an amp with my akg K702 ?

[Ginka]

Hey guys,

I am about to buy the akg k702, and as the title says, I'd like to know if buying an amp with it would be the right thing to do ?
if yes, any suggestion ?

[Ardacer]

I own q701 and it doesn't need an amp to function properly. However, getting an amp+dac combo might improve your experience. Or it might be a waste of money. It would certainly be a much cleaner sound (that said, whether or not you'd even hear some noise from onboard is questionable at best, on normal levels probably you wouldn't even), perhaps it'd even bring out more from your headphones, but in all the blind tests i've seen, realtek's onboard dacs compare just well enough to the rest, and k701/q701 (probably k702 too) works just fine with onboard.

[Ginka]

I own q701 and it doesn't need an amp to function properly. However, getting an amp+dac combo might improve your experience. Or it might be a waste of money.

Lol, that does not help me a lot

[Peter Vaughan Truslow]

Hey guys,

I am about to buy the akg k702, and as the title says, I'd like to know if buying an amp with it would be the right thing to do ?

if yes, any suggestion ?

you don't *need* an amp, as 62 ohms isn't particularly difficult to drive, but they will sound better and get considerably louder with an amp. the reviews on head-fi.org definitely recommend an amp, and I'd say it'd be worth getting a decent Amp to compliment those headphones.

[Ardacer]

It should. Don't throw your cash around. Borrow an amp first, and compare whether or not you actually feel a difference. My money's you won't. Not implying your lack of auditory competence, just the lack of actual change it'd bring. But, electrically, and perhaps audibly too, it'll be better.

[Guest Kloaked]

The main thing I like about having an amp/dac is that I have an actual volume knob to control my volume level - just my personal opinion.

[Ardacer]

The main thing I like about having an amp/dac is that I have an actual volume knob to control my volume level - just my personal opinion.

I've got two, one on my corsair k70 and one on O2

[Guest Kloaked]

I've got two, one on my corsair k70 and one on O2

 

I wish the K65 RGB had the volume rocker. Oh well :l

[SSL]

you don't *need* an amp, as 62 ohms isn't particularly difficult to drive, but they will sound better and get considerably louder with an amp. the reviews on head-fi.org definitely recommend an amp, and I'd say it'd be worth getting a decent Amp to compliment those headphones.

 

It isn't about the ohms.

 

AKG headphones are often insensitive, which is the major factor in how loud a headphone gets from a given source.

[Ginka]

It should. Don't throw your cash around. Borrow an amp first, and compare whether or not you actually feel a difference. My money's you won't. Not implying your lack of auditory competence, just the lack of actual change it'd bring. But, electrically, and perhaps audibly too, it'll be better.

I'll do that ^^

[Peter Vaughan Truslow]

It isn't about the ohms.

 

AKG headphones are often insensitive, which is the major factor in how loud a headphone gets from a given source.

I didn't account for that, but it's about both. 62 ohms would be about half the power drawn from the same source as a 32 ohm headphone, which would equate to another 3db reduction in output.

it's interesting that for headphones only rated for 200mw they are so low in efficiency

[SSL]

62 ohms would be about half the power drawn from the same source as a 32 ohm headphone, which would equate to another 3db reduction in output.

 

This is false. What is the difference in power requirement between the DT 880 600 ohm and 32 ohm? It's 0 mW, because they both require the same amount of power, due to having identical power sensitivity.

 

Impedance changes the voltage sensitivity, all else being equal.

 

The lesson here is you must consider both impedance and sensitivity; either measurement on it's own isn't particularly useful.

[xtroria]

Fiio E10K or schiit fulla should be enough. As far as i know, most motherboards could only barely drive K702

[Peter Vaughan Truslow]

This is false. What is the difference in power requirement between the DT 880 600 ohm and 32 ohm? It's 0 mW, because they both require the same amount of power, due to having identical power sensitivity.

 

Impedance changes the voltage sensitivity, all else being equal.

 

The lesson here is you must consider both impedance and sensitivity; either measurement on it's own isn't particularly useful.

an audio output behaves similar to an ideal AC voltage source.

power from a voltage source is equal to V^2/R

if you double the resistance, you half the output power when voltage remains constant.

half in power is equal to an additional 3db drop in output due to the 62 ohm headphone drawing half the power as the average 32 ohm headphone. 

I might know everything, but please don't act like I'm an idiot and am completely wrong because I left out a few details, it's insulting and doesn't help anyone out.

[SSL]

an audio output behaves similar to an ideal AC voltage source.

power from a voltage source is equal to V^2/R

if you double the resistance, you half the output power when voltage remains constant.

half in power is equal to an additional 3db drop in output due to the 62 ohm headphone drawing half the power as the average 32 ohm headphone. 

I might know everything, but please don't act like I'm an idiot and am completely wrong because I left out a few details, it's insulting and doesn't help anyone out.

 

I'll say it again for the sake of repeating myself, but you cannot make this generalization. You are assuming equal voltage sensitivity, which is not always going to be the case. Plus, you're wrong. In an equal voltage sensitivity situation, and given a constant input voltage, there would NOT be any drop in output with a halving of input power. This is more than leaving out a "few details".

 

Electrical engineering 101 will now close.