Well it's an extremely good final effort for closed headphone

This is where I saw it, title seemed gloomy.

"RIP AKG - End of an era

AKG's Austria headquarters will be shut down by June 2017 after almost 70 years. Parent company Harman says it was a difficult decision that they were forced to make due to tough competition in the audio market. The R&D teams that developed their products will not be retained by Harman.
Many people said that AKG's consumer products dropped in quality after production moved to China in 2009. Now the pro line (including favorites like the K700 headphones) might do the same. "

https://m.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/54xm0u/_/?utm_source=mweb_redirect&compact=true

I don't understand why everyone is acting like akg will cease to exist or stop designing products. It was probably more financially viable to end production in Austria. All iphones for example are made in China and Motorola moved all phone production from the US to China, but they are making products just fine. I highly doubt the k872 will be the last effort from akg, although we probably won't be seeing a k812 successor any time soon

akg fanboy said:

I don't understand why everyone is acting like akg will cease to exist or stop designing products. It was probably more financially viable to end production in Austria. I highly doubt the k872 will be the last effort from akg, although we probably won't be seeing a k812 successor any time soon

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They stopped the production in Austria about a year ago. But now they fired all the people who worked in Austria. And those people were mostly engineers who developed the headphones and microphones, not the people who just assembled them, those had been fired before.

akg fanboy said:

I don't understand why everyone is acting like akg will cease to exist or stop designing products. It was probably more financially viable to end production in Austria. All iphones for example are made in China and Motorola moved all phone production from the US to China, but they are making products just fine. I highly doubt the k872 will be the last effort from akg, although we probably won't be seeing a k812 successor any time soon

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Maybe I got it wrong (can't read German) but if the AKG brand name is dropped, R&D staff is fired and production fully moves to a new location, I'd read that as AKG ceasing to exist, although of course, some products with that DNA might appear under the Harman (?) name. So that's why people said RIP AKG.
 
That said, for some reason I never bought an AKG model. Thought about it multiple times but there was always something else that got my attention. Which is a pity, they have some really well-built cans.

Well then.... I really hope akg will continue to exist and design products. I may not be a huge fan of their most recent products, but I am really looking forward to the future of akg products

If this is all really true, then I might just have to buy a k812

They develop the complete Pro series in Vienna, headphones, microphones.
As far as I know, the top Pro microphones are made in Vienna till today, but I can mistake.
Only K812 and K872 are made in Slovakia. 

I heard the K872 at the AES convention. Holy cow they blew my socks off. It's hands-down my favorite, currently-produced, AKG headphone out there...except the fit was terrible on me. Like the K550, I had to push the K872's earcup bottom against my head to get a good seal.

miceblue said:

I heard the K872 at the AES convention. Holy cow they blew my socks off. It's hands-down my favorite, currently-produced, AKG headphone out there...except the fit was terrible on me. Like the K550, I had to push the K872's earcup bottom against my head to get a good seal.

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Have you heard the k812? If you did, how do they differ

miceblue said:

I heard the K872 at the AES convention. Holy cow they blew my socks off. It's hands-down my favorite, currently-produced, AKG headphone out there...except the fit was terrible on me. Like the K550, I had to push the K872's earcup bottom against my head to get a good seal.

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The AKG K872 is better than the AKG K812?

miceblue said:

I heard the K872 at the AES convention. Holy cow they blew my socks off. It's hands-down my favorite, currently-produced, AKG headphone out there...except the fit was terrible on me. Like the K550, I had to push the K872's earcup bottom against my head to get a good seal.

Click to expand...

I have the 872 and agree the fit could be a lot better for me-same thing, the earcup bottom feels a bit loose for me. I wish there were a way to get it tighter but there doesn't seem to be

If the band just above the ear cup is metal, somewhat flexible, and not prone to break, you can try this. I did this on other cans. Carefully bend the band, just the band, it's tricky. Make sure zero pressure is applied to plastic or parts above or below the bands. Bend it so the cups bend inward (a C-shaped bend), and try them, the top will be out a bit and the bottom in a bit. Then if you can, bend the center of the top head band to be more narrow, pushing their ear pads more on your ears. You will get the seal you want, but be careful.

