[firefly89]

Hi, so i've just bought a pair of used akg 701 (should be broken in already), and i've got a fiio e12 coming in the post.
 
So far i'm pretty unimpressed by the sound!
Maybe i'm just not going to like these headphones if I want more of a exciting listenting experience with a bit of darkness- I mainly bought them because they look great and they are great for gaming
 
I have a retina macbook pro, and an asus xonar u3 sound card (usb), the asus sounds worse than the macbook pro output but both sound quite thin and lifeless, will test it out with the amp and see if things improve.
But it's making me think I need a DAC, or a better sound card (the u3 is still in the returns period), I play FPS games so I need something that does dolby headphone- so I was thinking about either the ASUS xonar u7 (which has dolby headphone), a nice DAC (£50 max), or return the e12 and get the e17?
 
what do you think?

 

[kimvictor]

If you don't like the overall sound of the headphone, nothing much can be done. Just look for another headphone. 701 is probably too bass light for you.
 
BTW, they do need an amp, so see how it is with E12. If you don't like it even with E12, I say just get another headphone.

 

[firefly89]

Quote:

If you don't like the overall sound of the headphone, nothing much can be done. Just look for another headphone. 701 is probably too bass light for you.
 
BTW, they do need an amp, so see how it is with E12. If you don't like it even with E12, I say just get another headphone.

so the e12 came a few hours after the headphones
 
OMG the difference is incredible, I A/B tested them 6 times in a row and the amp makes a world of difference, even without the bass boost of the e12- wow, I can't believe it, they sound 10x better- i'm laughing, i'm crying, all my music sounds lacklustre though- only a handful of people I listen to seem to understand audio fidelity, might have to listen to better artists
but wow I love these headphones and amp combo
 
the headphones have so much more power, life, excitement- the difference is night and day (don't care if it's placebo...)
 
i've just ordered a xonar u7, see if it spits out music with higher quality than the u3 (btw the U3 with the amp sounds better than the onboard output with the amp, but without the amp it's the other way round, weird... both sound completely awful and lifeless without the amp though)

 

[kimvictor]

Great. If you do like your headphones, you can now consider upgrades like DAC and amp. K701 is really power hungry, so it's not recommended to use them without one.
 
Glad you are loving your AKGs.

 

[cel4145]

OMG the difference is incredible, I A/B tested them 6 times in a row and the amp makes a world of difference, even without the bass boost of the e12- wow, I can't believe it, they sound 10x better- i'm laughing, i'm crying, all my music sounds lacklustre though- only a handful of people I listen to seem to understand audio fidelity, might have to listen to better artists

Not surprising. The AKG K701/Q701s are incredibly hard to drive compared to many other headphones. They really do need an amp to bring out the best in them.

i've just ordered a xonar u7, see if it spits out music with higher quality than the u3 (btw the U3 with the amp sounds better than the onboard output with the amp, but without the amp it's the other way round, weird... both sound completely awful and lifeless without the amp though)

I would give the ODAC a try. You won't get all the surround processing stuff that the Asus has, but the audio fidelity it top notch. Well worth every penny

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Hi, so i've just bought a pair of used akg 701 (should be broken in already), and i've got a fiio e12 coming in the post.
So far i'm pretty unimpressed by the sound!
Maybe i'm just not going to like these headphones if I want more of a exciting listening experience with a bit of darkness- I mainly bought them because they look great and they are great for gaming
I have a retina macbook pro, and an asus xonar u3 sound card (usb), the asus sounds worse than the macbook pro output but both sound quite thin and lifeless, will test it out with the amp and see if things improve.
But it's making me think I need a DAC, or a better sound card (the u3 is still in the returns period), I play FPS games so I need something that does Dolby Headphone- so I was thinking about either the ASUS xonar u7 (which has Dolby headphone), a nice DAC (£50 max), or return the e12 and get the e17?

I was looking at the Asus website, did not see any Mac software/driver support for the U3 or U7.
I'm going to take a wild guess that getting an optical output external DAC, might be the best choice.
 
On PCs, using optical output allows use of the built in audio hardware and using USB bypasses built in audio hardware.
Not sure about Mac audio.
 
Fiio E17 has both USB and S/PDIF (optical & coaxial) input.
So E17 might be a good choice, and I think they are on sale somewhere for $105.

 

[firefly89]

Not surprising. The AKG K701/Q701s are incredibly hard to drive compared to many other headphones. They really do need an amp to bring out the best in them.
I would give the ODAC a try. You won't get all the surround processing stuff that the Asus has, but the audio fidelity it top notch. Well worth every penny

I will look into the o dac, thanks

The Amp really worked miracles, the difference was amazing

I was looking at the Asus website, did not see any Mac software/driver support for the U3 or U7.
I'm going to take a wild guess that getting an optical output external DAC, might be the best choice.

On PCs, using optical output allows use of the built in audio hardware and using USB bypasses built in audio hardware.
Not sure about Mac audio.

Fiio E17 has both USB and S/PDIF (optical & coaxial) input.
So E17 might be a good choice, and I think they are on sale somewhere for $105.

