[misha0209]

Well i've been lurking arround trying to find out what to buy for my k702 for some time. my budget is 800euro.
Right now i own an essence st, with opa827 on brondogs in the IV. listening through the hp out.
 
From what i read, it came down to eather the schiit combo (Lyr+bifrost) or the HA-160DS.
 
I have to note that the essence, specifically the opa827 have me addicted to a 3d sound stage (do not know if it is correct, but i verry much appreciate the illusion of sounds somwhere behind me, does wonders for movies and games ), so i would like to keep that, or outdo it if possible. Also, the k702 are said to be very detailed, i would love it if the dac/amp combo i get were to bring out the full potential of these cans

 

[Willakan]

You are going to spend several times the cost of the headphones on an amplifier? Also, why did you replace the stock opamps in the Essence?

 

[misha0209]

Well i'm looking for dac+amp, and in my limited experience these headphones deserve it.
Compared to my old HD555 with 595 mod, these feel solid, powerfull, controlled, and according to what i've read in the threads people say that they are detail monsters for this price, so i'm just trying to get the best out of them.
Why i changed the opamps in the essence... well, first, because i can
 
I tried a few, and even with the hd555 i could pick up different soundstaging, more or less details. back then i used the lineout with opa827on brondogs in IV and dual lme6171 as buffer. Had to resort to headphone out when i got the k702 because the line out simply did not have sufficient juice.
 
By the way, spending ~ 3x the headphone price on a good combination of dac+amp for them seems ok to me. Are you saying i shouldn't bother, because i'm not going to get any improovement?

 

[misha0209]

I could also add the new Essence one to the list, seing as how i can take my opamp collection allong, and try to find the best sound there, but i figured the k702 would be worthy of more

 

[audiophilic]

I will be receiving the Lyr soon. I bought it for the AKG K701s. I'll post my impressions here about the combo. The AKGs need a good amp to come alive else all you get is distortion at high volume.
Quote:

Well i've been lurking arround trying to find out what to buy for my k702 for some time. my budget is 800euro.
Right now i own an essence st, with opa827 on brondogs in the IV. listening through the hp out.
 
From what i read, it came down to eather the schiit combo (Lyr+bifrost) or the HA-160DS.
 
I have to note that the essence, specifically the opa827 have me addicted to a 3d sound stage (do not know if it is correct, but i verry much appreciate the illusion of sounds somwhere behind me, does wonders for movies and games ), so i would like to keep that, or outdo it if possible. Also, the k702 are said to be very detailed, i would love it if the dac/amp combo i get were to bring out the full potential of these cans

 

 

[Willakan]

The AKG's really aren't that hard to drive. Hell, the drivers are only specced' to take 200mw max...

 

[Chris J]

Quote:

Well i've been lurking arround trying to find out what to buy for my k702 for some time. my budget is 800euro.
Right now i own an essence st, with opa827 on brondogs in the IV. listening through the hp out.
 
From what i read, it came down to eather the schiit combo (Lyr+bifrost) or the HA-160DS.
 
Also, the k702 are said to be very detailed, i would love it if the dac/amp combo i get were to bring out the full potential of these cans

I don't have any experince with those amps and DACs, but I can't help but think that you could drive just about any headphones with either amp, so you would be buying some versatility.  I'm a tube guy myself.
 
Look at it this way: you could use either amp to drive any other headphones you might buy in the future..............because you will get more!

 

 

[misha0209]

Quote:

 
Look at it this way: you could use either amp to drive any other headphones you might buy in the future..............because you will get more!

 

And on that exact note i'm thinking of upping my game to a combination of corda classic + stagedac. They should be overkill for my current AKG, but i should be able to drive audeze with these, so if i ever get around to buying one, i will not "need" to change my setup