[wildebassman]

After reading all kinds of posts I decided to buy the AKG K601 cans as an upgrade for my PX100 and ATH-M40FS cans. Now which amp should I buy?
My wallet is kinda from Headfive (Arietta) to Heed Can Amp, please help out!

Cheers, Dennis.

 

[wildebassman]

Please help out...

 

[MaZa]

Cant help you matter which is better match for K601, but as an amplifier Heed should be superior and so far it has matched with every headphone out there. Probaply very uncolored then? AFAIK Headfive is warmer sounding amplifier, and probaply not as strong and detailed, but in the other hand it has Meier's crossfeed feature built-in which should be one of the better Crossfeed systems out there.

This is third-hand information, take it with a grain of salt.

 

[Kees]

What made you go for the K601?
The only thing I know about them is that they are not K501 and not K701 either...

 

[wildebassman]

Kees, that's exactly what made me buy them, not K501, not K701, they're inbetween...
Groeten,
Dennis.

 

[wildebassman]

More input please...

 

[Hi-Finthen]

I do know of one member"Sickmouthy', who reported satisfaction upon recieving k601s for use with his HeadFive. I believe he was/is also a MS2i fan. I point out for you to research his posts because he is a very knowledgable professional writer in the audio field and that his satisfaction therefore carried weight.

Lots of questions if I were to take a shot at telling you which you might prefer~ And still that would only be one opinion.

1.Source output will dictate weather the HeadFive/A. matched with the hard to drive AKGs has enough gain to entertain, you and this depends upon type of music and prefered listening levels.

The H5 suffers from low gain when matched with the AKGs, other than this it is a nice entry level amp.

2. The Heed is a powerful high gain amplifier which I regard well enough to have owned it as an upgrade to my own HeadFive. It also is sold at a very nice price for the power it delivers and does match quite well with the k701s IMO

3. The EC/SS is also in the range of your budget, although i have no experience with the highly regarded products of E.C....

Good luck~

 

[Kees]

MF X-can V3 is a good option. It is powerful enough to drive the AKGs to full potential. Tuberolling can tune it even more to your liking.
I like mine a lot (at the moment with 6N1P tubes for my Darth Beyers), but mine is quite heavily modded ( by Pink Floyd) and has a different PSU.

 

[Tyler J]

Some posters here have said the Original Master amp has good synergy with the 601s. I have not heard it yet but I have my eye on it to power my 601s. The best part is that it is only $200 but many here say it looks/sounds like it cost alot more.

 

[denl82]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hi-Finthen /img/forum/go_quote.gif 2. The Heed is a powerful high gain amplifier which I regard well enough to have owned it as an upgrade to my own HeadFive. It also is sold at a very nice price for the power it delivers and does match quite well with the k701s IMO

Hey Hi-Finthen.
I was planning to get the Can Amp in the future, with hopes that my k701 will sound better than they currently do. Right now, I have the k701 with my headfive(similiar to your past setup), and I'm not totally impressed with the sound. Do you think you can describe the changes you heard when you moved from the H5 to the Heed?

Thanks!

 

[Hi-Finthen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by denl82 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey Hi-Finthen. I was planning to get the Can Amp in the future, with hopes that my k701 will sound better than they currently do. Right now, I have the k701 with my headfive(similiar to your past setup), and I'm not totally impressed with the sound. Do you think you can describe the changes you heard when you moved from the H5 to the Heed? Thanks!

Hi Den,
Sure, the H5 on steroids is the Heed across the freq spectrum with a deeper bass bias which with my MHDT DAC actually made the k701s "Growl" in their bass lines. Seriously, you want to hear the lower end "growl" with textured bass on the k701s, then that is what the CanAmp effect is. Now on the 990s the bass response was also more pronounced but rounder and less textured but with added impact.

I would highly suggest the Heed for applications which you now have being the 880s and 701s... Although it posesses less transparency than many and most S.S. amps (tubey slightly) somewhat like the H5, conversely it has the ability to enliven the midrange presentation with better seperation, and also has a substantialy wider soundstage especially with the k701s... The Heed with its power totally wakes up the k701s and truely is a good full step upgrade over the H5 for you matched to your particular cans

Hope this helps ya Den82

 

[dizzyorange]

If you can afford the Canamp, I don't it's much of a question. The Heed is a better amp than the Headfive, in my listening experiences at least.

 

[wildebassman]

Would this source setup have enough gain for the K601?
Cambridge 640C V2 CDP --> Audio Analogue Puccini Settanta Amp--> tape out --> Headfive.

 

[d-cee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dizzyorange /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you can afford the Canamp, I don't it's much of a question. The Heed is a better amp than the Headfive, in my listening experiences at least.

werd

 

[denl82]

Thx guys

Hi-Finthen, that's exactly what I wanted to hear...deeper bass, and a wider soundstage. Looks like the Heed Can Amp is a good choice for me