Summary:
My leaning right now is Q701, Recon3D, Fiio 11 or 10. I'm a complete noob who has done about 8 hours of reading over the last 2 days to reach this point. Please offer suggestions that would fit my intent of using the system or reassure me that what I have picked is awesome. Thank you for any advice.
Hello JerseyTiger,
I caught up entirely on this thread, but I'm quoting your first post so I remember where you came from and any your major concerns.
FiiO E10 is nice but I don't think it can plug into PS3 (it only uses USB for audio input), and neither FiiO is a surround sound processor like the Recon3D. I'm a personal fan of the Recon3D, sounds great to me, and works with Xbox, PS3, Windows, and Mac. Your needs may vary, your TASTES may vary, but priced between DSS and Mixamp while more versatile that either DOES make it a strong value.
I bought the Q701 two months ago, been using the AD700 before that. I'm of the same taste as you that the beyers don't do it for me... they look like window vents, the red ones pictured recently look particularly cheap and garish, despite red being my fav color. They do look comfy though. The AKG, however, definitely looks like audio gear, and the stormtrooper white with green accents looks real cool in person too! But enough about looks... IMO, I think the AKG has a very natural, believable sound balance. This, for me, is very good. Too much bass or too much treble is too much of a good thing, for me, but others like a sound more exciting than realistic. Nothing wrong with that, either. Just keep in mind, and check the freq graphs on Headroom.com if you don't believe me, the Q701 doesn't really have any freq below 0dB reference, at least not very much.
I have powered my Q701 directly off my iPod 5th gen, Recon3D, and FiiO E5. I can reach acceptable volume levels with all, and in a pinch use the Q701 directly plugged into my sources. Thing is, the treble can sound a bit harsh off the iPod or Recon3D alone (worst offender is the gun on the attack chopper on CoD4, but I may be biased cuz I hate getting killed by those lol). You could start without an extra amp and do fine until you save up for a good one, that's what I'm doing.
This weekend, though, I dusted off the AD700, and honestly felt like it had pretty good synergy with the Recon3D. I turned up the Recon3D's bass boost, and didn't feel like I was missing out at all while playing Metro 2033 for the second time, the treble + all the other ranges were controlled and sweet sounding, and I think the soundstage/positioning was improved over the
unamped Q701 too. I really feel like a headphone with the 62 Ohms (of the Q701) and up impedance have a destiny with higher-powered amps, but... but... the 32 Ohm AD700 sounded really good. As is. No double-amping. This troubles my budgeting sense, heh. The 32 Ohm Beyerdynamic may be easy to power too (MLE thinks more amping would help those too), but you're essentially paying more for more bass, less soundstage and a bit worse positioning.
Maybe I just have an exceptional pair of AD700 lol... XD
Also ArdentWing,
You were the one considering DT770 vs AD700, right? And you said something to the effect of "I know I'm not going to enjoy the AD700," without even hearing them. LOL. Well, you probably won't enjoy them if you require a lot of
presence and weight to bass, but you make it sound like you expect it would be torture! Far from it, IMO, and it's worth considering how much easier it is to drive the AD700 and add bass boost.
Played some more Metro 2033 before returning it to my friend this weekend, and FWIW I could tell that it was having an easier time being amped via Recon3D alone, than my Q701s. I would also like to point out a specific gaming moment while playing: the first appearance of an "anomaly" was absolutely powerful and impressive! My jaw dropped. I do have a bit of bass boost enabled on my Recon3D, and honestly with this combo I know that the price difference of the Q701 isn't justified. Btw, the Recon3D does have all the needed connectors for chat.
Consider this easy amped and cost duo, and upgrade later if you are absolutely blown away by something you've
tested yourself after this: AD700 and some processor (DSS v1 or similar), and a pair of Koss KSC75 for walkabout/warm sound. Really, I'd guess you'll have a hard time justifying paying more money after hearing how good these are.