The AKG K712 Pro Support and Impressions Thread
Dec 2, 2013 at 1:51 PM Post #2,343 of 6,341
  Which is better value, k712 or he-500?
Cyber monday is finally here and the best price for the k712 is $375 and  he-500 is $699

 
Ive heard both on the same setup and it really depends... I would say that K712 Pro are the better value.
 
HE-500 are amazing for their very natural frequency response... And they have that orthodynamic transparency. On the other hand, they are not technically that much impressive. They are superior soundwise to K712 Pro but not by much, surprisingly. I was expecting a bit more from them to be honest.
 
K712 Pro are very pleasing due to their very well balanced FR (not as extremely balanced as with HE-500 but still really versatile) and they beat HE-500 badly in soundstage department (better imaging, better separation, better dimensionality in width and depth, height being the same roughly). They do not reach as low in bass as HE-500 but the bass is equally tight as with HE-500. Voices are where you could find HE-500 significantly better - HE-500 have beautiful, non-sibilant vocals while K712 Pro's vocalrs are a bit forward to shouty sounding. And you can spot a bit of sibilance as well... But its not as bad as it seems - I am just nitpicking.
 
K712 Pro are significantly more compact and comfortable while HE-500 are a bit heavy and their headband is quite odd - it could happen that people with "thinner" head could struggle to find a good fit.
 
Dec 2, 2013 at 2:05 PM Post #2,344 of 6,341
 Which is better value, k712 or he-500?
Cyber monday is finally here and the best price for the k712 is $375 and  he-500 is $699

 
Ive heard both on the same setup and it really depends... I would say that K712 Pro are the better value.
 
HE-500 are amazing for their very natural frequency response... And they have that orthodynamic transparency. On the other hand, they are not technically that much impressive. They are superior soundwise to K712 Pro but not by much, surprisingly. I was expecting a bit more from them to be honest.
 
K712 Pro are very pleasing due to their very well balanced FR (not as extremely balanced as with HE-500 but still really versatile) and they beat HE-500 badly in soundstage department (better imaging, better separation, better dimensionality in width and depth, height being the same roughly). They do not reach as low in bass as HE-500 but the bass is equally tight as with HE-500. Voices are where you could find HE-500 significantly better - HE-500 have beautiful, non-sibilant vocals while K712 Pro's vocalrs are a bit forward to shouty sounding. And you can spot a bit of sibilance as well... But its not as bad as it seems - I am just nitpicking.
 
K712 Pro are significantly more compact and comfortable while HE-500 are a bit heavy and their headband is quite odd - it could happen that people with "thinner" head could struggle to find a good fit.


Thanks you for the input.
Anything better value than these two?

Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk
 
Dec 2, 2013 at 2:10 PM Post #2,345 of 6,341
Thanks you for the input.
Anything better value than these two?

Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk

 
Well, both HE-500 and K712 Pro are among the very best I would recommend you to get...
 
Up to 500USD, definitely go for K712 Pro if you ask me. But if you can go higher, I would recommend to go with LCD-2 Bamboo (today for 796USD). LCD-2 are technically better than both K712 Pro and even HE-500.
 
If you wish, I could go into more detail... For now, I would say that you cannot go wrong here - all the 3 headphones are brilliant. It just depends what you prefer soundwise or if comfort is very important for you.
 
Dec 2, 2013 at 2:20 PM Post #2,346 of 6,341
A few people have asking about what DAC/amp to get for the 702/65's and the K712's. Would you go for a warmer setup or a more neutral and detailed one?
 
Dec 2, 2013 at 2:27 PM Post #2,347 of 6,341
  A few people have asking about what DAC/amp to get for the 702/65's and the K712's. Would you go for a warmer setup or a more neutral and detailed one?

 
That's a tricky question... I personally find K712 Pro slightly on the warmer side but their emphasis around 2khz makes vocals a bit shouty with dead-neutral or brighter SS amplifiers. I would say that K712 Pro can work very well with almost any amplifier but I would basically recommend some a bit warmer or HQ neutral one (high quality amplifier can be neutral and still offer smooth enough performance). But dont worry - these are not Q701/K701 - K712 Pro are forgiving enough to work very very well even with subpar audio chain.
 
Dec 2, 2013 at 2:31 PM Post #2,348 of 6,341
Thanks you for the input.
Anything better value than these two?

Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk

 
The Q701 is still a great value for the money. Don't get caught up thinking more money is better. Q701 is more resolving and detailed than the new bass heavier installations. But, if you're just getting into high headphones, I think you might prefer the K712. It's got the consumer friend bass boost.
 
Dec 2, 2013 at 2:51 PM Post #2,349 of 6,341
@emertxe - thank you for your clear explanation. I'll go for a cheaper warm setup as opposed to a high quality amp due to budget (for now).
 
Dec 2, 2013 at 3:34 PM Post #2,351 of 6,341
Was leaning towards the Wolfson Audio-GD 15.32 myself, as opposed to the Sabre 11.32. The M-Stage I've been eyeing up too. Thanks again!
 
