[dkimxd]

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I FINALLY, finally, finally got my Q701 after weeks and weeks of waiting for the white one to be available. I got quite a big serial number, in the 8xxx region so I'm assuming it's quite new. What serial # are you people's lately? Just curious.
 
Impressions on the sound later after burn in, but only thing I can complain so far is whoever sticks the "AKG" logo on should spend a bit more time as it is slanted, but I checked a few pictures online and I notice some others are like that too. Not the end of the world, but something I noticed.
 
Sound-wise, all I can say for now is I wonder what I was smoking earlier when I decided to get the SRH940 over this one. Thankfully Headphone Bar allowed me to exchange!
 
Otherwise, this thing is a beauty!
 
dL

Just got mine yesterday in white, number 09330.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Mine is 07260 (white)...

 

[ColesGoods]

ATTENTION Q701 OWNERS = Could you lend a rookie some specific advice?
 
warning -- > noobage has arrived
 
Wow. Awesome thread. I bought the black Q701's on ebay the other day, they should be here by next week. This is my first post on head-fi... ever. I joined a second ago just because of the knowledge I've come across on this website tonight. Specifically, the things I've read about the Q's.
 
Honesty time- I'm a music producer (hip hop, specifically)- the Quincy's will be my 1st pair of "audiophile" phones. What attracted me to these headphones is their self proclaimed "accuracy".
 
Pride is not a virtue/Let's get real - I know nothing about headphone amp's. I won't lie, when I saw I had to spend another 2, $300 for an amp to actually power the phones, I realized I needed guidance. (I then got incredibly excited because I realized ... if something has to be powered, then it's going to be outstanding.
 
Since the Quincy's are on the way, it's now ASAP time to buy the amp for them. I didn't even know if my "computer" had a built in amp.
 
 
H E L P - T I M E
 
 
 
Let me tell you what I will be using the Q701's with MOST of the time... just so that I don't mislead anyone with my setup. After that, I'm all ears, and I'll need guidance best suited to my situation.
 
 
Main usage... 1) Q701's + Open Labs NEKO (TSE- Timbaland Special Edition) --> (it's a PC, and it has a Presonus FIREBOX- this is usually where I plug my headphone jack into...) here is a link-please scroll down & check out the features (if you need to), it describes the Presonus FIREBOX ...
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/keyboards-midi/open-labs-neko-tse-special-edition-keyboard-production-station
 
Other uses... 2) Q701's + Macbook/Stereo Systems/anything? Hypothetically, if the NEKO does have it's own headphone amplifier, I still will want to buy an amp so I can use the Q701's with a macbook (when we run protools & other DAW's) out of my home studio. So I can use the Q701's with ANYTHING. I simply want to be able to maximize these headphone's. I'm not able to spend $400.00 on an amp. Honestly, spending $100.00 to $200.00 would be PREFERRED. BUT, If you guys lead me to believe that spending $300.00 will be a SIGNIFICANT UPGRADE in the performance & authenticity in sound of the Q701's, then please... tell me to spend $300.
 
 
After all, I bought the headphone's for $200.00. I guess I can pay $300.00 for an amp if needed.
 
 
3) MStage USB Model? I've been reading about an MStage that features a USB input? I'm still just trying to figure out how this fits everything that I'm doing. I don't know if I need the USB or if I need the original model. I'm not sure how the DAC/Soundcard discussion fits what I'm doing. I'm a mess.
 
I just wanted to check and see with you guys if I could somehow use the firebox or anything else coming from the neko to act as an amp for my Q701's. If not, I'll be buying the best sounding/realistic to my budget amplifier.
 
I've researched the Matrix M-Stage but I haven't been able to find a product called the "Micro Amp." If someone could link me to that exact product, that'd be greatly appreciated. I just now started checking out the thread titled "Matrix M-Stage amp review: simple, cheap, and excellent."
 
 
 
thanks so much for your time, and forgive for ranting when I could have easily said all that in a paragraph or two.
 
C

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

ATTENTION Q701 OWNERS = Could you lend a rookie some specific advice?
 

That Neko keyboard/computer should be OK, I'm assuming.  You'll probably just have to try it out - I've never tried plugging an nice headphones into a firebox.
 
I don't know if you can use the Neko much with your laptop.  I don't know much about it, but it seems like a self contained system with just some analog inputs.
 
I would put some of your budget towards a decent dac.  I wouldn't just get a nice amp then double amp your soundcard.  I tried that and it's not great IMO.

 

[ColesGoods]

 
Quote:

That Neko keyboard/computer should be OK, I'm assuming.  You'll probably just have to try it out - I've never tried plugging an nice headphones into a firebox.
 
I don't know if you can use the Neko much with your laptop.  I don't know much about it, but it seems like a self contained system with just some analog inputs.
 
 

Thanks for the response. I didn't mean using the NEKO with the laptop... I was saying the laptop + the quincys/amp.
 
I know nothing about the concept of DAC in regards to what I know thus far. Any way you can explain that? Thanks
 

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

 

Thanks for the response. I didn't mean using the NEKO with the laptop... I was saying the laptop + the quincys/amp.
 
I know nothing about the concept of DAC in regards to what I know thus far. Any way you can explain that? Thanks
 

 
DAC stands for "Digital to Analog Converter".  It's essentially a high quality external soundcard geared towards music playback.  They're usually used for getting a better signal to an amp so it can amplify that signal.

 

[ColesGoods]

Quote:

 
DAC stands for "Digital to Analog Converter".  It's essentially a high quality external soundcard geared towards music playback.  They're usually used for getting a better signal to an amp so it can amplify that signal.

