Which dac/amp for AKG K702

[SupremeFist]

Have you tried using a quarter-inch to 3.5mm jack adapter and plugging the headphones directly into your imac?

 

[rrichard63]

Have you tried using a quarter-inch to 3.5mm jack adapter and plugging the headphones directly into your imac?

That's not likely to provide very good sound quality because there's an analog signal path inside the computer case. I suspect that the OP wants better fidelity.

 

[SupremeFist]

That's not likely to provide very good sound quality because there's an analog signal path inside the computer case. I suspect that the OP wants better fidelity.

Maybe, maybe not: Mac headphone outputs are surprisingly decent. In any case it's very cheap to try.

 

[Luka]

Hello! I bought a Matrix M-Stage HPA-2 Classic to go with my AKG K702.
I was wondering, am I supposed to hear a quality difference other than being able to have the volume higher?
I thought it would improve the overall quality of the headphones, especially in the low ends, as I thought I read online… But I can't hear a difference at all

 

[ryans]

Hello! I bought a Matrix M-Stage HPA-2 Classic to go with my AKG K702.
I was wondering, am I supposed to hear a quality difference other than being able to have the volume higher?
I thought it would improve the overall quality of the headphones, especially in the low ends, as I thought I read online… But I can't hear a difference at all

Hi Luka, sorry to (hear) that..

But it has been my experience as well, listening to many solid state headphone amplifiers... they mostly sound the same.. and if differences are there, they are very, very.. subtle.

Electronics, amplifier design circuitry... etc. etc. is NOT my area of expertise but I have always assumed that it is a goal of the amplifier to colour the sound as little as possible...

Ryan

 

[Luka]

I bought Sonarwork Reference 4, which helped a lot with the sound already
But as for the dac/amp, if I knew a better quality one didn't improve the quality of the sound that much (at least to my ears), I would have bought a cheaper one haha
Oh well

 

[Luka]

Update:
With the amp, Reference 4 from Sonarworks just makes the sound break from time to time!
Especially when there's big bassy rumbles, it seems the combination can't hold it. I don't know how to explain what it does but it's just not working at all...

I'm starting to think I should sell the amp after all and just use the headphones on their own

 

[rrichard63]

With the amp, Reference 4 from Sonarworks just makes the sound break from time to time!

Look at the output meters in Reference 4. Are they in the red when the sound breaks up? If so, try engaging the "Safe Headroom" feature. If even that doesn't work, reduce the Reference 4 output level manually.

 

[Luka]

Look at the output meters in Reference 4. Are they in the red when the sound breaks up? If so, try engaging the "Safe Headroom" feature. If even that doesn't work, reduce the Reference 4 output level manually.

Omg wow now I feel stupid...
It all works out!
Thank you so much ahahah

 

[Instrugramm]

Amps do improve quality if your DAC delivers these given qualities. A balanced setup usually does improve things but that's another price tag. You also need to keep in mind that some headphones scale with good gear while others don't. HD650s (6XX) for example sound veiled and a bit shitty on most audio interfaces and get miles better with a balanced DAC/AMP combination + XLR cable.

 

[Jeremy Spencer]

Amps do improve quality if your DAC delivers these given qualities. A balanced setup usually does improve things but that's another price tag. You also need to keep in mind that some headphones scale with good gear while others don't. HD650s (6XX) for example sound veiled and a bit shitty on most audio interfaces and get miles better with a balanced DAC/AMP combination + XLR cable.

I tried different combos with my HD600, made zero difference from plugging them into my Apogee Element. Just my experience, though.