[Currawong]

Just a quick thought for those people asking about whether or not something is "good enough" to power a pair of headphones: What that in actual practice tends to mean is that lacklustre amplification tends to result in a more congested sound at higher volumes with complex music. As you "go up the chain" with better quality equipment you get a more consistent and somewhat increased clarity, depending on the music. It is far more recording-quality dependant than equipment dependant though. You do often get certain combinations of headphones and amps (and DACs) that end up being a good sonic match, as the subtle differences all add up.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I think you are right... And there's more bass in the K712 than in the K702/65th.

Is this from experience? Because I found the bass to be quite similar. They're both certainly a double of db higher in bass than the other models.

 

[gabrielnorena]

Is this from experience? Because I found the bass to be quite similar. They're both certainly a double of db higher in bass than the other models.

Yes, from experience... Theres more bass in the K702/65th than in the K701 and K702, but there is even a little more in the K712.

Bear in mind that mine are a late production units, and the pads on both my K712 and K702/65th are the same.

 

[avitron142]

I got super-foncused when people started arguing about the different types of outputs and which one is correct... so I'm totally lost as what I would need in terms of power output. Bear with me a bit here.
 
The Nuforce Udac-2 has a 80mW x 2 @ 16-Ohm power output (from their website...). Would this mean that they have 160mW total? I'm a bit of a noob here when it comes to electrical engineering, so any comments about if this would work would REALLY be appreciated. 
 
They also say on their website that it powers headphones up to 300 ohms, but I don't know how specific that is.
 
I'm not looking for some magic telling me that this would be a perfect combination, I just want to know if it's somewhat workable. It's the only thing stopping me from buying these headphones and making a step up into the audio world. Any answers would be appreciated. Thanks and good luck!

 

[avitron142]

 
Just a quick thought for those people asking about whether or not something is "good enough" to power a pair of headphones: What that in actual practice tends to mean is that lacklustre amplification tends to result in a more congested sound at higher volumes with complex music. As you "go up the chain" with better quality equipment you get a more consistent and somewhat increased clarity, depending on the music. It is far more recording-quality dependant than equipment dependant though. You do often get certain combinations of headphones and amps (and DACs) that end up being a good sonic match, as the subtle differences all add up.

I listen to only FLAC's of damn good albums, so the amp is the only thing I'm concerned here. Thank you for your concern



I'd rather not order this just to find out "sir, how in the world did you think that the udac-2 can power the K7XX'ss? Didn't you know..."



...So, yeah, still looking if anyone had any experience with some nuforce amps in regard to powering these awesome headphones.

 

[avitron142]

Don't know why my comment took up so much space... that wasn't intentional

 

[Mad Max]

  Look in the thread. There was discussion about amp power output vs. needed power by typical AKG 7** series. You'd need to find the power output of the Udac-2 as well. Then you'll get a better picture whether the two are the right fit. Also, just because an amp has the right amount of power to drive your phones doesn't mean they are a perfect match.

 
Output power is barely relevant.  More output power contributes to a deeper soundstage, sure, and the other benefits are only very, very slight.  Most people can do with less, really, not that I would ever recommend a udac of all things to anyone.
 
 
 

  ... You do often get certain combinations of headphones and amps (and DACs) that end up being a good sonic match, as the subtle differences all add up.

 
Everyone throws that around now for everything.
Or it wasn't until this year that I noticed that they do.

 

[money4me247]

 
Just a quick thought for those people asking about whether or not something is "good enough" to power a pair of headphones: What that in actual practice tends to mean is that lacklustre amplification tends to result in a more congested sound at higher volumes with complex music. As you "go up the chain" with better quality equipment you get a more consistent and somewhat increased clarity, depending on the music. It is far more recording-quality dependant than equipment dependant though. You do often get certain combinations of headphones and amps (and DACs) that end up being a good sonic match, as the subtle differences all add up.

I listen to only FLAC's of damn good albums, so the amp is the only thing I'm concerned here. Thank you for your concern



I'd rather not order this just to find out "sir, how in the world did you think that the udac-2 can power the K7XX'ss? Didn't you know..."



...So, yeah, still looking if anyone had any experience with some nuforce amps in regard to powering these awesome headphones.

im too lazy to do the actual calculations now.

not exact match of your question, but this equipment has similar specs. says not enough power.

http://www.audiobot9000.com/match/akg/k-712-pro/with/nuforce/icon-2

despite that, honestly, ithink that u dont need to worry too much abt the amp. shld still sound good. i had my he400 paired with a bravo v3 which was technically underpowered but moving up to the lyr 2, there wasnt any real appreciatable difference. when u do get the k7xx & if u find problems with the sound, upgrading an amp is easy. the $99 schiit magni has more than enough juice for almost all headphones.

Headphones are the most important part of your chain. I would never discount a pair of headphones d/t amping concerns bc there r tons of affordable high-powered amps out there.

62 ohms with 100+ sensitivity does NOT even technically require an amp to reach listenable volumes. as long as you are able to reach normal listening volumes with your set-up, you are getting adequate power.

just may be able to scale up the sound quality a bit more with more power or a nicer amp. however, the differences arent that drastic despite what people make it sound like. that synergy & matching stuff is really just about that last 1-5% tuning of the sound signature.

