[Mikesin]

What is good inexpensive amp to drive the AKG K701's?
At the moment I have the Astro Mixamp however im not sure if im getting the good or the best of sound out of these headphones
Im looking at the FiiO E7 and the E9 at the moment, so im looking for something in that price range.
Will the E7 or E9 alone be sufficient or do i need both?
Also how does the Asus Xonar Essence handle these?
 
Mike




Edit  : Eventually I sold the K701 for a pair of K702, simply because I liked the idea of the cable and colour. I had then got a FiiO E9, then the E7. I now have the Matrix M Stage

 

[High_Q]

For headphones of such caliber, you want to go with a high powered amp to use it to its full potential, not a portable amp.  You want to ask in the full size amp section.

 

[sphinxvc]

The Matrix M-stage is known for it's synergy with the 701s (if you want to keep your sound card).  If not, I'd take a good look at the NFB-12 instead of E7/E9.  It has a better DAC section - ask about synergy with K701s in the NFB-12/11 thread which is in the dedicated source section.
 

 

[Mikesin]

Hmm, i don't really want to be spending too much, what price range are these ''high powered amps''? 
How is the Bass Boost cMoy v2.03 Amp?
http://www.jdslabs.com/products.php?page=cmoy
or are the FiiO E7 or E9 better?
 
Quote:

The cMoyBB is fully capable of driving headphones of all impedances. High impedance headsets such as Sennheiser HD-650's (300 ohms), Beyerdynamics DT-770's and DT-880's (250 ohm editions), etc. are easily driven by the cMoyBB; an 18-24V power adapter can help to achieve dangerously loud volume levels with such models. Moderate and low impedance headphones such as AKG K-701's, Grado SR-60/80/125/225/325's, Ultimate Ears Super.Fi and Triple.Fi's, and Shure IEM's are also commonly paired with the cMoyBB.

 

 

[sphinxvc]

I think what High_Q is trying to tell you is to steer clear of portable, battery powered amps.  Only a desktop amp, like the E9 or better, is up to the task.  NOT the E7 (alone) or a cMoyBB.
 
As for that quote, I'm not sure where JDS labs has seen the K701s "commonly paired" with the cMoyBB, but I can tell you I've seen that pairing all of zero times on Head-fi.

 

[brasewel]

Isn't the K701 one of the most difficult phones to amp? It may be relatively cheap but it requires a really good amp to bring out it's true potential which is what steers a lot of people away. You may want to save and look into a tube amp or a good SS amp.

 

[sphinxvc]

Yeah definitely, they scale really well reaching their full SE potential somewhere around quality amps worth 4-5x their price.  But it runs more than acceptably, probably to 80% of their potential with inexpensive, entry level amps ala M-Stage or the AGD FUN I had. 

 

[Mikesin]

hmm, in a blind test could you really tell that its better sound quality using a high end amp compared to a lower end amp?
 
Anyway yeah, ive still been looking at these cmoy amps :
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Bass-Boost-cMoy-v2-03-Amp-Premium-Headphone-Amplifier-/130507066091?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e62d3caeb
 
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Portable-Headphone-Amplifier-CMOY-amp-Headamp-ALPS-PCB-/250777637014?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a63831096
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Headphone-Amplifier-CMOY-AMP-HEADAMP-HI-FI-CABLE-/180511585813?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a07543615
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Headphone-Amplifier-CMOY-AMP-HEADAMP-HI-FI-OPA2134-/180511966454?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a075a04f6
 
Will the FiiO E9 Sound better than all of these, and if they are is it by much (Very noticeable)? or even the E7?
 
and if i did get the E9 would i need the E7? or is the E9 enough.. or perhaps should i wait for the E11 (if its better?) ?
 
Im not too good with these amps, practically just taking everyones word on them.. At the moment i have the Astro Mixamp and im not sure if its better than any of these too meaning i don't really need to upgrade and waste money when not needing to..
 
 
EDIT: 
Or the Asus Xonar Essence ST?

