AKG Q701 Audiophile Headphones Discussions | Drop

AKG Q701 Audiophile Headphones

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Jun 25, 2014

guys i need your advise and recommendation on this audio interface
could i use the Focusrite Scarlett to drive the AKG Q701
is the Focusrite Scarlett dac/headphone amp combo?
reason why i ask is that im buying some KRK Rokit 6 g3 Stuido Monitors and i wan to use the balance TRS Connection on the back of the Focusrite Scarlett 2i4.
is there difference between balance and unbalance - trs-rca in terms of SQ
im not using it for recording only playback
if these wont drive the headphone could you recommend something that will and also it would allow to connect the Rokit 6 g3 through TRS Balance , either that is external Standalone or combo DAC/AMP or a receiver.
Nobody at head hi-fi is replying

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Jun 26, 2014

ESSAYes. Unless the headphone out is funky, the Focusrite will work. Anything that has a headphone/audio out has a built-in DAC/Amp because to play sound you need the digital format converted over to analogue (DAC) and the sound amplified (Amp). If the headphones don't play loud enough for you, look into getting a more powerful amp. But only AFTER you've listened to them through the Focusrite.

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Jun 26, 2014

WillBotlol yeh your right so simply , right the question now is would i be able to drive them also after reading i found out that in terms of sound quality there isnt difference between unbalance and balance im correct ?
i believe it is that balanced cables have are less susceptible to interference such as mobile interference and unbalanced cables are the opposite. However if you never get any sort of interference then balanced is not needed. If you absolutely need to prevent any kind of interference for any reason then get balanced cables although this would be the case in professional environment I think.
wright if that is the case i could use the RCA cables now the question what combo should i use which offers RCA/TRS outputs and drives the q701.

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Jun 26, 2014

ESSAThere's no sound quality difference between balanced/imbalanced cables. There can be some crosstalk with unbalanced, but most interference of this sort (98%) is due to everything before the headphone's connectors. Grounding, static, bad cables--all before the signal even gets to the headphones. ("Bad" cables don't mean cheap ones. Bad cables mean broken ones. Any good copper will carry signal). Also, most "balanced" amps aren't truly balanced; they just have a the connectors. Most real balanced amps are found upward of $1000, and that's not worth buying for the Q701s. I don't know what you're asking, but your Focusrite should do the job nicely. If you can get audio to it and your headphone output outputs, you're golden right now.

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Jun 26, 2014

WillBotsome people are saying the Focusrite can not drive the Q701, yeh and im going to be using the RCA outputs.
what you think to these :
https://www.mayflowerelectronics.com/shop/mayflower-custom-products/objective2-with-rca/
it has RCA outs and i think it should be able to Drive the Q701 through the headphone amp , but got question because this is amp and the monitors have amp built in, would external amp be cancelled when connect to the monitors via RCA, what would happen?

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Jun 26, 2014

ESSAwhat are you trying to do here exactly? get an odac+o2 stack (mayflower,jds labs) , or buy the o2 standalone if you just need an amp.
p.s scarlett is a piece of crap, don't use it for anything playback related, let alone headphones. actually, don't use it for anything at all . get something decent like the RME babyface if you do any kind of recording at all.

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Jun 26, 2014

LQDForcebasically i have bought he q701 from here and im ordering a KRK Rokit 6 g3 studio monitor for play back only no recording.
there are many sources i could use if im correct , computer on-board/ audio interface/external desktop-portable dac/amp/ receivers
i was looking for one device that had headphone amp built in to to drive the q701 and outs for the Rokit g3 via balance or unbalance.
or should i separate dac/amp for the headphone and standalone dac for the Rokit g3.
but im not sure if DAC have outputs for speakers RCA/TRS etc
the o2 amp has RCA outs and i think it could drive the Q701 without problems but im not sure

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Jun 26, 2014

ESSAo2 will easily handle the q701 , as far as power is concerned.
always try to keep things minimal when it comes to audio. get a separate dac, amp, interface. no "one ring to rule them all", nothing you can afford anyway.
as for the speakers you mentioned, looks like they are active speakers. you don't need an amp, just a dac. ODAC will be great since it outputs 2Vrms.

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Jun 26, 2014

LQDForceso what should i buy and how should i config please help me, ive been asking and trying to learn but im so confussed with all the info and options

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Jun 26, 2014

ESSAhow much can you spend on amp+dac ? what type of music do you listen to? and what source? youtube,mp3,flac,cd etc

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Jun 26, 2014

LQDForce1. 300.00 pound i dont know, i guess cheapest best amp-dac bang for the money that gets the job done.
2. i listen to everything 3. again everything, but im going to listen flac now that i know of it

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JosiahB

Jun 26, 2014

ESSAGet an O2, and a Maverick D2. The D2 has four digital inputs, an analogue (RCA) out, and an pre-amp tube out (RCA too). You could use the pre-amp out for the monitors, so you don't have to switch the output back and forth between the monitors and amp.

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Jun 26, 2014

JosiahBgot few question JosiahB,
1. this is standalone DAC which i think it is. 2. which o2 amp model shall i go for. 3. configuration(connecting it all up)
pc - usb-D2-O2-Monitor
4. from the D2 to 02 how would i connect this.
5. regarding the pre amp what is this?

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Jun 26, 2014

JosiahBThe ODAC+O2 combo is great, if you can live with the back and forth switching between headphones and speakers.
Get the Audio-GD NFB-15 , it will be an excellent match with your Q701 , plenty of power for both headphones and speakers. has headphone out (amp) and line out preamp for your active speakers.
http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/NFB1532/NFB15.32EN.htm
p.s NFB-11 is better in my opinion, but for the Q701 it might be a bit too bright and harsh. I'd go with the NFB-15 in this case, it's warmer and sounds more natural.

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Jun 26, 2014

LQDForcethe thing look ugly but has long it has it works, i think this will do job any other recommendation before i do bit more research on it and order it.

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Jun 26, 2014

ESSAI wouldn't spend more on a Amp/DAC than what you spent on the headphones, if I was you--even if this was a good deal. Your Focusrite has a good enough headphone amp and might be powerful enough to push the Q701. Again, I recommend waiting until you get the headphones in and test them with your current setup--then deciding from there.

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Jun 26, 2014

WillBotthat's the thing i don't have anything to test on , ive only got the asus maximus v extreme motherboard.
you say "Your Focusrite has a good enough headphone amp and might be powerful enough to push the Q701" and i dont wanna waste money if your not sure if its goign to drive it.

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Jun 26, 2014

ESSAanother budget option would be the Yulong D100 . It has XLR output in addition to RCA.
But you'll still need an amp like the o2 , the amp part of the D100 is so-so.

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Jun 26, 2014

ESSAI thought you had the Focusrite already? Whatever. If you're going to buy the Focusrite for other things, then do so. It will probably run the Q701 as well (I've run headphones out of audio interfaces many times before without problems). If you don't have one and won't make use of an audio interface (as in plugging in guitars, mics, ect) and just want to run headphone, and you don't want to waste money, spending $300 for a Amp/DAC combo is a bit much. There's a lot of options out there that'll do you good for less. I own a Audioengine D1 which many people say works well with Q701/K702, and I know it has more than enough power. It would also run those monitor speakers without problem (RCA out the back to each speaker, and you can control volume from the D1). There was a drop for the D1 a while back for like $130... I think. Good deal, and just about the same quality to the O2/DAC to my ears. Also, your motherboard has good audio on it. Not the best, but you won't be suffering if you use the Q701 with it at the moment (plug into back, not front). Newer gaming motherboards tend to have decent on-board audio.

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