going to happen for 2 bills but that limit is not going to get anything like the potential out of 702s. For around $350, however, there's an excellent chance of finding a used Heed.

 

[TLY]

You can get the Head Direct EF1 for $300 brand new ($200-$250 used?). You might have to do some tube rolling though. Didn't like the RCA clear top it came with, with my K702s. And yea, you'll probably need a DAC too. See how much it starts to add up with a simple head phone purchase? It's madness I tell you!!

But seriously though, EF1 w/ Sylvania Grey Plate + K702s were magical to my ears.

 

[Commanderloochy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ParadigmPenguin /img/forum/go_quote.gif As has been mentioned, the K702s require a fair amount of power to drive. Commander, what is your source? If you plan on hooking this up to your computer, you will also need a DAC in addition to the amp.

Yea the computer is the main source for me. I'm still not entirely sure what a DAC is, will it just be another box that will hook up to the computer? I have this cable:

that I can use to hook the computer up to the Heed Canamp correct? Is there a benefit to the DAC?

 

[Commanderloochy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by carledwards /img/forum/go_quote.gif Granted, it's not going to happen for 2 bills but that limit is not going to get anything like the potential out of 702s. For around $350, however, there's an excellent chance of finding a used Heed.

Yea I might be willing to spend the extra money of the Heed, but I would have to try one out first before I spend 400 bucks on it.

 

[ParadigmPenguin]

I have K702s and purchased a Head Direct EF-1 amplifier, which is $299 new and possibly just over $200 used. An excellent match.

A DAC converts your computer's digital signal (USB) to an analog signal that the amplifier can read.

Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with the cable you listed. I'm fairly new to this myself, and I've never seen anything of the sort. Hopefully, a more experienced member can answer that question for you.

 

[Commanderloochy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ParadigmPenguin /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have K702s and purchased a Head Direct EF-1, which is $299 new and possibly just over $200 used. An excellent match. A DAC converts your computers digital signal (USB) to an analog signal that AMP can read. Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with the cable you listed. I'm fairly new to this myself, and I've never seen anything of the sort. Hopefully, a more experienced member can answer that question for you.

Thanks for clearing up how the DAC works, the cable i showed is a really simple cable. One end is a headphone jack the other end are those red and white audio cables, i think theyre called RCA. So you could plug the red and white audio cables into the back of an amp. I'm just wondering if that will get the best results out of the amp.

 

[tranhieu]

I'm using the K702 with the LD MKV. Soundwise, they are ok. I never listened to any other amp with the K702 before so I cannot give you my words here. About the power, I think the MKV can deliver enough as I never pass the 11 o'clock, with the dac volume set at 12 o' clock.