[ZenErik]

Mmm. I think the HD650 being fatiguing comment had to do that I had been listening to a lot of music that was not very dynamic. Listening to something like Godspeed You Black Emperor or Pink Floyd's Meddle was not really fatiguing. Listening to death metal like Misery Index was. Do you not find listening to consistently loud recordings through the Q701 to be fatiguing? Just curious.
 
Going back to my days of being in percussion ensemble and drum corps.. That probably isn't helping. My ears, in general, seem to grow weary of constant loudness quickly. Let me throw on something a little more mellow after dinner.

 

[R-Audiohead]

Quote:

The HD650's as fatiguing? Wow. I never get fatigue using them for hours and hours using a DACport.
 
Anyways I bought the Q701 from a fellow head-fier and I'm eager to see how they do with a Yulong D100. Hopefully they pair up somewhat well.
 

Curious to see how they pair up as well.
 
I'm real close to pouncing on a D100
 

 

[ZenErik]

I am interested in this pairing as well. Just looked at a review, and it looks right up my alley and within my budget.

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

Mmm. I think the HD650 being fatiguing comment had to do that I had been listening to a lot of music that was not very dynamic. Listening to something like Godspeed You Black Emperor or Pink Floyd's Meddle was not really fatiguing. Listening to death metal like Misery Index was. Do you not find listening to consistently loud recordings through the Q701 to be fatiguing? Just curious.
 
Going back to my days of being in percussion ensemble and drum corps.. That probably isn't helping. My ears, in general, seem to grow weary of constant loudness quickly. Let me throw on something a little more mellow after dinner.

 
Hmm...I dont' have any death metal in my library

 
I guess the loudest stuff I have is electronic such as dubstep or DnB.  I don't think I could listen to that loudly on any headphone for too long.  If I'm in the mood for that type of music, I do manage to get through most of it without any problems. 
 
Maybe if I had louder music, it would be different.  But I do know that the with the music I do have the Q's outlast my other headphones in the fatigue department.

 

[ZenErik]

Quote:

 
Hmm...I dont' have any death metal in my library

 
I guess the loudest stuff I have is electronic such as dubstep or DnB.  I don't think I could listen to that loudly on any headphone for too long.  If I'm in the mood for that type of music, I do manage to get through most of it without any problems. 
 
Maybe if I had louder music, it would be different.  But I do know that the with the music I do have the Q's outlast my other headphones in the fatigue department.

So it likely was just the music of choice I was listening to, ahah.
 
I have to say these Q701's are doing much better with the beautiful music of Helene Bøksle. No fatigue at all. Sounding fantastic.
 

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

 
Hmm...I dont' have any death metal in my library

 
I guess the loudest stuff I have is electronic such as dubstep or DnB.  I don't think I could listen to that loudly on any headphone for too long.  If I'm in the mood for that type of music, I do manage to get through most of it without any problems. 
 
Maybe if I had louder music, it would be different.  But I do know that the with the music I do have the Q's outlast my other headphones in the fatigue department.

I think the most fatigue free headphone I have is the HD-598. I could probably listen to some really annoying Japanese pop for 5 hours straight and not have my ears get tired.
The Q701 is pretty close. I don't think the sound out of my Q701 has ever fatigued me yet. I tried out a Belden 1192A interconnect cable and it was a little brighter, but not too bad.
 
I know some here will probably think I'm full of it, but try making a Mogami or Canare interconnect cable (dirt cheap). The Canare is warmer than the Mogami W2893 and has less treble and more mid-bass. The Mogami seems to have slightly more forward mids and a clearer sound with the impression of more detail.
 
I think the Monoprice cheap cables sound similar to the Mogami and seem slightly warm too. They probably cost less than $5. Most interconnect cables sound similar it seems. Best I've heard is the Belden 1192A, but it's so revealing and detailed that it tires my ears out with some music. Kind of like the Double Helix wire. I bet the 1192A would be perfect for an HD-650.

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

I tried out a Belden 1192A interconnect cable and it was a little brighter, but not too bad.
 
I know some here will probably think I'm full of it, but try making a Mogami or Canare interconnect cable (dirt cheap). The Canare is warmer than the Mogami W2893 and has less treble and more mid-bass. The Mogami seems to have slightly more forward mids and a clearer sound with the impression of more detail.
 
I think the Monoprice cheap cables sound similar to the Mogami and seem slightly warm too. They probably cost less than $5. Most interconnect cables sound similar it seems. Best I've heard is the Belden 1192A, but it's so revealing and detailed that it tires my ears out with some music. Kind of like the Double Helix wire. I bet the 1192A would be perfect for an HD-650.

For interconnects, I have some monoprice "premium" RCAs.  I also have a little Cardas 6" mini interconnect that was the perfect length for the E10+E9. 
 
I've read that cables are the last thing you should upgrade in a setup, so do you think the monoprice RCA's are fine for the HRT to -> M-stage?   I read a post here where someone compared monoprice RCAs to some expensive ones and they sounded the same.  I might look for some shorter RCAs just because the Streamer is just going to sit on-top of the M-stage.  I don't need 1.5 ft of wire coiled up. 
 

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

For interconnects, I have some monoprice "premium" RCAs.  I also have a little Cardas 6" mini interconnect that was the perfect length for the E10+E9. 
 
