The only logical explanation of the whole I can think of is the fact that HARMAN totally stop financing in to the development and research. When I read their description, that these are for pro studio folks I wonder which studios they mean, the one that mastering games and movies? This all will may end up very badly for AKG as a brand.
 
 
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elwappo99 said:

 
No one appreciates logic around these AKG releases, especially THIS kind of logic 

 
 
But really, this is exactly what's happened. The other big manufacturer's released new headphones. AKG is just changing cosmetics and keeping the same old driver production going. People suddenly start lining up! Doesn't make sense to me. 

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To be honest, the Anniversary SHOULD be mass produced. Seriously. Take time with them and compare, and it's not hard to see that if they price this at around $300 in the street, there's not gonna be much competition in terms of balanced headphones. It's truly that good. They have finally managed to perfect the K702 (IMHO), and being able to make them available for a good price is the smartest move they could make. I sat there and compared them with the 650, LCD2, HE-400, and I couldn't find one thing those did better than the Annie except more bass in the planars... and more intimacy in the LCD2 (which can also be seen as a negative thing). Two friends compared the LCD2 and the Annie in my home, and both came out preferring the Annie. I didn't even have to tell them anything.

If all you care about is drivers, then look at what the modded community has done with drivers like the Fostex T50RP, Grados, Alessandro MS1's, etc.

There is much more to a headphone than just the driver. The AKG 70x drivers didn't need much to improve. More bass, smoother response (to tame that mid upper peak issue), and more comfort. That would have been huge when the K701/2 were first released. Now just because the K70x has been around for a long time, people are bitching? Please.

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blackmore said:

The only logical explanation of the whole I can think of is the fact that HARMAN totally stop financing in to the development and research. When I read their description, that these are for pro studio folks I wonder which studios they mean, the one that mastering games and movies? This all will may end up very badly for AKG as a brand.

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Everyone markets their headphones as "Pro audio" or "Studio" now, because no audio studio would ever use things like studio monitors.
 
Most recording studios are probably still using the K240s they bought in the 1980's.

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blackmore said:

The only logical explanation of the whole I can think of is the fact that HARMAN totally stop financing in to the development and research. When I read their description, that these are for pro studio folks I wonder which studios they mean, the one that mastering games and movies? This all will may end up very badly for AKG as a brand.
 
 

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No, no, no. They are still hard at work. They have shifted their attention to the next generation of audio engineering: PADS
 
 
But seriously, some time ago one of the original designers of the K1000 was around, and basically after Harman there wasn't much room for creativity. The K1000 and K340 are actually two really stellar headphones. I heard a modded K340 once, and I'd easily drop $500 if that person would be willing to sell it. 

To continue: Look at MrSpeaker Mad Dogs. He's had, what, 3 pad swaps now? Each one improving the sound slightly. Are people complaining? No. I guess it's okay when a small business does it, but when a major company like the AKG does it, it's a problem? Yes, we can look at the price premium being a bit ridiculous, but you are paying for more than just a pad swap. You're getting a fully new finish, brand new headband design, and some premium pads over the standard K702. The pads alone are expensive on both the Mad Dogs and Annie/712. The premium is justified.

If AKG sold the Annie as something like a standard K702 with nothing new but a pad swap, then yes, the price hike would be a bit bloated.

Can the price go down? Absolutely, but it's still a legitimate method of improving headphones.

Pads can make or break a headphone, so if you think pads aren't as important to a headphone as the drivers, you need to do your homework.

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wolfskie said:

don't know 'bout you guys, but i'm much more excited about the renewal of the k601, i was very disappointed when they were discontinued.
it also seems they're priced relatively low, at least according to the site Blackmore posted (and hopefully price will end up being even lower than that)

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mad lust envy said:

I heard the K601 was warmer than the 70x. I wonder how much warmer it is over the Annie/712 Pro, since going by the Annie, is already on the warm side of neutral...

And I wonder if the new K612 will have memory foam, making them even warmer...

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I am very interested about the K601 re-release, I was also quite disappointed to see them go. In fact, I was really conflicted between the 701 and 601 (eventaully went for 701). Id really like to hear them again, but from what I remember they were indeed slightly warmer. Well, maybe not much warmer, but less aggressive than the K701s. 
 
Hmm, interesting thing about the Annies (funny nickname , I BET it was coined in this thread) being on the warmer side, I guess i have to hear them! How would they really compare to the newer K701? 
 
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mad lust envy said:

The Annie was made in Austria. As are all the K701/702s...

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While we are on the subject, I have noticed that many people here think that the K601s are not made in Austria. (ive read it several times)

I honestly don't know why its like this. Could it be possible that the US gets a different K601 than Europe? Ive seen different 601s in different retail stores in Europe, and (mostly because of head-fi) Ive checked to see where they are made. They all say "Made in Austria". This is written on the on the box along with all the legal info on the back. Also, Im not being fooled by the "designed in austria" (while made in china). 

This also goes for the European models: K242 HD and K272 HD.

I called them the Annie, and it just kind of took off. Better than K702 ANV, and easier to type, IMHO.

If AKG can get these to sell for around $300... it's a steal. The Annie to me is comparable to the LCD2 on many fronts (even besting them on certain things), while being a fraction of the price.

Of course, people can overlook them, but that's a grave mistake.

To me: K702 Annie > HD650, HE-400, DT880. The most popular mid-fi cans, FWIS.

Anniversary edition are nothing alike K701, but if you put their pads on them, they sure will sound pretty close, if not the same, to each other, however I only compared Anniversary vs non Anniversary and they are the same sounding when you use the same pads on both.
 
Not sure, but I think it may was a part of the deal that Austrian factory will be kept and not moved to China, but who knows for how long.
 