I see. Thus why you were saying that an amp would be overriding/competing with whatever soundcard is in my NEKO?
 
I guess I'll give the phones a shot with my NEKO thru the FIREBOX at first.
 
ha, the only problem is that I don't know HOW good the Q701's are SUPPOSED to sound. Not to mention the breaking in process.

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

I see. Thus why you were saying that an amp would be overriding/competing with whatever soundcard is in my NEKO?
 
I guess I'll give the phones a shot with my NEKO thru the FIREBOX at first.
 
ha, the only problem is that I don't know HOW good the Q701's are SUPPOSED to sound. Not to mention the breaking in process.

 
I assumed that the Neko already has a half decent amp in it since it's geared for audio and isn't crammed inside a laptop.  In that case you may not need to amp it again with an external amp.  The Neko has it's own soundcard and I don't think you can use any other one with it anyways. 
 
If you just use a nice headphone amp with your laptop's headphone jack as the source, your laptop is bottle-necking the sound before the amp even gets it by doing the conversion to analog inside  the laptop.  That's where a DAC comes in. 
 
The Q701 won't sound completely different with better equipment.  Even out of a crappy laptop they will still have the same general signature, they will just sound more stuffy/grainy/congested/compressed/etc.
 
I wouldn't worry too much about breaking/burning them in.

 

[Digital-Pride]

Welcome to Head-Fi ColesGoods!  So sorry about your wallet.

  You picked an excellent first option in the Q701.  The M-stage with the usb input would be an excellent option for ya, especially since you can just simply connect it to your PC or  laptop and you're good to go.  The built-in DAC in the M-stage will handle the data to music conversion process(instead of your PC or laptop's sound card) with the M-stage's amp powering your Q701 nicely.

 

[Chris J]

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I remember when I had the original K702 it randomly had this weird treble peak that really bothered my ears. It wasn't a case of garbage tracks and I even burned them in for around 250 hours. At that time I gave the DT-880 a chance. Somehow I couldn't deal with it's comfort due to the depth of the cups. The only way I could use them was to make them have ZERO clamp. Couldn't even go 10 minutes without them annoying my ears. I did try the pleather and gel pads too.
 
I really do like it's sound, but I've found I need more (forward) mids. I always felt the DT-880 was not warm enough for me and definitely cold and analytical. Not a bad thing, but I did feel the K702 was very very slightly warmer. Somehow. The DT-880 also made too much of my music sound like garbage, which was an annoyance. Even more so than using my KRKs and Q701 I think. I do like the DT-880 and would have kept it. I've owned each version and like the 32ohm version the most I think. I believe this is the one, but it's hard to remember. The DT-880 sure is impressive for ambient/electronic music.
 
A huge percentage of my music is for vocals, so I need something good for that. None of my music seems to require lots of bass and I stopped listing to some of the alt rock I liked in the past such as Pearl Jam etc. I do listen to Radiohead a lot still. Strangely enough my favorite genre right now is really simple ambient music such as Helios, Mum, Boards of Canada and a few others. Q701 is really good for this type of music.
 

Mr. T, (sorry CNR)

 
Did you ever try the DT880 in 600 ohms? Sounds like you have, but I thought I would ask anyway.
I find these (the DT880/600 ohm) to be neutral to warm sounding and ultra, ultra comfortable.
I listen to them with NO mods for comfort.
I also use a La Figaro 336C with a variety of vacuum tubes.
 
If you listen to ambient I can understand why you are a Q701 fiend!
 
C-Dawg
 

 

[ColesGoods]

Quote:

Welcome to Head-Fi ColesGoods!  So sorry about your wallet.

  You picked an excellent first option in the Q701.  The M-stage with the usb input would be an excellent option for ya, especially since you can just simply connect it to your PC or  laptop and you're good to go.  The built-in DAC in the M-stage will handle the data to music conversion process(instead of your PC or laptop's sound card) with the M-stage's amp powering your Q701 nicely.

Hey man, thanks a lot!
 
So pretty much what you're saying is... wherever the Q701's go, the usb M-stage should go with it via usb? 
 
(even if) my NEKO is built for sound quality.. which it is. It's a pc built for music.
 
thanks!!
 
 

 

[Digital-Pride]

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Hey man, thanks a lot!
 
So pretty much what you're saying is... wherever the Q701's go, the usb M-stage should go with it via usb? 
 
(even if) my NEKO is built for sound quality.. which it is. It's a pc built for music.
 
thanks!!

Well, looking at the NEKO, I think it will be good with the Q701.  Wow, the NEKO looks like a serious piece of hardware.  Sorry, I assumed the NEKO was just a regular PC with a better than average sound card.  If that's what you're going to use the Q701 primarily with, you might not need an amp at all.  For regular laptop and PC use, the M-stage would be recommended.
 

 

[Caphel]

Well I got the Q701 today and they are very nice indeed.  The sound is great, the cups fit well and are nice and comfy, but what on earth is up with that stupid headband.  Those bumps make it very uncomfortable and something will have to be done.  Other than that, I am very happy with them.

 

[Neosk]

I taped bubblewrap over my headband lol.

 

[Chris J]

Quote:

Well I got the Q701 today and they are very nice indeed.  The sound is great, the cups fit well and are nice and comfy, but what on earth is up with that stupid headband.  Those bumps make it very uncomfortable and something will have to be done.  Other than that, I am very happy with them.

Strange, I have always found the Q701s to be ultra comfortable, even straight out of the box.
OTOH, a LOT of folks have said that the headband is a torture device.
 
But they sure sound fantastic!
No break-in required.