PreIntroduction:
I am in no way affiliated or work for AKG or Massdrop, and for this review, I did
not receive this item as a review sample. I’m a 19 year old college student who likes his music pure, and would hope that in the future, teens could appreciate the audiophile community the same way I do. Enjoy!
Keep in mind that all the pictures, while looking small on the page, were taken by a mid-resolution camera. I just didn't want to clutter up the page with large pictures. So feel free to click on them to see them in full resolution throughout the review!
Introduction:
There have been (at least for a while) the “kings” of price per performance in the headphone market. Starting with the lowly mod-able Monoprice 8323, jumping up to the Audio Technica ATH-M50’s, and then the Sennheiser 600/650 to name but a few. People are always on the search for a new budget king, and that’s sort of why the Massdrop/AKG K7XX made such a stir. This may be fitting to go in the “king” category.
You see, AKG had quite a few headphones in the K7 family, including the K701, Q701, K702, K712, and K702 Anniversary edition. I can imagine someone new to this thinking-
“What does all of this mean? …I’m bad enough at spelling as it is, now I have to remember 5 similar-but-different names of headphones and their differences?!?”
Well, fear not. All you gotta know is that the last two I mentioned (which you don’t even have to remember their names) are/were about $450 in stores, maybe $400 if you get a deal. The K7XX (the headphone I’m reviewing) sells for $200 list price, and will probably stay that way.
Now, if price was an indicator, which it usually is, you would probably think that the K7XX is worse off than the $450 ones, right?
Wrong. Well, mostly, anyway.
From what I understand, the K7XX was a collaboration between AKG and Massdrop, an online community where people can participate in group buys, which usually means lower price. The new K7XX edition is an
improvement on the $450 pair. Why is it so cheap? Because Massdrop got a quote for 2000 people willing to participate in the group buy, all within a span of 6 days.
If Massdrop could assure that 2000 people buy this product in a week, then AKG would be more than happy to lower the price to $200. The buyers win, because they get a quite superior headphone for a greatly reduced price. AKG wins, because they can sell thousands of headphone straight from the get-go. Massdrop wins, because whether or not they get a share of the earnings (which I have no idea if they do), Massdrop as a website gets a lot of publicity, and chances are if you buy something once from them, you’ll buy again.
What happened? Massdrop sold 2782 (if my memory serves correctly) pairs of the K7XX in a week. They reinstated the drop again another 2 times that I’ve seen, both selling in the hundreds. So everybody’s (or almost, anyway) been happy.
I’ll go through some of the major points, as well as some things you should be aware of. Enjoy!
Packaging:
Standard, looks nice. I’m not much of a believer in packaging to begin with, so here’s 2 pictures. Otherwise, we’re done.
Build Quality:
Overall, it’s quite good. The cups feel solid. However, from what I picked up here and there, the more expensive models it’s based on (the K702 Anniversary edition, and the K712) are better built. There’s been some talk of the earlier ones being built in Austria while these were built in China, but honestly, for all the hype that China-built stuff aren’t good, these are built quite well.
The K7XX is built quite interestingly, though. Instead of an extension in the headband that you could make longer/shorter based on your head height, these stretch to your head through some elastic string on each side (scroll a bit down to picture 1). While I’m comfortable with the elastics themselves (they seem sturdy enough), although I was afraid the tension will wear out after a year or two, the plastic piece connected to them had my full concern (picture 2). I thought they would snap, break, or a combination of the two well within two years. From the time I've had it though, everything works well, and my initial concerns were for naught. It is strong plastic though, so perhaps it's built to last.
However, from those who’ve had the earlier models (which operate the same way), it seems that my concern is only an initial reaction. They’ve said that the elastic/plastic pieces work well, and as a reminder, they’re backed by a two year warranty. So if you feel alarmed like me, relax a little. They’re most probably going to last.
Along the top are 2 separate things, interesting as well. There’s the leather headband (picture 4, second row), which is quite comfortable, and is what you rest your head on. The previous models had uncomfortable bumps on them, so the K7XX being “bump-free” is a relief to many familiar with the AKG family. On top of the headband, though, there’s two long plastic pieces running almost directly parallel to the leather headband. This is really hard to explain, so please look at picture 5 (second row) to see what I’m talking about.
