[estreeter]

Welcome to the reality of big AKG cans. You wouldnt have been the first person caught in that net.

You wont need a particularly powerful amp with the SR325, but the HD600 will need something with more power (probably a tube amp - HPA mentioned that he got good results with the EF2 after rolling tubes). Neither, fwir, will need the grunt required by the K70* cans, and I often use my SR325is straight from my Sony X series DAP, and its great from my CA integrated amp. I trust that you realise that you have listed two headphones that are very different in terms of sound signature ? I'd probably nail down exactly what you want in a headphone before worrying about an amp.

 

[Tadj]

hi, I am suing the K701 with the OTL Tube amp, Little Dot MK III but need to tune gain control manually to match K701, this amp can output to 10 Watts Max. but due to the low impedance but need high current of this K701, it tweak the OTL output too much!! I have to manually reduced the gain to lower than 3-5 Watts only to curve the clipping sound on bass, if you cannot do this DIY, I would recommend you to solid-state amp instead that can handle high current output for this cans,... good luck

Tadj

 

[NightTrane]

Quote:

Originally Posted by estreeter /img/forum/go_quote.gif I trust that you realise that you have listed two headphones that are very different in terms of sound signature ?

Yeah i know.....it's really disappointing that i can't test these phones. I have no choice to trust you head-fier to purchase phone for my need

 

[NightTrane]

I will probably choose the grado sr325i(or maybe rs2i ? ?) because it looks like all-terrain phone and the choice for the amp is less complicated.
Do you know how is jazz, blues and acoustic guitar with this can ?

 

[OutdoorXplorer]

I was once told that AKG K701/2 goes better with SS amp.

 

[Uncle Erik]

First of all, you may not need to buy a headphone amp. Your Marantz CD player already has a decent one built in. I think it's the same one that's in my SA8001 and it works fine. It isn't the best amp I've heard, but it is far from a bad one.

I strongly suggest buying headphones first and give them a try with the Marantz. If you enjoy it, you don't need to buy anything else.

As for headphones, I don't think Grados are a good match for jazz. Some people like it, but I never have. Grados are tuned to sound great with electric guitar (and they do), but not so much with acoustic instruments.

I don't much like the K-701, either. I owned a pair for awhile and found them to sound plasticky and unnatural in the vocals. If you must have an AKG, make it the K-501 or K-601. I owned the K-501 for a few years and loved them. They were sold to help pay for the HD-800. I've also enjoyed the K-601, which is a far more natural sounding headphone.

Still, I think you might be best suited by the HD-600. I also had a pair and they're terrific with everything.

If you want a dedicated amp, I recommend desktop solid state units. The Gilmore Lite, M^3, CK2III, and EC/SS all sound wonderful. I don't like cheap tube amps because their power supplies are typically compromised to keep costs down and I do not like tubes on a PCB. If you want tubes, you want a highly filtered power supply and point-to-point construction. That, unfortunately, does not come cheap. You can pull if off under $500 if you do it yourself, but you'll probably have to spend over $1,000 for a commercial model. Solid state, however, can be done "right" for a lot less money. It might not glow in the dark or give you the wonderful tube sound, but solid state can be excellent and affordable.

 

[NightTrane]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif First of all, you may not need to buy a headphone amp. Your Marantz CD player already has a decent one built in. I think it's the same one that's in my SA8001 and it works fine. It isn't the best amp I've heard, but it is far from a bad one. I strongly suggest buying headphones first and give them a try with the Marantz. If you enjoy it, you don't need to buy anything else. As for headphones, I don't think Grados are a good match for jazz. Some people like it, but I never have. Grados are tuned to sound great with electric guitar (and they do), but not so much with acoustic instruments. I don't much like the K-701, either. I owned a pair for awhile and found them to sound plasticky and unnatural in the vocals. If you must have an AKG, make it the K-501 or K-601. I owned the K-501 for a few years and loved them. They were sold to help pay for the HD-800. I've also enjoyed the K-601, which is a far more natural sounding headphone. Still, I think you might be best suited by the HD-600. I also had a pair and they're terrific with everything. If you want a dedicated amp, I recommend desktop solid state units. The Gilmore Lite, M^3, CK2III, and EC/SS all sound wonderful. I don't like cheap tube amps because their power supplies are typically compromised to keep costs down and I do not like tubes on a PCB. If you want tubes, you want a highly filtered power supply and point-to-point construction. That, unfortunately, does not come cheap. You can pull if off under $500 if you do it yourself, but you'll probably have to spend over $1,000 for a commercial model. Solid state, however, can be done "right" for a lot less money. It might not glow in the dark or give you the wonderful tube sound, but solid state can be excellent and affordable.

Thank you Uncle Erik for your precious advice. I will looking for the k601 with maybe a little ss amp.....or maybe not.

Thank you all and good night ! !

 

[arteom]

Go hybrid!! My X-Can v8 does very well with the K701, upgrade tubes/power supply (a little pinkie will do)/DAC and you are set.

 

[Zombie_X]

As an owner of a X-CanV8P I can say they pair very well and the X-Can can power them fully.