The Annie is everything I've wished for in a headphone. Mind you the only flagships I've heard were the LCD-2's and HE-6. It's improved on every shortcoming the previous flavors have had. It's a completely balanced headphone imo.
The Annie is everything I've wished for in a headphone. Mind you the only flagships I've heard were the LCD-2's and HE-6. It's improved on every shortcoming the previous flavors have had. It's a completely balanced headphone imo.
maybe having the K612pro made in china and the K712pro in Austria has something to do with the larger price difference. Seems like they may be trying to get a larger market into their pro headphones by offering a low price. IMO its not a really good thing if they are also cutting corners. On top of the the price of the K712pro really is a bit steep at this stage. Time will tell what it settles to....
It's too early to say anything properly thought and analysed. But I can't imagine anyone saying that the X1 has a little soundstage. I don't know yet if it is larger than the K702.65 but is plenty enough.
I hope to share more accurate impressions in the future.
The Annie is everything I've wished for in a headphone. Mind you the only flagships I've heard were the LCD-2's and HE-6. It's improved on every shortcoming the previous flavors have had. It's a completely balanced headphone imo.
The Annie is everything I've wished for in a headphone. Mind you the only flagships I've heard were the LCD-2's and HE-6. It's improved on every shortcoming the previous flavors have had. It's a completely balanced headphone imo.
Just got mine from RazorDog and have been playing with it the last couple of hours. I'm going to wait until I have about 200 hours of burn-in before finalizing a review, but I have some very very initial impressions. Currently running them at the office with my E07K with a 12dB gain, which I think it just no where even close enough to drive them to their potential, but it's what I have on hand right now. Compared to my standard K702, the Annie is sounding fuller and more intimate. A little less bright as well. I was one of those people who didn't have a problem with the headband bumps, but this flat headband is just perfect so far. The ear pads also compress nicely and create a good seal. I think I would appreciate the pads more if they were just a bit deeper as the tip of my ear is touching the driver.
Very impressed so far. It will be interesting to see how it goes when I get home to AB between my standard K702 and the Annie.
Second day on these with some heavy usage and I have to say that as much as I am enjoying them, I'm really missing the sparkliness of the standard K702 or even the AD700. Does this make me a bad person?
So it's been about a week on the Annie with about 100 hours of burn-in and I think I'm ready to give some initial impressions and comparisons to the standard K702.
Build Quality
These are built very much the same as the previous K701, K702, and Q701. Lots of rugged plastic, a leather headband, and velour pad. The removable cable seems to be slightly less thick than the previous iterations. Although I wouldn't be throwing these things around or using them outside, the combination of materials and assembly quality make for a very well built can. The only thing I have a problem with the elastic bands used to supply the tension and adjustability of the headband. As with all previous models, these will eventually become loose and frail and will need to be replaced down the line.
Comfort
These are the same comfortable headphones as any of the previous iterations were. They fit securely without having too much pressure on your head. The ear cups are large and fit completely around your ears.
There are really only two revisions on the Annies that affect the comfort. The first is the ear pads which now contain memory foam and have been made less deep. The memory foam is very soft and allows a much better seal over the standard K702 pads with tend to be a little stiff. The depth has been lessened as well and the angle has been removed for a pad that is now straight. I do find this particular change has my ears touching the drivers more now, but I don't find it to be uncomfortable.
The second revision that affects comfort is with the updated design of the headband. The previous iterations had headbands built with 7 or 8 bumps on the inside that were probably put there to act as cushioning. Although I never had a problem with this design on my standard K702, there are a large amount of people who considered these bumps the bane of their existence and created painful pressure points. The new headband removes these bumps and is completely flat which should address the major comfort issues many people had. For me, this revision is a lot more slight in terms of improvement.
Overall, the improvements on the Annie's design make for a great fitting headphone to be even more comfortable now.
Sound
The previous K701, K702, and Q701 are great sounding headphones that I would considering to be slightly bright with recessed lows. I would still considered them fairly balanced, but with maybe a slight emphasis on the highs. The entire signature of the K702 65th Anniversary has been pushed warmer and I would consider them to be even more balanced than the previous models.
The lows are the most affected frequency with the Annie. There is definitely a level of warmth and fullness you get in the bass that you don't get with the standard K702. It adds to a generally more laid back and slow sound. The mids on the Annies are also pushed forward a little compared to the K702. They're slightly smoother and slightly heavier. The highs are darker and the treble has been pulled back slightly. The standard K702 had a very large soundstage and large separation. The Annie is still nicely detailed and positional accuracy is still good, but the revised warmth appears to have lessened that depth and separation.
