Astell & Kern AK 70 - best ear/head phones ?

[Mayank Shah]

Hello to all the AK70 owners. I recently got one and at the outset, I am liking it very much but there is room for improvement over my current basic earphones the Focal and Beyerdynamic Byron. Please let me know as to which earphones / headphones you are using along with it.

 

[hifitoaster]

Hello to all the AK70 owners. I recently got one and at the outset, I am liking it very much but there is room for improvement over my current basic earphones the Focal and Beyerdynamic Byron. Please let me know as to which earphones / headphones you are using along with it.

Campfire andromeda.

 

[bloredude]

@mayank Which Focal do you use? How do you compare it with the Byron?

 

[Mayank Shah]

Byron are very nice. Neutral, taut and deep bass...and very ideal for mobiles, but somehow didn't like it on the AK70, that sparkle is not there, bit dull. Focal are the very basic ones which I got from Amazon for 899 or something....they are better on the AK70 but not really there.....Andromeda campfire is beyond my budget. Looking at rha. Marshall major 3 headphones I liked very much if pressed a bit more to the ears.....I just wish the band had a bit more ear hug.

 

[hifitoaster]

Byron are very nice. Neutral, taut and deep bass...and very ideal for mobiles, but somehow didn't like it on the AK70, that sparkle is not there, bit dull. Focal are the very basic ones which I got from Amazon for 899 or something....they are better on the AK70 but not really there.....Andromeda campfire is beyond my budget. Looking at rha. Marshall major 3 headphones I liked very much if pressed a bit more to the ears.....I just wish the band had a bit more ear hug.

Tin p1. This must be the king now. Also fiio fh5. Tin p1 has planar drivers.

 

[Analogous]

I use my 5 years old JH13PRO custom IEMs and also Meze 99classics. The AK70 drives both very nicely. Different experiences between the IEMs and the closed back over ear headphone, of course. But both were very immersive and engaging With the AK70. I listen to Jazz Blues, fusion, North African, Carnatic, Sarod, Sitar (classical) music.

i have also tried the AK70 as a DAP on my stereo system (Naim 5i + Adam audio Pencil Mk3) using its internal DAC. It’s good but not as good the Chord Mojo or AP- Swara DAC in terms of detail and sound staging. Not sure if it’s just poor synergy between the DAC and Amplifier though. So many variables...

 

[ktks1]

Tin p1. This must be the king now. Also fiio fh5. Tin p1 has planar drivers.

Tin T4 is the king now. VFM product and really well machined. I've been using it for some time now and prefer it's sound over most sub 10k earphones/headphones.

 

[vineetrad]

Fiio FH7. Mine sounds very nice with an Astel & Kern DAP. Available on Amazon India.

 

[fLUX]

What is the budget you have set for the earphone/headphone ?

 

[vadi07]

Hello to all the AK70 owners. I recently got one and at the outset, I am liking it very much but there is room for improvement over my current basic earphones the Focal and Beyerdynamic Byron. Please let me know as to which earphones / headphones you are using along with it.

Hi man, Try Thieaudio Legacy 3,
it's not about spending too much money on the equipment it self,
really hard to get good quality audio sources (mostly indian music), it took me twelve good years to build my library of PCM files around thousand albums, i had a chance to listen to high quality up scaled music from soundcloud
now getting into DSD, slowly saving money for setting up ADDA system
enjoy your music