JazzDeath
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- May 28, 2009
- Posts
- 18
- Likes
- 0
Hello everyone.
So I've been browsing these forums now obsessively for the past 4-5 days and I've been seriously considering buying myself another pair of Open/semi-open headphones for my home music listening.
I used to own a pair of AKG K240's - Granted now, I have not listened to many other open headphones in my life, other than at a convention here in Montreal called Salon Son & Image, which generally has much more loudspeaker systems than anything else (Although I did get to try my dream pair of headphones, a pair of Stax! Looked like a toaster, sounded like heaven.) That being said I considered the AKG K240's an amazing purchase - I absolutely, absolutely adored the sound these had, it fascinated me to be able to put the volume of my music at 1% on my ipod in the store (****ty source, no amp) and hear more detail than I had ever heard in the song I was listening to. Needless to say I bought them immediately and enjoyed them greatly.
Fast forward 2 years after that purchase, 2 years ago, and I end up sitting (-_-) on this beautiful pair of headphones and totally annihilating it.
I'm now about ready to own another pair of headphones that would equal or beat this quality, but I'm a bit frazzled at the moment, after having done research, about everything I might need to get the most out of open headphones.
A bit of explanation of my setup -
Currently, I listen to 75 percent of my music on a computer, either at home or at my jamspace - the source at home is a ****, stock sound card in a 6 year old Acer computer, the source at my jamspace, a RME Hammerfall Multiface 2 sound card, for recording purposes.
I have no amp, I have no DAC.
Firs questions -
Now I was considering buying a pair of AKG Q701's but I read somewhere on this forum that to properly drive this headphone an amp was basically required to get the full potential out of it.
I'm a bit confused though as to whether I need just a headphone amp, or both a Headphone amp and a DAC?
Are amp/DAC combos good enough to get a good potential out of such a pair of headphones? If so, at what price range am I looking at to get a minimal functional setup?
The most I am willing to pay for an amp is probably in the range of a Schiit amp, but would I also need a DAC (Bifrost?) since my source is my computer? And if so would the difference be monumental between a setup like this (Bifrost paired with Asgard,Valhalla or Lyr, depending on what would be most fitting for the headphones I buy) and a combo setup like a cheaper Fiio E17?
Secondly;
What other options would I have in the Q701's price range (Maybe between 200 and 400?) that would give me a similar listening experience to what the K240's gave me?
In particular, what I would look for in a headphone is analytical, detailed voicings, good soundstage, and a very large range of well-represented frequencies (good sub-bass definition, etc).
I listen primarily to Metal, but particularly, progressive, technical metal, experimental music, and also a lot of prog rock, Modern Classical such as Stravinsky, Prokofiev, and from time to time some Jazz Fusion.. basically, very busy, complex music, and my primarily goal is to hear everything well defined, clearly, and to be able to analyse the music and all the voicings in-depth.
If the K240s are still a great choice for this I wouldn't even mind buying another pair, but if there's a more expensive option out there that would do this better, I'm all ears!
So I've been browsing these forums now obsessively for the past 4-5 days and I've been seriously considering buying myself another pair of Open/semi-open headphones for my home music listening.
I used to own a pair of AKG K240's - Granted now, I have not listened to many other open headphones in my life, other than at a convention here in Montreal called Salon Son & Image, which generally has much more loudspeaker systems than anything else (Although I did get to try my dream pair of headphones, a pair of Stax! Looked like a toaster, sounded like heaven.) That being said I considered the AKG K240's an amazing purchase - I absolutely, absolutely adored the sound these had, it fascinated me to be able to put the volume of my music at 1% on my ipod in the store (****ty source, no amp) and hear more detail than I had ever heard in the song I was listening to. Needless to say I bought them immediately and enjoyed them greatly.
Fast forward 2 years after that purchase, 2 years ago, and I end up sitting (-_-) on this beautiful pair of headphones and totally annihilating it.
I'm now about ready to own another pair of headphones that would equal or beat this quality, but I'm a bit frazzled at the moment, after having done research, about everything I might need to get the most out of open headphones.
A bit of explanation of my setup -
Currently, I listen to 75 percent of my music on a computer, either at home or at my jamspace - the source at home is a ****, stock sound card in a 6 year old Acer computer, the source at my jamspace, a RME Hammerfall Multiface 2 sound card, for recording purposes.
I have no amp, I have no DAC.
Firs questions -
Now I was considering buying a pair of AKG Q701's but I read somewhere on this forum that to properly drive this headphone an amp was basically required to get the full potential out of it.
I'm a bit confused though as to whether I need just a headphone amp, or both a Headphone amp and a DAC?
Are amp/DAC combos good enough to get a good potential out of such a pair of headphones? If so, at what price range am I looking at to get a minimal functional setup?
The most I am willing to pay for an amp is probably in the range of a Schiit amp, but would I also need a DAC (Bifrost?) since my source is my computer? And if so would the difference be monumental between a setup like this (Bifrost paired with Asgard,Valhalla or Lyr, depending on what would be most fitting for the headphones I buy) and a combo setup like a cheaper Fiio E17?
Secondly;
What other options would I have in the Q701's price range (Maybe between 200 and 400?) that would give me a similar listening experience to what the K240's gave me?
In particular, what I would look for in a headphone is analytical, detailed voicings, good soundstage, and a very large range of well-represented frequencies (good sub-bass definition, etc).
I listen primarily to Metal, but particularly, progressive, technical metal, experimental music, and also a lot of prog rock, Modern Classical such as Stravinsky, Prokofiev, and from time to time some Jazz Fusion.. basically, very busy, complex music, and my primarily goal is to hear everything well defined, clearly, and to be able to analyse the music and all the voicings in-depth.
If the K240s are still a great choice for this I wouldn't even mind buying another pair, but if there's a more expensive option out there that would do this better, I'm all ears!