Massdrop x AKG K7XX Audiophile Headphones Discussions | Drop

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Massdrop x AKG K7XX Audiophile Headphones

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Massdrop x AKG K7XX Audiophile Headphones

FreedomLife

Mar 5, 2015

I think AKG K7 series all need a powerful amp & dac to drive them. I had compare K701, K702, & K702 65th to my K7XX using my amp & dac (Schiit bifrost + Hifiman EF-5). I'm surprise that K7XX perform really good sound, especially better then K701 & K702. Within this price, K7XX is a very worthy choice if you like AKG's product. I think MIC or MIA is not really important if you just compare the "sound", it's nothing different. The products I used to compared for A/B are all made in Austria, but they did NOT perform better then K7XX with my amp & dac :p

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wagagagaggag

Mar 5, 2015

FreedomLifeThank you so much for the reply. Just couple additional questions. Does this headphone REQUIRE a amp in order to play any sound from my pc or is adding an amp is optional? Could you please give me some recommendation on the good amps? And last a casual question, what's the diffrence between AMP and DAC? Do amp contains Dac within them? Can you buy dac by themselve?

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larry.tok

Mar 5, 2015

wagagagaggagAKG K7 series are not power hungry, so you dont really need an amp as they have decently low impedance compared to stuffs like hd800, beyer 880 600ohm etc. But to make it shine, amps are of course a suggested option. A good recommendation amp would really vary on your budget, lower budget ones u could look for stuff from schiit, little dot(which they are having some kind of massdrop here), O2 amp with/without dac,
mid range , woo audio tube amps such as wa6, wa6se , wa2,wa22
high end, headamp gsx m2, alo audio studio 6, basically most amps that are over2-3k usd
Amp = amplify your signal out. give you more "power" to drive your current headphones. most good quality DACs contain decent amp circuits to power your headphones, even stuffs like ASUS DACS, can power your headphones to some certain extent. most high end DACs are used by themselves, separate from AMPs itself.
And yes high end DACs are by themselves. but usually are able to power your headphones also, a mid -> high end DAC would be OPPO HA-1, which contains amp circuitry. but yea, your mileage may vary on the prices and performances..

JohnLe

Mar 5, 2015

larry.tokThat's interesting, because every article I've read on headfi concludes each of the K7 series as oddly power hungry.

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Adachim

Mar 5, 2015

wagagagaggagNope, they don't require an amp! You'll still get great sound out of them (relative to non-audiophile headphones) using just the 3.5mm jack on your laptop. However, like people are saying, adding a DAC + Amp is quite good.
DACs convert digital signals to analog. Sound is an analog signal, so a high quality DAC will ensure that the digital signal from your computer is translating clearly to sound.
Amps affect the sound that the DAC gives them. Different amps can be used to bolster the sound of headphones (and increase the sound quality) and color the sound to make it more interesting. For a low sensitivity headphone like the K7XX, a energetic amp (such as a tube amp) will pair well with it, and make it sound warmer.
If you are looking for a cheap DAC + Amp combo, the Monoprice one comes well recommended, but a very high quality entry level setup for these would be the Schiit Modi 2 + Magni 2 (or Vali). The Modi 2 is a DAC, and the Magni 2 is an amp. The Vali pairs better with these headphones, but it's a tube amp, so there will be some pros and cons.

Retroman

124

Mar 5, 2015

AdachimTotally agree with Adachim. I'd also recommend if you want to add a bit more kick for your computer for even less money even the Fulla Schiit will be a decent upgrade over onboard sound and its more portable.

Yeahididthat

Mar 5, 2015

AdachimWhat would the downside to the vali be? Just wondering.. And if you don't mind, in your option why does the vali pair better with these cans?

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Adachim

Mar 5, 2015

YeahididthatIf you haven't decided already, both Retroman and LedZeppole pretty much stated everything that I failed to include in my first post. The reason that the Vali pairs so well (especially for the price) with the AKGs is because these headphones are innately analytical-sounding, so a hybrid tube amp will make them sound warmer (more full in bass, smoothed out miss and treble) and more energetic. This is different from a normal solid state amp (pretty much anything else in the price range) because solid state amps relay the sound given to them with as little variation as possible. This makes something like the Magni 2 good for using the K7XX as reference headphones for mastering/mixing, but probably not as good for pure enjoyment.
Don't take your advice solely from us though; if you're still not sure, there are great reviews and threads on sites like Head-Fi and Reddit (/r/headphones) that can tell you much more than I have!

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willtothewong

Mar 5, 2015

AdachimThanks for the information Adachim. I want to pair this headphone with something from Schiit. Right now I have the Audioengine D3 DAC/AMP which I am going to retire to my office rig.

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Beast_that_can_talk

Mar 5, 2015

JohnLeIf any of this is wrong, I got lazy and used online calculators. So there. :)
AKG K7XX: 62 Ohms, 105dB/V Senn HD600: 300 ohms, 97dB/mW AKG K7XX converted: 93dB/mW
Spec: K7XX / HD600 mW@1VRMS: 16 / 3 mA@1VRMS: 16 / 3 VRMS for 120dB (do not try this at home): 5.6 / 7.7 mA for 120dB (do not try this at home): 90 / 26
The AKG K7 series drivers should be much more power hungry, compared to the venerable HD600. Realistically, 10mA will get you to levels you shouldn't be listening at, with the K7 driver, but it's those current needs that can cause common cheap amp sections to fall flat, even though they get plenty loud (we are not normal, deal with it). At 1V, which is still going to be very loud, the K7s should need about 1/5 the output impedance of the HD600 to be amplified about as well.

JohnLe

Mar 6, 2015

Beast_that_can_talkGreat structural layout of advice. Thanks, it clarified a lot! :]

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