John,

I haven't been checking the Outlaw Saloon much recently but had some extra time tonight and noticed your headphone concerns. I'm going through the same thing these days. I upgraded my system last year going to the 990/7500 combination, and I am very happy with both. However, my wife doesn't necessarily share my happiness at times and I can't always listen to my equipment as often as I'd like. That has led me to the pursuit of headphones as well so I can listen "in my own little world" without bothering her.

I was very near buying the AKG 701's but decided that I'd "stick my toe in the water" by purchasing some lower end Grado's, the SR80's, that have received great reviews as far as bang for the buck. I figured at $95 they were a good way to get started and if I didn't like them I could always hand them off to my daughter to use with her IPOD. I must say I'm very impressed and better understand why Grado's are carried by high end audio stores. If this is how their lower end stuff sounds I'm going to have to try their high end stuff before I decide to move forward with anything else. However, I'm very curious to hear what you think of the 701's? I was actually down to either those or the Beyer Dynamics DT880's.

I noticed your other thread regarding the headphone out of the 990. Have you heard anything from Outlaw regarding your question yet? The 990 seems to push the Grado's O.K. as they don't require a lot of power but I'm curious how much better they'd be with a dedicated amp. Let us know what your thoughts are regarding the 701's.

Thanks.