[machacker]

Hello there, I (like many others) am pretty new to the high end audio field, but once I had something resembling a taste, I wanted more. I use my current Razer Kraken pro's for light gaming a few hours a week, but mostly listening to music while working and poking around the internet. They're not the worst things in the world, but they get rather uncomfortable after more than an hour of use, and it feels like there is something missing in the sound. My cans are plugged into the rear I/O of my gigabyte z87x oc motherboard, which has some trouble driving these. 
 
Anyway, I was looking for a more comfortable setup with higher sound quality. At first I was looking at the Beyer Dynamic dt880's but I realized that those were a bit out of my price range to get the headphones themselves, and an amp and dac combo powerful enough for the 250 ohm impedance. I started looking some more and fell in love with the akg 7xx series, specifically the q701's and k702's. I noticed these have a lower impedance, so I figure I can get away with a Fiio e10k amp and dac combo.
 
All in all, I'm looking to spend no more than $300 on my new setup. Does anyone have any advice, or recommendations? What headphones you are using? The color of your ceiling? I'd love to gather all the information I can. Thank you!

 

[PurpleAngel]

Audio Technica ATH-AD900X open headphones.
They are only 40-Ohm, easy for your motherboard audio to drive.
 
If you want to improve over the on-board audio.
Creative Labs Sound blaster Z sound card, $60-$80.

 

[machacker]

A sound card isn't really an option as my computer is a hackintosh. That's why I'm looking for an amp and dac combo because of increased combatility over USB. I was looking at the Mayflower Electronics Objective 2, but that's a bit out of my budget. I heard good things about the fiio e10k, and it's under $100. As for headphones, I really like akg, but do you have any other suggestions? The 900x's wouldn't really work with my motherboard because it has trouble driving my 32 ohm krakens, so an amp is required. I'm looking for a "semi open" design because I don't like how much sound leaks out of those ridiculously open headphones. I know it's inevitable, but I don't want the people around me to hear my music. That being said, I do like to hear what is going on around me while I'm listening to music. I do like to interact with people when they walk into my office without them having to alert me.

I really like ASA's design, and I've heard a lot of good things about the q701's and a few others that share a similar design. All that being said, do you have any new recommendations for amp and dac combo or actual headphones? Thank you!

 

[PurpleAngel]

A sound card isn't really an option as my computer is a hackintosh. That's why I'm looking for an amp and dac combo because of increased compatibility over USB. I was looking at the Mayflower Electronics Objective 2, but that's a bit out of my budget. I heard good things about the fiio e10k, and it's under $100. As for headphones, I really like akg, but do you have any other suggestions? The 900x's wouldn't really work with my motherboard because it has trouble driving my 32 ohm krakens, so an amp is required. I'm looking for a "semi open" design because I don't like how much sound leaks out of those ridiculously open headphones. I know it's inevitable, but I don't want the people around me to hear my music. That being said, I do like to hear what is going on around me while I'm listening to music. I do like to interact with people when they walk into my office without them having to alert me.

I really like ASA's design, and I've heard a lot of good things about the q701's and a few others that share a similar design. All that being said, do you have any new recommendations for amp and dac combo or actual headphones? Thank you!

 
Hackintosh, is that where you basically take a windows type PC and install the Macintosh operating system?
 
The FiiO E10K is one option, your getting a fairly good value for the $75 price.
and it could easily drive the 40-Ohm AD900X headphones.
 
Right now I guess the hot item is the AKG KXX headphones, $199+tax
http://www.head-fi.org/t/743280/new-release-the-k7xx-massdrop-first-edition-an-exclusive-from-massdrop-and-akg
 
If the FiiO E10K does not provide enough power for driving the KXX
You could just get the FiiO E11K amplifier ($60), it does not come with a DAC chip, as it's just an amp.

 

[Za Warudo]

The AKG is probably harder to drive than the Beyer since it has low sensitivity.  The Q701 I had was more picky with amps than my HD650 and HE400.

 

[xtroria]

Akg headphones are super inefficient, you'll need a proper amp to drive them. They do sound good however.

You can go with akg k7xx probably in massdrop and buy schiit magni

 

[machacker]

OK... Well the senn h600 and 650 as well as the do 880's are out of my price range as they are all over $300,and I'm lookin for the whole setup for $300 or less. Do you have any other suggestions for an amp and dac for under $100? My idea is to spend around $200 on the headphones and $100 for an amp and dac. I might be able to stretch my budget by around $40, but I really would like to stay under $301.

 

[machacker]

I was looking for DAC's when I found this beauty http://hifiman.com/Products/?pid=74. It's a bit out of my price range for the amp, but if I hold off buying my setup for a few weeks longer, I should have the extra $60 ish to afford it. Does anyone know anything about this amp? Any other suggestions? I really want a dac because audio support on my motherboard is a little rocky, so having that extra boost in sound quality would be great.

 

[machacker]

Moving back towards headphones, what about the dt 770's? They're in my price range and I like the way they look, and if they're like any other beyerdynamic headphone, they should be ridiculously comfortable. The only thing I don't know about them is sound. Has anyone used these before? Describe the sound. I realize they are closed back, but I don't really care about sacrificing a bit of soundstage for noise isolatio. I have realized that blocking out noise from my surroundings is something I really value from my closed razer kraken. One last thing, would these be easier to drive than akg cans? I've read on a few other threads that they are really inefficient and require a pretty good amp for them to sound good. I really like the hi-fi man ef2a in how compact it is and the fact that it is pretty cheap. Does anyone have any other recommendations for either headphones or an amp and dac combo? Thanks!

 

[Roy Munson]

I own the Q701 and have spent considerable time with the dt770. You said you fell in love with the AKG Q701/K702... the dt770 are nothing like these. The dt770 has a V shaped sound signature - big bass, bold highs, recessed mids.
 
I don't think the Q701 is as hard to drive as people make it out to be - although I've found personally I like them on tube setups compared to solid state. I think the q701 sounded just fine off a schiit vali - add a schiit modi 2 in for a dac and you'd probably be a bit over your budget but have a nice setup.
 
Another possibility would be something like the Schiit Fulla with the AKG k550 if you're looking for a closed can. That would keep you right around or a touch under your budget.

 

[jodgey4]

You could just do the K7XX or other variant and an amp, no DAC. You could always add one later, but for the AKG's, having a good amp will make the most difference on a budget. For $300, that's what I'd personally do!

 

[machacker]

  I own the Q701 and have spent considerable time with the dt770. You said you fell in love with the AKG Q701/K702... the dt770 are nothing like these. The dt770 has a V shaped sound signature - big bass, bold highs, recessed mids.
 
I don't think the Q701 is as hard to drive as people make it out to be - although I've found personally I like them on tube setups compared to solid state. I think the q701 sounded just fine off a schiit vali - add a schiit modi 2 in for a dac and you'd probably be a bit over your budget but have a nice setup.
 
Another possibility would be something like the Schiit Fulla with the AKG k550 if you're looking for a closed can. That would keep you right around or a touch under your budget.

Ok, good to know. I'm glad that they sound good on tubes because I really like how the ef2a looks with the tubes glowing and the clean design on the front. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Roy Munson]

You're welcome. I use my Q701s with a Schiit Lyr and besides sounding great with tubes I find they respond really well to tube rolling.

 

[Shaffer]

I'd suggest a Matrix M-stage with the K702. Good luck.

 

[machacker]

I'd suggest a Matrix M-stage with the K702. Good luck.

That amp looks pretty awesome, but it's way out of my price range. The Schiit Magni 2 or the hifiman ef2a are the amps I'm looking at as they are under $175. Any other suggestions?