[tonyrox]

Hi 
I've had my Q701 for about 5 months now, I am using them with a creative soundworks phone output (on my desktop), and through my Denon AVR2310 receiver, no proper amp yet. Any way I ordered a "Lovely Cube" and am waiting for it.
Now I am contemplating a DAC, have been thinking of the "MusicStreamer" couple, and the "Centrance LX" or may be the "ODAC", the thing that's making me hesitate is that I prefer something with more connections than just "USB". . So please Chime in.
 
And I'm also thinking of getting a portable amp for use around the house when I'm away from my main rigs  
tdock, Can you please elaborate on why you think Q701 and E11 should not be used with LOD Cable.
And since you have both the "E11" and the "Airhead" can you please provide some pros and cons for each or may be some comparison of the 2 with the Q701, as I'm thinking the "E11" or may be the "Total Bithead"
Quote:

 
 
My E11 (by headphone out only on source, no LOD cable) and Airhead do a pretty good job of driving them.
 
 

 

[tonyrox]

Deleted

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

Hi 
I've had my Q701 for about 5 months now, I am using them with a creative soundworks phone output (on my desktop), and through my Denon AVR2310 receiver, no proper amp yet. Any way I ordered a "Lovely Cube" and am waiting for it.
Now I am contemplating a DAC, have been thinking of the "MusicStreamer" couple, and the "Centrance LX" or may be the "ODAC", the thing that's making me hesitate is that I prefer something with more connections than just "USB". . So please Chime in.
 
And I'm also thinking of getting a portable amp for use around the house when I'm away from my main rigs  
tdock, Can you please elaborate on why you think Q701 and E11 should not be used with LOD Cable.
And since you have both the "E11" and the "Airhead" can you please provide some pros and cons for each or may be some comparison of the 2 with the Q701, as I'm thinking the "E11" or may be the "Total Bithead"

 
I'll have to do some more testing with the E11 tomorrow using my Q701. When I tried the E11 with LOD from my Sansa Fuze it was a bit harsh and a little thinner than normal (on any desktop amp). One common symptom of any under-driven headphone I've owned is that it seems to be a little more fatiguing or harsh than normal. It also seems that with some portable amps the bass lacks a bit on the Q701. Soundstage will obviously be a lot smaller from a portable amp in most cases.
 
I think the reason the headphone out is best is that the Q701 will make use of the extra power from the amp on the portable player. The Q701 was clearly better for me when using the 1/8" output.
 
The Airhead is my favorite amp ever. I had that thing 5 years ago and I once accidentally blew it up and immediately bought another one! It drives everything i've thrown at it with ease. It can even drive the 600 ohm Sextett decently. Not suggested though due to not enough volume, but good for around the house. No lack of anything, just too low of volume with anything like classical.
 
With the Airhead if the headphone is being under-driven you'll get the clipping/over-voltage light flashing. It's kind of a nice feature to have. It'll also flash when batteries are low. With my Q701 I can almost never get the thing to blink.
 
I would say the Airhead with the Q701 has fuller mids, better bass and more detail compared to the E11. The E11 does seem to have possibly a larger soundstage, but i'll need to test this further. I could use the Q701 with just the Airhead without many complaints. It can even drive the HD-600 quite well!
 
I think the Airhead has slightly forward mids, but nothing too badly. Barely. I only noticed this on my HD-650 when comparing it against the Asgard and E9. I'd say it's slightly warm sounding it seems like. Still fine with the HD-600 and HD-650 though.
 
From what i've read though it might not be a good match for very low impedance headphones like IEMs. It actually does quite well with the Q701 though. My DJ100 sounds amazing with it. Same with the HD-598.
 
Honestly I hate writing about amps because it's so hard to figure out their signatures. I think the Headroom stuff is mostly fairly neutral. Never messed with the signature of any of my headphones.
 
BTW my only complaint about the Airhead is that it's somewhat hard to put in your pocket due to where the plugs are located. It uses 4 AA batteries and they last forever though. Can't remember the last time I had to replace them.

 

[Chris J]

Quote:

Hi 
I've had my Q701 for about 5 months now, I am using them with a creative soundworks phone output (on my desktop), and through my Denon AVR2310 receiver, no proper amp yet. Any way I ordered a "Lovely Cube" and am waiting for it.
Now I am contemplating a DAC, have been thinking of the "MusicStreamer" couple, and the "Centrance LX" or may be the "ODAC", the thing that's making me hesitate is that I prefer something with more connections than just "USB". . So please Chime in.
 
