[Trombone324]

I've recently been thinking about purchasing a pair of AKG K240's but I noticed the price for the Q701's have dropped quite a bit so I'm leaning more towards those. My question - would running audio from my laptop and record player via my Denon AVR 1612 stereo receiver be enough to drive the Q701's or should I invest in a good headphone amp? As much as I would like to purchase the better of the two headphones, if it means I'd have to spend more money on an amp to drive the Q701's I might just go for the K240's instead. After all I'm just a college kid on a budget who loves music and good sounding audio equipment!

 

[rubinstein]

My question - would running audio from my laptop and record player via my Denon AVR 1612 stereo receiver be enough to drive the Q701's or should I invest in a good headphone amp?

 
Do you plan to connect the new headphone directly to the laptop or laptop ==> stereo receiver ==> head phone?

 

[PurpleAngel]

  I've recently been thinking about purchasing a pair of AKG K240's but I noticed the price for the Q701's have dropped quite a bit so I'm leaning more towards those. My question - would running audio from my laptop and record player via my Denon AVR 1612 stereo receiver be enough to drive the Q701's or should I invest in a good headphone amp? As much as I would like to purchase the better of the two headphones, if it means I'd have to spend more money on an amp to drive the Q701's I might just go for the K240's instead. After all I'm just a college kid on a budget who loves music and good sounding audio equipment!

The Denon AVR-1612 should easily be able to drive the 62-Ohm Q701s
The AVR-1612 uses the same amplifier(s) that drives the speakers, to drive the headphones.
AKG K612 Pro and Beyerdynamic DT880 Pro 250-Ohm should also be good choices for using with your receiver.

 

[manbear]

Your receiver should have plenty of power. I sometimes used a Sony receiver with my Q701 back when I owned it. I'm not even sure if the K240 is much easier to drive than the Q701... For some reason, there is a myth that the Q701 is hard to drive. Not really. In terms of power, your receiver is a beast compared to many headphone amps. Should be more than enough. 

 

[Trombone324]

Thanks for the help everyone!
I plan on connecting the headphones directly to the receiver. 
What are some other good open-back/semi open-back headphone options around the $100-$200 price range?

 

[manbear]

DT-880 Pro
Used Sennheiser HD600
Maybe Hifiman HE-300

What kind of music do you listen to?

 

[Trombone324]

I mostly listen to jazz, classical, and rock music. I rarely ever listen to dance, dubstep, or rap music.

 

[manbear]

Q701 is the bees knees for classical and jazz. It's not bad for rock, but it depends on how much you like bass. The DT-880 is probably your best second choice, based on what I've read, but I haven't heard it. I owned a Q701 for a while though.