korkster,

I just received the 701's on Friday and plan to audition them, for the fist time, in about 20 minutes.

Outlaw wouldn't commit to any specifics, saying only that while the 990's headphone amp should have no problem driving them, a dedicated headphone amp may improve the quality of the listening experience.

So, we shall see. If I really like the 701's, I'd like to figure out how to use them on my back porch ... wireless, with a headphone amp, maybe? We will see.

I will keep you posted.

thanks for responding and glad to hear you're enjoying your Grado's.

John

Dr_JB, I hope you've found by this time that you like your AKGs - I haven't heard them but AKG phones are favored at Recording for the Blind and There's two more links in the reproduction chain fDyslexic where I volunteer. Re Outlaw's implied recommendation of dedicated headphone amps for dedicated headphone listeners, it sort of stands to reason, at least to me, that an amplifier designed to do the best possible job feeding a few milliwatts into the 16 ohm load of good headphones (NOT electrostatic, which are an entirely different can of golden worms) and fed from the 990's preamp outputs would outdo the op-amps or whatever that are in the 990. But wireless - that raises questions about the performance of two more links in the audio chain, the transmitter and receiver, that someone else will have to answer. It would be interesting to compare the reproduction quality of a set of good phones plugged into the headphone jack of a good preamp like the 990, with the same phones attached to a domestic-size wireless transmitter-receiver combo driven from the same preamp, playing high-quality material. Maybe someone here is set up to do this; I'm not.

Sorry for the "There's two more links in the reproduction chain f" in the wrong place in my previous message. Probable operator error while trying to edit.

korkster & psyprof1,

I've had a chance to listen to the AKG K701's:

http://www.akg.com/site/products/powerslave,id,911,pid,911,nodeid,2,_language,EN.html

and so far, I'm very pleased. I have a couple of programs for breaking them in, but haven't bothered, yet. Some say these phones need up to 350 hours before they really shine, yet, I've read where a couple of fellows tried a new pair against a well used pair and couldn't hear the difference. All I know is that as I'm listening to them, I can actually notice that they warm up, become richer sounding the longer I listen to them. The difference is very subtle, but noticeable. So, I'm sure they will benefit from use.

The 990 has absolutely no problem driving them and, in comparison to my old Sony MDR CD550's, these are in another world, yet driven just as easily by the 990's headphone amp. When I watch sat tv, I get my weakest audio signal, while the highest volume setting is -21db, to give you an idea.

As people say, headphones cannot compete with a quality speaker setup. Nevertheless, the fist night I checked them out, I listened to some chamber music and it was so beautiful and ethereal, that, within 15 minutes, I fell asleep and while it was ethereal, it was also engaging and at these times, I'd wake up, in disbelief, at the beautiful sounds I was hearing. This cycle went on for about 45 minutes.

So, yes, overall, I'm very pleased and not the least bit disappointed in choosing the 701's. Also, I’m not surprised that this company would supply headphones for professional applications, as, I think, these are also designated as “reference” phones.

I can't imagine finding any fault in these babies; at this level, the choices you make really reflect personal taste in the texture of the listening experience, more so, than in its quality. One obvious strength/weakness is that they’re very revealing and while when listening to excellent recordings, they really shine, when listening to garbage, it’s really noticeable (for example, when listening to the tuner, I can hear the weaknesses in the radio signal).

I certainly highly recommend these, especially as they're available on the Internet for as little as $269.

If you're interested in researching what might best suit your tastes, this is an excellent resource:

http://www.head-fi.org/

It lists, also, numerous headphone amps, which range in price from about $100 to 1,000's of dollars. I like this one:

http://www.wooaudio.com/products/wa3.html

for example, as it actually has its own preamp.

Yes, fellows, no shortage of things to spend your hard earned dollars on! lol

Anyway, hope this helps!

John

Whew ... some wind in this one ... sorry ! lol

John,

Thank you for the review. It's nice to hear that the 990 can push the 701's, and I'm glad you're happy with your purchase. And you're right, there is no shortage of "stuff" to spend your hard earned dollars on although I'll bet the Woo Audio 3 would work very nicely with them. Look out wallet! lol

I may be following your lead in the future with the 701's. I'm hoping to find somewhere where I can give them a listen before I commit because as you said, what sounds good to each one of us is very subjective.

Regards.

Korkster

Korkster,

despite the subjective thing, I can't emphasize enough just how sweet these 701's are. The only other semi-reasonably priced pair that compare, via reviews, is the Sennheiser 600/650's.

Anyway, happy auditioning. And, I'll have to look at that Woo Audio 3! lol Thanks for the reference, I think! lol

John

Fellow headphone outlaw enthusiasts: I looked also at WOO, per John's suggestion. My goodness are the
amps expensive. Not sure why. If you know, please let me know. I'm driving either my STAX model SR5 phones with a Crown (very old) D40 amp....or my AKG K240 dynamic phones with the same amp, or the headphone jack of the 990, or the headphone out (line level) from any other gear that has one, including a mixer or etc.

So I guess I don't understand the value in the expensive WOO amps. Thanks in advance.