Is something like a Schiit Fulla 2 good enough for AKG K702's?
Jul 16, 2018 at 11:39 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 7

Kloud

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so I just bought these from a generous user on here and they're my first pair of cans that require an AMP/DAC. I found a thread on here where someone said you shouldnt bother with an amp under like $100 for these headphones but also couldnt really find a definitive answer, especially about an AMP/DAC combo. should i avoid them? Just need some guidance I guess
 
Jul 17, 2018 at 12:23 AM Post #3 of 7
All headphones require a DAC, but why do you think you need an amp?
I guess I mean external DAC then? I dont own a DAC or an amp yet I've just plugged them into my pc because they came a lot sooner than I expected. I could be completely wrong but I assumed when your headphones have a higher impedance you need an amp for them to reach their full potential. The K702's are 62 ohms afaik
 
Jul 17, 2018 at 12:48 AM Post #4 of 7
I guess I mean external DAC then? I dont own a DAC or an amp yet I've just plugged them into my pc because they came a lot sooner than I expected. I could be completely wrong but I assumed when your headphones have a higher impedance you need an amp for them to reach their full potential. The K702's are 62 ohms afaik

62 Ohms is kind of the middle of the road. Some headphones are 600 Ohms. You also want to look at the sensitivity of the headphone too. It's how loud it is at a certain voltage or power. The K702's sensitivity is average, at 105 dB SPL/V. Headphones are typically 80 to 125 dB SPL/V.
You should get an amp if your headphones are too quiet out of your source or you think the bass is lacking. I had K702s and my computer could drive them just fine.
DACs mostly sound the same, so this should be one of the last things you upgrade. The "high-end" DAC chips used in expensive DACs only cost a few dollars, so you're mostly paying for exotic topologies, enclosures, and marketing. If you want a DAC and amp, I'd recommend the Schiit Magni 3 and Modi 2 ($99 each). I think this will be better than the Fulla 2, but you could always get the Fulla 2 and send it back if you don't like it.

Edit: I just looked at the specs and the Fulla 2 should be able to drive your K702 with no problem and has pretty good measurements.
 
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Jul 17, 2018 at 1:36 AM Post #5 of 7
I guess I mean external DAC then? I dont own a DAC or an amp yet I've just plugged them into my pc because they came a lot sooner than I expected. I could be completely wrong but I assumed when your headphones have a higher impedance you need an amp for them to reach their full potential. The K702's are 62 ohms afaik

Impedance is not a measure of how hard is a headphone to drive.
AKG K702 requires 4 times the power needed to drive a 250 Ohm Beyer DT880, so you get the idea...

K702 is one of those heapdhones that will improve as you improve your setup.
On a relatively small budget, Fulla 2 should work well.
 
Jul 17, 2018 at 2:03 AM Post #6 of 7
so I just bought these from a generous user on here and they're my first pair of cans that require an AMP/DAC. I found a thread on here where someone said you shouldnt bother with an amp under like $100 for these headphones but also couldnt really find a definitive answer, especially about an AMP/DAC combo. should i avoid them? Just need some guidance I guess

I'd much rather save up for a Modi2 and Magni3. Or actually, an AudioGD NFB-11, or Modi2 and any of the following: Asgard2, Meier Jazz FF, GIlmore Lite Mk2, Heed CanALot...


I guess I mean external DAC then? I dont own a DAC or an amp yet I've just plugged them into my pc because they came a lot sooner than I expected. I could be completely wrong but I assumed when your headphones have a higher impedance you need an amp for them to reach their full potential. The K702's are 62 ohms afaik

You'll need an amp, and when you use an amp it's advisable to use it with an external DAC so you can better trust that it has a clean ~2V line signal going to the amp (or a DAC-HPamp and keep the signal path even shorter).

And impedance isn't really the problem with those AKGs as that's not too high, but the sensitivity. At 93dB/1mW that's relatively low. For comparison, to hit the same theoretical 120dB (ie if you listen at 85dB you need to be able to easily hit 30dB peaks), a K702 will need around 500mW; by comparison an HD650 will need around 250mW, although at 300ohms the thing is that an amp that can hit 1000mW at 32ohms will likely produce around 250mW at 300ohms, so an amp like the Asgard will not sweat on either (although the smaller soundstage on the HD650 is not going to be helped by the relatively congested imaging on the Asgard2, unlike a goot OTL amp; although the Asgard2 isn't going to be audibly detrimental to the K7xx series' imaging).

If that impedance is a problem it's how some amps or amp circuits have a very high output impedance which reduces the damping factor and you get either weak and undefined bass or bloated bass depending on the amp and low impedance headphone's interaction as some specs makes them react diffferetly. A Little Dot MkII makes AKGs sound leaner while the same amp makes Grados fatter at the low end.
 
Jul 17, 2018 at 2:45 AM Post #7 of 7
My K702 sounds lovely with my Fulla 2.

My reference is a Mojo / Gilmore Lite stack, and sure, I find it better (more spacious sounding and with improved dynamics), but the Fulla 2 is just fine.

And the Fulla 2 is versatile - if/when you upgrade, you'll probably still find a use for the Fulla 2.

I don't really agree with the "don't bother with an amp under $100" advice. This one sounds good. And I think there's a lot to be said for having something with a physical volume knob too.
 

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