Who knows whether those differences are within normal production deviations. To me, they sound identical. Certainly, the second sample "measures" slightly better - less ringing - but who knows whether it means anything. And, was the second sample from the Austrian product line or the Slovakian...

I bought a K812 made in Austria and one from Slovakia. They sounded the same to me.

I do - AKG K812 is a great cable, as is the Beyerdynamic T1 Gen. 3. Even the short Focal Utopia 2020 cable is fine. I tried alternatives, and apart from handling changes (i'e' the cable may be more flexible, sound wise I had no preference. YMMV, but I'm not spending thousands for no improvement...

AKG K812, Beyerdynamic T1 Gen. 1

Well worth the investment. Someone on here was selling theirs a while back.

The Mysphere 3.2 is wonderful. I use the B (for Bass) pads AND Oratory1990's EQ and they are so far unbeatable. The complete lack of sibilance in vocals is very unusual and lifelike. I run mine with either the Merging Anubis and EQ or the Fidelice preamp/DAC/Headphone amp. It really is a triumph...

Despite the passage of time, the AKG K812 is still a superb headphone and even better when used with EQ to tamp down the top end spikiness. IMHO, it certainly sounds better to me than the Focal Utopia OG (also used with EQ), but that needs further comparison. My real favourite is the Mysphere...

An AKG K912, as per the K812, but with one LEMO connector per side, so it can be run balanced or single ended.

Listening to the Focal Utopia OG 2020 now - it has a rather smooth sound with plenty of dynamics (including bass dynamics, which seems to be an oxymoron, but isn't). I use all my headphones with Oratory1990 EQ and it's always a good thing, except when it's not (oddly, Beyerdynamic T1 Gen. 3...

I recently bought a new AKG K812 in Australia - it came from the UK. Amazon sell them. I share your appreciation of the many strengths and few weaknesses of that headphone, which becomes even better with Oratory1990's EQ.

Jeebers - settle down!!!

This happened when I tried low impedance headphones on the original SPL Phonitor, which had an output impedance of 9 ohms. Beyerdynamic T1 Gen. 2 at 600 ohms - no noise - whereas the AKG K812 and Beyerdynamic T1 Gen. 3 at 32 ohms each had lots of noise in the background. I'd guess this was...

I think @spritzer may agree with you there

@bobkatz are you the very same bloke who did work for Chesky? Nice to see you here! IIRC, a long time user of Stax headphones. Did you ever get to use Stax's SRM Monitor (the diffuse field EQ and the SRM1 Mk 2 in one big chassis)?

I use the Mysphere 3.2 with bass cushions and Oratory1990 EQ for that headphone - that would suit you perfectly, I suspect. Not cheap, however.

I had Jecklin Float Electrostatics many years ago - amazing dynamics but literally no bass. Sold them on...

Agree.

....and if an AKG K912 ever came into existence (which is sadly unlikely now), this is exactly the pathway that should have been travelled. SIGH!

I think normal bias was 230V for Stax headphones and pro bias 580V.

I got exactly the same core cable made for the same reasons, Rob

The Phonitor XE is a low impedance output (0.36 ohms) - the original Phonitor 2730 had a 9 ohm output impedance and was too noisy with low impedance headphones, but absolutely loved high impedance headphones.

The original SPL Phonitor should work really well with the Sennheiser HD-820 too. It certainly did so with the 600 ohm Beyerdynamic T1 Gen. 2

I can understand this - in Australia, there seems to be a extraordinarily large number of companies going under at the moment. IMHO, COVID reduced their profitability to near or less than zero and the recovery hasn't seen enough financial stability to save them from debts incurred, which have...

Even Tyll Hertsens, who nobody has ever accused of being corrupt, didn't like to bag products he didn't like. IIRC, the AKG K812 (still one of my faves) was one such headphone and he resisted doing a review of it (and the Beyerdynamic T1 for the same reasons). Of course, if you won't review...

I also found Gradoist's review hard to reconcile with my experience of the K812. It isn't hard to drive and is *slightly* bright. The bottom end isn't accentuated - it's reasonably flat. Oracles1990 EQ brings in sub-bass and tames the slight brightness.