[Overwerk]

the only reason i would ever endorse k701/Q701/ annie/ k712, is if that money goes directly into RD of akg's answer to hd800, lcds, hifiman flagships and hell even maybe stax 00xs. and MAKE IT AFFORDABLE!

 

[Change is Good]

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Honestly, right now I don't know exactly which signature I want.

 
I feel your pain...

 

[EvilKillaruna]

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Honestly, right now I don't know exactly which signature I want. I'm going to have to wait for the Los Angeles meet.

 
That's a common problem with higher tier headphones. Waiting and trying yourself a bunch of cans is a very wise decision.

 

[Salvatore]

Quote:

Honestly, right now I don't know exactly which signature I want. I'm going to have to wait for the Los Angeles meet.

 
X1 seems to be very nice value for money, but remember the lame stock cable and the non-changeable ear pads. If you don't mind the bumps in the X70X headband you can always get the cheapest model + the memory foam pads. If you need smooth head band AKG then I guess it's either anniversaries or K712 pro. If you do go for AKG, get both pads. It's definitely worth it.

 

[Wildstar]

That marketing answer pretty much confirms the K712 are Annies. AKG will never acknowledge it (just like any company will not acknowledge that a higher priced product is identical to a lower priced one, that would be foolish), but if they weren't the same AKG would clearly state so.
 
That talk about the capsule is the supposed better driver matching of the Annies. This is exactly what Sennheiser did, and I would imagine people back in the day where still wondering if the 600 was better than the 580 Jubilee. It wasn't.

 

[FritzS]

currently prevails summer heat here (no time to hearing with headphones wich have pads) and I'm taking a break - I use the time for the long overdue burning in - to get better compare results.

 

[Renato-CWB]

Gents, I am more a reader than a writer, but I am curiously following this thread.
 
I personally don't understand there is so much of an anger about the fact that the K712Pro isn't obviously the great change with regard to earlier 7xx models that some were expecting.  If one doesn't agree with this strategy of AKG, simply don't buy and look for alternative products attending expectations.  I think that is probably the best answer that one can give to AKG (or better, Harman that probably restricts AKG's R&D budgets...), especially from people who demonstrate a great loyalty with the brand. 
 
Saying that, I own a K702.  I like it very much, but from what I learnt here in this thread (thanks to all the valueable information), I'd rather experiment changing my original angled earpads to the softer annie pads in order to obtain the results that were described here than spending a fortune on the 712Pro. 
 

 

[HiFiGuy528]

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Not sure if it's true, but mine are #3621. 
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/626971/akg-k702-65th-anniversary-edition/2445#post_9401177

 
I reached out to my contact in Vienna and got clarification.  He is the product manager for the K702-65.
 
 
[size=11pt]"Concerning the serial numbers:[/size]
 
[size=11pt]Usually we do not start at zero. Depending on the product, numbers below 100, 500 or 1,000 are reserved for internal use. They are reserved for our internal pre-production test series and trial series in order to test the products, assemblies, parts, color, material finish, vibration tests, acoustic measurements, and so on. Moreover, sometimes we skip a range of numbers for customized versions. Therefore, it’s hard to tell which number will be on the last headphone leaving our factory.  [/size][size=11pt]It might also happen that our QC department banishes some numbers in case they did not meet our strict requirements".[/size]
 
I hope this information will ease the minds of K702-65 owners and clear up any confusion around the serial numbers.
 
~ Mike

 

[Ze_Blitzkrieg]

Quote:

 
I reached out to my contact in Vienna and got clarification.  He is the product manager for the K702-65.
 
 
[size=11pt]"Concerning the serial numbers:[/size]
 
[size=11pt]Usually we do not start at zero. Depending on the product, numbers below 100, 500 or 1,000 are reserved for internal use. They are reserved for our internal pre-production test series and trial series in order to test the products, assemblies, parts, color, material finish, vibration tests, acoustic measurements, and so on. Moreover, sometimes we skip a range of numbers for customized versions. Therefore, it’s hard to tell which number will be on the last headphone leaving our factory.  [/size][size=11pt]It might also happen that our QC department banishes some numbers in case they did not meet our strict requirements".[/size]
 
I hope this information will ease the minds of K702-65 owners and clear up any confusion around the serial numbers.
 
