I can help answer your question. I currently own the AKG 701's, Sennheiser 580's & 600's, Grado SR-325's. Out of the entire bunch the AKG's are by far the best. They have the sweetest sound, deepest bass, out of the bunch. They are also the least efficient.
I use my Linn music classik and a pro-ject headphone amp. On both units I have to turn the volume control up quite a bit to get the same loudness on 701's compared to the 580's.
That said, if you can buy the 701's go for it and upgrade your headphone amp as funds permit. My Linn music can drive the 701's plenty loud, however these phones are worthy of a top headphone amp.
I hope this helps
I use my Linn music classik and a pro-ject headphone amp. On both units I have to turn the volume control up quite a bit to get the same loudness on 701's compared to the 580's.
That said, if you can buy the 701's go for it and upgrade your headphone amp as funds permit. My Linn music can drive the 701's plenty loud, however these phones are worthy of a top headphone amp.
I hope this helps