AKG 702's and FiiO E7 DAC/AMP

[NdMk2o1o]

So I am going to invest in some better headphones, currently have the AKG 514's and am really taken by the AKG 702's, I want to know will getting a relatively low priced DAC/AMP such as the FiiO E7 do these justice?

[AhokZYashA]

Nope,
K702 is a relatively hard to drive headphones, and it needs some good desktop amp to sound it best,

You'll need something like E9 for the K702

[Widjaja]

Been thinking of upgrading my HD202s to something from AKG.
The novelty of the strong bass of my HD202s has worn off.
Just need to find some stereo DJ headphones since I do recordings.

[AhokZYashA]

For upgrades from the HD202, AKG K181DJ should be a good aption

[NdMk2o1o]

Nope,
K702 is a relatively hard to drive headphones, and it needs some good desktop amp to sound it best,

You'll need something like E9 for the K702

Do I need a seperate DAC with the E9 as it looks like its an AMP only

[NdMk2o1o]

Do I need a seperate DAC with the E9 as it looks like its an AMP only

Actually can I buy the E9 and use my Xonar DX as the DAC?

[Frederik S]

They are very hard to drive well. A solid state amplifier like the E9 might be enough. The E9 has mini jack line-in so you can use a line output from the Xonar to feed it.

[NdMk2o1o]

They are very hard to drive well. A solid state amplifier like the E9 might be enough. The E9 has mini jack line-in so you can use a line output from the Xonar to feed it.

So in response to my question, is the E9 with my Xonar going to cut it? sorry dont mean to sound blunt, its just I am not an audiophile and this will be my 1st foray into a highish end pair of phones and an amp

[Frederik S]

I think the E9 is perhaps a bit underpowered to drive the AKG K701/2s but it will make noise.

Usually the AKG K701/2s shine with very powerful amplifiers, but I think the combination is ok.

[NdMk2o1o]

I think the E9 is perhaps a bit underpowered to drive the AKG K701/2s but it will make noise.

Usually the AKG K701/2s shine with very powerful amplifiers, but I think the combination is ok.

Can you recommend anything in the sub $100-$150 mark that might be better?

[Frederik S]

I think that the some of the cheaper Little Dot amplifiers might be better, but with that budget it is hard to find anything that is well suited for the K702s. Perhaps try and Google the amplifier and see if any of the reviews include a test with the K702s and a comparison with the E9.

[NdMk2o1o]

Sorry turns out its the 701's I am getting not the 702's does this change anything <DOH>

[AhokZYashA]

701 and the 702 are exactly the same headphones except of color and removable cable on the 702

if you can bump up the budget a bit you can get a matrix m-stage at about $250

oh, and the little dot 1+ will probably drive the 701 well,

[NdMk2o1o]

ZOMFG........ have ordered my AKG 701's today, managed to get them from a german store for £175 including delivery, have also bought a cheap tripath ta2020 amplifier on ebay, only thing is it is shipping from HK so may take a while to get here.

Should I burn these in before listening to them or??

[AhokZYashA]

yup, burn them in first,
K701 takes approx 150-200hours of burn-in

after that, you'll set,
congrats on getting one of the most transparent headphones around,
:D

[NdMk2o1o]

yup, burn them in first,
K701 takes approx 150-200hours of burn-in

after that, you'll set,
congrats on getting one of the most transparent headphones around,
:D

So I have the headphones, amp, and am going to buy an 3.5mm to phono cable and connect the amp to my Xonar DX, am I set?

Also how do you recommend I burn them in, just medium volume constantly or should I raise it sequentially until it gets to a decent level?

[Frederik S]

Just use them and leave them playing at normal listening volume when you do not use them. If you have a pink noise sampler you can use that, but I doubt that it will make much of a difference.

[NdMk2o1o]

Just use them and leave them playing at normal listening volume when you do not use them. If you have a pink noise sampler you can use that, but I doubt that it will make much of a difference.

Been doing a LOT of reading up on the 701's and they seem to shine at 300+ hours :eek: Can't say I wont listen to them until then but as this is my first foray into high end headphones then i would assume even out of the box they won't sound that bad. Am aiming to stick them in a box with a couple of pilows for a week though, so hopefully will be able to comment on before and after :rockout:

[Ra97oR]

I just listen out the box, and leave them playing pink noise when not using them. I say don't bother waiting 100's of hours before hearing, you might actually notice some changes.

