[3t3rnity]

Thanks for this great review. I've been reading about the MA900 for a while now, and it seems they are just what I've been looking for.
 
I only have one question... I was thinking of getting a Modmic or something else with these, will there be a problem with the mic picking up the sound leakeage?

 

[NamelessPFG]

Quote:

I notice that sharpness as well on the MA900. The MA900 seems to have some grain in the upper midrange and treble.

 
That may explain the relative lack of transparency.
 
But at least the grain isn't noticeably over the vocals, in my experience-something the HE-400 and SR-202 suffer from, as I've stated numerous times.

 

[kman1211]

Quote:

 
That may explain the relative lack of transparency.
 
But at least the grain isn't noticeably over the vocals, in my experience-something the HE-400 and SR-202 suffer from, as I've stated numerous times.

Yea, I noticed a lack of transparency too and the upper registers are likely the cause, probably my biggest complaint about the sound, otherwise fantastic headphones and my go to headphone for games, movies, and long-term music listening due to comfort, laid-back sound, great soundstage, imaging, and linearity.
 
I didn't like the HE-400 when I heard it, would rather get the K702 Annie/K712 or HD 600/650 for that price.

 

[chicolom]

Great review MLE!  
I like the term "absolute comfort legend".

 
 
I personally thought the Anniversaries were more fun and immersive for gaming as they had greater body and were more grounded sounding.  The MA900s sounded a tad thin and floaty.  I do think MA900 is a more immersive than the Q701 in terms of signature, but not quite on par with the greater bodied Anniversary.   Another thing I noticed with them being so open is that they seem to lack some of the decay, reverb, and ambience of "sealed" headphones - which detracted from their immersion some.  Less ambience meant I felt a bit more detachment from the physical spaces and rooms in a game.  I agree that the mids are a highlight on the MA900, but I personally found them to almost be too much of a focus.  The X1s achieve a fun and immersive sound by pushing their mids back just a bit to open up room for other things and create some of that "U" shaped home theater sound.  The MA900s have more difficulty with that as the mids are always forward, always clear sounding, and can't be ignored.  I think too much midrange can hurt immersion in the same way that too much bass can hurt competitive gaming. 
 
Quote:

I notice that sharpness as well on the MA900. The MA900 seems to have some grain in the upper midrange and treble.

 
It could be some of the grain gets abrasive sounding, but I think there was actually a bit of glare somewhere too.  There was a specific spot that would jump out louder than on my other headphones and would sometimes limit how loud I could turn up the MA900.
 
 
Quote:

If you like 'em so much, do more testing. For Science.
You monster.

So I see comparisons to the Annies with the K712. How about the Q701? Peaky mids? Natural Timbre? How about "roundness" of the soundstage, does the depth of the soundstage extend out in front of you evenly with the sides, or is it still kinda oval like the Q701 (vs the AD700, and I guess the MA900)?

 
The Q701 has drier peakier mids than the Anniversary, which in turn has drier peakier mids than the K712.  The main issue with the Q701s timbre is the mids being a bit too thin and dry.   The Anniversary fixes that some and gives them greater body and smoothness.  The K712 takes it slightly further, but not too much.  I personally prefer the timbre on both the Anniversary and K712 to the Q701.  Between the Anniversary and K712, a slight edge to the K712.
 
The K712 doesn't change the soundstage too much.  I think it will still be oval shaped.  I can't remember the AD700s soundstage depth.  I thought the MA900 was oval shaped too.  Depth is tricky to pull of.  The T1s and HD800s had nice depth

 
 
Quote:

I only have one question... I was thinking of getting a Modmic or something else with these, will there be a problem with the mic picking up the sound leakeage?

 
I doubt you will have any problems as the mic will be out in front, not behind the headphones where leakage is the highest.

 

[miceblue]

This is probably a stupid question, but has anyone here used their headphone system with a Nintendo Wii? I've been using the Wii with the built-in speakers on my TV since forever and I'm actually pretty curious to see how it sounds with my headphones.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I used to plug in the Wii to the Mixamp pro's rca input (pre-2013). You could get the Pro Logic II variant of Dolby Headphone that way. I liked it well enough. Not as much as the legit DD to DH conversion, but certainly doable.

 

[Change is Good]

Quote:

I used to plug in the Wii to the Mixamp pro's rca input (pre-2013). You could get the Pro Logic II variant of Dolby Headphone that way. I liked it well enough. Not as much as the legit DD to DH conversion, but certainly doable.

 
^This
 
I use the rca inputs with my cable box to watch sports sometimes. Not as good as the digital version but well enough to still enjoy surround sound to make you feel like your at the ballpark.

 

[kman1211]

Quote:

Great review MLE!  
I like the term "absolute comfort legend".

 
 
I personally thought the Anniversaries were more fun and immersive for gaming as they had greater body and were more grounded sounding.  The MA900s sounded a tad thin and floaty.  I do think MA900 is a more immersive than the Q701 in terms of signature, but not quite on par with the greater bodied Anniversary.   Another thing I noticed with them being so open is that they seem to lack some of the decay, reverb, and ambience of "sealed" headphones - which detracted from their immersion some.  Less ambience meant I felt a bit more detachment from the physical spaces and rooms in a game.  I agree that the mids are a highlight on the MA900, but I personally found them to be a bit too much of a focus.  The X1s achieve a fun and immersive sound by pushing their mids back just a bit to open up room for other things and create some of that "U" shaped home theater sound.  The MA900s have more difficulty with that as the mids are always forward, always clear sounding, and can't be ignored.  I think too much midrange can hurt immersion in the same way that too much bass can hurt competitive gaming. 
 
