Are Quality Headphones Worth it With My AVR?

[mleuba]

Hi All,

I'd like to get your opinion(s) before I invest in a pair of high quality headphones. My system is an Integra DTF 7.8 with B&W CM7, CMC, CM1 and Velodyne mini-vee sub, Oppo 981 source or Squeezebox/Internet radio (love it!).

For those times when competition for the man-cave is high, I'd like to be able to listen to my music when my teenager watches TV or plays his XBox. Therefore the headphones...

I am strongly leaning to the AKG K 701's. But I have recently been told that I would be wasting my money without a separate headphone amp, which I'm not inclined to do. Before I jump for the can's ---will my 7.8 drive them adequately? What's so special about the separate amp?

Thanks in advance!

Mark

 

[zhimbo]

According to Headroom, those AKG's have "VERY low sensitivity", which means you need a lot of juice to properly drive them. This will certainly be an issue with portable players.

Past conversations on this topic indicate that most receivers seem to have plenty adequate headphone output for most headphones. Alas, I don't have any specific information on your particular pairing.

 

[mike c]

i'd say that it's worth it to try the headphones without the separate headphone amp first.

how much would the headphone amp cost anyway?

I personally use a mixer on my PC, and straight to the AV receiver in my bedroom (Denon 2307)

 

[jamie2112]

I would go for Sony MDR 7506's myself.....great phones I have used them for many years in the studio and live mixing...

 

[Djizasse]

+1

Sony MDR 7506 have great noise reduction and very good sensitivity. This combined means that you don't need a lot of power to drive them. My Mp3 player (iRiver HP100) has enough power to drive them, I only use half the volume.

ps- jamie, I'm NOT following you