Those two long plastic pieces thingamajigs are, to my understanding, what keeps the cups connected. So I was also initially concerned with those, as the plastic…doesn’t feel too sturdy at all. However, I am brand new to the AKG headphones, and if they did it well until now with previous models, who am I to judge? Just to be aware though, don’t treat this like a Lenovo Yoga Flex 2.
Cups and Pads/Cushions:
The cups are really nice, all black… they look SO much better than the Q701’s, which many are green, or the K702’s, which are white and black, or…
…This is a full-sized open back headphone, and you’re not going outside with these. This review is not for aesthetics, and it’s not going to be a decoration on the wall but on our ears. So, yes, it looks nice. All black, a step up color-wise from the other models in my opinion. But that’s it. I’m not spending 2 pages on comparing the color themes, for crying out loud.
Cushions are very comfortable, reminds me of those memory foam pads. Big enough to cover most sized ears without a problem. In fact, these are huge to people who haven’t seen many full-sized headphones before. But that’s just the way these types of headphones are made.
There’s also a comfy inner cushion as well, directly covering the driver opening. So for those who feel that their ears are going to touch the inside of the cups, there’s padding for that as well. How considerate.
Both indicate they can be worn for hours without too much of a problem, although since the cups are so big you may have to readjust them on your head once in a while.
Ehm, I had a problem when I first got them, which was since these are so much bigger than my ear, in which position do the cups go over your ears… do you want the front of your ear touching the front part of the pad or the back of your ear touching the back part of the cushion? Although this sounds ridiculous, there is a different sound depending on which way you do it. I settled on pushing the cups forward, i.e. keeping my ear mostly towards the back part of the cup.
Awkward time over. Next section.
Sound:
Here we go. This I’m familiar with.
First off, these headphones are quite lively. You can hear from the sound that they were meant for listening/relaxing, rather than mixing and studio purposes. Sounding very natural, which is a feat not all headphones can brag about, the K7XX in my honest opinion leave the “everything has to be exact and dry” category to enter the “be happy with me” one. While staying fairly accurate and natural, this pair knows how to twist the EQ here and there to make it sound impressive.
Lows/Bass: I’ve heard that people complained about the previous AKG models being “bass-lacking”, so AKG added a bit of a boost to this one. Nice and welcome, and doesn’t friggin’ take control of the frequency like those who say “oh, it’s not overpowering” and then they show you V-Moda’s. These are a
part of the frequency, nothing more. You won’t feel like these have too much at all, while still staying prominent. They just have a slight boost. I am an anti-basshead as well, if there’s such a thing, so hopefully I can gain your trust with that.
While great in quantity, clarity, and size, to me they could have been a tad more controlled on the lower end. I did come from a closed back studio headphone, but even compared to many openback’s I have tried (Beyer T90, specifically) the bass seems a little “out there,” rather than controlled where you know when it begins and ends. The effect is one where it takes you into the music, rather than leaves you to dissect the sound. I think AKG may have done that purposefully, so that it can immerse you better, but more on that later.
Mids: Acoustics (guitar, cello, etc.) sound great and natural, although that should be a given based off the natural quality of these headphones. Vocals can be a bit tricky though. Either it’s my choice of amp (more on that later) or the headphones themselves, but unless the recording is mastered well (and not 3/4 of the pop songs out there), I’m personally left a little bit unsatisfied with the vocals. Even with well-recorded music and a good amp, the vocals don’t jump out at you. Or maybe my vocals aren’t that well recorded after all. Either way, if vocals are a big part of your music, brace yourself. It
will show you the bad in those, if there are any. Any type of instrument sounds great with these though. Basically anything but vocals get a +1 from me.
Highs: Done quite well; I have no complaints about these. They still have that “snap” I’m so fond of, and quite a relief too. Drums sound better than I can ask for, although when mixing in with the type of bass the K7XX provides it perplexes me a bit.
Coloration: not much to say here, besides for that there’s really not much coloration going on here. Quantity differences, yes. Coloration, no.
