[LowPhreak]

Also check out the SPL Auditor with the K701/702. Great amp with these cans.
 
I've got an EarMax for a bit laid back sound with the 701, very nice imaging/staging. Next up I'm going to try an M-Stage.

 

[musico]

Hello,
 
I got a question about using a recabled akg 701.
 
I have the akg 701 recabled with apuresound to balanced with 4 pin xlr termination.
 
But I want to use it for a non balanced amp, so I am thinking of using a 4 pin xlr to 1/4 inch adapter (from amateur cables).
 
So I was wondering does using an adapter kill or negatively affect the sound because it's an extra component??
 
Thanks for any input.

 

[apatN]

Nope.

 

[Happy Camper]

It will be fine. So long as they stay clean, you'll hear no impact on sq.

 

[jeffreyfranz]

Jason at Schiit (sp?) emailed back in response to my question and said that, while it was a counterintuitive choice, he actually liked the K701 better with the Valhalla than with the Asgard. In fact, he said, the Valhalla paired with the K701 had become one of the Fave combinations in their shop. Others have opined otherwise, but there at least you have a perspective from the manufacturer. (Hey, what happened to the K701 smiley?)

 

[komebudu]

Now I'm using 30Wpc integrated Cambridge Audio A1 Mk3 SE speaker out directly feed to K701..  I think I prefer it better than NAD302 headphone's out...

 

[musico]

I had some nice experiences with the AKGs yesterday...
 
I tried the stock AKG 701 vs the Hifiman LE-6 on a Meier Concerto amp. The AKG sounded really, really good, very refined sound full of texture an timbre in everything it played and not harsh in any areas (and it was unburned in AKG as well). The HE-6 needs a much more powerful amp as the volume was just right at max gain and max volume in the Concerto. The lowest frequencies does better with the Le-6 but the higher frequencies were harsh (but maybe they will be better when burned in) - I think it needs an amp with more current though.
 
I also tried the AKG 701 with a Burson HA-160 - very nice sound as well but totally different: more bloom in the sound and hence the detail in timbre is not as refined, but a fuller, sweeter, more impactful sound that many people will prefer... The sounds are so different in the Burson yet the AKG adapted really well to each. In comparison the HD650 was missing the higher frequencies, and the HD800 was harsh in the higher frequencies and hollow sounding in the mid tones, but good bass with the Burson.
 
These 2 amps seemed to go very well with the AKGs. Any other favorites among others?

 

[FritzS]

Quote:

I had some nice experiences with the AKGs yesterday...
 
I tried the stock AKG 701 vs the Hifiman LE-6 on a Meier Concerto amp. The AKG sounded really, really good, very refined sound full of texture an timbre in everything it played and not harsh in any areas (and it was unburned in AKG as well). The HE-6 needs a much more powerful amp as the volume was just right at max gain and max volume in the Concerto. The lowest frequencies does better with the Le-6 but the higher frequencies were harsh (but maybe they will be better when burned in) - I think it needs an amp with more current though.
 
I also tried the AKG 701 with a Burson HA-160 - very nice sound as well but totally different: more bloom in the sound and hence the detail in timbre is not as refined, but a fuller, sweeter, more impactful sound that many people will prefer... The sounds are so different in the Burson yet the AKG adapted really well to each. In comparison the HD650 was missing the higher frequencies, and the HD800 was harsh in the higher frequencies and hollow sounding in the mid tones, but good bass with the Burson.
 
These 2 amps seemed to go very well with the AKGs. Any other favorites among others?

 
An interesting technical detail would be which output impedance have the Concerto and the Burson (or any other headphone amp).
 
Some headphone amps have near zero OHM , some have 68 or 120 OHM.
 
Did anyone know about the impedance of the current headphone amps and could post it here?
 
AKG self recommand near zero output impedance of the headphone amp.
Some listener says 120 (or 68) OHM sounds better with K701, K702, Q701, ...
The industrie standard are 120 OHM
 
My GSP Audio »green« Solo use a 33 OHM resitor in series to the output.

