[glitchkrieg]

alright, im a musician, and i make industrial music. well, not exactly industrial... sort of similar to nine inch nails i suppose. i want to take a stab at mixing and mastering the album im working on, myself. my living situation inhibits the use of monitors, so im basically restricted to headphones. which, even though i know its considered a cardinal sin to do so, id prefer anyway. im likely going to get akg701's for this project. currently, i am using an access virus ti as my soundcard, bypassing the on board imac soundcard. im already experiencing low volumes from the virus output, via my ath-m50's, so i would imagine im going to run into some issues with the akg's. this leads me full circle to my question. what is a good desktop amp option for mixing and mastering, through akg701's? whatever it is has to be a faithful sound reproduction, clearly since i will be mastering. i dont want anything hyped, or recessed. im considering the musical paradise mp-301 mk2, or the wooaudio 3 at this point. however, that was just from minimal googling, and searching around here. what would you guys suggest?
 
another possible option im considering, is getting an apogee duet 2, to replace the virus as my audio interface. would the akg701's need an amp with the duet?

 

[129207]

Whichever amp you buy, I suggest going solid state. Tube amp add distortion to your sound which, to me, would seem contra productive if you're shooting for neutrality. A great, powerful but well affordable amp is the Fiio E9. A step above is the Matrix M-Stage and then maybe the Dynalo. What's your budget? Also, why the K701? Industrial music normally has accentuated bass, right? You're gonna want to hear and tweak that bass punch. A lot of people are doing well mixing agressive music with the Sennheiser HD600. 

 

[glitchkrieg]

still debating the two actually, headphone wise. i suppose vanity is getting the better of me, and aesthetics are partly to blame for me leaning towards the 701's.  also, i was not aware of that fact about tube amps. so im very glad you brought it up. i do believe i entirely overlooked solid state vs tube amps. as far as budget is concerned, i mean.. if i really dont NEED an amp for this combo, than that would be ideal hahahaha. however, if i need to spend 400$ or whatever on an amp, to get the most accurate sound for mastering..i suppose im not opposed to the concept.

 

[129207]

In my opinion, mixing and mastering on headphones never is a really good idea anyway. You're totally missing out on phase relation and soundstage. And if you haven't used headphones before your mix is mostly going to end up skewed and narrow. You're going to want to listen to your tracks on proper monitors later on. If you're able, try to listen to Adam A8's. Maybe even go to a studio for a day and talk to their engineer about improving your mix, listening to it on their equipment. 

Writing and producing on headphones is great though. Headphones offer you the possibility to really zoom in on your tracks and compositions. A great way to analyse cohesion and harmonics. Any decent headphone will do for this purpose. Actually, I've seen a lot of industrial/noise/breakcore/glitch/IDM producers use the AKG K240. Probably because it's neutral, sturdy and doesn't break the bank. 
 
If you're going to K240 route, I really suggest reading into the Fiio E9. It's actually a VERY decent amplifier that is highly underrated. Probably because it isn't boutique enough for the hifi crowd. The K240/Fiio E9 combo will cost you around $250. 

 

[TwoEars]

If you can afford it and want to hear all possible aspects of the mastering:
 
http://spl.info/hardware/kopfhoererverstaerker/phonitor/videos.html

 

[129207]

Quote:

If you can afford it and want to hear all possible aspects of the mastering:
 
http://spl.info/hardware/kopfhoererverstaerker/phonitor/videos.html

Yes. The Phonitor. The one we'd all like to have. Way above his budget though. That's like someone asking "I need a decent car to drive my kid to school" and then suggesting him a Bentley. 

 

[TwoEars]

Quote:

Yes. The Phonitor. The one we'd all like to have. Way above his budget though. That's like someone asking "I need a decent car to drive my kid to school" and then suggesting him a Bentley. 

I know, I know

 
But hey, helps to know what's out there right?
 

 

[Armaegis]

If you intent to do music work, I highly suggest skipping all the audiophile stuff and getting a proper sound card/interface. Anything by M-Audio, Behringer, Focusrite, Mbox, E-mu, etc. will give you plenty of input/output options, typically a usb or firewire interface, sometimes MIDI, a headphone out, oftentimes multiple channel outputs, etc.

 

[sridhar3]

Quote:

If you intent to do music work, I highly suggest skipping all the audiophile stuff and getting a proper sound card/interface. Anything by M-Audio, Behringer, Focusrite, Mbox, E-mu, etc. will give you plenty of input/output options, typically a usb or firewire interface, sometimes MIDI, a headphone out, oftentimes multiple channel outputs, etc.

I would add RME, as well as the PreSonus Firebox to this list.

 

[Uncle Erik]

The Dynalo is a great choice. It's as neutral and clear as the crisp light of morning.

 

[Eric_C]

Quote:

If you intent to do music work, I highly suggest skipping all the audiophile stuff and getting a proper sound card/interface. Anything by M-Audio, Behringer, Focusrite, Mbox, E-mu, etc. will give you plenty of input/output options, typically a usb or firewire interface, sometimes MIDI, a headphone out, oftentimes multiple channel outputs, etc.

x2
 
If you're serious about producing, why would you get an amp? Interface = amp + DAC + ADC + input channels
 

 

[Ge03]

Get the Duet 2. It's designed for just what you are doing.

 

[glitchkrieg]

alright,great thats exactly what i wanted to know. i wasnt sure if the duet 2 would be powerful enough to drive headphones with high impedance. by the sounds of things, a duet would negate the need for an amp. you have answered my question. thanks everyone.