AKG K702 and Little Dot MK3

[shafesk]

Hi,

I have purchased a pair of AKG K702s and am currently driving them with a fiio e5. The Fiio just isnt powerful enough to drive the AKG's and the headphones are so detailed they reveal every struggling breath the amplifier takes. So I went on to something more serious, got a little dot mk3 from ebay, secondhand of course...after buying those headphones dont have much left over. Neway, I was wondering if you can suggest any tubes which would give me better bass, I want more bass without sacrificing the rest of the audio spectrum. The 702s are brilliant if you are wondering, but I really do miss a bit of bass. PLEASE HELP!

 

[idc]

Hi, I don't know if rolling a new tube will make much difference. The AKGs do bass as opposed to BASS, so you hear details not thuds and the real clarity as to which drum is being hit, not thumps.

Bass players and drummers I am sure would rather you hear how well they can play and not just a series of thumps and thuds that make for the beat.

 

[shafesk]

I am a musician myself, so I do know what you are talking about. The main reason I bought the K702s is because of their analytic ability. However, I want a set of tubes for when I want to party. There are just times when I crave a little more bass. Trust me, I am not those people with huge subwoofers-I despise that.

 

[TitusG]

I had the same problem as you. I was running a little dot mk4 and 701s. I didn't try rolling tubes but I dont think that will make the big sound change you are looking for. I ended up buying a pair of grados. These are excellent in the bass department although I find they don't have the clarity of the 701s. I find the 701s are great with some music while the grados are better with others.

 

[idc]

Goofle little dot tube rolling and you will find information.

 

[Anonymous]

The little dot forum has many threads on tube rolling. The site owner, David, recommends Mullard M8161 as THE best bang for buck tube. You would need to switch both jumpers as they are EF92 not EF95. About £20 delivered.

I'm currently watching some on eBay, but wanted to run in my stock tubes to give me a reference point sound first.

You'll love the amp, it's a beauty!

 

[shafesk]

TitusG:I had the same problem as you. I was running a little dot mk4 and 701s. I didn't try rolling tubes but I dont think that will make the big sound change you are looking for. I ended up buying a pair of grados. These are excellent in the bass department although I find they don't have the clarity of the 701s. I find the 701s are great with some music while the grados are better with others.

I knew what I was getting into, but frankly expected a little more bass. To be fair I only have about 50 hours on the headphones, hopefully bass will get punchier. Which grado's did you buy? My brother bought an rs2 and I felt the treble was really bright, hence I went towards AKG....assuming yours has broken in, can you tell me more about how they sound?

 

[shafesk]

Thanks for the information idc and Graham! Graham, How well does the ld3 drive your 6000s? Do you find the amp lacking in power?

 

[Anonymous]

shafesk:Thanks for the information idc and Graham! Graham, How well does the ld3 drive your 6000s? Do you find the amp lacking in power?

Hi there, runs them fine. I tried the LD3 on 5 gain but have just switched back to 10 and wow after 44 hpurs or so! Great.

 

[shafesk]

Graham_Thomas:shafesk:Thanks for the information idc and Graham! Graham, How well does the ld3 drive your 6000s? Do you find the amp lacking in power?Hi there, runs them fine. I tried the LD3 on 5 gain but have just switched back to 10 and wow after 44 hpurs or so! Great.

Thats good to hear, I dont have any high end Sennheisers so was just wondering, since I head they are notoriously hard to drive. I mean how difficult to drive are they? Do you not get listenable volume via a laptop? I have immense respect for Sennheiser and I think all that talk about them being hard to drive, does actually deter some customers who can't afford a powerful amp

 

[TitusG]

shafesk:TitusG:I had the same problem as you. I was running a little dot mk4 and 701s. I didn't try rolling tubes but I dont think that will make the big sound change you are looking for. I ended up buying a pair of grados. These are excellent in the bass department although I find they don't have the clarity of the 701s. I find the 701s are great with some music while the grados are better with others.

I knew what I was getting into, but frankly expected a little more bass. To be fair I only have about 50 hours on the headphones, hopefully bass will get punchier. Which grado's did you buy? My brother bought an rs2 and I felt the treble was really bright, hence I went towards AKG....assuming yours has broken in, can you tell me more about how they sound?

I have the 325i model and would not say they are bright at all when compared to the AKGs. I wouldn't hold out for punchier bass, after 50 hours they should be at their best. I found that run in just took the bright edge off of them.

I find the AKGs emphisise the middle and treble most. This gives a very crisp, clean sound were as the grados focus more on the lower frequencies, resulting in a warmer sound where the vocals and cymbals are set back further into the soundstage and in no way bright.

 

[jaxwired]

Hi, running the K702s myself with a benchmark dac1. They are brilliant. In fact, I defy any speaker at any price to better the mid/high presentation. However, the bass is another story. The bass is very articulate and detailed, but it does lack weight. I do not think this is due to lack of amp power. I think this is just what these particular headphones produce. The bass is all there and it cannot be more clean or real sounding, but it is just not powerhouse bass. I don't think you can fix that with a different amp. You need different headphones to fix that. However, you will undoubtedly lose the insane level of mid/high clarity that the K702s provide in spades. For me, the reduced bass weight is a small price to pay for the amazing sound these headphones produce. And there's still plenty of bass, it's just missing the deep weighty punch...