And I'm also thinking of getting a portable amp for use around the house when I'm away from my main rigs  
tdock, Can you please elaborate on why you think Q701 and E11 should not be used with LOD Cable.
And since you have both the "E11" and the "Airhead" can you please provide some pros and cons for each or may be some comparison of the 2 with the Q701, as I'm thinking the "E11" or may be the "Total Bithead"

 
I'll chime in here,
Try the iBasso D12:
battery powered portable DAC with built-in headphone amp and Line out Jack
four inputs:
USB
Optical SPDIF
RCA (coaxial) SPDIF
Analog Stereo
Sound signature is basically very neutral, not the last word in resolution but for $275 what more can you expect?
The truth is that there really are no $275  miracles!

I often use it with my matrix M Stage and my computer
also use it with my Wadia digital iPod dock

 

[-shu]

I just heard the Q701's today in an hi-fi store today out of a Headroom Total Airhead and WOW!!! It blew me away. I'm definitely getting the Q701's now. I was also able to compare them to a DT880 for a few minutes before I had to leave and I think the Q701 was clearer than the 880's as well as better with acoustic instruments, and better soundstage/positioning/separation. The AD700 (my current headphone) can't even compete with it. Q701's are also insane for gaming, so I think I just found the PERFECT headphone for me. Comfort was pretty good as well, and the headband was perfectly fine.
 
Do the Q701's sound different when used with a Total Airhead vs. a Xonar Essence STX (which is what I'll be using, and the headphone amp on it is said to be very similar to the E9)?

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

I just heard the Q701's today in an hi-fi store today out of a Headroom Total Airhead and WOW!!! It blew me away. I'm definitely getting the Q701's now. I was also able to compare them to a DT880 for a few minutes before I had to leave and I think the Q701 was clearer than the 880's as well as better with acoustic instruments, and better soundstage/positioning/separation. The AD700 (my current headphone) can't even compete with it. Q701's are also insane for gaming, so I think I just found the PERFECT headphone for me. Comfort was pretty good as well, and the headband was perfectly fine.
 
Do the Q701's sound different when used with a Total Airhead vs. a Xonar Essence STX (which is what I'll be using, and the headphone amp on it is said to be very similar to the E9)?

 
If you were impressed with the Q701 with an Airhead, just wait until you try them with a full sized desktop amp. The Airhead drives them quite well (I have it) but my Headroom Micro Amp is even better. More detail, larger soundstage and pretty much an improvement in every area.
Equally important is a decent computer DAC too I think. I don't know anything about the Xonor STX cards.

 

[-shu]

Quote:

 
If you were impressed with the Q701 with an Airhead, just wait until you try them with a full sized desktop amp. The Airhead drives them quite well (I have it) but my Headroom Micro Amp is even better. More detail, larger soundstage and pretty much an improvement in every area.
Equally important is a decent computer DAC too I think. I don't know anything about the Xonor STX cards.

 
The Xonar Essence STX sound card has a very good built in DAC, Dolby Headphone support, and a decent built-in headphone amplifier that's pretty much the same as the Fiio E9. You said that the E9 drives the Q701 well? I guess STX will do fine then

 

[hsubox]

Well, I've gone and ordered these headphones. Now, the waiting game... 

 

[korky]

Hey guys, just a quick question. How is the soundstage and imaging on this pair of headphones? Ive been told that because the soundstage is SO large that it interferes with the imaging so that a lot of the sounds blend together, which makes for an unrealistic sound. is this true? I'll be mainly using them for FPS gaming and non-competitive, so im looking for the "movie theatre" effect from my headphones. Im currently tossing up between the q701, HD598s and the DT 990 Pro. Any ideas of which ones will immerse me in my gaming the most? Price doesn't matter.
 
Also, how do the q701's compare to the K242s?
 
Otherwise im loving the look of the q701s the most!
 
Thanks!

 

[derbigpr]

Quote:

Hey guys, just a quick question. How is the soundstage and imaging on this pair of headphones? Ive been told that because the soundstage is SO large that it interferes with the imaging so that a lot of the sounds blend together, which makes for an unrealistic sound. is this true? I'll be mainly using them for FPS gaming and non-competitive, so im looking for the "movie theatre" effect from my headphones. Im currently tossing up between the q701, HD598s and the DT 990 Pro. Any ideas of which ones will immerse me in my gaming the most? Price doesn't matter.
 
Also, how do the q701's compare to the K242s?
 
Otherwise im loving the look of the q701s the most!
 
Thanks!

