[kwang411]

I'm planning on buying a pair of K701 in the near future, so I'm also looking into a good amp for it. (I have doubts that my Travagan's Red will drive it well enough..)

Okay, I hope I don't get bashed for asking this, but after searching around for good pairing amps with the K701, I've narrowed down to the following:

1) Canamp
2) Darkvoice La Figaro 332c Welcome to Audiophilechina
3) Little Country 3

My budget ideally is about $400.

The Canamp seems to be the most highly praised amp for K701 around here, so I guess it should be my no. 1 choice, but it is also $100 above my budget. However, if it is really THAT good, I think I will be willing to spend that extra premium.

I will be going to Taiwan next month, and I can find the LC3 there for about $350, which sounds like a pretty good deal.

So can anyone tell me how to pick between them? I will be listening to mostly classical/instrumental/OST and some Chinese pop with the K701. I'm kind of skeptical about getting tube amps though, because the tubes will eventually burn out right? Usually how long is the life span for tubes?

Thanks for helping me out!!!

 

[Duckman]

The bloke from 6Moons seems to find the Burson Audio HA-160 a match made in heaven. Over budget though.... unless you find a used one.

 

[dcpoor]

imho you should probably also consider a dynalo/gilmore lite or audio-gd c2c.

 

[MrGreen]

I quite like the K701 with an auditor as well

 

[Valens7]

I actually didn't enjoy the K701 with my Gilmore Lite, at least with the Elpac power supply. Of course, I didn't like the K701 that much to begin with.

 

[AmanGeorge]

Auditor and Burson are way out of budget - I'd check out the Head-Direct EF5

 

[Frank I]

Little Dot mkIVor

 

[spartan123]

LIL Dot tube amp.

 

[the search never ends]

The musical fidelity v-can does pretty good........keep in mind it needs a good burn in.
It's pretty rough out of the box. The liittle dot is also good, and you can roll the tubes.
I honestly thought the v-can and 701 were a nice match. For the price. Drives them well. I think if you like the 701'a the v-can will be a pretty fair match......please don't lynch me, to those that hate the v-can.

 

[leveller1642]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duckman /img/forum/go_quote.gif The bloke from 6Moons seems to find the Burson Audio HA-160 a match made in heaven. Over budget though.... unless you find a used one.

Available for $699 US including worldwide postage from burson.
The burson is in a totally different league to the travigans red.

 

[jawang]

KICAS caliente is roughly within your budget (I believe its like 430CAD new) and is an perfect match for k701s. I liked them more than the heed canamp (although I only listened to it briefly)

 

[Horio]

My little dot MKIV sounds great with my K702s and it falls within your budget. I would also consider the Audio-gd C2C which is considered a very good value SS amp.

 

[kwang411]

Okay I just ordered my K701 from Ebay today for $250 USD + shipping! Hope to get it soon!

And thanks a lot guys for your suggestions!
There are just too many amp choices out there, and impossible to listen to them all before buying...

As of now, I'm still kinda leaning towards the LC3, simply because it's more readily available for me at a good price when I go to Taiwan next month, and on top of that I've also read many reviews saying how well it goes with K701. Does anyone else have any impressions on this combo?

I eliminated the Canamp from the list, cause I have read that it's not as all rounded as other amps, which limits the potential use of other headphones with it.

LD mkIV also looks very interesting, but seems like not much review of it with K701? And usually how long do the tubes last?

Quote:

Originally Posted by leveller1642 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Available for $699 US including worldwide postage from burson. The burson is in a totally different league to the travigans red.

Yeah I read the reviews and it seems to be very promising, especially being able to drive higher end headphones like HD800 as well. I'm also considering if I should just save up more for an amp like the Burson Ha160, just in case i go down the HD800 path in the very distant future

 

[TheBigCW]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duckman /img/forum/go_quote.gif The bloke from 6Moons seems to find the Burson Audio HA-160 a match made in heaven. Over budget though.... unless you find a used one.

I don't exactly trust 6moons, they think power cables make a night and day difference and the Blackbody can help your sound

 

[Sasahara]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwang411 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Okay I just ordered my K701 from Ebay today for $250 USD + shipping! Hope to get it soon! And thanks a lot guys for your suggestions! There are just too many amp choices out there, and impossible to listen to them all before buying... As of now, I'm still kinda leaning towards the LC3, simply because it's more readily available for me at a good price when I go to Taiwan next month, and on top of that I've also read many reviews saying how well it goes with K701. Does anyone else have any impressions on this combo? I eliminated the Canamp from the list, cause I have read that it's not as all rounded as other amps, which limits the potential use of other headphones with it. LD mkIV also looks very interesting, but seems like not much review of it with K701? And usually how long do the tubes last? Yeah I read the reviews and it seems to be very promising, especially being able to drive higher end headphones like HD800 as well. I'm also considering if I should just save up more for an amp like the Burson Ha160, just in case i go down the HD800 path in the very distant future

Confused...you asked about an amp for the 701s and not one poster listed the LC3 yet you are still going for it? Where did you find these reviews of this pairing btw?