Man of Honour
Got the K7 and spent all evening getting to know it.
In terms of volume, via the 6.35mm out it's 140mW per channel which is knocking at the door of the Topping MX3s which is 100mW p/c, yet even still with both set to low gain, I need to put the K7's vol dial to just past 3 o-clock to get the HD650s sufficiently loud enough, The dial maxes out at 5 o'clock for reference. The MX3s to match the K7's volume at 3 o'clock needs to be set to -2dB - The difference just 40mW in output power is considerable here and the K7 is able to bass resonate the earcups which I can feel on the hairs on the outside of my ears, not in a bad way as the detail of that bass is so thumping that I'd not heard from the 650s yet, not even with the topping DX3 Pro+ the other day.
Tonal range seems slightly different than the DX and MX too, not much but just noticeable, the mids, especially female vocals, seem to be given a smidge more frontal position in the soundstage, stereo imaging seems to be the same as the DX3 Pro+ so far which is great. The refinements I noticed with the DX3 Pro+ are here too but I think the DX was a tad smoother/warmer. It's such a shame the DX died, I was tempted to just get it replaced by Amazon but the thought of trying something else in the same price range was too strong lol and I can't wait for the balanced 4.4mm cable to arrive to then see what 540mW from a balanced output is like on the 650s.
I'd say between the K7 and DX3 Pro+ that the K7 feels more energetic, the bass thumbs have immediacy whereas on the DX3 Pro+ they're more laid back and smoother, that NAD sound I mentioned before. The K7 has hints of that too and I get the feeling that I'll hear that come through with the balanced output in a few days time.
I'm not a fan of the stepped volume though, it's not smooth like on every other amp, there but instead stepped. The brightness of the LED ring isn't as bright as I thought going by online photos posted so won't bother with the no-LED firmware. It too defaults to 32-bit 48KHz, will leave it on 32-bit as Windows internally processes at float 32 anyway.
I wish the volume dial had an LED on the marker pip as in the dark it's hard to see where the marker point is. I might get some superluminova that is used for watch dial lume markers and paint the marker myself so at least I can see the glow.
Will be keeping the K7, assuming it too doesn't die
Love the design of it on the desk, looks like a nice pairing stood next to the MX.
The only other annoyance also is an annoyance with Topping amps, and that is the rubber feet underneath, they are too slippery on the desk, just prod the amp and the thing moves. I bought British made rubber feet off Amazon and have stuck them on both amps and now they stay put whilst also raising the height by an extra 10mm or so which I prefer.
In terms of volume, via the 6.35mm out it's 140mW per channel which is knocking at the door of the Topping MX3s which is 100mW p/c, yet even still with both set to low gain, I need to put the K7's vol dial to just past 3 o-clock to get the HD650s sufficiently loud enough, The dial maxes out at 5 o'clock for reference. The MX3s to match the K7's volume at 3 o'clock needs to be set to -2dB - The difference just 40mW in output power is considerable here and the K7 is able to bass resonate the earcups which I can feel on the hairs on the outside of my ears, not in a bad way as the detail of that bass is so thumping that I'd not heard from the 650s yet, not even with the topping DX3 Pro+ the other day.
Tonal range seems slightly different than the DX and MX too, not much but just noticeable, the mids, especially female vocals, seem to be given a smidge more frontal position in the soundstage, stereo imaging seems to be the same as the DX3 Pro+ so far which is great. The refinements I noticed with the DX3 Pro+ are here too but I think the DX was a tad smoother/warmer. It's such a shame the DX died, I was tempted to just get it replaced by Amazon but the thought of trying something else in the same price range was too strong lol and I can't wait for the balanced 4.4mm cable to arrive to then see what 540mW from a balanced output is like on the 650s.
I'd say between the K7 and DX3 Pro+ that the K7 feels more energetic, the bass thumbs have immediacy whereas on the DX3 Pro+ they're more laid back and smoother, that NAD sound I mentioned before. The K7 has hints of that too and I get the feeling that I'll hear that come through with the balanced output in a few days time.
I'm not a fan of the stepped volume though, it's not smooth like on every other amp, there but instead stepped. The brightness of the LED ring isn't as bright as I thought going by online photos posted so won't bother with the no-LED firmware. It too defaults to 32-bit 48KHz, will leave it on 32-bit as Windows internally processes at float 32 anyway.
I wish the volume dial had an LED on the marker pip as in the dark it's hard to see where the marker point is. I might get some superluminova that is used for watch dial lume markers and paint the marker myself so at least I can see the glow.
Will be keeping the K7, assuming it too doesn't die
Love the design of it on the desk, looks like a nice pairing stood next to the MX.
The only other annoyance also is an annoyance with Topping amps, and that is the rubber feet underneath, they are too slippery on the desk, just prod the amp and the thing moves. I bought British made rubber feet off Amazon and have stuck them on both amps and now they stay put whilst also raising the height by an extra 10mm or so which I prefer.
Depends on your headphones I guess. I have ordered the balanced cable from Ali Express for the HD650 so will see when it arrives, but from a technical level balanced cable fed by a balanced output from the amp would be more accurate, tonally better than 3.5/6.35mm:Would an audiophile noob such as myself notice the difference between balanced and single ended? I suspect my ears aren't that sophisticated!
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