 

[Ear Candies]

If this deal is still live (I know it was last night), either the E7 for $72 shipped, or the E7 + E9 (for harder to drive headphones) for $162 is a good deal.
 
http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?sduid=0&t=2827697

If not, searching for "headphone amplifier" or "DAC" + coupon codes can sometimes reveal great deals. Checking the various forums and deal sites will frequently land you the next discount coupon deal, as well. The great thing about some of these forums (such as the site linked above) is you can enter keywords such as "DAC" , "headphone amplifier", or any other keyword(s)) for the item(s) you want, and you will instantly receive an e-mail notification when a deal matching the keyword pops up.
 

 

[brasewel]

Quote:

hmm, in a blind test could you really tell that its better sound quality using a high end amp compared to a lower end amp?
 
Anyway yeah, ive still been looking at these cmoy amps :
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Bass-Boost-cMoy-v2-03-Amp-Premium-Headphone-Amplifier-/130507066091?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e62d3caeb
 
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Portable-Headphone-Amplifier-CMOY-amp-Headamp-ALPS-PCB-/250777637014?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a63831096
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Headphone-Amplifier-CMOY-AMP-HEADAMP-HI-FI-CABLE-/180511585813?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a07543615
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Headphone-Amplifier-CMOY-AMP-HEADAMP-HI-FI-OPA2134-/180511966454?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a075a04f6
 
Will the FiiO E9 Sound better than all of these, and if they are is it by much (Very noticeable)? or even the E7?
 
and if i did get the E9 would i need the E7? or is the E9 enough.. or perhaps should i wait for the E11 (if its better?) ?
 
Im not too good with these amps, practically just taking everyones word on them.. At the moment i have the Astro Mixamp and im not sure if its better than any of these too meaning i don't really need to upgrade and waste money when not needing to..
 
 
EDIT: 
Or the Asus Xonar Essence ST?

If you have listened to some high quality amps I'm sure you would not ask this question. The difference is night and day between some amps and yes I would definitely be able to tell the difference.
The E7/E9 may run the K701s but they how far they push them to their potential is another question.
 
EDIT: Since you're obviously on a budget I would recommend a cheap tube amp like the Little Dot MK II/III/IV
 

 

[High_Q]

IMO, sell the K701 and get a quality low impedance headphones such as HD25 that a DAP or a portable amp can suffiently reveal its potential.  K701 is not worth it with a wimpy amp.  
 
Go all out with K701 get a quality amp, or sell it and get a low impedance headphone if money is tight.

 

[Mikesin]

Ear Candies : i might have to consider this deal thanks, however i still have to decide what i actually want to get first, by then the deal would probably be long gone
 
 
 
Brasewel: Whats the pricing on these 'Little Dot MK II etc'? Are they better than all the listed?
 
 

 

[estreeter]

Quote:

IMO, sell the K701 and get a quality low impedance headphones such as HD25 that a DAP or a portable amp can suffiently reveal its potential.  K701 is not worth it with a wimpy amp.  
 
Go all out with K701 get a quality amp, or sell it and get a low impedance headphone if money is tight.

Eminently sensible advice, but I fear that the OP just doesnt get it. Based on the feedback I have been getting in my E9 thread, that is the only Fiio that might stand a chance of doing justice to the K70* - forget everything else below that and that includes cheaper portable amps. From there, you go to 300USD options like the Dynalo and the M-Stage : fwir, the Dynalo (Sheer Audio sells a dynalo at that price) does a very good job with the AKGs. but High_Q's advice re selling the K701 also has a lot of merit.
 

 

[munchzilla]

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/548575/headphone-amp-cavalli-kan-kumisa-iii-ck2iii
 
get it while it's still there... 

 

[High_Q]

He's like any new person that comes here on the forum that wants to dive into the high end headphones. I was infact like him when I was looking for high end headphones at first, I was going to power it up with sound card (Forte), then I went all out, and did a bit of research and got a decent amp.  
 
OP, its hard to see through our advice without experience, but I assure you, its not bogus, you will see later, we do not want you to waste money and realize it the unfortunate way.