[WhiteNoise]

Audiophiles everywhere argue the benifits of burn-in and rarely agree one way or the other. Myself I would say burn in does help but by all means use the cans out of the box. Let them burn in while you use them.

The K701's are a nice choice and though not my first pick I would still love to own a set and most likely will. I do have experience with the K701 though and in my experience I can say they are a slightly forward sounding can with a natural sound stage. Highs are wonderful but lows are lacking though clean. These cans sound wonderful with classical (instrumental) music as well as acoustic music. They work well with rock but not as good for jazz, pop, techno and rap. IMO. They lack the punch that I prefer in my cans.

I hope you enjoy these and if anything you might find yourself craving something even better now that you'll have tasted higher end audio listening.

I myself own a handful of cans but my main go to pair would be my modded Grado SR325is cans. Pure audio bliss....for me anyway.

My tip of the day: Always buy used when you can. Buying from a site like Audiogon means buying more expensive kit at a price point you can handle and letting others break equipment in for you. I buy mostly new but when I see something special used I'm not afraid to spend the money if I have it. You can get some really special equipment this way. Like the $1600 Rotel CD player I have...and only paid $225 for at the audiogon auction page.

[NdMk2o1o]

Audiophiles everywhere argue the benifits of burn-in and rarely agree one way or the other. Myself I would say burn in does help but by all means use the cans out of the box. Let them burn in while you use them.

The K701's are a nice choice and though not my first pick I would still love to own a set and most likely will. I do have experience with the K701 though and in my experience I can say they are a slightly forward sounding can with a natural sound stage. Highs are wonderful but lows are lacking though clean. These cans sound wonderful with classical (instrumental) music as well as acoustic music. They work well with rock but not as good for jazz, pop, techno and rap. IMO. They lack the punch that I prefer in my cans.

I hope you enjoy these and if anything you might find yourself craving something even better now that you'll have tasted higher end audio listening.

I myself own a handful of cans but my main go to pair would be my modded Grado SR325is cans. Pure audio bliss....for me anyway.

My tip of the day: Always buy used when you can. Buying from a site like Audiogon means buying more expensive kit at a price point you can handle and letting others break equipment in for you. I buy mostly new but when I see something special used I'm not afraid to spend the money if I have it. You can get some really special equipment this way. Like the $1600 Rotel CD player I have...and only paid $225 for at the audiogon auction page.

I would rather buy new and i don't think I would ever contemplate spending more on a pair of headphones than these, though I am not an audiophile i just want nice clean and natural sounding music so i can't see myself being tempted to go for anything "higher end" after hours of reading endless reviews I am sure that after a few hundred hours these cans will be unbeatable by anything in the same price bracket and also stand up to some of the more expensive $1000+ range phones.

They came this week though not had a proper listen to them yet, my amp won't probably show up for a week or so but i will have a good listen to them tonight for a few hours at least, even out of the box the audio quality compared to my low end/mainstream AKG 514's is much nicer, though they will shine with the amp as they are probably 1/2-3/4 as loud just plugged into my Xonar DX :rockout:

[WhiteNoise]

Enjoy!

[NdMk2o1o]

Enjoy!

I am breaking the suckers in, 4 hours down, 296-396 to go before total audio bliss lmao :eek: and defo need my amp, they are seriously underpowered plugged into my source direct, frustrating!!

[AhokZYashA]

oh, ive tried driving the K701 from an ipod.
the sound it produces is like its coming from a tin can.

really bad.

plug it to a proper amp, it shines.

[Ra97oR]

K701 is one of the hardest headphones I have owned to drive correctly.

Sure, it have sound coming out plugged in an iPod, but it sounds nothing like it is amped properly. It really need a beefy amp to shine. The FiiO is not exactly what I call a powerful amp, but it is still better than nothing. The FiiO use the same headphone amp chip that Essence uses, so its not that powerful.

[AhokZYashA]

my friend usually pair his K701 with a matrix m-stage.

the result is surprisingly good

[NdMk2o1o]

K701 is one of the hardest headphones I have owned to drive correctly.

Sure, it have sound coming out plugged in an iPod, but it sounds nothing like it is amped properly. It really need a beefy amp to shine. The FiiO is not exactly what I call a powerful amp, but it is still better than nothing. The FiiO use the same headphone amp chip that Essence uses, so its not that powerful.

