[Majestyk]

Gonna buy new K612 Pro for less than $100. I can also buy HD600 for like $220. What should I go for? My primary objectices are:
1. Monitoring during mixing and mastering (rock and metal);
2. Sound - as natural as possible (little EQing is OK I guess?);
3. Wanna just have fun listening, I love texture of distorted guitars the most.

The price of K612 Pro is very tempting. Should I go for it, or better buying classic HD600?

They have a very different sonic character. The K612's have more detail and a wider soundstage. The 600's have better mids. The bass on both is pretty much the same. (Although 600's have much better bass with vintage SS or tube gear).

I'm actually selling mine. They are the original Made In Austria version and in minty shape. Only shipping to US or Canada, however.

 

[dgnzcn]

Hello to everyone from Turkey, all of those recommended for k612 pro right, more than a few months ago a new pair k612 pro bought and very pleased I sound tired not quite comfortable headset for a long time listening to music, I bought ath-m50x before buying this headset, but in my mind at all comfortable it was not and it was tired and made my ears sweat during prolonged use. I had a chance to compare the ath-m50x with the k612 pro. The k612 pro is more comfortable to listen to music for a long time, better sound stage much much wider and more natural in terms of sound. For those who use k612 pro b; r ka. I would have a question. 1- Are these durable in terms of service life, so are these headphones of a quality that I can use for years? 2- I use it with the sound output of my motherboard and it has a very satisfying alc1200a chip on the motherboard. I use these headphones with the equalizer APO, I want to be able to get more natural sounds, whether there is an equalizer adjustment recommendation or I am pleased with this version. After the ath-m50x nightmare, I have benefited a lot from this forum to buy k612 pro and I agree with all the opinions to the end and I am very happy with the k612 pro.

Thanks everyone.

 

[markanini]

Not as tough as the M50x but that's also true for most headphones. They need an amp, you won't know their true sound with onboard output. Even an inexpensive Fiio makes a huge difference. They sound great without EQ for live music, 70s-80s, orchestral/soundtrack. For dance and modern music I prefer oratory1990's EQ preset.

 

[dgnzcn]

How long have you been using k612 pro?

Do you use the K612 pro all day long, is it durable and is there anything I need to be careful about when using or putting it on and off on my head ?

 

[sebek]

Question to those who have tried both: what are the substantial differences between K612 and K712?

And in terms of driving power?

I had the K712 for a short time, liked it a lot for soundstage and imaging and in genres like classical music, but otherwise it sounded a little too dark and dull for me, with a bit swollen bass.

 

[sghound]

i have both.

k612 is harder to drive. needs an OTL amp for this job.

 

[sebek]

i have both.

k612 is harder to drive. needs an OTL amp for this job.

Then it's not for me, I don't want headphones that are too difficult to drive. However, it is absurd that a $ 100 headphone should require all this amplification.

 

[markanini]

it is absurd that a $ 100 headphone should require all this amplification

More like a steal. People pay 3-5 times the price for other headphones with that feature.

 

[pcourtney]

still have 3 pairs of K-601, the first one I bought 15 years ago ( Made In Austria ) , still loving these cans even when I have tried other headphones costing much more, they just work really really well, and I don't ( or I cannot ) hear any differences between any of them, they are one of the best purchases I have ever made

 

[NexusOne]

I use the 612. Crinacle said it is the best AKG (less shouty). If you like the flat sound which headphone would be better but with similar sounding? I have the Jubillee but i think i will keep the 612, too.

 

[sghound]

still have 3 pairs of K-601, the first one I bought 15 years ago ( Made In Austria ) , still loving these cans even when I have tried other headphones costing much more, they just work really really well, and I don't ( or I cannot ) hear any differences between any of them, they are one of the best purchases I have ever made

the best AKG by far

 

[warp2600]

I got my K612Pro 3 days ago and I thought I'd write down my impressions.
I have never had an AKG HP - I have been a happy owner of a Beyerdynamic DT990Pro (250ohm) and although it sounds wonderful especially driven by my Little Dot MKIII OTL tube amp, I have always wanted to know what an AKG sounds like.There is no opportunity to audition a pair nearby so after reading through this long thread (it is always fun to read a thread about something you are interested in), I decided to find a good deal online. I can return the new HP within 30 days (I won't - unless a defect evolves) so there was nut much at stake.

