Any good portable amps for K701?

[HerbalTurtle 0]

planning to get a portable amp for K701, dun wan big desk ones, juz discuss within portable ones~~

any good suggestions fellas?

[david watt 0]

The Iqube would be fantasic if budget is not a concern. I like it for its bass texture and tonality and also its airy highs

The sound is also with minimal colourations and does not sound harsh.

Edited October 24, 2008 by david watt

[Tubeman 0]

planning to get a portable amp for K701, dun wan big desk ones, juz discuss within portable ones~~

any good suggestions fellas?

As a general rule of thumb, it is important that whatever you choose, the basic requirement is to ensure it has enough juice to drive the K701. Compared to full sized headphones, iems are generally easier to drive. It would be prudent not to underestimate the difficulty of trying to drive a full sized headphone to its maximum potential with small portable amps. It may well be possible! The impedance of full sized headphones does not tell the full story of how easy or difficult it is to drive it. Low impedance though technically means that we can more easily drive them but the surround of the cones plays a major factor, as they may be hard and stiff (depending on the type of materials used and its thickness as well) thereby making the phones difficult to drive, not to also forget the weight of the cones (ie. its thichness) as an additional factor creating load. Your best bet is to go try as many amps as possible. I own the iqube and other portable amps and find that it has more reserves in terms of power.....but you may want to decide, whichever amp you use, if that power is enough to make the K701 sing to your satisfaction. Perhaps once you are satisfied that it can effortlessly make the K701s sing, you may then look at the other aspects such as tone and so on.

On the other hand, you may have other priorities for your requirements other than power as the top priority. This will be a matter of choice; but personally, I would be hesitant to violate this power requirement rule.

Edited October 25, 2008 by Tubeman

[sghound 0]

planning to get a portable amp for K701, dun wan big desk ones, juz discuss within portable ones~~

any good suggestions fellas?

 

for this monster, NO.

 

in short, u need some higher current for this. portables can playback the 701 with volume and loudness, but u're never gonna extract the famous sound using a tiny amp. let's not kid ourselves further, just go for a proper desktop of your liking.

[viscy 0]

K701 - low impedance, extremely, extremely low sensitivity. Do your K701s justice, get a desktop amp, not power it with a puny portable amp and expect good sound.

[HerbalTurtle 0]

So, dudes, any good suggestions on any home use amps, suitable for K701?

[Tubeman 0]

So, dudes, any good suggestions on any home use amps, suitable for K701?

As a matter of driving powers, top priority is to use amps with balanced out puts. K701, I believe has an impedance of 62 ohms, but I stand corrected. Techinically speaking 62 ohms is not too difficult to drive, as compared to HD600 or HD650 with impedance of 300ohms. But impedance is not the only thing making the headphones difficult to drive - see my last post above. Research has shown that the K701s sing very well when they have sufficient power to drive them. In short, they should be given maximum power so that they can be allowed to do what they are supposed to do. The question is what so good about balanced? and what is the difference between balanced and SE (single ended). Balanced will come in at least 2 configurations. The most basic is where the ground is split (left for left and right for right) but both sides uses one output transformer to drive the 2 channels. A true balanced is where both sides are totally split and 2 output transformers (power signal supplies) are used. One transformer will drive one side. We call them mono blocks for a home rig. Same for headphone amps. They are therefore much more powerful. This power comes at a price premium, as you have to pay for totally 2 separate amps in the output stage. Once you achieve the ease of drive, one can then look at other things such as timbre, speed and so on.

 

As for SE (single ended). The left and right channel share the same ground. Like balanced amps, they can be solid state or tube or hybrid. All 3 will present sound to your ears in different ways. Your best bet is to try out some of them and take it from there. Remember, buy only what you like and not what others like - for it is you who is going to live with it. Jaben and Stereo Electronics carry many brands of the 3 different amps and you can ask for auditions. Balanced amps in Singapore are not so common due perhaps to price, but do look around and you may find a couple to audition. Personally, I am hesitant to tell you what amp you should listen to, but do try out all price ranges and you will get a better feel of what you are looking for. Patience will yield you rewards. Listening to many can be confusing, but once you are locked into what you want you will be better equipped to make the correct decision.

Edited October 26, 2008 by Tubeman

[sghound 0]

So, dudes, any good suggestions on any home use amps, suitable for K701?

 

budget?

