[kman1211]

I've heard this before and this is precisely what scares me away from trying (and spending too much money, IMO) the K712. I already find the K612 has plenty of bass. And any warmer (coloring the sound) would completely turn me off. Perhaps my amp and the my K612 are a match made in heaven.

The reason I actually upgraded to the K712 was more of comfort thing, the K612 just wasn't quite deep enough in the earcups and I wanted more refinement to my sound overall. The K712 delivered that. Listening to the K712 more after getting it made me realize I prefer a warm sound overall.

 

[kid vic]

People say the K712 is anemic in the bass region? The Q701, K701, K702 may not have as much bass as the K612 but the K712 without a doubt has more bass. The Q701 sounded a bit off when I compared it to the K712, soundstage was weird and it was a bit too bright. I haven't heard the K340, I'm curious about it.

I just got my K340's this afternoon. The clarity is unreal (compared to the K240's and K612), the soundstage seems rounder than the K612's and it has a really captivating signature. I was surprised that my super cheap tiny chinese amp can drive them decently but I have my eyes on a ASL MG head in the near future.
 
I saw a lot of posts here where people said the K7-series was too light in bass.

 

[CADCAM]

   
Ohhhh  ... I see the honeymoon is over.  The reality is though that people's tastes are all different and one might have a headphone that has a signature that suites their listening tastes better.

Maybe not! Had the AKG's all boxed up, for sale and ready for shipping when I purchased a Keces HA-171 amp here on Head-Fi. At first I was a little questionable on the amp, sounded a bit dry and sterile. Tried different headphones and cables with limited success then I decided to break the AKG's out of the box and give them a try...so far most everything I've listened to sounds really good! So good in fact I took them off from being on sale on another site. This requires further listening...

 

[393699]

 
Maybe not! Had the AKG's all boxed up, for sale and ready for shipping when I purchased a Keces HA-171 amp here on Head-Fi. At first I was a little questionable on the amp, sounded a bit dry and sterile. Tried different headphones and cables with limited success then I decided to break the AKG's out of the box and give them a try...so far most everything I've listened to sounds really good! So good in fact I took them off from being on sale on another site. This requires further listening...

 
Perhaps liquorized beverages were involved during your previous listening session, and that clouded your perception of the sound ?

 

[CADCAM]

I will not deny or acknowledge any consumption of said beverages during long exhausting listening sessions...

 

[CADCAM]

The synergy thing with these is legit.
 
I was ready to sell these off and probably not try another AKG (these were my first) but they have been transformed by the Keces amp!
With my other amps I had to search for something that sounded good but with the HA-171 everything sounds fantastic. This will be the third night of listening to nothing else but this pairing. 
 
Oppo-->Beresford Bushmaster MKII DAC-->Keces HA-171-->AKG K612 = 

 

[Koukol]

Well I'm disappointed in AKGs product control now.
 
Early January I added the K601's to my AKG collection and without any abuse the cord stopped working (left speaker shut off)
 
It's being repaired right now which cost me $22.00 bucks to ship back.
At least I'm lucky they're repairing them under warranty.
 
What has me concerned is why wouldn't this happen again...and soon... as nothing happened to them that would warrant a malfunction
 
I love the sound of these cans but now I'm wary of any AKG  HP without a better quality detachable cable.
 
Shame.

 

[kman1211]

  Well I'm disappointed in AKGs product control now.
 
Early January I added the K601's to my AKG collection and without any abuse the cord stopped working (left speaker shut off)
 
It's being repaired right now which cost me $22.00 bucks to ship back.
At least I'm lucky they're repairing them under warranty.
 
What has me concerned is why wouldn't this happen again...and soon as nothing happened to them that would warrant a malfunction
 
I love the sound of these cans but now I'm wary of any AKG  HP without a better quality detachable cable.
 
Shame.

That's the problem with non-detachable cables. You have no clue if the cable will mess up or not and if it goes out it's a hassle to fix. This is a problem with any non-detachable cable headphone, not just AKG. I've plenty of stories about cable issues with Beyers, Senns, etc. I've personally experienced this twice with Sennheiser's, first with the HD 555 and second with the PX-100 ii. I've been lucky with AKG and Beyer so far.

 

[Koukol]

 

  Well I'm disappointed in AKGs product control now.
 
Early January I added the K601's to my AKG collection and without any abuse the cord stopped working (left speaker shut off)
 
It's being repaired right now which cost me $22.00 bucks to ship back.
At least I'm lucky they're repairing them under warranty.
 
What has me concerned is why wouldn't this happen again...and soon as nothing happened to them that would warrant a malfunction
 
I love the sound of these cans but now I'm wary of any AKG  HP without a better quality detachable cable.
 
Shame.

That's the problem with non-detachable cables. You have no clue if the cable will mess up or not and if it goes out it's a hassle to fix. This is a problem with any non-detachable cable headphone, not just AKG. I've plenty of stories about cable issues with Beyers, Senns, etc. I've personally experienced this twice with Sennheiser's, first with the HD 555 and second with the PX-100 ii. I've been lucky with AKG and Beyer so far.

My point was about their quality today as I've collected AKGs for over 25 years and this is the first time I've had this problem (along with others here with the K601s.)

 

[kman1211]

 
My point was about their quality today as I've collected AKGs for over 25 years and this is the first time I've had this problem (along with others here with the K601s.)

Ah I see. Maybe it's just a faulty pair, they do crop up from time to time even on models with a good reputation of quality. Is it an Austrian made or Chinese made pair? If I remember right they shifted manufacturing of the K601 at one point before discontinuing the headphone. I haven't had issues with my AKGs, though they are Austrian made. I thought I was having issues with my K612 cutting out but it turned out it was the 1/4inch adapter and not the cable. 

 

[Koukol]

 

 
My point was about their quality today as I've collected AKGs for over 25 years and this is the first time I've had this problem (along with others here with the K601s.)

Ah I see. Maybe it's just a faulty pair, they do crop up from time to time even on models with a good reputation of quality. Is it an Austrian made or Chinese made pair? If I remember right they shifted manufacturing of the K601 at one point before discontinuing the headphone. I haven't had issues with my AKGs, though they are Austrian made. I thought I was having issues with my K612 cutting out but it turned out it was the 1/4inch adapter and not the cable. 

Chinese.
 
How would you compare the new K612s to the older 601's?

 

[kman1211]

 
Chinese.
 
How would you compare the new K612s to the older 601's?

That could explain it. Especially if it was a more recently shifted to China manufactured one, I have read about issues with early Chinese made AKGs. The K612 is basically a slightly differently tuned K601, slightly warmer.

 

[Koukol]

Cheers,
 
I'm quite happy with the sound of the 601's.
I use an EQ to boost the low end bass a little if the recording needs it... so I'm happy.
 
Never had a problem with them being too bright.

 

[shanky]

How would you guys compare the 601 to the q/k701, k240mkii, and the k550s?

 

[kman1211]

How would you guys compare the 601 to the q/k701, k240mkii, and the k550s?

Well I find the Q701 brighter, cleaner, has more depth to the sound, and a little more mid bassy with a larger soundstage as well as smoother treble and less grain in the sound than the K612, the Q701 is the better headphone in terms of refinement. The K612 is more refined and more neutral, and more spacious sounding than the K240 MKII, the K240 MKII is more musical sounding and more colored with a bass roll off. Haven't heard the K550.