Dec 2, 2013 at 3:44 PM Post #2,352 of 6,341
  Was leaning towards the Wolfson Audio-GD 15.32 myself, as opposed to the Sabre 11.32. The M-Stage I've been eyeing up too. Thanks again!

 
Audio-GD 15.32 is a briliant option! You will love the way you can customise DACs performance using different oversampling and filter options :) You basically cannot be unhappy because you can make the DAC sound warmer or more detailed depending on your taste or audio chain...
 
Dec 2, 2013 at 8:09 PM Post #2,353 of 6,341
Ive heard both on the same setup and it really depends... I would say that K712 Pro are the better value.

HE-500 are amazing for their very natural frequency response... And they have that orthodynamic transparency. On the other hand, they are not technically that much impressive. They are superior soundwise to K712 Pro but not by much, surprisingly. I was expecting a bit more from them to be honest.

K712 Pro are very pleasing due to their very well balanced FR (not as extremely balanced as with HE-500 but still really versatile) and they beat HE-500 badly in soundstage department (better imaging, better separation, better dimensionality in width and depth, height being the same roughly). They do not reach as low in bass as HE-500 but the bass is equally tight as with HE-500. Voices are where you could find HE-500 significantly better - HE-500 have beautiful, non-sibilant vocals while K712 Pro's vocalrs are a bit forward to shouty sounding. And you can spot a bit of sibilance as well... But its not as bad as it seems - I am just nitpicking.

K712 Pro are significantly more compact and comfortable while HE-500 are a bit heavy and their headband is quite odd - it could happen that people with "thinner" head could struggle to find a good fit.

What set-up do you use for this comparison? I don't find my Annie to be shouty. Indeed it is put forward but nothing sound shouty to me @.@


Either way, +1 for warmer amp with Annie/K712 xD
 
Dec 2, 2013 at 8:16 PM Post #2,354 of 6,341
   
HE-500 have beautiful, non-sibilant vocals while K712 Pro's vocalrs are a bit forward to shouty sounding. And you can spot a bit of sibilance as well... But its not as bad as it seems - I am just nitpicking.

What set-up do you use for this comparison? I don't find my Annie to be shouty. Indeed it is put forward but nothing sound shouty to me @.@

 
 
I believe emertxe might be talking about the bit of resonance in the upper mid peak that can push certain things forward (correct me if I'm wrong). 
 
It's not that noticeable by itself - if you compare it closely to a flatter headphones it's easier to spot it.
 
Dec 2, 2013 at 10:43 PM Post #2,355 of 6,341
*Overly enthuastic/hype-like impressions warning and disclaimer*
 
I've owned the K712 for a few months now, driving them with my Burson Soloist and Schiit Modi.  Before I previously owned a Soloist/Resonessence Concero/HD800 setup.  I had to downgrade some for budgetary reasons, so my current setup I found to be good for the money but not necessarily mind blowing.
 
Well, recently I decided to try something I read on another thread (The Concero thread).  One of posters bought a USB battery pack designed for charging mobile devices on-the-go on Amazon and a usb Y-cable and taped over the power lead, so that power would only be drawn from the battery.  The total investment was about $60.  The battery itself is 15,000 mAh capacity and 2A max current output vs computer USB's 0.5.
 
I initially bought it because I thought it would eliminate a weird digital noise I would get when no music is playing, and especially when moving my mouse.  Unfortunately it did nothing to reduce that, it is still there when the battery is off, possibly suggesting some type of ground loop.
 
What I was not expecting however, was the quite drastic (considering the price) improvement in the overall sound quality top to bottom.  Better imaging, separation, low level detail, and most noticeable, bass that I didn't think the K712 was capable of.  Most of this is likely due to the increased current capability.  I do notice an improvement in that it is psychologically less fatiguing, in the sense of an ease to the sound overall which I attributed to the elimination of DC supply noise.
 
Why I'm posting this in the K712 thread is that while I felt the K712 was a good headphone for the money, I really didn't realize what it's really capable of and that something as simple as a battery supply would reveal it's capabilities, especially on such a simple DAC. It's really put my level of enjoyment back to where it was with the more expensive DAC and HD800, with the Concero run through onboard USB power.
 
Now to be fair, I'm sure if I upgraded back to the HD800 and fed the Concero with the battery my experience would likely be that much better but it more or less just shocked me that the USB power was gimping my experience by such a degree.  Especially with the affordable Modi.  
 
From this I would say with a clean source and amp, the K712 is an incredible value, along with the battery powered Modi.  And of course the Soloist is an excellent amp in it's own right, though not budget gear, hence why I couldn't bring myself to sell it over the HD800.
 
I'm really amazed how much the K712 scales.  I'm seriously considering just upgrading first to the Concero HD before I throw down on another HD800 or K812 and see how I like it.  Again, these impressions are a bit overly enthusiastic so please take them with a handful of salt.  But for $60 and a USB powered DAC, I don't think you can go wrong.  I doubt something like the $200 iFi USB could even compete.
 

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