[xaval]

K701 needs careful pairing with the amp departement. Personally I wouldn't follow that route.
HD598 is a good alternative for classical although it is the weaker overall sound quality offer on your listing.
MS1000 would be a good project to follow.
 
Can you pull AD900 (non-X)? This would be my first choice on a limited budet, but I don't really want to confuse you with more noise.
edit: I'm not really sure how much these go used. Just had a look on ebay and new they are not in your budget.

 

[RustA]

If you cannot go for HD800, get a pair of K701 or K702 most probably... That said, you could find those AKGs lacking in bass department.
 
Btw, if planning to power them with O2 amp, get a better wall transformer than the stock one. You should go for something like WAU 16-400 (16v, 400ma max output) or WAU 16-1000 (16v, 1000ma max output). The more current, the better with K701.
 
Btw, there is a DIY mod of O2 called "current buffer" which will help as well...

 

[Airstripone]

I used O2+ODAC+HD600/DT880 before, liked 880 more

 

[gtb123]

Quote:

If you cannot go for HD800, get a pair of K701 or K702 most probably... That said, you could find those AKGs lacking in bass department.
 
Btw, if planning to power them with O2 amp, get a better wall transformer than the stock one. You should go for something like WAU 16-400 (16v, 400ma max output) or WAU 16-1000 (16v, 1000ma max output). The more current, the better with K701.
 
Btw, there is a DIY mod of O2 called "current buffer" which will help as well...

Doesn't the O2 run on batteries? Does it affect the performance if it is fully charged? Please correct me if I'm wrong(most likely) because I am a newbie on these.

 

[RustA]

Quote:

Doesn't the O2 run on batteries? Does it affect the performance if it is fully charged? Please correct me if I'm wrong(most likely) because I am a newbie on these.

 
For the best performance, I wouldn't run O2 on batteries at all, especially with hard-to-drive headphones like orthos or K701. You must understand that there are always going to be limitations with batteries, especially if you are not using completely the same type as nwavguy did when designing the amp.
 
You can get O2 with or without batteries. Without batteries, you need a transformer. With batteries, you can use battery power as well as a transformer.
 
EDIT: That current buffer could help to get enough power even with batteries, maybe... Haven't studied it in detail though.

 

[Airstripone]

BTW, if you buy O2+ODAC combo from JDS lab then your O2 would not have batteries because the battery jar is occupied by ODAC.
 

 

[XHale]

xaval, thanks, probably not gonna get K701 due to the price. MS1000 as well. So HD 598 or AD900X? I can't get AD900, but there's a 2nd-hand AD900X that I'm waiting for. If that opens up I'll probably get that.
 
RustA,  unfortunately the HD800s are in a different universe for me. Both in sound and price. I think cellos would be in the bass region right? So yeah, I probably need some bass.
 
Thanks for the tip about the O2 gonna look into the wall transformers and the current buffer mod.
 
Airstripone, hmm looking at DT880s as well. There is the used pair that may be cheap enough.
 
Thanks for the tips about the O2 as well, guys.

 

[RustA]

Quote:

xaval, thanks, probably not gonna get K701 due to the price. MS1000 as well. So HD 598 or AD900X? I can't get AD900, but there's a 2nd-hand AD900X that I'm waiting for. If that opens up I'll probably get that.
 
RustA,  unfortunately the HD800s are in a different universe for me. Both in sound and price. I think cellos would be in the bass region right? So yeah, I probably need some bass.
 
Thanks for the tip about the O2 gonna look into the wall transformers and the current buffer mod.
 
Airstripone, hmm looking at DT880s as well. There is the used pair that may be cheap enough.
 
Thanks for the tips about the O2 as well, guys.

 
You need to get a proper soundstage in order to fully enjoy your music... I understand you cannot go for HD800 but why not to go for a used K701/K702/Q701?
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/AKGK701SampleB.pdf
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/AKGQuincyJonesQ701.pdf
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/SennheiserHD598.pdf
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/AudioTechnicaATHAD900.pdf
 
From those graphs, I would most probably go for Q701... The bass suitable for classical should be there, along with good imaging and quite balanced frequency response.
 
Maybe I am wrong but I don't see HD598 as a suitable candidate for classical... not enough subbass and too shelved down treble. Also, square waves and impulse response suggest not good enough imaging and slower nature of HD598.

