[I Love BMW]

So I just got my k702's and like the sound of them so far... Only problem is that they are not nearly loud enough for my tastes and the bass isnt quite id say "full" yet. I still need to burn them in obviously as these phones seem to have quite a long burn in period. I was interested in the "schiit" stack with the modi DAC and either the Magni or Vali amp. I listen to all genres basically but i like to listen to my music loud. Apparently these phones seem to be hard to drive?? I will be using this on my asus ux303 zenbook laptop. Will the "schiit" stack work? Thanks guys

 

[billybob_jcv]

The K702 are:

Sensitivity headphones 105 dB SPL/V
Rated Impedance 62 Ohms

That's actually fairly easy to drive for an audiophile headphone - but it's hard compared to the typical consumer buds that the soundcards in PCs and smartphones are intended to drive. Which is why the headphone amp was invented...

The Schiit Modi/Magni/Vali is a great choice.

 

[I Love BMW]

Ok thanks. I was just reading and people were saying that it is hard to drive which worried me.

 

[I Love BMW]

In your opinion would you think a hybrid tube amp would sound good (vali) with these or just a regular solid state (magni)

 

[billybob_jcv]

I have not heard the Vali. The Magni is very transparent, so it will essentially just provide more power. That *should* open-up both the bass and the treble and make your K702 sound more dynamic and "lively". That was my experience when I have added more power to good headphones that seemed to be limited by the amp.

 

[I Love BMW]

I have not heard the Vali. The Magni is very transparent, so it will essentially just provide more power. That *should* open-up both the bass and the treble and make your K702 sound more dynamic and "lively". That was my experience when I have added more power to good headphones that seemed to be limited by the amp.

Ok it seems that the magni does almost double the power at 50 ohms. Will I notice that compared to the vali? Reason im asking is I have a couple vinyl records digitized and stored on my pc and obviously they are a lot more quiet compared to a CD so I would like to get those sounding nice and "full" I guess

 

[jodgey4]

Double the power means only 3db louder. Sounds like you need to redigitize your records.

 

[metal571]

Or normalize 'em

 

[I Love BMW]

How would you do that? I got a guy who is local who has a USB turntable so he did it all for me. Would audacity or foobar work? I have those on my PC

 

[PleasantSounds]

How would you do that? I got a guy who is local who has a USB turntable so he did it all for me. Would audacity or foobar work? I have those on my PC

In foobar you do that through enabling ReplayGain (in Preferences -> Playback). Set the source mode to album and processing to apply gain.
 
Regarding the amps - I would take Vali over Magni. AKGs love tube amps.
 
Just a side note that sensitivity expressed as dB/V is not the same as dB/mW which is more commonly used. The Q701 that I have are harder to power than most.

 

[I Love BMW]

How would you do that? I got a guy who is local who has a USB turntable so he did it all for me. Would audacity or foobar work? I have those on my PC

In foobar you do that through enabling ReplayGain (in Preferences -> Playback). Set the source mode to album and processing to apply gain.
 
Regarding the amps - I would take Vali over Magni. AKGs love tube amps.
 
Just a side note that sensitivity expressed as dB/V is not the same as dB/mW which is more commonly used. The Q701 that I have are harder to power than most.

I just ordered the vali/modi combo haha! I just hope the bass response improves after break in and using the amp because right now its pretty lifeless id say. I do listen to a lot of hip hop but also classical, rock, trance

 

[dawa]

I just ordered the vali/modi combo haha! I just hope the bass response improves after break in and using the amp because right now its pretty lifeless id say. I do listen to a lot of hip hop but also classical, rock, trance

Most of the time I have a full sized amp + speakers at home for listening. However, this summer I ended up needing (that's how I phrased it, yes) a dedicated DAC + headphone AMP while I was at working at home in the States. I ended up taking advantage of being back home to order both the Magni/Vali+Modi to try out. I'd never used a tube amp before so it was also a bit of, "Ooh, what's this button do?". As it turns out, I actually like the Vali better than the Magni and kept the former. I've found that during long listening sessions that the warmth of the Vali is more enjoyable than both the amp I use at home or the Magni (for me; obviously other people may disagree) with cans. I also happen to use AKG cans (in my case the K242 HD). I was worried that the warmth of the tube plus the AKG veil wouldn't pair well, but I was happy surprised at how much I liked it. I've gotten so used to the sound that I actually miss it now. Uh oh
 
Something else I'd like to mention is that, and I'm certain other people have mentioned it before, but AKG cans sound /completely/ different when driven properly. I was certain that I had made a mistake when I originally got the K242s and was slightly disappointed. However, after plugging them into a full sized amp with a good headphone jack (I've used a few that were absolutely dismal) it was like having a completely different can. I'm now a firm believer in both 'pairing' of cans + amps/headphone amps as well as driving them properly. I've also come to realise that MOAR DETAIL PERFECT RESOLUTIONSES, at least for me, do not result in a more enjoyable listening experience. I think you'll be happy with the Vali. If you're not, that probably means you need to buy the Valhalla 2, of course

 

[I Love BMW]

Good to hear that... As far as breaking in the amp ive read, did you notice a difference? I can understand for any kind of speakers but really a amp lol?

 

[dawa]

Good to hear that... As far as breaking in the amp ive read, did you notice a difference? I can understand for any kind of speakers but really a amp lol?

Both amps I have at home here (Japan) are second hand, so the only really new amp I've ever had was the Vali/Modi. The Modi only stayed in my house for about a week, so I can't really comment on it. The Vali.. hrm... I went into this knowing beforehand that since it was a tube amp that it wouldn't be silent and there would be some level of resonance. I think the only part I remember from the Vali as far as some kind of 'break in' is that the time (from power on->resonance getting quiet) seemed to get shorter. Either way it's on a few seconds and not a big deal to me.
 
I'd expect the AKGs to liven up a bit, but as I listen to pretty much everything I'm not sure that even the worlds most awesomestest amp would ever make them fantastic for hiphop. I'd expect them to sound better, but if you want 'wet your pants' booming bass, you'll probably want to experiment with other cans.

 

[I Love BMW]

Good to hear that... As far as breaking in the amp ive read, did you notice a difference? I can understand for any kind of speakers but really a amp lol?

Both amps I have at home here (Japan) are second hand, so the only really new amp I've ever had was the Vali/Modi. The Modi only stayed in my house for about a week, so I can't really comment on it. The Vali.. hrm... I went into this knowing beforehand that since it was a tube amp that it wouldn't be silent and there would be some level of resonance. I think the only part I remember from the Vali as far as some kind of 'break in' is that the time (from power on->resonance getting quiet) seemed to get shorter. Either way it's on a few seconds and not a big deal to me.
 
I'd expect the AKGs to liven up a bit, but as I listen to pretty much everything I'm not sure that even the worlds most awesomestest amp would ever make them fantastic for hiphop. I'd expect them to sound better, but if you want 'wet your pants' booming bass, you'll probably want to experiment with other cans.

Coming from the audio technica m50x these are weak no doubt about it but after break in and amping them if I could meet halfway with what it is now compared to the m50x I would probably be happy for a more bass heavy genre