 
 
In music: Imaging , bad. Soundstage, bad. It might be impressive at first, but its highly unrealistic. Imagine the soundstage of Q701 as a very wide thin wall that passes trough the middle of your head. Sounds that should come from in front of you, or behind you, or from the center, don't feel like they come from there, instead, they feel like they're cut into two pieces, and one comes from right, one from left. For example, vocal is never present in front of you, it feels like its singing from left and right, or from inside your head.  That creates a weird soundstage where vocal comes from inside of your head, and instruments come from WAAAY too far away. Imaging I feel is bad in music. You can never pinpoint where the sound comes from. I might have been spoiled by the Ultrasone HFi2400 which is amazing in that regard, but after listening to those and then putting on the Q701, it feels like sound becomes very flat and two-dimensional. On Ultrasones I can even distinctly say where the backing vocals are standing in relation to each other.  Even my Sennheiser HD438 has far better imaging and more realistic sound stage than Q701, and those are 100$ closed headphones.
 
Other than that, Q701 do sound very nice, they have nice natural sound, pretty neutral, highs might be a little boosted and bass might be light to some, but I find it works well for all genres except those really bass heavy ones. If you want a movie theater sound, then these are not it.
 
In games though, they are amazing, WHEN paired with a soundcard that has Dolby Headphone modes. Somehow their overly large soundstage works very well with Dolby Headphone effects. That said, I'd pick Ultrasone HFi2400 over them any day, for any purpose. Check those out. They also sound far better than HD598. Don't know about DT990.

 

[korky]

Quote:

 
 
In music: Imaging , bad. Soundstage, bad. It might be impressive at first, but its highly unrealistic. Imagine the soundstage of Q701 as a very wide thin wall that passes trough the middle of your head. Sounds that should come from in front of you, or behind you, or from the center, don't feel like they come from there, instead, they feel like they're cut into two pieces, and one comes from right, one from left. For example, vocal is never present in front of you, it feels like its singing from left and right, or from inside your head.  That creates a weird soundstage where vocal comes from inside of your head, and instruments come from WAAAY too far away. Imaging I feel is bad in music. You can never pinpoint where the sound comes from. I might have been spoiled by the Ultrasone HFi2400 which is amazing in that regard, but after listening to those and then putting on the Q701, it feels like sound becomes very flat and two-dimensional. On Ultrasones I can even distinctly say where the backing vocals are standing in relation to each other.  Even my Sennheiser HD438 has far better imaging and more realistic sound stage than Q701, and those are 100$ closed headphones.
 
Other than that, Q701 do sound very nice, they have nice natural sound, pretty neutral, highs might be a little boosted and bass might be light to some, but I find it works well for all genres except those really bass heavy ones. If you want a movie theater sound, then these are not it.
 
In games though, they are amazing, WHEN paired with a soundcard that has Dolby Headphone modes. Somehow their overly large soundstage works very well with Dolby Headphone effects. That said, I'd pick Ultrasone HFi2400 over them any day, for any purpose. Check those out. They also sound far better than HD598. Don't know about DT990.

thanks for that, i really appreciate it! although now i have another candidate (and they look like the front runner) in the HFi2400. That being said, ive changed my mind from A40s>pc360>HD598>AD900>DT990pro>q701>hd598>HFi2400... i just want my head to stop hurting really hahah (but i am enjoying it). i think now the decision is starting to come between the HFi2400,DT990 pro and hd598. I just have to make up my mind as the dt990pro would probably give me the most oomph in bass, the hd598 would probably give me best directional sound, and the HFi2400 just seem like an all rounder. one thing that concerns me is that there is no where near as much publicity for the HFi as for the HDs or the DTs. Usually im not one to follow the crowd just because its popular, but im assuming audiophiles are putting in their hours before making a decision, so why wouldnt many of them have it? hmm..

 

[derbigpr]

Quote:

thanks for that, i really appreciate it! although now i have another candidate (and they look like the front runner) in the HFi2400. That being said, ive changed my mind from A40s>pc360>HD598>AD900>DT990pro>q701>hd598>HFi2400... i just want my head to stop hurting really hahah (but i am enjoying it). i think now the decision is starting to come between the HFi2400,DT990 pro and hd598. I just have to make up my mind as the dt990pro would probably give me the most oomph in bass, the hd598 would probably give me best directional sound, and the HFi2400 just seem like an all rounder. one thing that concerns me is that there is no where near as much publicity for the HFi as for the HDs or the DTs. Usually im not one to follow the crowd just because its popular, but im assuming audiophiles are putting in their hours before making a decision, so why wouldnt many of them have it? hmm..

 
 
I think DT990 and HFi2400 are in another league compared to HD598, and I think that HFi2400 is in another league compared to DT990. Unless DT990 is much better than DT880. HFi2400's are not only the best all rounder here, they're the best overall, at any aspect. I've compared them to DT880, and they only thing in which they're better than Ultrasones is comfort and slightly clearer sound, but thats because they're very bright, while HFi2400's are on the dark side.