Soundstage: Wide, oh wide. I mean height and depth too, not just wide. Big sound from a big headphone, although this is really famous with most of the AKG lineup. Definitely helps in terms of “getting into” the music. Very 3D-sounding, especially given the imaging. Natural + Soundstage = WIN in this case. Helps with the immersion factor tremendously (later section).
Imaging: Done well, although higher-end flagships may do it better. Nothing to complain about here.
Frequency Shape: If I had to say, it would be slightly V-shaped, due to (what I think, anyway) a slightly boosted bass and treble. Not ATH-M50 V-shaped, only slightly.
Detail & Extension: Detail retrieval is as good as it needs to be, in my opinion. The bass is quite extended. However, the mids could use a bit more of detail, in my opinion. Studio headphones in particular are going to shine more in the detail department, but that doesn’t mean these are bad in any way.
Coherency and Flow: Very, very well done. AKG took a loud and big type of sound for the bass, a slightly smaller one for the mids, and a very precise sound for the highs, and made it all flow together. If all three parts of the frequency was like the lows, it would sound quite muddy. Everything like the mids, it would sound lacking. All like the Highs and there would be no way to immerse yourself in the music; it would be too techinical. AKG took all three and fused it into an interesting but enjoyable sound.
Immersion Factor: Crowning glory of this headphone, in my opinion. Technical details are really only there to help you hear what’s in your music, but we often forget about how enjoyable and immerse-able your headphones let your music become. The K7XX zones you in as if you’re at the center of the entire piece, which can only be done through all of the above.
Genres: EDM/Rave music, do
not sound great with these, in my opinion. EDM thrives off of sharp and concise bass, and a natural sounding headphone won’t do much good for EDM either. Imagine a “natural” EDM instrument, if there was one. Blegh. Regular electronic sounds great though, but don’t expect this to be a dubstep headphone. Classical isn’t the shining glory with my amp right now, due to the amount of bass present in the setup. It still stays quite enjoyable though, even when not at it’s true best. Anything natural sounding (i.e. most instrumental music) and anything that thrives off a huge soundstage (psychedelic music, for example [Shpongle]) will sound really great.
I hate “fun” headphones. Like, really hate them. But sometimes studio headphones make your listening very dry and unlively. What AKG did well here is provide life to the music. I spent quite a few months before the K7XX with only a Studio headphone, and I have to say that the K7XX makes me much happier. Is it flat? No. Does it have a bit of extra bass? Yup. Is the frequency strung flat to the HD800’s? No. But if you’re ready to leave because it’s not as accurate as studio’s (and I don’t mean Beats), remember the LCD Flagship lineup. Are those LCD’s priced $1000-$2000 flat either? Not really. Also have a little boost in the lows, and some other frequency tweaks to my ear that make it sound more enjoyable.
For these reasons, I would say that the K7XX is an extremely immersive and enjoyable headphone. People who are looking for a high quality recording headphone should steer clear of this; it’s very likely to space out into the music instead of focusing on the recording itself. To say it in another way, these are more geared to a listener's perspective than a recorder's perspective. Their crowning ability in my opinion is how fast you can really "get lost" or space out with these headphones (they're great to relax). For a recorder, that may turn out to be harmful; you don't really want to space out when singing, you want to focus on what you have to do.
I would consider other high-reference/studio headphones as a 4k resolution screen, while the K7XX is IMAX at 1080p. Not everything is about the resolution; the type of screen makes a difference too.
And in this respect, AKG couldn’t have done better.
Amplification:
I really, really didn’t want to come to this section, because it’s so darn tricky. But here’s what I learned so far:
The K7XX are rated a 62 ohm headphone. 62 ohms aren’t usually enough to warrant a powerful amplifier, and most definitely doesn’t need one by any means. HOWEVER, akg’s K7 family are the quite opposite of that; they usually need quite a bit of power (and a good sounding amp, obviously) to sound good, more than the 300 ohm HD600’s from my understanding. I’ve tried the K7XX with a few low-mid tier amplifiers, and it friggin’ changes every time. Imagine how hard it is for me to do a review sound-wise when the EQ changes with every amp I own/have owned.
