AKG Q701 - Roughly £100 before duty
- Thread starter Psycho Sonny
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Soldato
What Amp/DAC would you guys recommend pairing with the Q701s to give them more warmth?
Cheers,
Su
[edit] Massdrop is over btw - they must have reached 100.
Last edited:
Soldato
Schiit Modi + Vali (DAC + valve amp combo)
Caporegime
Apparently they aren't all that?
I use the Little Dot MK2 with all my AKGs. It's a very lush, warm seductive sounding amp. The Schiit combo is a powerful setup but it's too harsh for the AKGs I found and quite dry and grainy to my ears. The Q701 sound really good with the LDMK2.
Fiio E09K plus E17 is quite a neutral slightly warm setup but lacks the open, warm sound of the LD.
Soldato
Little Dot MKII has a nice warmth to it (I actually fully believe its one of the best tube amps on the market, especially for the money!), I am also a big fan of the E09K too - adds a bit of warmth to the signature without altering it to the extent that it stops being a 'neutral' can, although personally I'd pair it with the E07.
Soldato
The Schiit Modi and Magni yes but the Modi and Vali combo is supposed to sound a lot smoother.
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- 21 Jun 2006
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"It is evident to me that NX1 is very good value for its performance. Its at least on par with the C&C BH with everything off except high gain. It represents a more balanced sound signature which i believe is what some people are looking for.
The sound field enhancer and the low frequency boost in the C&C BH works as advertised and when these are activated of course it leave the NX1 behind but is it really worth the extra $100? I leave it up to you."
"Lessons learnt for me: The way the song was recorded/mastered really does matter. The live recorded albums really does test the soundstage qualities of a headphone. Amps can actually make some headphones excel if it synergises well with it. Using different types of headphones (a least closed back and open back examples in this case) affect aspects of the song when listening to different amps. I Cannot say which one I enjoyed more. As you can see above, the NX1 seemed to pair well with the UE9000 because it catered to its abilities quite well in which it could reproduce deeper base. Closed back headphones have inherent soundstaging shortcomings but since the NX1 had a wider soundstage this helped to alleviate that problem somewhat.
The E11 paired well with the X1. Its was already open backed to soundstage wouldn't be a problem. Now the NX1 with its wider soundstage, all it did was make the elements seem further apart and less focused and less distinct. Like the sound mode went to 'HALL" for me instead of "STAGE" or "STUDIO. The E11 helped to make the X1 sound more focused and thus I think it synergises well. It now seems to me that one mans trash is another ones treasure! (in terms of amp sound characteristics) one helped the other excel in one aspect, but was actually not good when applied to the other headphone."
http://www.head-fi.org/t/696825/topping-nx1-portable-headphone-amplifier-impressions-thread/270
multiple reviews all stating the topping NX1 is better than the E11 in there
"I like to share some photos I took while un-boxing along with my initial impressions (before burn-in, impressions after 1-2 hours of listening):
To my ears better than Fiio E11. No questions here for me.
Better clarity. Slightly wider soundstage. Good layering.
These 3 factors as well as no coloration to the sound are what I mainly look in an amp."
"Sound
This amp most definitely needs a burn in minimum of 1 hour before it starts to sound good. Either that, or my ears needed to adjust to it. It first sounds a bit rough in the highs and floppy in the lows, but after that the lows tighten up and the highs become much smoother. Once you get that out of the way you can actually get to know the amp and it's very transparent. So transparent that I could actually hear the background of the effects of some of RUFUS's samples. High's and lows are very forward and the mid's are not recessed but what it seems like is is that the signature is a tiny bit V shaped, not a lot, maybe 2-3db on both ends. Switching the gain to low setting feels like the frequency response is flattened out but become a little boring. All-in-all the NX1 is a pretty fun amp.
Soundstage
The sound stage is good. It makes it maybe 10% wider than originally. But it suffers a bit from the highs and lows being a bit forward and some of the percussive elements which are put behind you are drowned out. You can hear them, but only if you listen for them specifically. But you cannot hear them at all without an amp. I picked this up by doing an A-B comparison with my Fiio E17 (using only the AUX in, EQ off, 6db gain setting). With the E17 the staging is noticeably wider but the sound signatures a worlds apart, E17 being warm and fun and the NX1 being cold and clear."
"The Review:
Sound
This little amp is definitely punching above it's weight class, literally. It sounds pretty transparent. Not cold or warm, but truly neutral. The boosted highs and lows gives it a fun and punchy signature with crisp and somewhat airy highs. I wish I could say more about the highs but my ears cannot hear above 15kHz, so my description of highs is mid highs only. This amp greatly compliments other flattish cans but can be a bit too much when paired with dark or bright cans.
