[Chris J]

+1000.

This is the reason, I went to HE500 as my 2nd purchase after the Q701 which I still have and use daily.  Q701 is really great for the price.
I am still curious about how much better HD800 is in comparison to Q701.  I will find out soon at the next meet.

Another comparison you may find useful, assuming someone at the meet has a Stax SRS-2170, is to compare a pair of Q701 to a pair of entry level Stax SRS-2170.
in 10 words or less: music thru a Q701 sounds like it's coming to you via a mechanical device, the Stax are just more natural and pure sounding, the sibilance is gone.
Unfortunately, you can't get away with using the headphone jack on an iPod, the iPod just sounds really lacklustre.

i dont consider my self as a "high end" audiophile, but i do like perfection in sound for the cost and value.

in israel i think that the V is around 230-240V so the "europe nation" electricity adapter should work just fine, however i dunno if for more then 100$ i will benefit more then buying dunno... something else. also i dont know if "DAC" is needed since i want to use the headphones for PC Games as well and im not sure dac support all the "fency" gaming serround headphone sound and stuff.

i just finished my degree and im not loaded with money i would like to get an honest opinion from someone who had simple amp and then bought something like what you guys recommended for me and tell me if the quality changed dramatically.. and well worth the 100$ (think about it from my POV since i am not a super duper audiophile, a small change will not justify this purchase for me)

again thanks a lot for all the help  





still considering jimmers "
E7 Black bird SR-71A XP4"  but i cant find any review on this product online

When I get you some time I'll send you a link for a comparison I made between a FiiO E12 and a Matrix M Stage.

 

[PleasantSounds]

If you like the Q701 then listening to HD800 may be a bad idea - they do everything the Qs do, only so much better. That experience has cost me a lot of dough. Mind you: they are much more sensitive to the selection of upstream gear, and generally require different setup than the Qs. On the other hand, investment in the right gear will reward you with even more refined and satisfying sound, if budget is not a concern.

 

[demontux]

done tons of reading, and cant find an answer if the ASUS xonar STX will drive properly the Q701 and give them the extended bass and fullness.. ppl say on paper it can drive them... but dunno if its true or not, some say its not enough for Q701.... dunno if they over exaggerating.
 
since i can buy the STX for a fair price off EBAY for about 175$ inculding the shipping cost, it might be a good one stop sulotion for me if the headphone amp on the STX is considered really good for the Q701. if its just make it louder and not make it fuller then i have no need of this card. however someone here has the card and Q701 and can compare the amplification stright out of the card compared to a dedicated headphone amp ? i will really appriciate it thank u !

 

[Doegizfruit]

I love the Q701 headphones that I've had since last year.
Now what bugs me is that I sometimes notice a slight distortion when the bass really comes in. Yet this only happens when I tilt my head certain ways.
 
Could I have a faulty pair or something? I've babied this pair of headphones ever since I first got them, or is this just a result of the poor amplification I give these headphones because I still have yet to buy a half decent amp?

 

[djcarpentier]

@demontux
 
the q701 sounds very good off the stx. i put the gain at medium on the stx to get a bit more volume. the extension is very good, but remember these are not basshead headphone anyway. they have a very flat frequency graph down into the sub bass. if your recordings are good then the headphones will sound good.
 
that being said, you could spend more and get a better amp. they will sound better, but not ALOT better. Maybe a bit fuller, but thats about it. the benefit with the stx is the built in dac as well. if your only listening to headphones and no speakers you can get a very good headphone amp for the q701's for less than $300. but it will be less versatile. kind of depends on what's more important to you. Happy with your built in audio? if so, get a dedicated amp. Want better sound and a decent amp? Get the stx. 
 
One other thing to remember is that whatever you choose, if your not happy, you can sell it and try something else. You won't lose much money.
 
@doegizfruit
 
what are you running them out of? if your just using the inbuilt soundcard then i'd have to agree with your conclusion. however, the head tilt thing is weird. 

 

[jasonb]

Don't get me wrong, I own a Q701 and still like it, but the sub-bass extension definitely leaves room for improvement. My modded T50rp definitely has more linear bass and better bottom end extension, as does my Vsonic GR01 which a Knowles TWFK based balanced armature in ear for that matter. On the Q701 there is still audible sub-bass down past 40hz, but it is definitely gently rolling off by the time you get below 50hz. There are definitely other headphones out there that roll off quicker, but to call the Q701's sub-bass linear and well extended isn't really that accurate.    
Quote:

@demontux
 
the q701 sounds very good off the stx. i put the gain at medium on the stx to get a bit more volume. the extension is very good, but remember these are not basshead headphone anyway. they have a very flat frequency graph down into the sub bass. if your recordings are good then the headphones will sound good.
 
that being said, you could spend more and get a better amp. they will sound better, but not ALOT better. Maybe a bit fuller, but thats about it. the benefit with the stx is the built in dac as well. if your only listening to headphones and no speakers you can get a very good headphone amp for the q701's for less than $300. but it will be less versatile. kind of depends on what's more important to you. Happy with your built in audio? if so, get a dedicated amp. Want better sound and a decent amp? Get the stx. 
 