So if you think you can get away with this headphone without an amp,
don’t. It absolutely needs one, I cannot stress this more. I’ve heard reviews saying that almost any good amp will do, and, to my understanding, that’s not entirely correct. Let me show you what I mean:
Nuforce Udac-2 dac/amp: Sounded pretty good for the first pairing, albeit not so “full” sounding. Vocals sounded
awful, it was like the K7XX was a recording quality nazi.
Fiio E18: Colored, and awful sounding. On top of that, I always needed to push the volume up a little more, or else it sounded teeny. You know if you have to push the volume up that the headphone is not getting enough juice…
Schiit Magni 2 Uber: More than plenty of power, maybe almost a bit too much. Overall sound in the mids is too abrasive to my ears, and when the bass hits, it hurts my ears. Low gain was better, but still didn’t sound too great. Overall detail, clarity, etc. of the highs, mids, lows were slightly better than with the (next) Fiio E12.
Fiio E12: Finally, a good sounding pairing. The E12 is on the lower side of amps, though, so keep in mind that it will sound a bit more “warm” or “wet” than higher-end amps. Not colored in any way though, so that’s a plus.
Aune B1: For a standalone amplifier, the B1 sounds absolutely fantastic with the K7XX - smooth, very musical, and a real pleasure to listen to. Better than with the Fiio E12,, in my opinion, but both sound great, so don't "feel bad" if you don't have the money to buy the B1.
Heir Audio Rendition 1 Amplifier: A big name for a decent amplifier; while a mid-tier amp, and really great with all lower impedance headphones I’ve tried (Bang & Olufsen H6, KRK KNS8400), I’m basically getting a smaller version of the problem that the Fiio E18 had. I’m not feeling that the Rendition 1 is giving a full sound, although it’s possible that’s coming from the fact a just left a quite warm amplifier for a colder one. I hear all the details and clarity a mid-tier amp should, still, it leaves the K7XX underpowered. It becomes a little fatiguing as well.
CEntrance DACport Slim: This is the pairing that you should get if you're on a budget. The Slim is a DAC/amp all in one, and is quite small too. It was actually
made with the K7XX in mind, so it's no wonder they work really great together. This pairing will get a good 90% (just to throw out a number) of what you'll hear from this headphone, and it's a beautifully sounding pair. I
highly recommend this pairing - especially since as DAC/amp's go, $100 is really not asking for much, much less for a powerful, good sounding piece of equipment.
Grace/Massdrop m9XX: I don't think anyone who has some vague form of a budget will actually be buying the m9XX, but I'd like to say that the K7XX scales very, very well with higher-end equipment such as the m9XX. In fact, with this DAC/amp (m9XX), it sounds like something double its actual cost - knocking out the HD600 and HD650, in my opinion.
…So, what you can hopefully take from this is that the K7XX, to me, can get quite picky. It may be why my vocal collection is getting different impressions from me as I move along. The CEntrance DACport Slim is the best budget-oriented choice to pair the K7XX with, but the Magni 2 is definitely not. Keep in mind you
must have an amp to make the ‘phones sound their potential, and that these will scale wonderfully with higher tier amps. Basically, when moving up, you’ll really only need to replace the amp and/or source player, not the K7XX; the mark of a truly good headphone.
Price & Value:
As other reviews have said, for $200 there’s nothing like it. The soundstage, 3d presentation, and immersion factor coupled with quite impressive sound totally destroys most headphones in its price range. Ath-M50X? Not even close. I don’t know any closed-back headphones across the price spectrum that has presentation like this one. One head-fi’er told me during a meet that after this, it starts getting into the law of diminishing returns, so here’s a great place to start – and end, if you’re on a budget.
Now, the Sennheiser HD600’s can be had for ~$275 slightly used throughout the year, and $260 on black Friday. To me, they are both budget kings though. The HD600’s excel at a more balanced sound, and are great for recording purposes. The new K7XX is fabulous at listening to music to enjoy it, and immerses you like a boss. So I can’t say that one is better than the other, rather they are two very different types of headphones to be used for different purposes.