~ Mike

 
All of this makes perfect sense coming from the consumer manufacturing world. . .seems perfectly legitimate in explanation.  Thanks for sharing.

 

[HiFiGuy528]

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currently prevails summer heat here (no time to hearing with headphones wich have pads) and I'm taking a break - I use the time for the long overdue burning in - to get better compare results.

 
You guys are getting some serious heat there.  Time to bust out the BBQ.

 

[dleblanc343]

wait dude, the success of what? k701 is a fail sonically. k702 is the real deal and the only deal here, nothing elsematters. k702 is good enough, anything higher has got to beat hd800 by a huge margin to be worth it. 

The K701 was a bretty big deal when it initially came out though...

 

[bracko]

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wait dude, the success of what? k701 is a fail sonically. k702 is the real deal and the only deal here, nothing elsematters. k702 is good enough, anything higher has got to beat hd800 by a huge margin to be worth it. 

Oh My God, k701 is a fail sonically?? 

 k701 has exactly the same sound signature as k702. Don't pretend you can hear any difference!

 

[EvilKillaruna]

It's good to hear that what supposed to be limited will stay limited indeed .
 
 
Quote:

wait dude, the success of what? k701 is a fail sonically. k702 is the real deal and the only deal here, nothing elsematters. k702 is good enough, anything higher has got to beat hd800 by a huge margin to be worth it. 

 
O rly?

 

[elwappo99]

Quote:

the only reason i would ever endorse k701/Q701/ annie/ k712, is if that money goes directly into RD of akg's answer to hd800, lcds, hifiman flagships and hell even maybe stax 00xs. and MAKE IT AFFORDABLE!

 
Don't get your hopes up. AKG is now focused on profits, and I would be surprised if they dumped money into R&D. I don't think they even have the people for it anymore. With that being said, I would easily pick the K702 65AE or Q701 over the DT880 or HD650. The face the Q701 can be picked up at half the cost of the HD650 in the used market, I think, makes it an incredible value overall. 
 
 
Quote:

Oh My God, k701 is a fail sonically?? 

 k701 has exactly the same sound signature as k702. Don't pretend you can hear any difference!

 
The K701 and K702 are identical sonically. I don't know where this other information came from. There are changes in the K701/K702 sound signature that have occurred over time. I've owned about 5 pairs from the line now.

 

[elwappo99]

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All people here agreed that AKG K712=K702Anv=K702+ new pads. I have K500 and K702 and with the same pads they sound almost indentical. Actually with K500 I get probably 90% of K702's sound.  Also you can look inside and see that the same baffles, cups and only a little different drivers but also the same size (only about 40mm)
25 years ago Akg created AKG k1000 and K500/400 and after that they started: K500=K501(color)≈K701(design+ pads)=K702(color)=Q701(color)=K702Anv(color+ pads)=K712(color).
AKG hasn't created anything for a quarter of a century! Only crappy chinese models which breaks down when you put them on your head.

 
I think it's a little silly to say that the K501 is almost the same as the K701.  Even with pad swapping they do sound different. I'm not out trying to defend AKG, but the big headphone manufacturer's are releasing basically the same headphone with some cosmetic changes and calling it a new headphone. If the design works, why not stick with it? 
 
Seriously though AKG, get your business together. And not another K701 iteration that you put in new plastic and try to sell for $1200. We want a real flagship. 
 
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OK. What I meant was: how can you be sure that k712 is improved version of K500? There is no guarantee for that. To my ears k501 sounds "better" than k701 and k702 Anniversaries so I actually expect k501 to sound better than k712 Pro as well. 

 
If you really like the K501 sound a lot, you should look into the HE-5. It was incredibly similar to the signature of the K501 overall, but improved in just about every way.