Akg K702 paired with Marantz 4400

[Makis]

Hello!
I'm back with another newbie question. Since my wife generally cant stand music playing in the house I thought I should treat myself to a good pair of headphones. A friend of mine was really not pleased with the "lack of bass" of his brand new AKG K702 so I helped him get rid of them. I think they must have played less than 100 hours,but on my setup(marantz 4400 and Pro-ject essential II) sound great! The only thing that troubled me a bit is that I have to increase the volume a bit to get to a satisfying level. Since their impedance is 62 Ohm is this normal or it has nothing to do with it?

 

[boza]

Hi
When you say you have to increase the volume how much are we talking ?
Considering the akg are a 105db sensitivity your marantz shouldn't have any problems with the 62ohm impedance of the AKG's

 

[Makis]

If on my speakers the volume is at 20-25%, with the headphones I have to increase that to 35-40% for casual listening(not loud).
Keep in mind that the speakers are some crappy floorstanding Sony's and the amp hasnt yet been recaped,if that changes anything.

 

[boza]

I think you are ok.
My JVC ha-rx900 are 68ohm and 106db and they can take a good bit of volume on my yamaha as500. Easy the same as my speakers.
The AKG's are nice headphones bet they sing on your marantz.

 

[Makis]

They do sound great indeed. And I dare to say that as the days go by,they sound even better! And the bass is good enough for me since I mostly listen to classic and rock.But even at hip hop they are good!I'm not much of a heavy bass guy(would settle with a pair of beats if that was the case). But I guess its time to properly restore the marantz. He definately deserves it,still working after all these years

 

[cratz2]

I have a pair of Q701s which are pretty similar to your K702s. The specs make them look relatively easy to drive but they seem to be a bit more challenging than they would look on paper.

Compared to, say ATH-AD700Xs or Sennheiser HD598s, they sound about 90% as good (in my opinion, of course) when powered from a Sony digital Walkman or Zune or Samsung S8 as when powered by a modest Schiit Magni or Little Dot Mk I but the Q701s went from 'just a little better than OK' to my favorite overall headphones. Like literally twice as good. Much fuller and more lush sounding.

I'm not a basshead at all. Not by any means. Most of the music I listen to doesn't really have much prominent bottom end. If one craves the thump thump, the 701/702s are not the right choice.

I've never heard them with any receiver or integrated amp other than a Emotiva digital preamp but I don't think you have anything to worry about... just be sure to turn the volume down when going from headphones to speakers!

 

[monsterzero]

Typically low ohm headphones do not pair well with vintage receivers.Typically the result is bloated bass response or in some cases,an empty hollow tin can sound.It has to do impedance matching.This article explains it well.
That being said sometimes the results can be not too bad,especially for bass lite headphones.

Despite published data ive always found AKG headphones always need a bit more power than other headphones with similar specs.

 

[RamblinE]

I like more play in the volume knob with headphones. I like being able to make fine adjustments to find the right volume for what I'm listening to or watching.

 

[Makis]

Typically low ohm headphones do not pair well with vintage receivers.Typically the result is bloated bass response or in some cases,an empty hollow tin can sound.It has to do impedance matching.This article explains it well.
That being said sometimes the results can be not too bad,especially for bass lite headphones.

The initial owner had paired them with a brand new denon amp(not sure which model)and a technics SL1200 MKII.As he told me they sounded worst than they did on his laptop. I compared them with my laptop too and can guarantee you that they sound waaaay better on the Marantz. I've tried them with classical music(both single instrument concerts and orchestral),classic 60's-70's rock,heavy metal,remastered hip-hop and even some trance lps(I think these are destined for djing).Handled everything like a charm..I am expecting him one of these days to come over and have a listen on my setup. Will give you feedback!

 

[Drugolf]

Headphones need serious break in time and maybe he didn't have enough patience.

 

[Makis]

Headphones need serious break in time and maybe he didn't have enough patience.

Apparently..No backies now though

 

[restorer-john]

I have the AKG-702s myself and a pair of 601s and 501s.

They are all remarkable headphones and you did well to score them. Let your friend have whatever bass-heavy headphones he wants and revel in the purity of your 702s.

They are not 'difficult' to drive at all, if you understand the basics. Most people don't.

...Typically low ohm headphones do not pair well with vintage receivers...

They are not low impedance headphones at all, they are 62ohms, which puts them firmly into medium impedance or high. As such, you need a decent voltage 'swing' from a low impedance source.

A vintage receiver will happily swing plenty of voltage, but the issue is the in-line 330-680ohm resistors they used to protect low impedance headphones from destruction (check the S/M for the 4400 to see what resistors they use). All that means is you are dropping voltage across the resistors, decreasing the damping of the headphones and needing more rotation on the volume knob (that isn't a problem BTW- in fact, more rotation means less noise in most cases).

enjoy!

 

[restorer-john]

It looks like (cursory glance at the schematic for the 4400) you have only 150 ohms (approx) in line with the power amps to your headphones, which means they will have plenty of damping and voltage swing- I would expect them to sound excellent on that receiver.

 

[Makis]

John I really appreciate the trouble you got into!! Should I mention this detail to the guy that will restore my receiver? Or there is no reason to replace any of these parts?
I can assure you they sound great. With a little tweeking on the "eq" of the receiver depending on the genre of the lp they are a joy to listen to...So much detail I hadnt noticed before!And I dont think I could wish for more comfort.Last night I had them on for almost 5 hours and didnt feel the slightest discomfort!