[mrk]

More people need to check out the NAD DACs

 

[jasonb]

  More people need to check out the NAD DACs

Oh yea? How does it compare to the ODAC or Modi?

 

[mrk]

I don't know, never heard those but I've been more than impressed with the D 3020. Typical NAD sound signature that many love inc myself and matches the character of the Q701 really nicely.
 
It's expensive but it is a fully packaged product with all the features most people will be after and the SQ, for what it is, is hard to beat for the complete package vs price ratio...

 

[jasonb]

  I don't know, never heard those but I've been more than impressed with the D 3020. Typical NAD sound signature that many love inc myself and matches the character of the Q701 really nicely.
 
It's expensive but it is a fully packaged product with all the features most people will be after and the SQ, for what it is, is hard to beat for the complete package vs price ratio...

How much $?

 

[mrk]

  How much $?

 
Don't know $ but it is £400.

 

[Chris J]

All this talk about how the HD650 and Q701 never fully "open up" until you get a dedicated amp isn't really true anymore. To me at least.

 
Yes, I agree......don't know much about the HD650, but that is my experience with my Q701.
I even use them on my iPad!
It may not sound great, but it doesn't sound bad, either!

 

[Chris J]

  How much $?

 
About $550-500 USD.
 
For the same amount of money you can get the NAD D1050 DAC/Headphone amp, it's supposed to be better for headphones than the D 3020.

 

[Fuzziekiwi]

 

All this talk about how the HD650 and Q701 never fully "open up" until you get a dedicated amp isn't really true anymore. To me at least.

 
Yes, I agree......don't know much about the HD650, but that is my experience with my Q701.
I even use them on my iPad!
It may not sound great, but it doesn't sound bad, either!

The Q701 takes more power than the HD650 to get to higher volumes. 

 

[mrk]

   
About $550-500 USD.
 
For the same amount of money you can get the NAD D1050 DAC/Headphone amp, it's supposed to be better for headphones than the D 3020.

Yet there are no comparisons or spec details of either in this department. Someone on here has driven 600ohm Beyers on the D 3020 without problem and got excellent volume. I think the D 1050 simply supports powering more demanding headphones. The sound and signature will be as usual for a NAD amp.
 
The benefit of the D 3020 is that you can drive big speakers with it too, not so with the 1050 as it is only a headphone amp.

 

[jasonb]

All this talk about how the HD650 and Q701 never fully "open up" until you get a dedicated amp isn't really true anymore. To me at least.

It depends on what you are after. If you are chasing that last few % then you'll want to spend extra time and money on finding out which amp and DAC a headphone works better or best with. When I first got my Q701 I used them with an E17 and I loved the combo right from the start. Then I decided to try an old vintage receiver so I found a Pioneer SX-750 for $40 and used that along with the DAC portion of the E17. The SX-750 definitely drove them better than the E17. Next I upgraded to the ODAC instead of using the DAC section of the E17, it again was a decent improvement. Then recently I terminated my longer cable with banana plugs and have been using them with my Emotiva Mini-X speaker taps, again they sounded a bit better than I remembered them sounding with the SX-750. Every new piece of gear made the Q701 experience better. Did each different piece of gear turn the Q701 from being a crappy headphone into a great headphone? Nope, I always liked them right from the start, but each new piece of gear made a small improvement. 
 
It's all about whether or not you want to chase that last few % or whether you can hear the differences to begin with. Some people hear small changes or improvements, some don't. Some have time and money to spend, some don't. I wish I could just enjoy the music for what it is, but I am always after that last few %. 

 

[Stillhart]

  It depends on what you are after. If you are chasing that last few % then you'll want to spend extra time and money on finding out which amp and DAC a headphone works better or best with. When I first got my Q701 I used them with an E17 and I loved the combo right from the start. Then I decided to try an old vintage receiver so I found a Pioneer SX-750 for $40 and used that along with the DAC portion of the E17. The SX-750 definitely drove them better than the E17. Next I upgraded to the ODAC instead of using the DAC section of the E17, it again was a decent improvement. Then recently I terminated my longer cable with banana plugs and have been using them with my Emotiva Mini-X speaker taps, again they sounded a bit better than I remembered them sounding with the SX-750. Every new piece of gear made the Q701 experience better. Did each different piece of gear turn the Q701 from being a crappy headphone into a great headphone? Nope, I always liked them right from the start, but each new piece of gear made a small improvement. 
 
It's all about whether or not you want to chase that last few % or whether you can hear the differences to begin with. Some people hear small changes or improvements, some don't. Some have time and money to spend, some don't. I wish I could just enjoy the music for what it is, but I am always after that last few %. 

I get what you're saying in general.  But to me, with the Q701, it's not about the last few %.  I think the Q701 sounded obviously better when I jump from just the Omni to the Omni and M-stage.  Not like "I'm a music snob and I can hear a faction more soundstage" better, but "wow, this is my first dedicated amp and I can actually hear that it sounds better!" better.  Other upgrades sounded good but involved A/B'ing to really detect the more subtle differences.  Not so with the amp.
 
I agree that people make more of it than it really is.  But I still firmly hold that the effect IS there and IS obvious.  The Q701 will sound just fine without a dedicated amp, but it will sound obviously better with one.

 

[Stillhart]

I braided my cable too but it makes it rather stiff & heavy.

Stiff and heavy is good for not getting it snagged on stuff, so I consider that a feature, not a bug.

 

[IBIubbleTea]

What about using a objective 2 + odac with these headphones? How much better is it compared to the E17 or should I look into other options? 

 

[jasonb]

  I get what you're saying in general.  But to me, with the Q701, it's not about the last few %.  I think the Q701 sounded obviously better when I jump from just the Omni to the Omni and M-stage.  Not like "I'm a music snob and I can hear a faction more soundstage" better, but "wow, this is my first dedicated amp and I can actually hear that it sounds better!" better.  Other upgrades sounded good but involved A/B'ing to really detect the more subtle differences.  Not so with the amp.
 
I agree that people make more of it than it really is.  But I still firmly hold that the effect IS there and IS obvious.  The Q701 will sound just fine without a dedicated amp, but it will sound obviously better with one.

Some differences will be bigger than others, and some amps sound closer to each other than others. I agree that the Q701 needs proper amplification, and people will not be doing this headphone justice out of an ipod or their laptops headphone jack. It is very possible though for two DACs or two headphone amps to sound the same or so close to being the same that a user can't hear the difference.

 

[jasonb]

  What about using a objective 2 + odac with these headphones? How much better is it compared to the E17 or should I look into other options? 

The ODAC is definitely a better DAC than the E17 is. You will hear everything from better/tighter bass to more details when going from the E17 to the ODAC. So there will at least be some improvement. I've never heard the O2 though, so I can't comment there. If I was looking for a new headphone amp/DAC right now I'd probably go for the Modi and Vali combo. Before I decided to hook my Q701 to a speaker amp that I already owned, I was about to spend money on a Vali.