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

Hey guys, just a quick question. How is the soundstage and imaging on this pair of headphones? Ive been told that because the soundstage is SO large that it interferes with the imaging so that a lot of the sounds blend together, which makes for an unrealistic sound. is this true? I'll be mainly using them for FPS gaming and non-competitive, so im looking for the "movie theatre" effect from my headphones. Im currently tossing up between the q701, HD598s and the DT 990 Pro. Any ideas of which ones will immerse me in my gaming the most? Price doesn't matter.

 
Go read Mad Lust Envy's thread, he has already written about all of these headphones > http://www.head-fi.org/t/534479/mad-lust-envys-headphone-gaming-guide-updated-5-9-2012-he-4-and-dt990-pro-added.
 
 
Quote:

 
 
In music: Imaging , bad. Soundstage, bad. It might be impressive at first, but its highly unrealistic. Imagine the soundstage of Q701 as a very wide thin wall that passes trough the middle of your head. Sounds that should come from in front of you, or behind you, or from the center, don't feel like they come from there, instead, they feel like they're cut into two pieces, and one comes from right, one from left. For example, vocal is never present in front of you, it feels like its singing from left and right, or from inside your head.  That creates a weird soundstage where vocal comes from inside of your head, and instruments come from WAAAY too far away. Imaging I feel is bad in music. You can never pinpoint where the sound comes from. I might have been spoiled by the Ultrasone HFi2400 which is amazing in that regard, but after listening to those and then putting on the Q701, it feels like sound becomes very flat and two-dimensional. On Ultrasones I can even distinctly say where the backing vocals are standing in relation to each other.  Even my Sennheiser HD438 has far better imaging and more realistic sound stage than Q701, and those are 100$ closed headphones.

 
 
I disagree with most of this.  While there are certainly headphones with better depth, the Q701s don't have 0.0 depth.  Vocals can sound in front for me, as well as other instruments.  They don't split off every sound to either left and right.  They actually can do center imaging better than a lot of other headphones I've heard which tend to split the sounds off.  I can tell where instruments are coming from just fine (imaging). 
 
You're describing the Q701s like they're garbage, sounding completely flat with horrible imaging.  I think maybe you just prefer S-logic. 
 
 
Quote:

thanks for that, i really appreciate it! although now i have another candidate (and they look like the front runner) in the HFi2400. That being said, ive changed my mind from A40s>pc360>HD598>AD900>DT990pro>q701>hd598>HFi2400... i just want my head to stop hurting really hahah (but i am enjoying it). i think now the decision is starting to come between the HFi2400,DT990 pro and hd598. I just have to make up my mind as the dt990pro would probably give me the most oomph in bass, the hd598 would probably give me best directional sound, and the HFi2400 just seem like an all rounder. one thing that concerns me is that there is no where near as much publicity for the HFi as for the HDs or the DTs. Usually im not one to follow the crowd just because its popular, but im assuming audiophiles are putting in their hours before making a decision, so why wouldnt many of them have it? hmm..

 
 
I wouldn't rule out the Q701s based on one comment.  They're fantastic with games.  I haven't heard the DT990 pro, but I've heard the DT990 Premium, A40, PC360, AD700, AD900 (and others in my sig) and I prefer the Q701s to all those as well.  They are quite immersive.

 

[Bi0HaZard]

I've got an X-Fi Forte 7.1 with a built-in headphone amp rated for headphones up to 600 ohm (similar to the Xonar STX). Would this be insufficient for the Q701? I can't find much info on the NJM4580 chip that is used, so I guess we should just assume that it can amp as well as the Xonar STX.

 

[derbigpr]

Quote:

I disagree with most of this.  While there are certainly headphones with better depth, the Q701s don't have 0.0 depth.  Vocals can sound in front for me, as well as other instruments.  They don't split off every sound to either left and right.  They actually can do center imaging better than a lot of other headphones I've heard which tend to split the sounds off.  I can tell where instruments are coming from just fine (imaging). 
 
You're describing the Q701s like they're garbage, sounding completely flat with horrible imaging.  I think maybe you just prefer S-logic. 
 

I think the soundstage and imaging of them is garbage for their reputation. Other than that they sound great.  I don't just prefer S-logic.  HD650's have no s-logic. K550's have no s-logic. Neither do HD558's or HD438's, and all of them have better imaging and soundstage than Q701.  Q701's soundstage is only very big.  That is fine in games as I said, but not in music.