[kman1211]

Interesting, haven't heard the Q701's but I found the K712s much smoother  and better balanced than my stock K701s and were very similar to my HD580/600 but with more extension and body in the bass.

I found the K712 smoother but it's dynamics are stronger thus why it's a bit more aggressive to my ears, I found the Q701 brighter and not quite as smooth, it also doesn't quite have the depth, body, imaging, and transparency of the K712, this is with pad swapping. The soundstage came off as flat and overly wide on the Q701 compared to the K712. To me the K712 sounds nothing like my HD 600, relatively similar tonal balance but that's where the similarities end for me.

 

[Rob80b]

I found the K712 smoother but it's dynamics are stronger thus why it's a bit more aggressive to my ears,

Got it.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Thats how I feel too. The Q701 is less fatiguing for me, despite being brighter. The K712 has a sort of aggressive tone uptop despite Is overall warmth. I found the 702 Anniversary to be the least offensive whuch is why it's my fave of the AKGs.

 

[Liu Junyuan]

Thats how I feel too. The Q701 is less fatiguing for me, despite being brighter. The K712 has a sort of aggressive tone uptop despite Is overall warmth. I found the 702 Anniversary to be the least offensive whuch is why it's my fave of the AKGs.

Interesting. So you've changed your mind from your gaming headphone thread, in which you said that you prefer the K712 Pro to them all? No problem in changing one's mind (the greatest minds do it), but I'm just curious as to how you feel now. 

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Interesting. So you've changed your mind from your gaming headphone thread, in which you said that you prefer the K712 Pro to them all? No problem in changing one's mind (the greatest minds do it), but I'm just curious as to how you feel now. 

Huh? Personal tastes, the K712 is slightly behind for me compared to the Annie. That being said, I feel for everyone else, the 712 will be a better headphone. It is undoubtedly a better headphone for gaming, which was what I meant back then, and what I mean now.

 

[kman1211]

Thats how I feel too. The Q701 is less fatiguing for me, despite being brighter. The K712 has a sort of aggressive tone uptop despite Is overall warmth. I found the 702 Anniversary to be the least offensive whuch is why it's my fave of the AKGs.

I found the aggressiveness in the treble and upper mids does vary from system to system though. Interestingly the tubes my HD 600 are the brightest on are also the tubes the K712 sound the most natural and relaxed on. The Q701 are a bit too bright on these tubes even with the K712 pads and the same cable. Which tells me they are different in the drivers otherwise they would of reacted the same on the same tubes, pads, and cable. After some experimenting with tube rolling and other amps, I recently found there were some systems the Q701 had more bass than the K712.

 

[Liu Junyuan]

Huh? Personal tastes, the K712 is slightly behind for me compared to the Annie. That being said, I feel for everyone else, the 712 will be a better headphone. It is undoubtedly a better headphone for gaming, which was what I meant back then, and what I mean now.

Your review revealed, first, that you loved the Annie, but that you had actually sold the Annie when you purchased the K712 Pro, because you liked it better, so much better that you could reluctantly part with your Annie, as you characterized it. That is what I meant. 

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Uhh... no. I never purchased the K712 Pro... I think you're definitely confusing me with chicolom or someone else. The K712 had nothing to do with my parting of the Annie. I parted with them due to being a fickle person who loves to constantly try different things. If I had a choice between the two, I'd probably go for the Annie, since it's less fatiguing.

Here's from my original K712 review on my guide:

The K712 Pro, is among my very favorite headphones I have ever heard, and currently my favorite open dynamic for all around use, even over the Philips Fidelio X1. If you're looking for the best all-rounder under $400, the K712 is one my absolute top recommendations. While I prefer the original Annie (flatter pads) for certain things (the mids and intimacy for music), the K712 has a better sound signature due to a clearer upper range and better sense of space which will benefit a larger amount of media, including gaming.

I go back and forth between the two, stating that I prefer the Annie for one thing, and the K712 for another. For music, I'd still go for the Annie (I like it's thicker, more intimate sound), but for gaming and all around use, the K712 is a better headphone.

 

[buson160man]

  Well I would certainly hope so!

  Thank you. You got my point it is not subjective at all . One look at the power supply and I rest my case. The power supply on the bryston bh1a is puny next to the power supply on my concept receiver. Thank you for the picture to pound home my point.

 

[BiffZiff]

Is the O2 amp or the Schiit Magni better for the K712 or does it not really matter?

 

[Liu Junyuan]

Uhh... no. I never purchased the K712 Pro... I think you're definitely confusing me with chicolom or someone else. The K712 had nothing to do with my parting of the Annie. I parted with them due to being a fickle person who loves to constantly try different things. If I had a choice between the two, I'd probably go for the Annie, since it's less fatiguing.

Here's from my original K712 review on my guide:
I go back and forth between the two, stating that I prefer the Annie for one thing, and the K712 for another. For music, I'd still go for the Annie (I like it's thicker, more intimate sound), but for gaming and all around use, the K712 is a better headphone.

I got you now. No offense meant at all by the way. Your guide was really useful to me; the only reason I remembered it was that I used it to try to decide whether to get the Annie or the 712. I still haven't made a move on this yet.
 
Here is the quote I was referring to from your gaming headphone guide:
 
"The K712 Pro has proven to be the best mid level AKG headphone in terms of musicality, refinement, and organic tonality."
 
By yoking "best" with the series of adjectives "musicality, refinement, and organic tonality," I suppose I got a little confused.
 
Anyways, thanks again for your awesome gaming guide, and have a great evening!

 

[Muinarc]

After having my K712 for almost a year, the only downside is that the volume at which they sound their best (top to bottom balance) is a good 25% higher than I would like it to be for long (read 6+ hour) listening sessions. I can listen to a LCD-2 or my old K501s for hours and hours at a lower volume and feel like the tonal balance is good enough, at the same lower volumes the K712 just sounds off to me and listening at the higher volumes wears me out after a few hours. This makes them great for those times when I want to really rock out, but for the background music while I work, play games, or surf the internet, I prefer the K501s because they are lighter than the LCDs.

 

[cdma2k]

After having my K712 for almost a year, the only downside is that the volume at which they sound their best (top to bottom balance) is a good 25% higher than I would like it to be for long (read 6+ hour) listening sessions. I can listen to a LCD-2 or my old K501s for hours and hours at a lower volume and feel like the tonal balance is good enough, at the same lower volumes the K712 just sounds off to me and listening at the higher volumes wears me out after a few hours. This makes them great for those times when I want to really rock out, but for the background music while I work, play games, or surf the internet, I prefer the K501s because they are lighter than the LCDs.

it is because LCD-2 has much stronger bass and low-mid.

 

[Muinarc]

You might think but the K501 pretty much has no bass. I just personally find the performance of the K712 highly volume dependant. Its a topic you dont hear much and reviewers never tell you how loud they're listening to something, but headphones and speakers alike often can and do change their characteristics with volume. Some more than others.

 

[kman1211]

You might think but the K501 pretty much has no bass. I just personally find the performance of the K712 highly volume dependant. Its a topic you dont hear much and reviewers never tell you how loud they're listening to something, but headphones and speakers alike often can and do change their characteristics with volume. Some more than others.

I have to agree, the volume can change things a lot, the K712 is one of the more interesting headphones in terms of reaction to volume level. I really like the K712 at higher volumes. The dynamics from bass to treble really kick into overdrive at higher volumes on the K712.