Mids are good and clear, and even with the boosted highs and lows they don't feel like they're pushed away.
I love it when you can hear imperfections and background noise from recordings. Some say that this is from bad mastering but I think it makes the recording unique. This amp definitely picks these up and this give me a huge smile on my face.
Comparing it to the E11 which would be it's direct competitor. This comparison is not even close. The E11 has a dark signature, bloated bass and crunchy highs. Listening to Mariah Carey sounds like she's got a sore throat. The NX1 wins in every aspect by a large margin.
Soundstage
The sound stage is just "WOW!". On the Takstar Pro 80s the sound stage is wide and deep, this is the same with the DT770 Pro 250Ohm. But even more surprising is using it with the Senns HD650, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. The soundstage goes deeper than normal and somewhat sounds unnatural but truly spectacular. This amp compliments open headphones with lots of imaging more than anything.
EMI
Most of the time this is not a problem, but when paired together with a mobile phone you get intermittent buzzing and short static comes on randomly. This is definitely not a deal breaker.
Background
This thing is dead silent when turned all the way up.
Power
As you might have noticed that I mentioned the Beyer DT770 Pro and the Senns HD650. Yes! It can power these somewhat hard to drive cans. The bass is not very controlled though. But it sounds very nice. Two thumbs up from me in terms of power.
Battery
Topping states that it has a working time of 100 hours under one charge. I charged it to full on the first day because it died pretty much in the first 10 minutes of me using it because someone didn't charge it before posting it. Not pointing fingers at no one...
But after the full charge it has been working this whole time. It's kind of hard to track usage but because it is a class A amplifier, it should be constantly draining energy when on. Battery is good!Final Words
This amp impressed me, A LOT. Its size, its power, its signature and its soundstage are outstanding for a $100 portable amplifier, but for ~$40 it's an absolute steal. It just feels like someone forgot to carry a 1 when calculating its cost. It's not without faults, but for the price, who cares!
At the final 3 days of my having it, I didn't use it until today to refresh my memory. The only reason for that is because my E17 has a DAC which makes the sound a lot clearer and the bass more controlled. But this should not take anything away from the NX1. The E17 is $140, $100 more than it.
If you are on a strict budget of under $100 then the NX1 is definitely the way to go. You can pair it with a decent DAC for $60 like the SMSL M2 or the Stoner Acoustic UD110 (if you can find a way to get one) and Bob's your uncle!"
Soldato
Oh dude, you have to stop relying on one guys opinion that you read on the internet (plus a few cherry picked from Head-Fi)...
You really must rely on your own ears, and own senses far more. I have nothing against the NX1, its a fantastic entry level amp that punches above its own price point - but it is not better than the E11 imo, plus I prefer the sound the E11 delivers. It's like these people saying "HD650 beater for £100" when in reality, yes it shares a few properties and so could be comparable to the HD650 in certain areas but it is not a HD650 for less money, nor indeed does it beat it.
You really must rely on your own ears, and own senses far more. I have nothing against the NX1, its a fantastic entry level amp that punches above its own price point - but it is not better than the E11 imo, plus I prefer the sound the E11 delivers. It's like these people saying "HD650 beater for £100" when in reality, yes it shares a few properties and so could be comparable to the HD650 in certain areas but it is not a HD650 for less money, nor indeed does it beat it.
Man of Honour
What have I said about trusting my own ears? 
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- 21 Jun 2006
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I've never tested the e11 or owned it so I'm just going off those reviews from 3-4 different people
Associate
AKG shipping the Q701 to Massdrop warehouse this week, MassDrop going to take 2-3 to ship to us so not long to go cant wait, also my audio-GD- NFB 15 been shipped happy days ^^
Man of Honour
ThMass Drop isn't too bad, ordered myself one of the ElephantWallet things too as I'm a bit tired of normal wallets now, too bulky and wear out...
I have an E11 for my portable rig. When I'm lazy I use it for my less sensitive phones like the HD650, Q701, Annie's etc and it powers them fine. It's more than enough for my DT770. Fiio are really hard to beat their E12 is one of the best amps I've heard!
Soldato
What's the cable like on these. Any worthwhile reason to replace?
Caporegime
I have a FiiO E7, and I can quite honestly say that I'm not very impressed by it at all. Is it significantly inferior to the E12 or am I just expecting too much?
Caporegime
Alright thanks, I will upgrade at some point then. 
Man of Honour
Haven't read of any problems about it. It's mini XLR terminated though so replacements aren't as readily available like on the X1 but since you get 2 cables and they're both nice cables...