 
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mikiphile said:

 
 
I am very interested about the K601 re-release, I was also quite disappointed to see them go. In fact, I was really conflicted between the 701 and 601 (eventaully went for 701). Id really like to hear them again, but from what I remember they were indeed slightly warmer. Well, maybe not much warmer, but less aggressive than the K701s. 
 
Hmm, interesting thing about the Annies (funny nickname 

, I BET it was coined in this thread) being on the warmer side, I guess i have to hear them! How would they really compare to the newer K701? 
 
 
While we are on the subject, I have noticed that many people here think that the K601s are not made in Austria. (ive read it several times)

I honestly don't know why its like this. Could it be possible that the US gets a different K601 than Europe? Ive seen different 601s in different retail stores in Europe, and (mostly because of head-fi) Ive checked to see where they are made. They all say "Made in Austria". This is written on the on the box along with all the legal info on the back. Also, Im not being fooled by the "designed in austria" (while made in china). 

This also goes for the European models: K242 HD and K272 HD.

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blackmore said:

The only logical explanation of the whole I can think of is the fact that HARMAN totally stop financing in to the development and research. When I read their description, that these are for pro studio folks I wonder which studios they mean, the one that mastering games and movies? This all will may end up very badly for AKG as a brand.
 
 

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I have to agree with this.  One has to assume research and development does require a modest financial investment, at least that would explain some of the cost of say, an HD800.  I think that their focus more on the mass market consumer must have been profitable enough to meet their goals so they are continuing their "safe" approach rather than taking a bold risk of innovating new products.
 
I honestly think AKG will eventually fade out of the hifi market altogether at this rate, if they feel that strategy is most profitable.   For instance, a lot of people don't realize that Sansui still exists today, producing cheap consumer electronics.  A far cry from their former proliferation in the Hifi market.  Same with Nakamichi as well.  Obviously their end game is to produce profits, not please a niche group of enthusiasts.  Though some companies are able to do both quite well.
 
And don't get me wrong, I loved the K702 65th anniversary and I'm sure the K712 will be a decent headphone for the price, but they really need to kick up the innovation if they want to remain competitive in this particular market.

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jwahl said:

 
And don't get me wrong, I loved the K702 65th anniversary and I'm sure the K712 will be a decent headphone for the price, but they really need to kick up the innovation if they want to remain competitive in this particular market.

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I kind of wonder about that. The HD600, HD650, K702 and DT880 have been recommended for years and continue to be so; in fact, they are maybe even more popular as the headphone industry grows increasingly toward personal listening over the last ten years. The only real new competition in this price range is probably the HE-400. Sure, there are lots of more expensive headphones that have stretched what people are willing to pay to $1000. But beginning revision with the Annie and now the K712 seems to be about all that needs to be done to stay relevant in this $300-500 market. It got me to buy an Annie, and I hated my first experience with an AKG product. 

The most money to be made from my assumption is on the mid fi market. Headphones in the $300-400 range. That ks where price to performance to me hits it's sweet spot. Everything else is minor, IMHO. Going by this, AKG is doing well in focusing there.

That's why the DT880, K702, HD650, HE400 do so well.

I'd really like to hear the K712 and K612 Pro. All of the K702 bashing I've seen lately is depressing me. Should've gone with Shure or Beyer methinks.

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imackler said:

 
I kind of wonder about that. The HD600, HD650, K702 and DT880 have been recommended for years and continue to be so; in fact, they are maybe even more popular as the headphone industry grows increasingly toward personal listening over the last ten years. The only real new competition in this price range is probably the HE-400. Sure, there are lots of more expensive headphones that have stretched what people are willing to pay to $1000. But beginning revision with the Annie and now the K712 seems to be about all that needs to be done to stay relevant in this $300-500 market. It got me to buy an Annie, and I hated my first experience with an AKG product. 

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That's a good point, they are still very competitive in that $300-$500 bracket. I'm more thinking long term brand credibility if they simply continue to "re-package" the same product with minor tweaks.  I won't argue that it's an excellent product in it's price range and has probably been profitable enough to meet their goals.  
 
I just think that having a true "statement" product to show your customers what your engineers are capable of, is good for establishing brand credibility.  I think they attempted to do this with the K3003 but ultimately missed the mark from a marketing standpoint.  I think Sennheiser would be in a similar boat had the HD6xx still been their top of the line, with only small tweaks over time.  I think the HD800 actually boosts and maintains sales of their lower models as sort of a brand "prestige" thing.
 
I think AKG as a brand once had a certain prestige that they are slowly losing.  That's more of why I say they need to innovate something new.

betawolf said:

I'd really like to hear the K712 and K612 Pro. All of the K702 bashing I've seen lately is depressing me. Should've gone with Shure or Beyer methinks.

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Buyers regret? Don't, the K702 is a very good headphone, I'm just not a fan of the direction AKG are taking.

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mad lust envy said:

The most money to be made from my assumption is on the mid fi market. Headphones in the $300-400 range. That ks where price to performance to me hits it's sweet spot. Everything else is minor, IMHO. Going by this, AKG is doing well in focusing there.

That's why the DT880, K702, HD650, HE400 do so well.

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I agree... If I didn't "needed" the soundstage, imaging and separation of HD800, Annies or something similar would most probably be more than enough for me.
 
To clarify, what is fun for me in this hobby is to exploring ways how to get closer to speakers' sound with headphones... It's much more appealing to me than spending thousands just for a little bit more clarity and detail. StageDAC along with HD800 work brilliantly right now!
 
That said, I am really looking forward to read more on Annies vs K712 pro topic and maybe even choose one of those, finally!