 

[3X0]

I don't think the Q701 has enough low-end to do classical music justice, timbre is off on cellos (and most instruments) IMO.
 
DT 880 was the better choice for me. Its main weakness relative to the Q701 was a lack of bite (i.e. soft attack), while the 880's timbre, soundstage and imaging just felt better to me. It has pretty full bass which does instruments and low-octave passages great justice.

 

[RustA]

Quote:

I don't think the Q701 has enough low-end to do classical music justice, timbre is off on cellos (and most instruments) IMO.
 
DT 880 was the better choice for me. Its main weakness relative to the Q701 was a lack of bite (i.e. soft attack), while the 880's timbre, soundstage and imaging just felt better to me. It has pretty full bass which does instruments and low-octave passages great justice.

 
I can certainly agree about the bass, at least from what graphs say... DT880 (600 ohm version is the best, by the way) looks like a good all-rounder suitable even for classical.
 
That said, is soundstage of DT880 really better than of Q701/K701? Why (curious as well)?

 

[3X0]

Quote:

That said, is soundstage of DT880 really better than of Q701/K701? Why (curious as well)?

Well, the analogy I like to use is that the the Q701 is like the overly affectionate grandma pinching your cheeks out -- very extreme left/right projection. The distance is somewhat overbearing, and although the separation is also great I don't find the imaging as accurate or precise due to excessive left/right bias. There is a void centerfield, relatively speaking. The DT 880 isn't as wide but gives me a better sense of where things are situated due to a more restrained, controlled presentation. Projection of central sounds is excellent. It's a little more natural in the way it handles staging in my opinion.

 

[RustA]

Quote:

Well, the analogy I like to use is that the the Q701 is like the overly affectionate grandma pinching your cheeks out -- very extreme left/right projection. The distance is somewhat overbearing, and although the separation is also great I don't find the imaging as accurate or precise due to excessive left/right bias. There is a void centerfield, relatively speaking. The DT 880 isn't as wide but gives me a better sense of where things are situated due to a more restrained, controlled presentation. Projection of central sounds is excellent. It's a little more natural in the way it handles staging in my opinion.

 
What is your opinion about HD800, do you find them as well extremely left-right?

 

[3X0]

Quote:

 
What is your opinion about HD800, do you find them as well extremely left-right?

No, the HD 800 combined a very generous sound field with very accurate and precise imaging. The Q701 is also very wide, but misses the boat on imaging IMO.

 

[RustA]

Quote:

No, the HD 800 combined a very generous sound field with very accurate and precise imaging. The Q701 is also very wide, but misses the boat on imaging IMO.

 
My last question, if you don't mind, would be about bass... I find the majority of headphones lacking in bass separation from the rest of spectrum in front of you. Typical example is Audeze - brilliant tight, deep and linear bass but if you imagine a stage with a band in front of you (including player with a bass guitar), bass of many headphones is too significant and is not properly placed, imaged and separated. HD800 is brilliant that its bass is tight, linear and perfectly imaged and placed in front of you without "leaking" to spaces where other instruments should have being placed and have their territory.
 
How good DT880 are in this regard (in comparison to HD800, and K701, to help the OP)?

 

[3X0]

Quote:

 
My last question, if you don't mind, would be about bass... I find the majority of headphones lacking in bass separation from the rest of spectrum in front of you. Typical example is Audeze - brilliant tight, deep and linear bass but if you imagine a stage with a band in front of you (including player with a bass guitar), bass of many headphones is too significant and is not properly placed, imaged and separated. HD800 is brilliant that its bass is tight, linear and perfectly imaged and placed in front of you without "leaking" to spaces where other instruments should have being placed and have their territory.
 
How good DT880 are in this regard (in comparison to HD800, and K701, to help the OP)?

I think it handles bass the best out of the 650/701/880 triumvirate because the bass is staged properly and stays very clear of other instruments while conveying pitch and texture. The bass is really one of my favorite things about the DT 880's presentation. It's not always the most precise but it never obfuscates other elements in the piece.
 
The Q701 doesn't blend bass into other instruments either, but its bass is much less full and not as satisfying. It's fairly light due to a lack of sub-bass. The DT 880 manages to avoid being bass-light while not being overbearing or muddy at all -- the bass just hits the spot. Cello and organs sound great compared to how they come off on the Q701.