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AKG K 701 vs Sennheiser HD 598

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xShadow:
From what I've read up through google (being a comp e major I'm a bit interested), yeah most earphones that don't have high input impedance don't really need an amp, and probably won't benefit much from one. I think the issue is that some devices don't have enough power to fully drive whatever earphones you're using, so maybe some low sounds and whatnot may not properly make it through the input impedance to the transducer.

Also, I'm nowhere near an expert on this side of things (I prefer digital circuitry to analog circuitry and all of its wonderful Laplace transforms), so feel free to correct me... but this is also another thing that I'm wondering about: what happens when you turn up the volume to a level where the earphones respond well enough for you to hear what you want (ie you hear it at the volume you want), on any normal device? There has to be an increase in power somewhere, and that's in the device you're using. But what if sound reproduction on the device gets worse as you turn volume up? In other words, more distortion, clipping, etc. in the sound as you jack the volume up to the levels you want. This device would be fine powering some crappy iPhone earphones or something because you could probably keep the volume relatively low and be fine (granted the quality wouldn't be that good anyway with those earphones), but when using your higher quality earphones you need to turn the volume up to hear everything well. 

I would guess this is where an earphone amp would come in, because you could keep the volume the same on your device, but the amplifier would make the output sufficient for your earphones, with minimal distortion. Heck, it might include signal processing units to filter out noise and whatnot, too. This would be a lot better than increasing the volume on your poor iTouch or whatever you've got. My guess is that the sound would be much more clear, too, because the device is outputting at a comfortable range.

vuzedome:

--- Quote from: kitamesume on July 29, 2012, 06:25:08 AM ---i still don't understand whats the need of an amp, if you'd ask a real electronics engineer they'd say "thats BS, it shouldn't up the sound's quality rather they'd introduce distortion"

--- End quote ---
Here's what I'm offended about, because it's engineers who are making the amps and not just some DIY hobbyist with great marketing sense.

kitamesume:
^its because whenever i try to look up for a reason as to why do you really really need an amp i can't find any thing other than "it makes it sound better", i asked some of the E&E professors when i had a fieldtrip to a technical collage and they told me that it really isn't likely other than the reasons i gave above, at most these amps will introduce distortions due to their designs and specially the parts used, which could be misinterpreted as a perk of the amp, you can hear them if you inter-change the amps being used at the same volume levels, as some will sound brighter or boomy due to their feedback.

vuzedome:
Obviously those E&E professors don't really enjoy using headphones.
Some people like to add some flavour to their headphones, hence the distortion, others just want to be able to get the best out of their headphones.
It definitely does not enhance the listening experience, that is unless like I've stated above that you want some flavour or colouration.
Again, it comes down to personal preferences. But you'll never know until you try, it's just sad that some people dismiss certain facts when it goes against their beliefs.

Tephnos:
I've never heard the HD598, but I do use the HD650.

The 650 is probably one of the best headphones I've ever listened to. It continually scales in quality with better amps, and it's a great laid back headphone. Most of the time when I listen to music, it's for background noise while I do something else. The 650, being so laid back and friendly, is perfect for long listening sessions without fatigue. Their ability of masking badly mastered tracks is a bonus.

The K701 sounds unnatural to me - the soundstage is far too huge. I could never really get into it, and the headband bothered me.

Since I've already done 2 of the 'golden three' I'll add in the DT880. This one, coupled with the 650 are probably a perfect match. The 650 is very laid back and chill, whilst the DT880 is very forward and engaging due to the increased treble. A side effect of this however is that you can't really listen for long - it's a very fatiguing headphone. I personally love listening to orchestrals and acoustics on the 880, while the 650 makes short work of anything else.

Amping is a definite must though - really brings out the 'flavour' in the music, so to speak.

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