Since I got the AKG I tried them with the following amps/HP outputs in this order:
- KORG DS-DAC100
- iFi nano iDSD
- Marantz NA6005 network player
- Little Dot MKIII (gain 4 - the same as I use it with my Beyer; TUNG-SOL 6AK5 input tubes; 6N6P-IR output tubes)
- Marantz SA14S1 Spec.Ed. CD/SACD player)
- Marantz PM8005 current feedback integrated amp

In my experience the 612 is very sensitive regarding pairing. My Beyerdynamic sounds quite similarly and good with the above sources/amps with the Little Dot exceptionally good - there is great synergy there.
The sound of the 612 OTOH changes from source to source, and it was quite meh until I got to - lo and behold - the Marantz SACD player. On paper it should not be but the 612 got silky smooth with wonderful details and more low end than with the sources before it. I played CD after CD enchanted with what I was hearing. Beautiful flow of wonderfully detailed music, great stereo imaging. So I got to the point where I was not even interested in switching on the Marantz integrated amp, which the SACD is hooked up to and plug the 612 into the HP output. But curiosity got the better of me and went ahead. And I was stunned. I would have never thought. All the sources/amps I listed above were able to generate quite a lot of volume/gain easily, never requiring to turn the dial beyond 11 o'clock. However when I started to turn up volume knob on the integrated amp, it didn't even reach 8 o'clock and it was more than enough. The character of the HP changed from meh->acceptable->smooth->silky smooth to agressive - with the integrated it had growl, punch, perceptibly deeper bass, very engaging.
I suspect that all of this is due to the design of this Marantz amp, a current feedback amp. And what I have read about the k6 and k7 series of AKG HPs points to the argument that this HPs need a lot of current rather than a lots of voltage provided by e.g. OTL amps into higher impedance HPs.

So that is my initial experience with the 612Pro. For a while I won't need another amp with it, I will use the CD player for enchanting music and my intedrated amp for rocking tracks. BTW my only caveat is: no headbanging or sudden movements with the HP on, because the small plastic bridge to the headband makes a cracking noise, which is annoying. Otherwise very comfy.

 

[SilverEars]

I recently got these, and my impressions are meh. I wouldn't say bad, but it seals my thoughts on what I dislike of AKG series with similar design. Sound generally has weak bass and hazy unclear distant sounds due to the large cups (details lacking).

I think the K612 has a good tonality (except some treble wispy-ness that stands out), and doesn't seem as bad as K712, but I like K702 sig the best out of them all. And I think it has better details. In general, these headphone design has large cups so details isn't it's forte, or any type of exciting bass.

Opposite end of the spectrum are Grados, and some may find it too forward when it comes to mids. The balance is of course the Sennheiser 6 series. I say balanced because it's the in-between headphone when it comes to the overall response.

Here's all the measurement comparisons https://homestudiobasics.com/akg-k612-vs-k712-vs-k702-vs-k701-vs-q701/

K612 and K702 measure similarly, but I think K702 has better details. K612 doesn't express much details at all.

 

[davek]

I recently got these, and my impressions are meh. I wouldn't say bad, but it seals my thoughts on what I dislike of AKG series with similar design. Sound generally has weak bass and hazy unclear distant sounds due to the large cups (details lacking).

I think the K612 has a good tonality (except some treble wispy-ness that stands out), and doesn't seem as bad as K712, but I like K702 sig the best out of them all. And I think it has better details. In general, these headphone design has large cups so details isn't it's forte, or any type of exciting bass.

Opposite end of the spectrum are Grados, and some may find it too forward when it comes to mids. The balance is of course the Sennheiser 6 series. I say balanced because it's the in-between headphone when it comes to the overall response.

Here's all the measurement comparisons https://homestudiobasics.com/akg-k612-vs-k712-vs-k702-vs-k701-vs-q701/

K612 and K702 measure similarly, but I think K702 has better details. K612 doesn't express much details at all.

It could be that yours is simply not properly driven. The Drop CTH can drive it pretty well, I have plenty of bass with SDAC and even more with a DF Red as DAC and everything is upfront. The K612 is known to be very hard to drive (it's not just about power). I once had the K601 (which is basically a less extended K612) and everything was distant and lean. I had a simple DAC+amp combo back then but I had to experience it myself that this phone has a very different face when properly driven.

 

[coolmast3r]

I've been using 612 Pros for almost a year now for my PC audio needs (gaming, music and various media), and I'm pretty satisfied with how they perform for the most part considering I got them for $100. Although I have to say, my setup is far from being ideal for driving these as I don't use any external DAC or amplifier. I have them connected to the 3.5mm jack on the back of my ASUS Z270 Prime-A motherboard, which from what I've managed to find out has a pretty decent built-in DAC.

Pretty much the only issue I have with my setup is that even having applied Crinacle parametric EQ (the most pleasant and natural sounding to me), there is not enough "body" to the sound, bass is pretty anemic. I understand that this is due to the open-back nature of the phones, but having no experience with any other open-back headphones I wonder if in the case of K612 Pro it also has to do with quality of an amplifier.

I've been looking for amps online and due to my limited budget I've stopped at Liquid Spark since it's just around the upper limit of what I can spend. It has nice reviews and is generally recommended for hard to drive headphones as far as I understand. So with all that said I have a couple of questions.

1) How likely is it that Liquid Spark provides richer (with more bass) sound compared to the built-in amp?

2) If it does noticeably improve the sound, what is the proper way to add an external amp like Liquid Spark to my aforementioned setup considering that I'm a heavy user of virtual surround software (HeSuVi)? Is it even compatible with that? Sorry if this is too complicated of a question.