 

[jeffreyfranz]

Now, this is the kind of post that I find really helpful. It gives sonic specifics and describes actual demos of different amps with the K701 and other headphones. I'm still wondering if I am going to stick with the 701, because I don't have an amp yet and the sound off my iMac is blah unless I EQ it. But when I do EQ it, the sound seems very promising. Then I read this post and am greatly encouraged. Thanks, musico! 

 
 
Quote:

I had some nice experiences with the AKGs yesterday...
 
I tried the stock AKG 701 vs the Hifiman LE-6 on a Meier Concerto amp. The AKG sounded really, really good, very refined sound full of texture an timbre in everything it played and not harsh in any areas (and it was unburned in AKG as well). The HE-6 needs a much more powerful amp as the volume was just right at max gain and max volume in the Concerto. The lowest frequencies does better with the Le-6 but the higher frequencies were harsh (but maybe they will be better when burned in) - I think it needs an amp with more current though.
 
I also tried the AKG 701 with a Burson HA-160 - very nice sound as well but totally different: more bloom in the sound and hence the detail in timbre is not as refined, but a fuller, sweeter, more impactful sound that many people will prefer... The sounds are so different in the Burson yet the AKG adapted really well to each. In comparison the HD650 was missing the higher frequencies, and the HD800 was harsh in the higher frequencies and hollow sounding in the mid tones, but good bass with the Burson.
 
These 2 amps seemed to go very well with the AKGs. Any other favorites among others?

 

[jeffreyfranz]

Quote:

Now I'm using 30Wpc integrated Cambridge Audio A1 Mk3 SE speaker out directly feed to K701..  I think I prefer it better than NAD302 headphone's out...

Community: Seeing this post by komebudu has prompted me to finally ask a question I've been thinking about for some time. I have a pair of vintage Dynakit Mk. III mono tube amps (60 watts each) sitting in my garage. Could I use these on the K701, or is the power too much? Would I risk blowing my phones? Thanks. 

 

[FritzS]

Quote:

Community: Seeing this post by komebudu has prompted me to finally ask a question I've been thinking about for some time. I have a pair of vintage Dynakit Mk. III mono tube amps (60 watts each) sitting in my garage. Could I use these on the K701, or is the power too much? Would I risk blowing my phones? Thanks.

AFAIK tube amps need a dummy load to run stable if they are not an OTL design - each channel 4 or 8 Ohm 30 ... 60 W resistor dummy load and a 60 ... 120 Ohm resistor in series to the headphone. If you prefer tubes you should buy or make a DIY project headphone amp.
 
An OTL design schema
http://www.jogis-roehrenbude.de/Leserbriefe/Kunz-Amp/beschreibung.htm

 

[musico]

Yes comparison is when you notice if you really like the phones or not
 
To let you know, the DAC used for the 2 comparisons I made were different.
 
The transport/DAC with the Meier Concerto was the Cambridge Azur 840C (no headphone out), and the one for the Burson was Marantz SA7001 which has headphones out. And yes the DAC will make a difference as well.
 
So ideal situation would be to have everything in one place or shop - !
 
The sounds directly from the Marantz was very impressive, clear and clean and all details aubible, smooth, balanced sound etc.
 
So I was wondering what the amp would do.
 
With the Burson it mainly made the sound smoother, and got rid of grain. When I first listened only with the player for a while I had not noticed grain. But when you add the amp you only then realise that there is grain on the player.

 

[jeffreyfranz]

Thanks, FritzS, helpful overall. To save me lots of head-scratching, and showing my noob status, can you translate AFAIK for me? Thanks.

 

[Yuceka]

Quote:

Thanks, FritzS, helpful overall. To save me lots of head-scratching, and showing my noob status, can you translate AFAIK for me? Thanks.

Short way of saying : As far as I know 

 

[FritzS]

Quote:

Thanks, FritzS, helpful overall. To save me lots of head-scratching, and showing my noob status, can you translate AFAIK for me? Thanks.

If you mean this side http://www.jogis-roehrenbude.de/Leserbriefe/Kunz-Amp/beschreibung.htm
you could use Google Translate
http://translate.google.at/translate?hl=de&sl=de&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jogis-roehrenbude.de%2FLeserbriefe%2FKunz-Amp%2Fbeschreibung.htm
it's not perfect, but helps .... my english are not better

  my native language is german (live in Austria, near Vienna).