[Redshifted]

I am hearing a lot of suggestions for Garage 1217 amps, the Polaris or Ember both seem great.

 

[money4me247]

go ember if you are interested in tube rolling. new version out w/ supercharger now built-in.

 

[mandrake50]

If you don't want to disappear down the tube rolling rabbit hole (I have spent hours reading about tubes, tracking down different tubes at a decent (??) price. I have several times the cost of the amp in tubes. Most just sitting in their boxes) Get the Polaris.
 

 

[money4me247]

If you don't want to disappear down the tube rolling rabbit hole (I have spent hours reading about tubes, tracking down different tubes at a decent (??) price. I have several times the cost of the amp in tubes. Most just sitting in their boxes) Get the Polaris.

true that. you can spend a lot of money on tube rolling. on the polaris you can still tune the sound via its different settings and they designed it to sound like a nice tube amp, so perhaps best of both worlds depending on ur needs & application.

I do personally prefer the k7xx on a nice tube amp

 

[mandrake50]

I get that!. Though I must say that the K7xx does sound very, very good with the Polaris being driven by the UD301... my newest acquisition... and one I am liking. If it is still out there with the $100 rebate it is a steal. $300 for a piece of equipment originally selling for $700. Lots of versatility and sounds good too!
 
If one likes the tube sound though, there is no substitute for putting a tube in the signal chain! But the Polaris does give a nice taste of that sound.
 
OTH, I am impatient and often constrained on time to listen. The whole concept of letting a tube warm up for half an hour or more for it to sound good .. makes using them a bit impractical for me lots of the time.

 

[cel4145]

Picking up a pair of these this week.  My first pair of AKG headphones...looking forward to testing them out.  You guys have any amp suggestions?  I might try and push for a Lyr 2 if it is in my budget but I would like to hear cheaper suggestions that would perform well with them.  Thanks!

My experience so far has been that they sound very good with pretty much anything that will drive them well to your listening volume.

 

[Redshifted]

I get that!. Though I must say that the K7xx does sound very, very good with the Polaris being driven by the UD301... my newest acquisition... and one I am liking. If it is still out there with the $100 rebate it is a steal. $300 for a piece of equipment originally selling for $700. Lots of versatility and sounds good too!

If one likes the tube sound though, there is no substitute for putting a tube in the signal chain! But the Polaris does give a nice taste of that sound.

OTH, I am impatient and often constrained on time to listen. The whole concept of letting a tube warm up for half an hour or more for it to sound good .. makes using them a bit impractical for me lots of the time.

I think you've convinced me. It's probably better that I don't get sucked into tubes right now.

 

[WildStyle-R11]

I got a question, if anybody would have tested this...What makes Kxx warmer or even darker? Is it the ear pads? Cause I had them plugged into Fiio E17K alpen 2 which is a slightly warm amp and made my Bright Q701's stone cold. now when it comes to kxx it seems to me it doesn't matter if I plug them in my E1 or E17k Sounds exactly the same where as q701 sound bright on E1, sound cold on E17k when you adjust some setting on the E17K they sound warm...

But I do know why Q701's had bumps on the head band even trough you get slightly irritated after some odd hours they don't mess your hair up as much as a solid band.

Also bass Kxx Sometimes it seems a bit much and sometimes it seems to be lacking, but then again it might just be what I want to hear VS what I should hear...

Kxx seems to take the best from closed back headphones and somehow implementing that into open headphones. :O

 

[ReelDeal]

Does anyone have any comments on how the K7XX compares to the Oppo PM-3?

 

[hakushondaimao]

  Does anyone have any comments on how the K7XX compares to the Oppo PM-3?

Have them both on hand right now and will do a little comparison in the next few days.

 

[Condocondor]

Guess What?  They're having another drop over at Massdrop.com for these headphones today (5/26/2015) with 6 days left to join the drop.  I believe they're the same exact thing as the AKG 712's but they can't say that.  Go check it out:  https://www.massdrop.com/buy/akg-k7xx-massdrop-first-edition-headphones?fb=link

 

[ReelDeal]

 
Have them both on hand right now and will do a little comparison in the next few days.

Thanks! That is a model I've had in mind, but these K7XX's look very good...

 

[soldat]

Recently purchased the k553 and really am having a hard time holding back purchasing these. I have the money, but do I really need these right now? Ugh!

 

[mandrake50]

  Recently purchased the k553 and really am having a hard time holding back purchasing these. I have the money, but do I really need these right now? Ugh!

If you like the 553 and do not need a closed headphone, I think you will be quite happy with getting a set of K7xx. I think the K553 is a decent closed headphone, especially considering the MD price. The K7xx is very much better for a steal of a price.
If you like sound stage and a killer overall (for the exquisite price of $200) open headphone... take the plunge. You will not regret it!
 
OTH, it is all about budget... ROI... if you are happy with what you have in the 553.. leave the "have to buy something new" insanity to us with less restraint...

 
 
Of course you do not "need" these... your bodily functions will continue to support your existence, your friends and family will not hate you. You will not be fired from your job.
Rain and cold or excessive heat or drought  will not effect you. So you really have no need of the K7xx. But if you get them, I think you will be happy.

 

[money4me247]

  I got a question, if anybody would have tested this...What makes Kxx warmer or even darker? Is it the ear pads? Cause I had them plugged into Fiio E17K alpen 2 which is a slightly warm amp and made my Bright Q701's stone cold. now when it comes to kxx it seems to me it doesn't matter if I plug them in my E1 or E17k Sounds exactly the same where as q701 sound bright on E1, sound cold on E17k when you adjust some setting on the E17K they sound warm...

But I do know why Q701's had bumps on the head band even trough you get slightly irritated after some odd hours they don't mess your hair up as much as a solid band.

Also bass Kxx Sometimes it seems a bit much and sometimes it seems to be lacking, but then again it might just be what I want to hear VS what I should hear...

Kxx seems to take the best from closed back headphones and somehow implementing that into open headphones. :O

@WildStyle-R11, I think the q701 is pickier with external components than the k7xx. the slight bass elevation of the k7xx makes it play nice with a wider variety of amplifiers. I think the fiio amplifiers are a bit on the same level. you will notice more scaling if you move up to something a bit higher end.
 

  Does anyone have any comments on how the K7XX compares to the Oppo PM-3?

@ReelDeal, check out my two reviews here. I have direct comparisons & measurements of both of them directly against each other. it should help you get a really good sense of how these two headphones compare. hit me up if you have any further questions.
 
akg k7xx: http://www.head-fi.org/products/akg-k7xx/reviews/13116
oppo pm3: http://www.head-fi.org/products/oppo-pm-3/reviews/12713