I'd rather it be USB than optical, don't want an optical cable sticking out my laptop

I already have the e12, so should I return it and get the e17, or add In a dac and keep the e12. I've just ordered the asus u7 so I'll compare it to the u3 to see if there's an improvement, I'd be happy with 99% performance and still having Dolby headphone, than having 100% and no Dolby headphone

My only concern is the amp in the e17 would be too weak to power the k701

Thanks

 

[firefly89]

I think i've figured out my next move
 
despite the fact I have a tonne of stuff coming in the post (a recon 3d usb, which is a 3d surround card compatible with mac, and has optical input for consoles!), a xonar u7 to compare against my u3, and I think there might be something else...)
 
I'm thinking to order an e17, or maybe an e7- if I get the e7 I will use it as a usb dac connected to the e12, if I get the e17 I will use it as a usb dac on its own (if it's powerful enough to drive the k701's, and also use the analogue or spdif input to accept signal from the xonar u3/u7 so that when I listen to music i'm using the e17 > k701, and when i'm gaming I use the xonar (with the surround processing) > e17 (amp) > k701, easy to switch output in windows preference compard to plugging and unplugging physcial cables- my only concern is the amp in the e17 won't be powerful enough, I think the e12 struggles if I leave it on 0db gain
 
 
maybe the xonar u7 will sound great on its own, and the e17 won't sound any better (that would be the easiest solution), maybe I shouldn't even order the e17- just in case it is fantastic ha ha

 

[mjscall]

I run my Q701's with an e17/e09k and they are great

 

[Moolok]

I run my Q701's with an e17/e09k and they are great

I support this. Get E17 and E09k. Great combo.

Sent from my LG-P970 using Tapatalk 2

 

[firefly89]

Quote:

I support this. Get E17 and E09k. Great combo.

Sent from my LG-P970 using Tapatalk 2

how much extra power does the eo9k add over the standard e17? I run my e12 at about 1/2, with 16db gain
and if using the e17 as a dac do you connect usb to the e09?
 
i'll find out if the e17 is powerful enough tomorrow as that's when it will get here
the e09k/e17 probably makes the most sense, don't know why I never thought of that ha!
 
although at the moment i'm very happy with my xonar u7 (it sounds warmer but less accurate than the u3, it loses the harshness but loses some detail and excitement) and a fiio e12
 
i'll test the e17 when it comes tomorrow, and i'll order an e09k to test with the e17
 
I also ordered an audioengine d1, which I was going to use as a dac/amp, or connect to the e12 if it needs extra power (expensive combination though)\
 
will be interesting to compare audioengine d1 > e12, with e17 > eo9k 
 
only concern is that as my headphones don't have massive bass without engaging the bass boost on the e12, (the e17 has tone controls) the audio engine has no eq controls so might not work out too well
 
 
even though the u7 is clearly superior to the u3, I might ditch using the 'gaming' card for hi-fi use, and use the u3 for games, and the better dac for music- we shall see

 

[cel4145]

I'm thinking to order an e17, or maybe an e7- if I get the e7 I will use it as a usb dac connected to the e12, if I get the e17 I will use it as a usb dac on its own . ..

Get the ODAC. I have the E17 and the ODAC, and if I already had the E12, I would go for the ODAC. Better DAC.

 

[Tjj226 Angel]

Ok, what?
 
Return all of that stuff. If you have all of this money, you should have stayed away from this combo entirely. 
 
I had the Q701s (essentially the same thing as the K701s), and I tested them with many different amps. 
 
You do not need to worry too much about how much power is getting the the K701s. Sure they need a decent amp, but you have already taken care of that a thousand times over, so don't worry about giving them more power. All you are doing at this point is wasting money. 
 
Stick with the amp that sounds best to you and return everything else. 
 
Return/sell the K701s and buy some used sennheiser HD600s. They have the nice dark lush sound signature you are looking for. 

 

[firefly89]

Quote:

Get the ODAC. I have the E17 and the ODAC, and if I already had the E12, I would go for the ODAC. Better DAC.

 
interesting
 
only issue there is that it would ship from USA (I have amazon prime so postage is free), and returns are easy- returning Odac to usa is expensive and they might not even accept returns
 
 
Quote:

Ok, what?
 
Return all of that stuff. If you have all of this money, you should have stayed away from this combo entirely. 
 
I had the Q701s (essentially the same thing as the K701s), and I tested them with many different amps. 
 
You do not need to worry too much about how much power is getting the the K701s. Sure they need a decent amp, but you have already taken care of that a thousand times over, so don't worry about giving them more power. All you are doing at this point is wasting money. 
 
Stick with the amp that sounds best to you and return everything else. 
 
Return/sell the K701s and buy some used sennheiser HD600s. T
 
 
I had the Q701s (essentially the same thing as the K701s), and I tested them with many different amps. 
 

 
"if you have all of this money"
 
I didn't really buy they though, sure the money left my account but it's coming back soon- amazon refund you quickly unlike other retailers, it's only like going to a shop and trying them out- except I get to do it for more than 5 minutes and in the comfort of my own home, I order something at 7pm and it gets their next day before 12, it's amazing
 
"Stick with the amp that sounds best to you and return everything else." 
 
that's what i'm doing- I didn't buy 5 amps to hold on to all of them
 
"Return/sell the K701s and buy some used sennheiser HD600s. They have the nice dark lush sound signature you are looking for." 
 
why? I like the 701's
I bought them used so would have to sell them- the amp brought them to life, and gave them bass/life, perhaps not darkness but I like the sound quality- the treble is great
 
the hd600's are more expensive than my whole set up

 

[cel4145]

What country do you live in? JDS Labs is not the only one that makes the ODAC. It is an open source design.