[HerbalTurtle 0]

As a matter of driving powers, top priority is to use amps with balanced out puts. K701, I believe has an impedance of 62 ohms, but I stand corrected. Techinically speaking 62 ohms is not too difficult to drive, as compared to HD600 or HD650 with impedance of 300ohms. But impedance is not the only thing making the headphones difficult to drive - see my last post above. Research has shown that the K701s sing very well when they have sufficient power to drive them. In short, they should be given maximum power so that they can be allowed to do what they are supposed to do. The question is what so good about balanced? and what is the difference between balanced and SE (single ended). Balanced will come in at least 2 configurations. The most basic is where the ground is split (left for left and right for right) but both sides uses one output transformer to drive the 2 channels. A true balanced is where both sides are totally split and 2 output transformers (power signal supplies) are used. One transformer will drive one side. We call them mono blocks for a home rig. Same for headphone amps. They are therefore much more powerful. This power comes at a price premium, as you have to pay for totally 2 separate amps in the output stage. Once you achieve the ease of drive, one can then look at other things such as timbre, speed and so on.

 

As for SE (single ended). The left and right channel share the same ground. Like balanced amps, they can be solid state or tube or hybrid. All 3 will present sound to your ears in different ways. Your best bet is to try out some of them and take it from there. Remember, buy only what you like and not what others like - for it is you who is going to live with it. Jaben and Stereo Electronics carry many brands of the 3 different amps and you can ask for auditions. Balanced amps in Singapore are not so common due perhaps to price, but do look around and you may find a couple to audition. Personally, I am hesitant to tell you what amp you should listen to, but do try out all price ranges and you will get a better feel of what you are looking for. Patience will yield you rewards. Listening to many can be confusing, but once you are locked into what you want you will be better equipped to make the correct decision.

 

Woh, It's so kind of you for such a detailed post. Thank you for your patience and detailed explanation. However I was looking for some not so expensive amps that could possibly give a enjoyable listening under a reasonable price. Actually I'm quite new to amps, so dun hesitate to give any suggestions came up to your mind, anyhow the price or SQ

 

budget?

Actually I dun know much about the desktop amps, basically mu budget should be around the price of that K701 or less. I looked up in the previous posts for suggestions, how about the LittleDots ones? mind give any comments or some other suggestions? Thanks~

[viscy 0]

Well, if you're not looking into spending too much on an amp, i hope you haven't already bought the K701 cans, since they require powerful (and usually expensive) amps to power them nicely.

 

If you've gotten the cans, though, you could try a darkvoice amp. 332 should be fine, I have the 337 and it makes my K701s sing. If you do find that too expensive still, you could look into the little dot series, though I'm not too familiar with them. They are insanely popular though.

 

Note: Balanced amps are WAAAY expensive. Wish i had a balanced rig, but costs probably go into thousands. Heh. There ARE dual-mono single-ended amps though, such as my own DV337, which like i said gives more than enough power to make the K701s sound great.

Edited October 28, 2008 by viscy

[HerbalTurtle 0]

Well, if you're not looking into spending too much on an amp, i hope you haven't already bought the K701 cans, since they require powerful (and usually expensive) amps to power them nicely.

 

If you've gotten the cans, though, you could try a darkvoice amp. 332 should be fine, I have the 337 and it makes my K701s sing. If you do find that too expensive still, you could look into the little dot series, though I'm not too familiar with them. They are insanely popular though.

 

Note: Balanced amps are WAAAY expensive. Wish i had a balanced rig, but costs probably go into thousands. Heh. There ARE dual-mono single-ended amps though, suck as my own DV337, which like i said gives more than enough power to make the K701s sound great.

 

Alright, thanks dew, maybe I will try them out somewhere. Anyone got idea where I can find these amps and give a try? PS. a word goes with meanings....Heh Heh, dun bother juz kidding....

[Darkkopi 0]

Alright, thanks dew, maybe I will try them out somewhere. Anyone got idea where I can find these amps and give a try? PS. a word goes with meanings....Heh Heh, dun bother juz kidding....

 

You can try the Darkvoice at Jaben.

[HerbalTurtle 0]

You can try the Darkvoice at Jaben.

Thanks and how abt the Little Dot ones? anywhere can try?

[kidult 0]

Thanks and how abt the Little Dot ones? anywhere can try?

you may look under Announcements subforum

 

http://www.sgheadphones.net/index.php?showtopic=9021

[Tubeman 0]

you may look under Announcements subforum

 

http://www.sgheadphones.net/index.php?showtopic=9021

Hi Kidult. Good to see your postings over here as well.