Are you looking for something portable, transportable or desktop? If you don't need a DAC, the M-stage would be hard to beat in this price range. You can have it new at 250$ shipped on Ebay. If you need a DAC, then maybe the Audinst HUD-MX1 could match well with the Q701. It has a powerful amp, low output impedance and is known for having a good bass punch. There's also the Audio-gd NFB-12 at 215$ + shipping. There's a few people in the iBasso D7 thread that paired the Q701 with the D7 with good results.
Oh, alright I think I'll definitely need a DAC with it as well. I'll be playing it out of my laptop at home, no need for portability.
I've seen Audinst HUD-MX1 pop up a lot as well. I'll look into the iBasso D7 and Audio-gd NFB-12. ([size=x-small]NFB-12[/size][size=x-small].1 right? Their site looks like a pain to navigate)[/size]. Thanks!
Are there any other amps with good synergy with the Q701 that are made in the USA?
I actually prefer to buy american made amps and I don't have anything against china at all.
I know there is Schiit and Headroom. Is there any others? I know of Woo Audio from New York.
Love the Headroom Micro Amp. It's about $80 more than the M-Stage, but made in the USA.
It's actually quite portable, but the power supply is like a huge brick. Definitely more powerful than the Asgard, which I didn't like much.
It did however sound amazing with the D2000 and HD-600.
I think with my Q701 the volume only needs to be at 40% with my HRT DAC. I imagine with the M-Stage it's very similar volume levels.
I remember on my Asgard I had to nearly crank the volume with my old K702. Found that a bit weird. I didn't buy it for the AKGs though!!
Eventually I'd like to find another amp under $500 that's better than the Micro Amp and can drive both Sennheiser and AKG stuff well.
I was thinking the Lyr or something else. I may just buy the M-Stage, but it might just be a side-grade, but who knows. I doubt anyone has ever heard both..
Are there any other amps with good synergy with the Q701 that are made in the USA?
I actually prefer to buy american made amps and I don't have anything against china at all.
I know there is Schiit and Headroom. Is there any others? I know of Woo Audio from New York.
Love the Headroom Micro Amp. It's about $80 more than the M-Stage, but made in the USA.
It's actually quite portable, but the power supply is like a huge brick. Definitely more powerful than the Asgard, which I didn't like much.
It did however sound amazing with the D2000 and HD-600.
I think with my Q701 the volume only needs to be at 40% with my HRT DAC. I imagine with the M-Stage it's very similar volume levels.
I remember on my Asgard I had to nearly crank the volume with my old K702. Found that a bit weird. I didn't buy it for the AKGs though!!
Eventually I'd like to find another amp under $500 that's better than the Micro Amp and can drive both Sennheiser and AKG stuff well.
I was thinking the Lyr or something else. I may just buy the M-Stage, but it might just be a side-grade, but who knows. I doubt anyone has ever heard both..
I'm loving the Lyr/Q combo... Unfortunately I can't offer any comparisons as this is my first tube amp, but I can tell you that I am completely blown away every time I listen to them. I highly recommend the Lyr with the NOS GE tubes. It's been a few weeks now and I still have no desire to tube roll. Whether it's the synergy of the complete package iBasso D7 - Lyr - Q701 or some strange voodoo, I can't say. All I know is that I look forward to listening to them nightly.
Though I didn't own them at the same time, I have no doubt the Lyr+Q701 would be a pretty synergistic combo. I find my NFB5 to be slightly mellow on the treble, and aggressive on the bass, and organic sounding, which is the same vibe I got from the Lyr when I owned it. The Q701 sounds damn good off the NFB5, so I assume it will be the same with the Lyr.