Conclusion:
Giant killers? Maybe. Either way, you won’t find out unless you find at least a good amp that pumps out a decent amount of power. For beginners, this is the one headphone you’ll be satisfied with in this price range, just watch out for the cost that amplifiers can cost you, and stick to the ones known well to work with it. The E12 is a great beginner option, but you will have to shell out ~$100 for that – not really great for people on a budget. The DACport Slim is the same price, but is a DAC as well, so it justifies the cost just a bit. Keep in mind though that it’s a completely different beast than probably any closed back headphone you’ve worn until now. Feed it right, and it can be a monster.
For the people familiar with headphones, I can’t bring frequency charts like other reviews do, but to my ear it can be a giant killer, with the right equipment. It won’t be to the same level that the HD800’s are, or the HE1000. But sub-$1000 it provides plenty of competition, and wins most of them, to me. Keep in mind the ear I’m using is the same one that was used in a blindfolded test of mid-high tier headphones for a bet with a friend, as well as during the HE1000 impressions, so you might want to trust me a bit beyond my age. Either way, though, expect to feed this well, and for the amplifier to be lagging behind the headphones for a while. Keep in mind the reminders on the build quality, although most say they shouldn’t be a problem. This isn’t a “basshead” headphone, although it is a bit bass-prominent, which may leave you with mixed feeling for your classical collection. Try to couple it with a bass-light amp, if you have one. Either way, it provides a really interesting sound that’s hard to miss; enjoyable, huge, and very immersive.
Quick Summary/Short Version:
1. These headphones are HUGE. To new users of open-backs.
2. That said, it provides amazing soundstage/imaging, and are very comfortable. Headband has no bumps, and earpads are of memory foam.
3. Very decent amount of detail. The extension is okay, while still decent; I don't feel it to be lacking.
4. Very natural sounding, so for anything that was quickly digitalized and/or vocals that weren't recorded perfectly, you WILL hear it with some amps. The upside and downside of any real decent headphone.
5. YOU NEED a great amp for these to sound their full potential. Since I upgraded to the Fiio E12, the pairing was good, although limited by the E12…
These headphones scale with the amp you use.
6. Highs are great, still natural sounding, so maybe it doesn't have that snap drums have with studio headphones; it's more of a satisfying "thump". Precision is accurate, detail is great, and for an very open headphone, you can't ask for anything more.
7. Mids/Vocals sound freakishly natural, so any pop artists that use only "okay" recording equipment won't sound amazing with certain amps. These headphones will only sound as good as the recording, as any should. Not very forgiving.
8. The bass boost is very welcome and heard, but not overpowering. Could be a bit more controlled in my opinion, but maybe I'll change my mind after a few days with these. Edit: after a while, I feel that the bass, while not as controlled as some studio headphones, are there to suck you into the music, and suck you in it does.
9. It's interesting to have a bass boost in a natural and neutral headphone like these, but it surprisingly all fits together.
10. No rattling in mine, and everything sounds great.
11. I have not seen a more decent $200 headphone, and that is saying a lot. This to me is -by far- the best headphone in its price range - the HD600's was for years, but now this a cheaper, different, and more unique option. For every the criticism's in this review, there's another 3 positives with this new, affordable, and incredible sounding headphones.
12. These headphone make the music blend in together, while the instruments stay separate. Studio headphones - these are not, but reference they are and make a very good casual listening headphone too. Again, I don't like coloration, but even though these aren't studio 'phones, they are very natural in their presentation.
13. EDM/Dubstep will almost never sound great on a open natural-sounding headphone, and these are no exception. You probably want this if you have a lot of instrumental music, vocals that you can swear by that they had good recording equipment, and even electronic music that has no dubstep/scratching.
14. The Piano Guys, Lindsey Stirling, and most of OCRemix's albums (especially Deus Ex Augmentation) really shine with these.
15. Thank you to 1bentley4ever for catching the upper treble spike. It gives the impression of a more sharp headphone, while retaining bass. I wouldn't say these are U-shaped, but they seem to have a very slight V-shape sound.
16. These headphones are great! I don't feel a need to upgrade anymore, although I wish picking an amp for this beast would be an easier matter...
Hope you enjoyed! Suggestions/criticisms are welcome.
EDIT: Head-fi didn't really let me scratch my old first impressions and post this new review, so I had to "edit" my previous impressions and use the same post date.... Post date for the review is 5/17/2015. Thank you!
Other picture(s):