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Is Akg k702 really a power hungry headphone ??

Oukkidoukki

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Sep 6, 2018
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I drop in to say K702 gets better by better amp. I thought they were little shy on bass in focusrite scarlett, O2 jds amp was step up and now Rme adi-2 fs is pretty spot on. I never miss any bass. I think they are pretty awesome when driven with good amp. Power surely play its part but is there something else? Don't know.

Edit: with apple dongle they are little bit too sharp I would say. Could be power issue.
 

bargainguy

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I've noticed that the K702 really needs more power to open up, especially in the bass.

Listening straight via my Astell & Kern AK70 mk. ii, the K702 runs out of steam every time bass notes appear.

Much better with the same source through my Topping A30 headphone amp. I find myself using all three gain settings (0, +6, +12 dB) depending on bass requirements. Songs with little bass sound fine at the nominal gain setting. Songs with strong & complex bass get +12. Anything in the middle gets +6. This had made the K702 much more livable.
 

Deckard01

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Jun 11, 2023
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Sure and my CanAmp really boost so much the K702. But I was looking for something portable so as not to be always with separate dac and amp.

Mojo looks I believe ideal and IFI Go Bar looks promising, but I still skeptical what to choose.

I have not find any answer of any product small enough so as to see if can compete Mojo when has to do with the sound quality and refinement that Mojo offers as said.
 

Robbo99999

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Sure and my CanAmp really boost so much the K702. But I was looking for something portable so as not to be always with separate dac and amp.

Mojo looks I believe ideal and IFI Go Bar looks promising, but I still skeptical what to choose.

I have not find any answer of any product small enough so as to see if can compete Mojo when has to do with the sound quality and refinement that Mojo offers as said.
Quidelix 5K is portable and also includes Parametric EQ possibilities:
 

mmmdc

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Mar 10, 2023
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I've noticed that the K702 really needs more power to open up, especially in the bass.

Listening straight via my Astell & Kern AK70 mk. ii, the K702 runs out of steam every time bass notes appear.

Much better with the same source through my Topping A30 headphone amp. I find myself using all three gain settings (0, +6, +12 dB) depending on bass requirements. Songs with little bass sound fine at the nominal gain setting. Songs with strong & complex bass get +12. Anything in the middle gets +6. This had made the K702 much more livable.
That's really not a thing. Headphones need exactly as much power as their sensitivity and impedance tells us they do.

Unless you run into clipping, more power will do nothing for you. And at 91db/mW and 61 Ohm, these headphones really aren't that hard to drive.

If they play at the same volume you're feeding them the same power, no matter the gain setting. What you're experiencing is either just small volume differences or placebo, unless you think these headphones break the laws of physics. (Hint: They don't.)
 
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