[Rossy007]

   
Out of curiosity, have you tried the bass mod?  Takes about 5 minutes and it's reversible.
 
I'm not saying an amp won't help; I think a better amp will improve the overall sound.  But there are a lot of other ways to improve the sound as well.  The K712 is supposed to improve on the Q701 in the ways that you mentioned (better bass, tamed trebles) while also providing just better overall resolution across the board.  I may be just what you need.  But of course, the K712 will also benefit from a better amp.  lol  
 
And of course, tubes can make a big difference.  A Project Ember with a crazy $200 Bugle Boy or something should be pretty spectacular.
 
I dunno, plenty of people in here who are more knowledgable than I.  Let's see what other folks have to say.

Thanks for the reply, yes I did do the bass mod and I definitely hear a difference (I have been a musician for nearly 30years and I feel comfortable noticing difference in songs...especially CD I listen to regularly) The K712 reviews were very varied. I do love my Q701 and as with all my equipment, I develop a "family ownership" to them so replacing them is like getting rid of the family dog

( yes...I am very strange and stuck in the past). Cant wait for others to chip in but I will definitely look into the Project Ember.

 

[Chris J]

  If some one has answered this question, I would appreciate being pointed to the reply 

 
I have had my Q701 for just over a year and I love them. I want to upgrade my system around them and was wondering what what amp would be the best pairing. I have $1000, firm, I cant go up any further and that would include any upgrades. I am currently running them through a Little Dot 1+ with some op amp & tube rolling and It sound quite good but some recordings are bass light and the top end can hurt my ears (I don't have the amp cranked up) below is a list of the music I listen to and I use Cd's exclusively...I wont be changing that.
 
Thanks everyone.
 
Lots of Classical
Genesis
Michael McDonald
Incognito
Rush
Queen
Elton John
Eva Cassidy
Nora Jones
Michael Buble
Clannad....and lots more
 
As you can see, its quite varied and like everyone here, I love the open sound stage and some cds show the massive potential of the headphones to great a very deep, warm and detailed bass. I leave it up to the experts here to guide me.

 
What are you using for a DAC?

 

[Stillhart]

   
What are you using for a DAC?

 
The one built-in to his/her old Sony CD player.

 

[Rossy007]

   
What are you using for a DAC?

Forgive my ignorance but would a better DAC make that much of a difference with my current set up? if so, I wouldn't mind spending my money on that type of upgrade, I just cant throw tons of money at this and would like to try to hit the nail on the head the fist time even though I know how subjective this topic is.

 

[Chris J]

  If some one has answered this question, I would appreciate being pointed to the reply 

 
I have had my Q701 for just over a year and I love them. I want to upgrade my system around them and was wondering what what amp would be the best pairing. I have $1000, firm, I cant go up any further and that would include any upgrades. I am currently running them through a Little Dot 1+ with some op amp & tube rolling and It sound quite good but some recordings are bass light and the top end can hurt my ears (I don't have the amp cranked up) below is a list of the music I listen to and I use Cd's exclusively...I wont be changing that.
 
Thanks everyone.
 
Lots of Classical
Genesis
Michael McDonald
Incognito
Rush
Queen
Elton John
Eva Cassidy
Nora Jones
Michael Buble
Clannad....and lots more
 
As you can see, its quite varied and like everyone here, I love the open sound stage and some cds show the massive potential of the headphones to great a very deep, warm and detailed bass. I leave it up to the experts here to guide me.

 
For $1,000 I would upgrade the amp and the DAC.

 

[Chris J]

 
Forgive my ignorance but would a better DAC make that much of a difference with my current set up? if so, I wouldn't mind spending my money on that type of upgrade, I just cant throw tons of money at this and would like to try to hit the nail on the head the fist time even though I know how subjective this topic is.

 
What Sony CD player do you have?

 

[Rossy007]

   
What Sony CD player do you have?

Sony CDP-491

 

[Chris J]

   
Well, all the boring discussion the last few pages was meant to show that a more powerful amp can make your Q sound better.  So yeah, I'd shoot for a better tube amp.  
 
I don't know that I'd spend $1000 on an amp with a $150 headphone, tho.  There are a few upgrade paths you can take.  
 
