Looking for both portable and desktop amp for Q701/K712

[Djent]

Hi there headphone lovers!

Ive just ordered the Q701 and the K712 since I couldnt decide on which.
Planning on selling the ones i dont vibe with.

Ive read several old threads about amp pairings, but its been a few years and there might be better options around.
At the moment i own DT880 250ohm and DT990 250ohm, but im ready for something different.

What portable amp would you suggest?
I have an old fiio e11, will e12 be an upgrade?

As for desktop:
I can get schiit magni 3 and asgard 2 relatively cheap
Other suggestions are welcome

Anyone tried Q701/K712 with Creative X7 or Argon HA1?

 

[dunring]

I'd go with the JDS Atom stack, just got one of the + versions of the DAC and like it a lot more than the Modi 3. The Heresy and Khadas Tone board was a really good combination too. The X7 sounds really dated and upgrading the opamps, even just the pair for the headphone out would be $80 each for IC Opamps it needs. Lining out a Sound blaster G6 into an Atom amp using just 3.5mm cable will be much better sounding. The Heresy does well using the G6 as a DAC too.

 

[Djent]

Thanks for the quick reply, i will check those out!

 

[ProtegeManiac]

What portable amp would you suggest?
I have an old fiio e11, will e12 be an upgrade?

Not a lot if I remember how they sound correctly. If anything the E12 will be a little bit cleaner and a bit louder.

Not sure I'd even bother with a portable with these other than if you rewire them and use one of those balanced drive amps, and even then it's more of a transportable with me ie I can take it to another couch or a hotel room, but not, like, in a plane or something, due to the open back cups. If you need it more for business trips and use in hotel rooms than walking around easily from one room to another a small desktop amp might be a better option, like a Schiit Vali.

As for desktop:
I can get schiit magni 3 and asgard 2 relatively cheap
Other suggestions are welcome

As your main desktop amp I'd get the Asgard. But like I said if your portable scenario is more of transportable might as well get them both since the Magni is smaller. Sure it's got an external power brick but at least you can put them in separate slots in a camera pouch for example over a single large lump (plus the power cable) if you try to transport the Asgard.

I've got a Meier Cantate.2 for my home rig plus a Pangea HP101 for transportable use.

 

[Djent]

Thanks for the feedback!

Yes i was really thinking transportable over portable. Im not bringing them on the bus with me or anything like that.
It would just be nice to have the option to take them for a walk or something.

 

[whitedragem]

iFi Diablo.

I have some k612 pro (fair for this comparison for a few reasons);
the Diablo has enough juice to drive them (right!) and has the soundstage space/depth and accuracy of playback (nails ‘height’ too) to make those headphones just ‘disappear’.… and it has just enough juice to do so without losing steam (notes getting thin/‘stage collapsing’/becomes congested/wall of sound); it delivers true clean nuetral dynamic sound ALL THE WAY UP THE VOLUME DIAL.

I have listened to them with the volume pot at the 3 o’clock position (in turbo mode); so not any other portable that will drive them cleanly and with the quality they deserve…

here’s the cool thing: I spent hours switching between the Diablo and a Sennheiser HDVD800- basically nothing in it.. (like 3% or less)
the soundstage, the air, the blackness, the bass notes, the ability to correctly stage and voice large bands and complex passages and genres.. both seemed equally dynamic and neither fatigued.
now I find most parts sound different; these are two of the closest sounding amps I have ever heard (qualifier- I used the 4.4mm xlr line out from the Diablo into the balanced inputs of the hdvd800- I was comparing their amp sections, naturally using the DAC in the Diablo which is the closest I’ve heard to a denafrips r2r without spending higher)
so in my country a $2800 exceptional amp vs one for less than half the price, that is also portable, and has advantages -like the GTO filter and supports all the latest consoles; and has enough juice to drive, perfectly, these monster headphones; I’d say is on a (very) short list for candidates to consider.

it is a good pairing; highly recommended.

edit; not sure if they are a good set to go walking with.. open back

 

[pbui44]

For only $155 new, the xDuoo XD-05 Basic is a great all-in-one portable DAC/amp with analog in/out and even mini-toslink inputs that will work with your phone/PC/Mac/tablet or even a PS5/xBoxOne/Switch/TV with toslink out. Best of all, you can switch the power from battery to external and act as a DAC/Pre-amp for that cheap Asgard 2 you can get. Specs and purchasing are both in this link:

https://xduoo.net/product/xd05-basic/