Have bought an Lepai Tripath t2020 based amp instead of the fiio :toast:

[IlluminAce]

The E7 isn't a bad piece of kit on the whole, but you do get what you pay for - for those cans I doubt it'd really suffice. Plus, personally, I found the E7 frustrating to control. It's handy for when you're on-the-go, but for when you're at home, get something better.

[NdMk2o1o]

get something better.

I did, and just posted it:

Have bought an Lepai Tripath t2020 based amp instead of the fiio

[IlluminAce]

Heh, that'll teach me to sit there for too long thinking about how to phrase my comment :)

Let us know what you make of it.

[NdMk2o1o]

Heh, that'll teach me to sit there for too long thinking about how to phrase my comment :)

Let us know what you make of it.

Yea will do, all the reviews I could find on these amps seem good for the $ they are probably mass produced in Asia as I got it on ebay for $40 from HK so it wont arrive for a week or so :banghead::rockout:

[AhokZYashA]

That amp is great, I used with an HD650 and the result is amazing

[NdMk2o1o]

That amp is great, I used with an HD650 and the result is amazing

Managed to hook my cans up today by getting one of these:

http://www.eyespygifts.com/product_images/cablestogo/cab/cablestogo-value-series-stereo-audio-adapter-cable-0a6b15m-3a6b5mm-stereo-jack-female-to-2-rca-phono-male-s.png

And cutting the plugs off and connecting them straight into the speaker wire inputs and OMG I have loud music!!! now I really understand why people say these are hard to drive.

Also I don't know whether it's a placebo effect or not cause these cans need a lot of burning in but jesus my music sounds so clear it's beautiful and loud without distortion, I really am glad I spent the money I did on doing this and have no remorse whatsoever, just wish I had the patience to burn the cans in for a few hundred hours before using them but there is no chance of that cause now I have them hooked up to this amp they are fantastic.

Another thing is now on my Xonar DX I have no equaliser settings or anything else enabled to "enhance" the music acause it sounds so much better au natural!!! anything else just sounds artificial and crappy :rockout:

[AhokZYashA]

I always left my EQ to flat or off, because it sounds so much better
Even with an elcheapo M50 headphones

[SaiZo]

I always wanted a pair of these, or Grado's. They are so expensive they only take them in our HiFi store if the buyer pays in advance. I saw a picture of the inside of them, now that is how to make a pair of headphones.

[mab1376]

Can you recommend anything in the sub $100-$150 mark that might be better?

http://www.amazon.com/Ultrasone-HFI-580-Surround-Professional-Headphones/dp/B00101UHS8

These have crazy bass! I use my HFI-780's with an iBasso D6 and it's absolutely an amazing combo.

The 580's have a bigger 50mm driver, which equates to better bass if that's what you're looking for.

[AhokZYashA]

ultrasones has weird sound signature, mainly because its s-logic presentation.

for 100-150, i recommend ATH-M50, MS1i, or AD700 for it.

[NdMk2o1o]

http://www.amazon.com/Ultrasone-HFI-580-Surround-Professional-Headphones/dp/B00101UHS8

These have crazy bass! I use my HFI-780's with an iBasso D6 and it's absolutely an amazing combo.

The 580's have a bigger 50mm driver, which equates to better bass if that's what you're looking for.

I was on about the amp though I have both the amp and phones now anyway, there seems to be nothing in the same price mark that beats the 701's for natural sound from the hours of reviews I trawled through before buying them.

[Ra97oR]

The AKG is a great phone, there are still some closed back alternatives though. Although they won't sound as open. I can say the Beyer DT150 is a great one to consider, the Shure SRH940 is great too but with slightly recessed bass.

[AhokZYashA]

i personally prefer the 940 over the K701,
because for me, the 701 lacks focus for the vocals
the sound seems blurred with the backgrounds.

[mab1376]

From what I've read on Head-Fi, the K701 is best geared towards Jazz and nothing else.

[Ra97oR]

From what I've read on Head-Fi, the K701 is best geared towards Jazz and nothing else.

From what I heard with my K701 setup, as long as you amp it, it shines with all kind of music.

[majestic12]

If the K701s sound bad, they simply need MORE POWER!!! :D
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qab8k4AZP9Y/TTySSORWa7I/AAAAAAAAC1U/WuOiKX9h5NU/s320/timallen.jpg