[Vince325]

Hello everyone I bought a pair of AKG K702s and think they sound great so far. But I think I want to take it to the next level and get an amp to really see what they can do. I read Mark Fleishmans blogs and noticed he was high on the WOO Audio WA6 and liked the Head Direct EF5.

My first question is the WA6 SE worth the extra $$ over the WA6

And taking my headphones into consideration what would be the best sounding amp for them?

Best Amp under 1000.00
and Best Amp under 2000.00

Any articles or pages to get my knowledge moving upward would be kindly appreciated. Thanks in Advance

 

[classakg]

I am planning to get the AKG K702 too and I have decided to get the Burson HA-160 to match it. I think the K702 needs power. Plenty of power... so after reading around found the HA-160 to be the best within my budget.

Here's the head-fi thread on the HA-160:http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f5/bur...84/index7.html

Here's the Burson blog on the amp: Burson Audio Blog: Headphone Amp 160 (Reviews)

 

[Bowedtoothdoc]

The AKG K70X remind me of the Magnepan speakers that I used to own. I owned several models with the largest being the MG20. Those speakers really needed alot of power to come alive and trying to power them with an integrated amplifier made them sound like an AM radio. I ended up driving them with a Rotel RB-1090 as at the time I could not justify spending thousands on amplification. It has been my experience that the AKG K7XX benefit from alot of power which will usually mean SS however there are several tube amplifiers that supposedly mate well. I also think you should consider a balanced setup as it really seems to bring out the best aspects of the AKG's.

 

[Eagle Eye]

The first thing I would do is look up all the reviews by Skylab. After I did alot of reviews I decided to balance my phones and go with the Audio GD Roc which would fit the under 1,000.00 range. If I was ever in need of an amp in the <2,000.00 range I would honestly look at the Audio GD Phoenix. I can tell you the ROC delivers plenty of power to power the upper range phones and the sound from this amp is prestine. There are however alot of good amps in those price ranges that would work fine but I liked the amount of inputs on the ROC and the fact it could be run as SE or Balanced out. This is just my opinion and I am sure there will be alot of more wise folds than me who will give you some excellent advice.

 

[Vince325]

Thanks guys for the recomendations it looks as you are all recomending a SS amp over a tube. And also recomending I go balanced So how do I go about that? My current setup is 10 feet away from my receiver is that ok. Thanks for the knowledge. Vince

 

[MarkJnK]

The K701/2 needs warmth in my opinion, and will benefit from a tube amp. It is fairly well known that the Burson HA-160 works well although I haven't heard it, as does the hybrid X-Can V8P (had it), but I have now had a very nice experience with the WA6SE. And to answer your original question, I think the SE is definitley worth the extra money as it elevates the WA6 to another level, it is considered a very top tier amp by many, and holds its value very well. Tube rolling will also reap rewards as I found out and just posted my results in another thread.

 

[itsborken]

What are the best features you like with your 702s and what do you feel is missing? Would you be willing to sacrifice some of the good to do so?

 

[loopfreak]

Think that everybody that thinks that k701/2 needs warmth should buy different 'phone.
Under 1000 my pick would be lake people g100.

 

[MarkJnK]

Quote:

Originally Posted by loopfreak /img/forum/go_quote.gif Think that everybody that thinks that k701/2 needs warmth should buy different 'phone.

Thats a little extreme... why not just roll some tubes until a satisfactory sound is achieved?

 

[loopfreak]

I agree it is little extreme statment , but most of the people wrestle with k701/2 and different amps and at the end of the day they sell them.

 

[wlvca]

Not selling my K702's, like them a lot!

 

[MarkJnK]

Quote:

Originally Posted by loopfreak /img/forum/go_quote.gif I agree it is little extreme statment , but most of the people wrestle with k701/2 and different amps and at the end of the day they sell them.

The K702 is worth the effort as it has a sound that is very special. I tried the HD650 and a deep cup Darth Bayer and sold both, the K701 just has a sound that is addictive... but I do crave a slightly deeper bass, which my recent tub rolling got me closer to.

 

[FallenAngel]

Sure, and I've went through 10+ amps and sold 2 pairs of K701 at different times since they never sound all that good. Different people, different opinions.