AKG K 702 Headphones

I've owned these for the best part of a month now and have done some extensive listening with them both in extended listening sessions of several albums and of comparative listening sessions with with my HD650. I feel I am ready to comment on the qualities of these phones.

I had always intended to put these and the HD650 against each other and sell one, as I had thought it would be an indulgence to keep two expensive open circumaural home-listening phones. The problem I have found (and it's a good problem to have) is that the are fantastic companions. Any type of music the HD650 does not do so well with, the K702 shines with and where the K702 seems a bit too formal and cold, the HD650s warmth is a perfect tonic. I'm keeping both.

Formality is really the term I would use to describe these phones. They are polite, analytical and are certainly revealing of a track, with details not just presented but presented with a crispness and accuracy that is a joy to hear. Don't bother listening with anything but high quality encodings though, as it will show up the wrong kind of detail just as clearly.

The AKG K702 have less bass than most of my other phones, but still presents more low end than, say my Phonak PFE or MS2i with bowls rather than flats. The bass is of an exceptional quality, impact and speed. The mid range is beautiful and airy, especially where it comes to female vocals which sound sometimes unnervingly real and the treble is crisp, if a little cold.

The real star of the show when it comes to the K702 package is the sound stage. I was worried I would be put off by its size as many complain of it being unrealistic. Well, it's really not that big, but it does offer the space you need to really delve into a song, picking up on this and that instrument and then mentally stepping back to hear the whole track as one.

It's sound stage and level of detail really make these phones perfectly suited for my classical music and my jazz and my electronica and works very well with layered rock/alternative music such as Radiohead, Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band, Frank Zappa, the last two Joanna Newsom albums and that sort of thing. That isn't to say it doesn't do a great job of presenting rock, pop, reggea and simpler folk as well as it is certainly pleasant, but for these warmer and simpler types of music I find myself switching to the funner HD650 with its more intimate sound stage.

Comfort with the K702, for me, is a major plus. I understand a lot of people have big problems with the bumps on the bottom of the headband. Pressing them with my fingers I can feel they aren't comfortable, but I have plenty of hair and do not really feel them. The 3D form cut velour pads seem to have been designed for the shape of my skull and compared to the HD650 the lack of clamp is quite a relaxing experience. I can wear these for hours on end and often forget I am wearing them. 

If the AKG K702 were my only headphones, I might find their genre range a bit limiting, I might find myself wanting a bit more bass with my reggae and hiphop and a more intimate sound stage with my rock and folk. But as a part of a varied collection with the HD650 and MS2i as the other two main home phones I find I have a great set of options to cater for every mood and genre.

The AKG K702 has filled in some gaps for me; has given me a classical and jazz listening option that can seriously compete with speakers, a natural home for aphex twin and a sound stage that brings the best out of some of my more complex rock music as well. Add to this it's almost unnervingly realistic reproduction of female vocals and it really does justify its price.

I used this out of a USB Pico DAC -> Dynalo (Sheer Audio HA-006+) -> K702 using well ripped FLAC files

I really thought this was going to be better, but I really just do not like these headphones much at all. Probably my biggest complaint is the airyness and tone of the vocals. I also have a pair of Grado HF2 and the HF2 just absolutely completely super duper destroys the K702 in tonality, especially the vocals.

It's also very fatiguing for my ears for some reason, even at quiet-medium listening levels. I've read this is because it has a high frequency spike or something. Oh well. I learned a valuable lesson with these K702, the best and only way to know if a headphone sounds good to you, is to listen to it yourself.

addendum: I suppose this could've been good for me had I a different amp or source or whatever. A Pico DAC -> Dynalo setup is a pretty standard and good setup. To me, a standard dynamic headphone like the K702 is, that doesn't sound good on my setup, is not a headphone worth paying for.

Great reference-quality open-back-headphones, big sound stage, accurate reproduction, detailed.

If you have a great recording, you will hear detail you may not have heard before. My digitally recorded version of 4 Seasons, done in  a good sound room, it excellent, you are there.

If you have a poor recording, you'll know it.

As to the base issue, my pre-amps have built in equalizers and my equalizers have equalizers so its not a show stopper for me. If you crank up the bass, these will bump with the rest of them.

I have had these for several weeks now. I find them amazing. 

Comfort:

A bunch of people have mentioned the bumps on the head band. These drove me mad to the point of wrapping a cloth around the band! But, it is leather, they break in and then are very comfortable. I guess you are expected to own a pair of these for a long time. Now they are broken in, I can spend (and do spend) entire days listening to them whilst coding.

Sound In General:

The stage is amazing. They are reference, so the sound is clinical. I can see why some people would find them fatiguing; I drive mine from a little dot mkiii value amp. If I drive them from a solid state amp then the sound is not so easy to listen to. My guess is that these headphones make no effort to improve the sound supplied at all. That is exactly what you want with reference cans!

Sound Stage:

It is big, but not stupid. Sometimes you get the idea that you are listening it loudspeakers on your ears, which is slightly annoying. I suspect this is due to the big size of the drivers. Most of the time, it is very much like listening to infinitely accurate speakers in the room. Actually, I use a digital effects unit to add a tiny bit of reverb' quite often, this really makes the listening experience like sitting in a living room listening to top end speakers.

Bass:

This is completely accurate. If you want a _lot_ of bass you are going to have to add this yourself, the headphones will not do that. They are reference, boosting the bass would be stupid. I use a sound processor to add bass if I want a lot. They take a lot of bass, but that does need a lot of drive. The amazing thing is that even with stupid quantities of bass, the middle and top remain unaffected (if you use a really good amp).

3Wires:

Yes - these do not have balanced input. Do I care - no! Balanced for the steps between processors are a good idea but for these I don't see the point.

Build:

These are not beautiful. The are not shiny. If you want to take pictures of yourself holding them and looking cool - you will be disappointed. They are are quite sturdy. I would not take them on the road. If I compare them to the my Sony monitors - they Sony's are much much stronger. 

Sound Isolation:

Do not use these as monitors! The leak like nothing else ( apart from maybe K1000s but I don't have that sort of money).