One other thing to remember is that whatever you choose, if your not happy, you can sell it and try something else. You won't lose much money.
 
@doegizfruit
 
what are you running them out of? if your just using the inbuilt soundcard then i'd have to agree with your conclusion. however, the head tilt thing is weird. 

 

[Stalker81598]

Quote:

done tons of reading, and cant find an answer if the ASUS xonar STX will drive properly the Q701 and give them the extended bass and fullness.. ppl say on paper it can drive them... but dunno if its true or not, some say its not enough for Q701.... dunno if they over exaggerating.
 
since i can buy the STX for a fair price off EBAY for about 175$ inculding the shipping cost, it might be a good one stop sulotion for me if the headphone amp on the STX is considered really good for the Q701. if its just make it louder and not make it fuller then i have no need of this card. however someone here has the card and Q701 and can compare the amplification stright out of the card compared to a dedicated headphone amp ? i will really appriciate it thank u !

 
It will be sufficient to drive it but don't expect it to transform the Q701 into something it's not. Q701 is light on bass and an amp will improve it but the changes will be subtle.

 

[djcarpentier]

As what i usually say on this site gets shot down, here's a graph. A good amp wont turn these into LCD's but thats not what i meant. 

To me it looks like its got pretty decent sub bass. Accurate enough?

 

[demontux]

i love the way the Q701 is just now! i dont like over powering bass, but reading out in the fourm ppl say that with without amp u dont get to their full potential and i was like "if they sound amazing now... i bet that with amp they will be glorious !" thank you all, i will buy the STX

 

[Stalker81598]

Quote:

As what i usually say on this site gets shot down, here's a graph. A good amp wont turn these into LCD's but thats not what i meant. 

To me it looks like its got pretty decent sub bass. Accurate enough?

 
I see the graphs but my ears don't lie to me. It's no secret that the Q701 is very light on bass, regardless of what the graphs say. According to graphs, my Q701 should have more bass than my HE-500. That is simply not the case.

 

[Chris J]

I see the graphs but my ears don't lie to me. It's no secret that the Q701 is very light on bass, regardless of what the graphs say. According to graphs, my Q701 should have more bass than my HE-500. That is simply not the case.

So true.
Despite what the graph says, my Q701 are one of lightest sounding headphones that I own.
Only my Senn HD-424 are more trebly.
But the Q's are still one of my favourite 'phones.

 

[koiloco]

Quote:

 
I see the graphs but my ears don't lie to me. It's no secret that the Q701 is very light on bass, regardless of what the graphs say. According to graphs, my Q701 should have more bass than my HE-500. That is simply not the case.

+1.
 
With +2 to +4 bass on the EQ, then the Q701 will approach HE500.  I have both.  Sub-bass is there and Q701 is capable of producing it but the level is very light.  I still love my Q701 after buying the HE500 but not for its bass. 

 

[jimmers]

Quote:

 
I see the graphs but my ears don't lie to me. It's no secret that the Q701 is very light on bass, regardless of what the graphs say. According to graphs, my Q701 should have more bass than my HE-500. That is simply not the case.

According to the graphs HE-500 should have more low bass than Q701, and more bass overall if you adjust the HE-500 up to match the Q701 in hearing's (generally) most sensitive frequency band. Q701s sound lighter than my HD650s as I have to adjust Q701 sound level down in that area so the annoying audible peaks at 2kHz and 7kHz don't distress me toooo much. Please remember the normalising (dBr) of response at 1kHz is purely convention (possibly due to the definition of phon being at 1kHz).

 

[Chris J]

+1.

With +2 to +4 bass on the EQ, then the Q701 will approach HE500.  I have both.  Sub-bass is there and Q701 is capable of producing it but the level is very light.  I still love my Q701 after buying the HE500 but not for its bass. 

Please don't take offence, but this may explain why I'm not a big fan of the HE500 and the HEs.

 

[djcarpentier]

I thought the he-500 was supposed to have more bass than the q701. That graph seems to agree with that. The strong point of planars was supposed to be frequency extension.

Regardless, I've never really felt that the q701 is bass light, there is just a lack of bass bloat anywhere on it. Maybe the open soundstage and clarity make it appear that way. Plugged into my Sansui amp, the last thing it is is bass light.