[ninjikiran]

Probably is the amp, I got a pair of headphones that sounded amazingly tiny(loud) but tiny before amping with a decent amp. 

 

[TheMiddleSky]

WTH with this:
 
http://www.soundgearaustralia.com.au/soundgear-catalogue/headphones/open/akg-k701-headphones

 

[apatN]

Ha, what's a dollar even worth nowadays. :-D
 
My K701 have some cloth on the driver (kitchen fleece + kitchen filter) and they sound very good imo.

 

[grokit]

 
Quote:

Ha, what's a dollar even worth nowadays. :-D

 
Just wait until Spain and Portugal go down, they will take the Euro with it.

 

[Shinnbone]

I got K701s from an audiophile friend a week and a half ago. He took really good care of them, so I got a mint-condition pair with significant burn-in already.
 
I'm just using them with a Sony CD player through a Pioneer home theater system amp, but they sound really good.
 
The highs can be too much with some CDs. Ones from the early- to mid-80s (the early days of the CD), before they started mastering specifically for digital, sound quite brittle. But with CDs that are recorded, mixed, and mastered well (e.g. Steely Dan, Rudy Van Gelder remasters ... ) the sound is simply awesome.
 
I love how they make me feel as if I am on the stage with the musicians. Being a musician myself, I enjoy that a lot, although I have read a review where the reviewer noted that exact characteristic as a negative. For hard rock and harder fusion (Tribal Tech when they really get down, for example), they can be a little too clear and analytical for me. But then again, being able to distinguish the tones of Malcolm and Angus Young's guitars quite clearly -- when they are playing at the same time! -- is really something.
 
Sometime in the not-so-distant future, I hope to get a tube headphone amp for them. But I am very happy with the sound they give me right now.

 

[Ikarios]

Quote:

I got K701s from an audiophile friend a week and a half ago. He took really good care of them, so I got a mint-condition pair with significant burn-in already.
 
I'm just using them with a Sony CD player through a Pioneer home theater system amp, but they sound really good.
 
The highs can be too much with some CDs. Ones from the early- to mid-80s (the early days of the CD), before they started mastering specifically for digital, sound quite brittle. But with CDs that are recorded, mixed, and mastered well (e.g. Steely Dan, Rudy Van Gelder remasters ... ) the sound is simply awesome.
 
I love how they make me feel as if I am on the stage with the musicians. Being a musician myself, I enjoy that a lot, although I have read a review where the reviewer noted that exact characteristic as a negative. For hard rock and harder fusion (Tribal Tech when they really get down, for example), they can be a little too clear and analytical for me. But then again, being able to distinguish the tones of Malcolm and Angus Young's guitars quite clearly -- when they are playing at the same time! -- is really something.
 
Sometime in the not-so-distant future, I hope to get a tube headphone amp for them. But I am very happy with the sound they give me right now.

I just wanted to say tubes are generally considered a bad match for the K701 - they have low impedance but require a lot of current to sound good. Most people say the best amps synergy-wise are solid-state, like the Matrix M-stage.

 

[komebudu]

 
Quote:

I just wanted to say tubes are generally considered a bad match for the K701 - they have low impedance but require a lot of current to sound good. Most people say the best amps synergy-wise are solid-state, like the Matrix M-stage.

.. but our friend SP Wild prefers it with MingDa MC84, if i'm not mistaken....? Probably it's the matter of taste...

 

 

[TheMiddleSky]

that's just matter of taste, tube will help "less focus" midrange in K701 to sound better for vocal.
 
I like touch of lush midrange from tube for K701.

 

[dcpoor]

when i tried the k701 with a few otl tube amps, they were less dynamic, had less bass control and quantity, and the mids to my ears were a congested blurry mess.

 

[kabforks]

I'm using AKG K702 in this setup: 
PC - Beresford TC7520 DAC - Little Dot MK III tube amplifier.
 
However. The Little Dot gives little to none improvement over the Beresford DAC (it has a headphone output as well as a regular line out). I was able to hot switch between the two, and I couldn't really tell ANY difference. Kinda devastating since I just bought the god damn amp. 
 
However, with the Sennheisers there were a clear improvement. Highs were the same, but mids were tidier or more in focus, and there was more bass. More deep bass and more mid-range bass. The tube amplifier really helped to gain some body on songs of Simon and Garfunkel etc. 
 
So what's the conclusion? Well, for once, my Beresford DAC may be that good, so theres wasn't anything to improve so greatly upon? The TC7510 received great reviews, and TC7520 is better (regardless of the seller/manufacturer... I know all that). Second, maybe the improvements the amplifier brings to the table, with better bass and midrange etc, doesnt respond so well with the bass-light AKG K702. For example, the bass improvements in the Sennheisers were greater. 
 
So is the Little Dot MK III a good match with 702? Thats difficult to say. But the amplifier brought maybe 2-3% sound improvements to the AKG's (tiny, tiny, tiny midrange difference). Maybe I'm spoiled with the Beresford.. maybe not. But right now, I couldnt tell if the sound came from the Beresford headphone output, or the Beresford lineout->Little Dot->headphone output. But I could sell the Little Dot at any time... However I will not, as I'm gonna try some Beyerdynamics before I decide what to do. 

 

[TheMiddleSky]

OTL is suppose to work better for high impedance cans like senn HD6xx.
 
Mind to try it with tube amp (+transformer)?

 

[Ikarios]

Quote:

 
Quote:

I just wanted to say tubes are generally considered a bad match for the K701 - they have low impedance but require a lot of current to sound good. Most people say the best amps synergy-wise are solid-state, like the Matrix M-stage.

.. but our friend SP Wild prefers it with MingDa MC84, if i'm not mistaken....? Probably it's the matter of taste...

 

Yes, that's why I said "generally"

Personally I'm using my K701 with my SSMH with few complaints.

 

[komebudu]

ahh...  i didn't remark about "generally".....

 

[VALIENTE]

I never thought K701 will sound so good with around $100 solid desktop amp. I am now imagining how will K701 sound with a $600 amp!

 

[apatN]

Not 5x better if that's what you are after.