My old setup for over a year was VLC > Xonar DG > Sennheiser 280 HD which I've considered fine but then I bought KSC75 for dog walking and fell in love with open headphones. Immediately realized I needed open cans for home use and after weeks of reading reviews and exchanging private messages with various users decided to go with AKG Q701. They are most comfortable headphone's I've ever worn, are perfect for gaming, and although I've had some listening fatigue at first I've found that with Foobar + Wasapi + Crossfeed DSP > Q701 > Audinst HUD MX1 I'm able to go through my music albums like hotcakes. Once again thanks for the suggestions, I am very satisfied with my purchase. I've been told that changing the opamp on Audinst HUD MX1 could further improve my experience but I'm not sure if I want to go digging inside of it. I do find the bass a little light for certain genres but so far they've been great at anything I've thrown at them!
Recently bought a Q701. Currently using: Vinyl: Roksan Radius 5 -> GSP Era Gold CDs: Naim CD5i Speaker System: Naim Nait 5i -> Harbeth C7 Headphone System: GSP Solo SRG ll -> AKG Q701 With CDs, the AKGs are superb, exactly what I expected. - Spacious soundstage - Taut and pacey - Sounds pretty flat, which is what I like, no exaggeration of bass or treble. However, with vinyl, it has been disappointing. - Sounds thin. - I had turn up the volume (2 o'clock), But then the ticks and pops got very audible. And on certain passage, it can suddenly get extremely loud. Can't listen long at this level. - Seems the vinyl "magic" is all gone. Not sure exactly where the problem lies. The phono and headphone amp are both GSP, so, doubt there's any matching issues there. So my question is: 1) To AKG 70X owners, do you experience the same with vinyl? 2) Are there headphones that are more suitable for vinyl? 3) Should I change the amp?
I never have to come anywhere close to 100% on the volume knob with the mkV amp. You must be attenuating the volume with your soundcard/dac or with your software. I don't think I have the volume knob turned 1/2 way on some songs....right now it's turned about 1/3 up with a Norah Jones song, so it's not the amp that's lacking in power. The 702 actually demands a bit more power from the amp than the hd580/600. The k240DF is 600 ohms and demands more power than the 702, but the mkV has more than enough for those phones.
Thanks....appreciate the clarification. Can you say how this relates to the mkV driving the 702? The mkV puts out between 1/2 and 1/3 watts power with low impedance phones according to the specs. I'm assuming it should do well with the 70X....or am I mistaken? The designer of the amp used the hd600(300ohms) when he designed the amp and the specs claim it can be used with phones between 32 and 600ohms.
Thanks....appreciate the clarification. Can you say how this relates to the mkV driving the 702? The mkV puts out between 1/2 and 1/3 watts power with low impedance phones according to the specs. I'm assuming it should do well with the 70X....or am I mistaken? The designer of the amp used the hd600(300ohms) when he designed the amp and the specs claim it can be used with phones between 32 and 600ohms.
Yes, you're assuming it's the amp, when it's likely coming from the phones themselves. None of my other phones sound overly bright with the mkV amp. Lots of people find the 70X to be bright, the 'k' version, anyway. The mkV amp is supposed to be very 'neutral'....pretty much a 'wire with gain' amplifier....so it's not likely that it's adding much, if any, brightness to the phones. I suppose there are other amps that are darker that might be better suited to the 70X.
Yes, you're assuming it's the amp, when it's likely coming from the phones themselves. None of my other phones sound overly bright with the mkV amp. Lots of people find the 70X to be bright, the 'k' version, anyway. The mkV amp is supposed to be very 'neutral'....pretty much a 'wire with gain' amplifier....so it's not likely that it's adding much, if any, brightness to the phones. I suppose there are other amps that are darker that might be better suited to the 70X.
I'm not assuming. Q701 used with Mk5 is somewhat brighter than with Pro-ject heabox SEII, and a lot brighter than with Asus Xonar ST headphone amp. There are clear spots in many tracks I listen to that are obviously very sibilant and fatiguing when using the Mk5, while with Xonar ST for example, its smooth and not sibilant. Not darker sounding, or veiled, just smoother. IMHO, MkV is a very clinical amp. It works great with something like HD650's to open up the dark sound a bit. It would be great for studio as well, but for headphones like Q701 I think its too bright.
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