I've read that cables are the last thing you should upgrade in a setup, so do you think the monoprice RCA's are fine for the HRT to -> M-stage?   I read a post here where someone compared monoprice RCAs to some expensive ones and they sounded the same.  I might look for some shorter RCAs just because the Streamer is just going to sit on-top of the M-stage.  I don't need 1.5 ft of wire coiled up. 
 

 
I have those same Monoprice cables and they're quite good. I think Mogami/Canare cables are so cheap that it's worth experimenting. To my ears, it's harder to tell the difference between interconnect cables than upgrading a headphone cable (soldering directly to driver). A premade Mogami cable cost me about $21 shipped from Redco. I could do it myself but it'd only save me maybe $5-$10.
 
I think if someone wanted to make a Q701 slightly warmer, a Canare cable would help. I don't know why on earth anyone would want to do that though. Maybe with the E7/E9. I bet a Canare cable/interconnect might help with a Grado SR-325is.
 
Overall, interconnect cables make a very tiny difference IMO. Doing side by side comparisons is a waste of time. I usually try to listen to an entire album and then switch cables.
 
I just found out today online that using a Starquad cable with a higher capacitance can cause high frequency roll-off. Might be good for some headphones. I actually didn't know that.
 
I think that Belden 1192A is the first interconnect cable where I could actually tell a difference. It really impresses me, but it's too fatiguing on most headphones. Don't know why or how this is. This Mogami cable just makes my Q701 sound kind of too warm. Think I prefer the Monoprice cable, but not sure yet. I hate headphones that are way too warm. HD-598 is my limit maybe.
 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 

[ZenErik]

These cans either quickly got much better via burn in, or I just went deaf from the formerly fatiguing highs.
 
I have only used these for maybe 12 - 15 hours so far. But as of an hour or so ago I no longer constantly feel the need to turn down the volume, and the highs sound so much smoother. Everything just sounds brilliant right now.

 

[dsp0704]

Hi,
what do you guys think about nuforce icon hdp paired with q701?
This is my current setup and I really enjoy listening to some 24-96 flac files from laptop.
IMO I think they sound very good but i.never tried this phone with other amp/dac or hdp with other phones.
This is my only setup thus I have no way to compare. I noticed hdp was never mentioned in this thread.

 

[orangeblack]

In case anyone is interested, I'm selling my used (like new) Q701s for $200 if anyone wants to buy http://www.head-fi.org/t/585317/selling-akg-q701s-white-for-200

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

Hi,
what do you guys think about nuforce icon hdp paired with q701?
This is my current setup and I really enjoy listening to some 24-96 flac files from laptop.
IMO I think they sound very good but i.never tried this phone with other amp/dac or hdp with other phones.
This is my only setup thus I have no way to compare. I noticed hdp was never mentioned in this thread.

Seems like I read about in it another thread.  You could search in the K701 thread
http://www.head-fi.org/t/321237/k701-appreciation-thread

 

[discombob]

Quote:

Hi,
what do you guys think about nuforce icon hdp paired with q701?
This is my current setup and I really enjoy listening to some 24-96 flac files from laptop.
IMO I think they sound very good but i.never tried this phone with other amp/dac or hdp with other phones.
This is my only setup thus I have no way to compare. I noticed hdp was never mentioned in this thread.

 
I use the Icon HD (same headphone amp without the preamp flexibility) with my Q701 and I think it is very nice.  The Q701 has some reserved warmth to its presentation.  Some people think the HD is sort of "bright" sounding because of the detailed DAC and doesn't work as well with bright and fast headphones, but it seems just right with 701s with their more averaged-out (unoffensive) sound, and they are one of the headphones NuForce recommends trying with the HD / HDP (along with Sennheiser HD600/650).
 
Soundstage seems wider and cleaner on the HD than running out of my M-Audio 1010lt soundcard / DAC intended for recording.  Enough volume and nice tight bass.  I would consider listening to other amps in the $300-500 range, but am quite satisfied and am under the impression the HD is already a good value from some other threads at Head-Fi.
 
http://www.nuforce.com/hp/products/iconhd/index.php
 
compared to output from:
http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/Delta1010LT.html

 

[scott111184]

Just recently (couple months ago) got my first set of cans, XB-500's. Was pleased with them with some EQ adjustments on certain types of music but wanted more clarity. After a lot of reading I decided to order the Q701's, yes I like the green ones do those are the ones I got. I didnt think they would be as hard to drive but they were, using the audio out with my iMac. I dont have the extra funds to purchase the Schiit Lyr like I want right now but did order the Bravo 12AU7 amp from eBay. Actually very impressed with the combo as is, plenty loud enough for me and the clarity is amazing. By no means am I an audiophile but very pleased with the sound I'm getting.
 

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

After a lot of reading I decided to order the Q701's, yes I like the green ones do those are the ones I got. I didnt think they would be as hard to drive but they were, using the audio out with my iMac. I dont have the extra funds to purchase the Schiit Lyr like I want right now but did order the Bravo 12AU7 amp from eBay. Actually very impressed with the combo as is, plenty loud enough for me and the clarity is amazing. By no means am I an audiophile but very pleased with the sound I'm getting.
 
 

 
Nice!  I love the lights on that amp in that pic.  Your next step should probably be to get a DAC.  An E10 alone was more improvement than just amping my soundcard signal with an E9.