The quickest and easiest is maybe upgrading to the K712 and getting an amp in the $300-400 price range.  This would come in well under budget and be a noticeable upgrade.
 
You could also look into upgrading to a newer CD player with optical output (a cursory search on Crutchfield showed a 6-disc Onkyo with optical out was only $150), then getting a nice DAC like the NFB-15 (or whatever floats your boat) and an upgraded amp.  This again should come in under budget.
 
You can do a lot with that budget TBH...

 
A better amp, not necessarily a more powerful amp.
Read the posts again, it's not that difficult to follow.  

 

[Chris J]

  Sony CDP-491

 
Ohhhh.....This CD player doesn't have a digital output......I agree with whatshisname.....get a CD player with a digital output.

 

[Chris J]

 
Forgive my ignorance but would a better DAC make that much of a difference with my current set up? if so, I wouldn't mind spending my money on that type of upgrade, I just cant throw tons of money at this and would like to try to hit the nail on the head the fist time even though I know how subjective this topic is.

 
DACs have improved A LOT since 1991.
A DAC like the Beresford Caiman II can be picked up for approx. $400, it will be far superior to the DAC in the CDP-491.
That  would still leave you with $600 for a new CD player and an amp like the Matrix M Stage, which goes for approx. $300.
Or just stick with the Little Dot and upgrade the CD transport and DAC.

 

[Stillhart]

   
DACs have improved A LOT since 1991.
A DAC like the Beresford Caiman II can be picked up for approx. $400, it will be far superior to the DAC in the CDP-491.
That  would still leave you with $600 for a new CD player and an amp like the Matrix M Stage, which goes for approx. $300.
Or just stick with the Little Dot and upgrade the CD transport and DAC.

Yeah actually, maybe just upgrading the CD player and the DAC to start, keep using the Little Dot and see what you think.  After that, the amp is the next logical step.
 
I owned the M-stage and it definitely did pair well with the Q701.  But I think the Q really shines with a tube amp.

 

[Stillhart]

   
A better amp, not necessarily a more powerful amp.
Read the posts again, it's not that difficult to follow.  

 
I'm sure I could follow it just fine if I had the inclination to learn about electrical engineering.  I've got other things occupying my brain space now, however.  
 
The important part is that anyone who's heard the Q with a worse amp and a better amp can tell you that it sounds better with a better amp.  No math required.  Since I've worked my way up the chain this year by trying lots of different things, I agreed before math was brought into it.  

 
 
Signed,
Whatshisname

 

[Rossy007]

   
DACs have improved A LOT since 1991.
A DAC like the Beresford Caiman II can be picked up for approx. $400, it will be far superior to the DAC in the CDP-491.
That  would still leave you with $600 for a new CD player and an amp like the Matrix M Stage, which goes for approx. $300.
Or just stick with the Little Dot and upgrade the CD transport and DAC.

Just for clarification...the lack of deeper, extended bass and the shrill highs could possibly be my CD player not supplying the little dot 1+  those frequencies or possibly over emphasizing them. I just want to understand so I can use my money as effectively as I can.
 
Thanks for the advice.

 

[Chris J]

 
Just for clarification...the lack of deeper, extended bass and the shrill highs could possibly be my CD player not supplying the little dot 1+  those frequencies or possibly over emphasizing them. I just want to understand so I can use my money as effectively as I can.
 
Thanks for the advice.

 
To be honest, I've never heard a Little Dot amp or a Sony CDP-491. So it's hard for me to honestly say how a new DAC would compare to your CD player's DAC.
 
But my personal experience was the Shanling CD player I bought in 2006 was definitely better than the JVC CD player I bought in 1991. The new CD player was more detailed, more open sounding, to put it simply, enhanced clarity. The difference would be because DACs had improved between 1991 and 2006.

 

[Rossy007]

   
To be honest, I've never heard a Little Dot amp or a Sony CDP-491. So it's hard for me to honestly say how a new DAC would compare to your CD player's DAC.
 
But my personal experience was the Shanling CD player I bought in 2006 was definitely better than the JVC CD player I bought in 1991. The new CD player was more detailed, more open sounding, to put it simply, enhanced clarity. The difference would be because DACs had improved between 1991 and 2006.

Thanks, I'll start looking around