AKG Q701 - Roughly £100 before duty

[Psycho Sonny]

I wouldn't trust the chinese cables tbh, stick to UK, USA or Europe

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Well after the fiasco of the missing house number resulting in my Q701's being returned to the USA, then having no parcel arrive back at massdrop to be then told by the excellent people over at MD that they would send me a replacement pair i finally have mine in my hands.
It's been quite a long haul, original pair shipped july 18th, second pair delivered sept 23rd. I am not disappointed. everyone has pretty much covered what needs to be said about these cans so i wont add anything but im seriously considering moving on my X1.

One thing i will say is the positional sound in Counter strike go is so on point, the placement is pretty much perfect. Very impressed.

I have new mobo, gpu and monitor to upgrade my new system which was only upgraded a while back. I've had issues with CS:GO and CSS freezing never had issues with my old system using the same GPU, so I'm hoping new gpu and new mobo fix it.

If they do I will also be using these for CS:GO and no doubt get addicted to the game again. i've missed using a kb and mouse for fps

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Get the Cayin C5 it's pricey but you can use it to charge your phone and it's meant to blow anything else under £150 out of the water in terms of everything.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

yup need to order from there or get it if it comes back up on massdrop, check the head fi thread

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Nothing which is as good that is also portable.

The Q701 doesn't really work well with poor sources, a portable amp works best with a line out signal (not a headphone out signal).

For your PC and phone ideally you want a DAC/AMP like the Fiio E17.

Personally I would not use Q701's with my phone, If I want to listen to music I use my PC. The Q701 isn't a portable set of headphones.

e.g. I have HD25-1 II and Momentums which are my portables. I plug them into a topping NX-1 which is fed by a Fiio LOD which is plugged into an old ipod touch.

HD558, Q701, HD600 and HE400 are strictly for home use only with either my xonar DG, mixamp, Aune T1 or Vali or a combo of those.

In your position I would simply forget plugging them into a phone and buy a decent DAC/AMP or sound card for your PC.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

How do you find the Q701 compared to the hd25's?
I have the same setup as you (ipod, lod, topping, hd25) but am looking for something with a wider soundstage.

Completely different.

I mainly use momentums now when I'm out but I will be modding my HD25-1 II's at some point using the mass loading kit custom cans sell.

You won't find anything as good as the Q701's which is portable, the best you could get away with is possibly DT770's or something like that.

There is no such thing as a open portable can.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

I walked through town and sat on the train with my Q701's on the other week. I must have looked like a right idiot, but when you pause the music, you can hear everything around you.

it's no different to someone being on public transport blasting music out their phones loudspeaker instead of wearing IEM's like every normal person

Thanks for your thoughts - I assume you prefer the Q701's to the hd25's whenever noise pollution & portability are not a concern?



I became instantly skeptical of that modification after reading their sales pitch:

I use different headphones for different things.

I prefer my HD600's for vocals and music, Q701 for gaming, HE400's for movies and bassy music.

So if I skip the portable and keep these in my room and still to my sound magic buds for my phone.

So would a Epiphany Acoustics EHP-O2 Award Winning Portable Headphone Amplifier be a good shout?

You need a DAC too if your buying an amp.

If you will be gaming then buy a decent sound card, just for music then buy a DAC/AMP.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

forget all the above then.

if you want to use them with a PS4 then you need a mixamp they are made by Astro and retail brand new for around £130. you could then use that for PC as well then and they require a clip on mic as well as a Turtle Beach chat cable or a Astro USB chat cable