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Q701 impressions thread
Dec 30, 2012 at 6:59 PM Post #2,311 of 9,602
Quote:
operatorperry said:
Did anyone else feel that their pair was slightly dirty right out of the box?  My green cables have black smudges and the box has multiple misprints as well.  I bought my pair from Audio Topia through Amazon on Dec 7.  I emailed AKG and verified that Audio Topia is an authorized dealer.  Thoughts?
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Yea mine came with dirty cables as well.
 
Dec 30, 2012 at 8:22 PM Post #2,314 of 9,602
operatorperry said:
Did anyone else feel that their pair was slightly dirty right out of the box?  My green cables have black smudges and the box has multiple misprints as well.  I bought my pair from Audio Topia through Amazon on Dec 7.  I emailed AKG and verified that Audio Topia is an authorized dealer.  Thoughts?
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The set I got from Amazon.com (can't remember who the reseller was) were clean, clean, clean.
 
Dec 30, 2012 at 8:24 PM Post #2,315 of 9,602
hmm maybe it was because the transportation from them was less rough so the cable didn't rub against the box as much? I tried rubbing the cable against the box-out of boredom- and, what do you know, black marks lol.
 
Dec 31, 2012 at 1:47 PM Post #2,317 of 9,602
IMO, if you're going to get an amp and a DAC for the Q701, get the Magni/Modi combo if you're on a budget, or the O2 / ODAC combo if you've got a bit more cash to spend.

After getting the O2, there is absolutely no way I'd go back to my E9.

Of course, that's assuming you haven't already got one of those components. From what I've heard, the E17 is good enough that the E9 only provides more power and extra convenience for a desktop form factor.
 
Dec 31, 2012 at 1:50 PM Post #2,318 of 9,602
On a different note, I'm getting tired of listening to the Q701s because they're the only headphone I have until my K267 arrives. I love them, but the music I listen to is a terrible match for the Q701 (thump thump thump thump wubwubwubwubwub).
 
I need a break from low bass and infinite resolution. MOAR BASS PLOX
 
Dec 31, 2012 at 2:26 PM Post #2,319 of 9,602
Quote:
tus-chan said:
On a different note, I'm getting tired of listening to the Q701s because they're the only headphone I have until my K267 arrives. I love them, but the music I listen to is a terrible match for the Q701 (thump thump thump thump wubwubwubwubwub).
 
I need a break from low bass and infinite resolution. MOAR BASS PLOX
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Remember: you can cut everything from the low-mids on up to get an effective "bass boost" using EQ and then they get some weight to the bass that doesn't really interfere with the resolution.  Just turn the amp up more afterward to compensate.
 
This is a good way to EQ with compacts discs or FLAC/MP3 files so you don't experience compression or digital clipping distortion.  I've cut as much as -6 db from 350hz on up for bass-lean recordings without any problems with fidelity.
 
Jan 1, 2013 at 9:01 AM Post #2,320 of 9,602
Quote:
tus-chan said:
IMO, if you're going to get an amp and a DAC for the Q701, get the Magni/Modi combo if you're on a budget, or the O2 / ODAC combo if you've got a bit more cash to spend.

After getting the O2, there is absolutely no way I'd go back to my E9.

Of course, that's assuming you haven't already got one of those components. From what I've heard, the E17 is good enough that the E9 only provides more power and extra convenience for a desktop form factor.
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That's correct, the E09K adds more power and extra convenience from the desktop form factor.
 
I've never heard the O2, but there are people saying that the O2 is too bright with the Q701s.
 
Has anyone actually heard the Magni & Modi?
 
Jan 1, 2013 at 1:59 PM Post #2,321 of 9,602
Quote:
chris j said:
 
That's correct, the E09K adds more power and extra convenience from the desktop form factor.
 
I've never heard the O2, but there are people saying that the O2 is too bright with the Q701s.
 
Has anyone actually heard the Magni & Modi?
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I have the Magni, but it needs more burn in. People can argue/cry about that if they want
biggrin.gif

I just know my Q701 sounded better with it after the amp had 12 hours of use. I can't say I believe or don't believe it this amp burn in craziness.
 
Right now I'm not going to give a suggestion on the Q701+Magni until I've given it a fair try. It was pretty awful with the Q701 out of the box, but now it seemed to smooth itself out.
The main difference is that it's soundstage is pretty large, but somehow the imaging seems worse. It's definitely less warm than my Headroom Micro, which isn't warm at all!
 
Some say the Magni is slightly brighter than neutral. Not sure if I could agree with this.
 
It's soundstage is most definitely NOT lacking.
 
(all these differences are minor. The Magni could very well still measure flat and sound somewhat brighter than neutral. I think people are just fooled due to it's lack of warmth. I like that..somewhat)
 
Right now I can't say the Magni is better than the E9 for the Q701 ONLY. I hope it improves. I'm  not going to listen to the Q701 with it for another few days.
 
Oh yeah.. I will say that the Magni is VERY good with the HD-650, Sextett and DJ100. Well worth the $99.
 
 
I can almost guarantee the Magni would be perfect for the K240 Studio. That thing has less treble than the Q701 and more bass. I know it's good with my Sextett. My regular K240 has gone missing. $99 amp sounding great with the 600 ohm Sextett...sounds good to me. Still need to try the K601 with it, but this Sextett is now finally sounding good.
 
Jan 1, 2013 at 3:48 PM Post #2,322 of 9,602
Quote:
chris j said:
I've never heard the O2, but there are people saying that the O2 is too bright with the Q701s.
 
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I find that the O2 (with ODAC) makes Q701 more listenable to me. I built O2 from kit and had a suitable wallwart so the combo only cost about $150 delivered to OZ from Switzerland.
 
Jan 6, 2013 at 7:06 AM Post #2,324 of 9,602
I'm listening to my somewhat burned in Q701 and I'm really liking what I hear, for the money spent I do like these headphones. I'll probably do a review once I get things more nailed down with regard to the rest of my system. Which brings me to my question, do the Q701's typically produce a black background? One thing I love about the HD650 I used to own is the background for the music is a void of nothingness, it really provides a nice contrast for the shape and texture of the sound to be fully revealed. The Q701's don't seem to have that same dark background that the sound emerges from. So I'm thinking the DAC (ARCAM rPAC) is probably not the issue, and it's probably my amp, a Qinpu A-6000 currently with stock tubes (WE 396a's ordered) thats causing my problems. What do you guys think? And if you think it's the amp, which amp should I get? I'm leaning towards 1 or 2 of the following to try out: Decware csp2+, Burson Soloist, or Violectric V100 or V200. Any other amps I should try?
 
And I already have a T1 on order in case it is the Q701 is the issue... :D:D:D 
 
Just a few things I like about the Q701 so far... Great resolution across the board and great tone in the mids and bass. A few times I've been surprised by the realness of instruments, very nice. The bass with the tube amp is excellent, performance here is better than expected. They're also not as bright as I expected. I was expecting a thin overly clinical sound but there is the ability for a certain amount of lushness and warmth to come through. I'm using them with a bargain tube amp so the bass is a bit bumped up, and the treble is probably a bit smoother/ more rolled off than is typical. 
 
On a side not, the A-6000 (stock tubes) is pretty good for the money but I'm almost certain that it's the limiting factor in my system....
 
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