 

[avitron142]

   
Output power is barely relevant.  More output power contributes to a deeper soundstage, sure, and the other benefits are only very, very slight.  Most people can do with less, really, not that I would ever recommend a udac of all things to anyone.

 
I only got the udac because is was $35. I'm sure it's nowhere near a really good amp/dac and I'm also aware of the rant going around about it. Thanks!
 
 

despite that, honestly, ithink that u dont need to worry too much abt the amp. shld still sound good. i had my he400 paired with a bravo v3 which was technically underpowered but moving up to the lyr 2, there wasnt any real appreciatable difference. when u do get the k7xx & if u find problems with the sound, upgrading an amp is easy. the $99 schiit magni has more than enough juice for almost all headphones.

Headphones are the most important part of your chain. I would never discount a pair of headphones d/t amping concerns bc there r tons of affordable high-powered amps out there.

62 ohms with 100+ sensitivity does NOT even technically require an amp to reach listenable volumes. as long as you are able to reach normal listening volumes with your set-up, you are getting adequate power.

 
Haha, thanks! I was worried about upgrading even to a 100 dollar amp because A) My bank can't even afford that 

 and B) I don't have a nearly decent standalone dac to  pair up with a decent amp. The only one I have is the Cowon J3, and that's an MP3 player.
 
Last question, guys. Thanks for bearing with me. If the Udac-2 has a frequency range of only 20 - 20000 Hz, will I lose the extra 3 db bass in the K7XX's? after all, they go from 10 - 39800 Hz... 

 

[avitron142]

http://www.audiobot9000.com/match/akg/k-712-pro/with/nuforce/icon-2

 
Actually, just for the sake of whatever, I thought i'd let you know that interestingly enough, the Icon 2 that you tested and the Icon Udac 2 are two separate products. Nuforce sure knows how to confuse us pretty bad...

 

[conquerator2]

I only got the udac because is was $35. I'm sure it's nowhere near a really good amp/dac and I'm also aware of the rant going around about it. Thanks!



Haha, thanks! I was worried about upgrading even to a 100 dollar amp because A) My bank can't even afford that   and B) I don't have a nearly decent standalone dac to  pair up with a decent amp. The only one I have is the Cowon J3, and that's an MP3 player.

Last question, guys. Thanks for bearing with me. If the Udac-2 has a frequency range of only 20 - 20000 Hz, will I lose the extra 3 db bass in the K7XX's? after all, they go from 10 - 39800 Hz... 

You will not lose any info. Don't pay too much attention to those numbers. 20Hz-20KHz is perfectly adequate

 

[gabrielnorena]

I only got the udac because is was $35. I'm sure it's nowhere near a really good amp/dac and I'm also aware of the rant going around about it. Thanks!



Haha, thanks! I was worried about upgrading even to a 100 dollar amp because A) My bank can't even afford that   and B) I don't have a nearly decent standalone dac to  pair up with a decent amp. The only one I have is the Cowon J3, and that's an MP3 player.

Last question, guys. Thanks for bearing with me. If the Udac-2 has a frequency range of only 20 - 20000 Hz, will I lose the extra 3 db bass in the K7XX's? after all, they go from 10 - 39800 Hz... 

The 3db bass boost on the K7XX means that it will have 3 time (or 4 times?) the bass in the low frecuency range compared with other K70x models. Bass is around 20 and 320 Hz... Music below 20 Hz is not hearable and there's usually nothing recorded below 20 Hz in most music.

http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/OB7_files/frequency-bands.GIF

The human ear can only hear between 20 and 20000 Hz, so, you should be covered with your setup. I seggest you read this:

http://xiph.org/~xiphmont/demo/neil-young.html

 

[avitron142]

Haha, thanks for that info! I think I can buy the K7XX's in good conscious now 

 
Summary:
 
The K7XX's are power-hungry, but given that you will be listening to them with a dedicated amp, it should probably work fine with most above $65-$70. That being said, google your amp to see if it can handle higher impedence. General consensus is that the Nuforce Udac-2 should drive them enough.I can personally testify that for me, the Beyer T90's  (at 250 ohms) sounded more than great with the Udac-2
 
These headphones are well worth the price, and unless you got your hands on the $265 Sennheiser  HD600's 2 days ago, this is probably the best bet for the money.
 
Rumors are flying around that although This AKG family with a plain ipod will probably be no good, the Cowon J3 can suprisingly do the AKG K701 headphones much good alone, and the same may hold true for the Cowon iaudio 7 and maybe even for the Cowon D2... although this is still in debate. I'd love to be able to listen to this with the J3 if it can do the job well enough... even at home. Less wires IMO 

 

[conquerator2]

There wasa HD600 for 265$ :mad:

 

[159650]

No there wasn't ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ No there wasn't ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^No there wasn't ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^No there wasn't ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^No there wasn't ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 
NO THERE WASN'T!!!!! 

 
Gonna go cry now.