 
It could be some of the grain gets abrasive sounding, but I think there was actually a bit of glare somewhere too.  There was a specific spot that would jump out louder than on my other headphones and would sometimes limit how loud I could turn up the MA900.
 
 
 
The Q701 has drier peakier mids than the Anniversary, which in turn has drier peakier mids than the K712.  The main issue with the Q701s timbre is the mids being a bit too thin and dry.   The Anniversary fixes that some and gives them greater body and smoothness.  The K712 takes it slightly further, but not too much.  I personally prefer the timbre on both the Anniversary and K712 to the Q701.  Between the Anniversary and K712, a slight edge to the K712.
 
The K712 doesn't change the soundstage too much.  I think it will still be oval shaped.  I can't remember the AD700s soundstage depth.  I thought the MA900 was oval shaped too.  Depth is tricky to pull of.  The T1s and HD800s had nice depth

 
 
 
I doubt you will have any problems as the mic will be out in front, not behind the headphones where leakage is the highest.

True, they do seem to have some glare, so maybe it's the combination of glare and grain that gives them a bit of an edge at times.
 
I really want to get the K712 sometime, I always loved the AKG sound and found they tend to have great timbre. I agree the Q701 is a bit too thin sounding, and it has an unfocused center soundstage. I would love something fairly similar to the thick luscious sound the K240 has but better, the K712 seems like best option in terms of an upgrade in the AKG camp. Going to wait until the price drops and I can actually afford it.
 
I noticed depth is hard to pull off and it's something I noticed Sennheiser tends to do well. The T1 did have some nice depth, so did the HD 800, sadly every time I heard the HD 800, it gave me a headache and inner ear pain, so I have to cross it off my list for when I eventually get an uber.

 

[miceblue]

Quote:

Quote:

I used to plug in the Wii to the Mixamp pro's rca input (pre-2013). You could get the Pro Logic II variant of Dolby Headphone that way. I liked it well enough. Not as much as the legit DD to DH conversion, but certainly doable.

 
^This
 
I use the rca inputs with my cable box to watch sports sometimes. Not as good as the digital version but well enough to still enjoy surround sound to make you feel like your at the ballpark.

 
Quote:

I used to plug in the Wii to the Mixamp pro's rca input (pre-2013). You could get the Pro Logic II variant of Dolby Headphone that way. I liked it well enough. Not as much as the legit DD to DH conversion, but certainly doable.

Hm mmk. I was just going to try plugging the RCA cables to the SRS-2170. XD
My TV is dead at the moment, so I'll have to hook it up to something else.

 

[Evshrug]

Maybe the K712 price will drop, but I'd need it closer to $300 before I'll consider it. I'm curious, but I know I don't have the need. Still wish I could try the DT880, I wonder about the transparency and treble. And comfort.

 

[Change is Good]

Quote:

Maybe the K712 price will drop, but I'd need it closer to $300 before I'll consider it. I'm curious, but I know I don't have the need. Still wish I could try the DT880, I wonder about the transparency and treble. And comfort.

 
The lowest I've seen the Anniversaries go for brand new was $350 at Razordog so I doubt the K712 goes lower. Maybe a couple years from now...
 
If used then I can see that price being available a few months from now. The lowest AE I've seen in the forums is $325. Going rate I guess. BTW, local buyer bought mine for that price today. YAY!!!

 
I have seen a K712 for $375 in the classifieds, lately...

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

I really want to get the K712 sometime, I always loved the AKG sound and found they tend to have great timbre. I agree the Q701 is a bit too thin sounding, and it has an unfocused center soundstage. I would love something fairly similar to the thick luscious sound the K240 has but better, the K712 seems like best option in terms of an upgrade in the AKG camp. Going to wait until the price drops and I can actually afford it.

 
If you like the K240, I think the K712 will be a pretty natural upgrade.  I did a little review of the K240 in comparison to the Anniversary: http://www.head-fi.org/t/664045/akg-k240-studio-comparison-review
 
The K712 moves slightly closer to the K240 in sound since it's a tad lusher and fuller than the Anniversary.
 
Quote:

Maybe the K712 price will drop, but I'd need it closer to $300 before I'll consider it.

 
Razor dog has them for 399, and may eventually drop them to ~350 after several months have passed.  I think that's as low as the Anniversaries ever got.  They started going back up recently (I assume from the "limited edition" status and supply slowly running down).  Same story for Amazon's pricing: http://camelcamelcamel.com/AKG-K702-65th-Anniversary-Edition/product/B00A8LZ5GU
 
I doubt the K712 will drop too much though, as AKG now has made-in-China K702s as well as Q701s.  I think part of their "Pro" branding is to signify that it's the line that's still made in Austria, and I assume they will try to keep it at a higher price to differentiate it more from the ~$250 K702 and Q701.  Razor Dog said the K712s currently cost him $50 more than the Anniversaries to obtain.  I think AKG means for the the K712 to compete more directly with the HD650 in price than with ~250-300 phones.

 

[Change is Good]

BTW, Mad, about those Momentum on ears; if its fit is anything like the amperior they will isolate extremely well while maintaining great comfort with those velour pads.

 

[kman1211]

Quote:

 
If you like the K240, I think the K712 will be a pretty natural upgrade.  I did a little review of the K240 in comparison to the Anniversary: http://www.head-fi.org/t/664045/akg-k240-studio-comparison-review
 
The K712 moves slightly closer to the K240 in sound since it's a tad lusher and fuller than the Anniversary.
 

That's what I thought the K712 would be, an upgraded K240. I notice there was no mention of the big 10khz spike in the treble of the K240 and it's tendency to overemphasize sibilance because of it.

 

[Mitchb2020]

Sold my e17 ))))
Now just the dt990s to go