A pice of my review: 
 
The physical appearance of the K872 looks like the same as K812, but with little differences.
Contact pressure of the K872 a trace less, but I can not measure and confirm this.
The external damping is very good. I hardly hear the opening and closing the CD loading next to me.
The holder of the ear pads and the cover of the converter is changed compared to the K812.
The ear pads can be removed only by means of a small enclosed tool - the reason is the required tightness.
The K872 is so I was assured, fit with injected cable in the case, had this not been tried but.
Bass - very deep and dry, very good resolution, with a bit more pressure as K812, but not load or pushing.
Mid's - clear, very good resolution, nearly looks like the same as K812 but a bit warmer.
Heights - clear, very good resolution, a bit softer as K812, no sharpness.
Spaciousness, stage - wide-ranging, enough deep (for an headphone), space between musicians.
The K872 can be heard effortlessly long.
.....
I had heared a lot of CD/SACD's
Meyer Records Vol1 (no. 140); Meyer Records Vol2 (no. 160); Ester Fellner Via del Campo (Meyer Records no. 156); Allan Taylor, Leaving at Dawn (Stockfish); Jan Erik Lundqvist, Leonard Cohen auf Schwedisch #2 (Meyer Records no. 148); Hans Theessink, homecooking;
Grieg: Peer Gynt Suites, Holberg Suite, Sibelius: Finnlandia - Herbert von Karajan, Berliner Philharmoniker, DG;
Gustav Mahler, Symphonie No.1, Blumine, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, David Zinman, SACD;
Singer: Clearly, the respective pitch accordingly, especially with Ester Fellner and Jan-Erik Lundquist very expressive playing.
Orchestra: Broad staggered; good detectability; Heights not intrusive, well resolved; Mid's no negative anomalies; Bass punchy, dry, non-intrusive, cymbals and drums can develop a brute force with Gustav Mahler's Symphony No.1 already, cellos and double basses plump but not bloated.
.....
Dimitri Schostakowitsch, Symphonie Nr.8, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bernard Haitink, DECCA 
Track 3 „Allegro non troppo“
Transitions and detectability - violins, violas, cellos, contrabass are very well reproduced.
Good depth staggered arrangement - drums, timpani, cymbals.
In the fortissimo passages, the brute force of the orchestra is very well noticeable.
Bass punchy and reaches deep down, but is not intrusive or drawing.
.....
Camille Saint-Saëns, Orgel-Symphonie No.3, Berliner Philharmoniker, James Levine, Orgel: Simon Preston, Deutsche Grammophon
Track 3: 2. Allegro moderato - Presto - Allegro Moderato
Track 4: 2. Maestoso - Allegro - Molto allegro - Pesante
Detectability of individual orchestral groups very good, enough space between them, the width of the stage corresponds to a good place in the Konzerthaus, depth for headphones good.
Organ Passage good coloration, punchy, massive.
In the horns I could not fault it, punchy but in balance with the rest of instruments.
Drumbeats punchy, dry.
What I wrote above in Schostakovitsch, Symphony No. 8, applies here.
.....
Paul Dukas, Der Zauberlehrling, Berliner Philharmoniker, James Levine, Deutsche Grammophon (from the CD above)
Track 5: Der Zauberlehrling
This piece fully confirmed my impressions above.
Bass is reproduced dry and not oversubscribed.
.....
If you understand German language you could found more about here and the following pages too:
http://www.open-end-music.de/vb3/showthread.php?t=10304&page=11
http://www.hifi-forum.de/index.php?action=browseT&forum_id=110&thread=16610&back=&sort=&z=2 
http://www.hififorum.at/showthread.php?t=8095&page=2  
.....
PS: I always emphasize at such my hearing tests, it's only my impression that I have experienced it, it is therefore not an absolute measure.
I always refer in my listening tests on dedicated pieces of music.
And excuse my not so good English, my nativ language is German (Austrian, Vienna german slang). If you found a mistake, please let me know.
.

I actually haven't heard the K 812 before, so I can't say how they differ in sound unfortunately.

Are the K872's made in Austria? If so think I'm gonna buy them.
 
Got the K812 when it came out and I'm fairly positive my pair was made there as well.
 
Shame AKG Austria is shutting down, I agree with others that it will likely be my last AKG. They have indeed gone down since Harman took over the brand. Luckily the top tier stuff remains unaffected.
 
Sold my HD800 because I like the K812 better. So I'm a big fan of their 800 series line and hopefully the 872 is no different.
 
BTW does anybody have an AK380 and the 872?
 
I remember when I had the AK240 it drove the K812 fairly well. Wondering if that is the case with the K872!