What's your best experience for an amp for AKG K 701s?
May 23, 2010 at 4:39 AM Post #16 of 46
melos sha-gold
 
source(s): wavelength Brick v 1
                Clearaudio Concerto on a  Unify 9" with a Champion
 
They astound every time I put them on. I intended on sleeping 4 hours ago. They keep me up, I dont want to stop listening.
Just 1 more album please!
 
May 26, 2010 at 11:55 PM Post #17 of 46
Mine were excellent with the Musical Fidelity X-Can V8p, and fantastic with the Woo WA6SE.  I used the Sovtek 5U4G rectifier to fill out the bottom end and tame some of the harshness.  The Sophia Princess was too bright for the K701 IMHO.
 
May 27, 2010 at 5:25 PM Post #18 of 46
I have to say, although it may not be 'the ultimate', I continue to be quite impressed with how well the K-701 sounds with the Millet SSH Tube. I know the Millet is well know amongst us here but it deserves another mention. If you can DIY, it's a hell of a steal. If you're like me, and have two left ands and all thumbs and must purchase one yourself completed, it's still a deal. I had the chance to listen to the Little Dot MK II with the AKG and it's also great and worth the price. Both can be had for under $200 (the Millet well under) and proves, to me, that these 701's can be done justice to without breaking the bank.
 
May 27, 2010 at 9:03 PM Post #19 of 46

    Quote:
    
        Originally Posted by baka1969 /img/forum/go_quote.gif


I have to say, although it may not be 'the ultimate', I continue to be quite impressed with how well the K-701 sounds with the Millet SSH Tube. I know the Millet is well know amongst us here but it deserves another mention. If you can DIY, it's a hell of a steal. If you're like me, and have two left ands and all thumbs and must purchase one yourself completed, it's still a deal. I had the chance to listen to the Little Dot MK II with the AKG and it's also great and worth the price. Both can be had for under $200 (the Millet well under) and proves, to me, that these 701's can be done justice to without breaking the bank.
    

 
Totally agreed; although the K701 is known to scale up quite nicely to a multi-thousand $ amp, I have had good luck with the lower priced Indeed/Bravo Hybrid, and the Maverick D1. Not so good with some amps/receivers @ twice that price or more, and I have no experience with a $1k plus amp and the K701 but I have read good things.
 
May 28, 2010 at 12:03 AM Post #20 of 46
There was a time a couple years ago,  I used to listen to the K701 with 2 amps; I used the Little Dot 2+ preamp output into a vintage 70s Marantz 2270  reciever (this bypassed the Marantz internal preamp so I can add a tube sound to the solid state) and listened through the Marantz's headphone jack which is a clean sounding feed and it sounded awesome especially with the Lord of the Rings DVDs.
 
IMO, the K701 is one of the greatest headphones of all time and I actually like it better than a lot of the more expensive headphones.
 
May 28, 2010 at 12:22 AM Post #21 of 46


Quote:
IMO, the K701 is one of the greatest headphones of all time and I actually like it better than a lot of the more expensive headphones.

Spareribs, I thought your favorite organ is the _______, until I found out that its your ear.
biggrin.gif

 
Thank you Spareribs for a very nice assumption. I'm too happy with my K701 purchase. My 4 months with my K701 is worthy and keeps on making my ears happy and so with my wallet. I never regretted my K701 purchase like my Grado SR60. K701 is amazing headphone for the money. 
 
P.S. I'm currently listening to MTV unplugged CD's. K701 sounds musical to my ears.
biggrin.gif

 
 
May 28, 2010 at 6:41 PM Post #22 of 46
Well thank you all.  I guess now it's time for research, testing and eventually getting the right amp.  I have a fairly good Onkyo and a Sony at home, both take in my iMac's digital audio out and the result, so far has been great with the 701.  I exchanged my 270 for the 701 and can't believe I'm discovering new sounds in music I've been listening to over 30 years.
 
Thanks for your input.  Now to find place in the LA area where I can listen to some quality amps.
 
Nick 
 
May 29, 2010 at 5:00 AM Post #23 of 46
May 29, 2010 at 5:06 AM Post #24 of 46
Any Musical Fidelity X-CAN headphone amp has the power and detail to match perfectly with the K701/2s. 
 
May 29, 2010 at 8:47 AM Post #25 of 46
I have both the Little Dot MK11 and The Matrix M Stage. Both drive the 701 well the Matrix took them to another level. The Matrix is a real special amp and IMO is the best match for a reasonable price at least in my system.
 
May 29, 2010 at 10:58 AM Post #26 of 46
My partner had both 701 and 702 for a while. I heard them on a few different amps including the Grace, a 6H30 DIY tube amp, and an expensive prototype solid state amp from a specialist that doesn't advertise widely. To be honest the sound was very entertaining on all of them, with the prototype amp being the best. However the Grace was genuinely good and is widely available and has decent facilities, so that would be a sensible course of investigation to follow if it's price is within reach.
 
May 29, 2010 at 2:58 PM Post #27 of 46
JB197, who that specialist and can you tell us about it?
 
At this stage, I'm considering a few options but want to hear them first.  I have an Onkyo P3160 amp with a M5160 pre amp which always sounded good.  I also have a Sony STR DE475 that has an optical audio input from my iMac.  The Onkyo sounds smoother and fuller.  
 
I will check out all your suggestions.  Does anyone know of any good places to go in the Los Angeles greater area?
 
Nick
 
May 29, 2010 at 3:01 PM Post #28 of 46
An LA meet. http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/477477/ic-los-angeles-mini-meet-near-ucla/45
 
Otherwise, fly to Chicago this week and check out CANJAM.
 
May 30, 2010 at 1:46 PM Post #29 of 46
I've tried quite a few amps with my K701, I found both the Harmony Design EAR90 and Meier Concerto are pretty good if you want keep the K701's original character, the Burson HA160 helps the K701 if you want a bit more bass impact whilst still being mostly neutral.  
 
May 30, 2010 at 2:31 PM Post #30 of 46
I've heard people use the K701 in the studio, but there's lots of other choices too, see kool bubba ice's thread on studio/reference headphones. 
 

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