As with others who have reviewed the K702 65th Anniversary, I can confirm that the sound signature changes are purely due to the revised memory foam ear pads. If you take any of those previous pads and place them onto the Annie, you get the previous signature. The same can be said for the opposite in that you can take the Annie pads and place them onto older revisions and you'll get the Annie signature.
Overall, the revisions on the Annie's sound are slight, but have made it a warmer, more laid back, slightly slower headphone that is better for all around use and is going to be more forgiving with poorly recorded or encoded media.
Conclusion
When you consider the price, comfort, and quality of sound, the K702 65th Anniversary Edition is a tremendous victory and great value. Considering it is a limited run headphone, you don't get much in the way of extras to make this package feel special (all that's included is a tiny booklet and a 3.5mm adapter). I imagine a lot of people will prefer the sound of the Annie over its previous iterations. For me, as good as this revised headphone is, I can't help but miss and prefer the excitement, speed, and sparkliness of the older signature. Because of this, I will be selling my standard K702, but not before purchasing a second set of non-memory foam ear pads which will essentially give me two distinct and great signatures.
So it's been about a week on the Annie with about 100 hours of burn-in and I think I'm ready to give some initial impressions and comparisons to the standard K702.
Build Quality
These are built very much the same as the previous K701, K702, and Q701. Lots of rugged plastic, a leather headband, and velour pad. The removable cable seems to be slightly less thick than the previous iterations. Although I wouldn't be throwing these things around or using them outside, the combination of materials and assembly quality make for a very well built can. The only thing I have a problem with the elastic bands used to supply the tension and adjustability of the headband. As with all previous models, these will eventually become loose and frail and will need to be replaced down the line.
Comfort
These are the same comfortable headphones as any of the previous iterations were. They fit securely without having too much pressure on your head. The ear cups are large and fit completely around your ears.
There are really only two revisions on the Annies that affect the comfort. The first is the ear pads which now contain memory foam and have been made less deep. The memory foam is very soft and allows a much better seal over the standard K702 pads with tend to be a little stiff. The depth has been lessened as well and the angle has been removed for a pad that is now straight. I do find this particular change has my ears touching the drivers more now, but I don't find it to be uncomfortable.
The second revision that affects comfort is with the updated design of the headband. The previous iterations had headbands built with 7 or 8 bumps on the inside that were probably put there to act as cushioning. Although I never had a problem with this design on my standard K702, there are a large amount of people who considered these bumps the bane of their existence and created painful pressure points. The new headband removes these bumps and is completely flat which should address the major comfort issues many people had. For me, this revision is a lot more slight in terms of improvement.
Overall, the improvements on the Annie's design make for a great fitting headphone to be even more comfortable now.
Sound
The previous K701, K702, and Q701 are great sounding headphones that I would considering to be slightly bright with recessed lows. I would still considered them fairly balanced, but with maybe a slight emphasis on the highs. The entire signature of the K702 65th Anniversary has been pushed warmer and I would consider them to be even more balanced than the previous models.
The lows are the most affected frequency with the Annie. There is definitely a level of warmth and fullness you get in the bass that you don't get with the standard K702. It adds to a generally more laid back and slow sound. The mids on the Annies are also pushed forward a little compared to the K702. They're slightly smoother and slightly heavier. The highs are darker and the treble has been pulled back slightly. The standard K702 had a very large soundstage and large separation. The Annie is still nicely detailed and positional accuracy is still good, but the revised warmth appears to have lessened that depth and separation.
As with others who have reviewed the K702 65th Anniversary, I can confirm that the sound signature changes are purely due to the revised memory foam ear pads. If you take any of those previous pads and place them onto the Annie, you get the previous signature. The same can be said for the opposite in that you can take the Annie pads and place them onto older revisions and you'll get the Annie signature.
Overall, the revisions on the Annie's sound are slight, but have made it a warmer, more laid back, slightly slower headphone that is better for all around use and is going to be more forgiving with poorly recorded or encoded media.
Conclusion
When you consider the price, comfort, and quality of sound, the K702 65th Anniversary Edition is a tremendous victory and great value. I imagine a lot of people will prefer the sound of the Annie over its previous iterations. For me, as good as this revised headphone is, I can't help but miss and prefer the excitement, speed, and sparkliness of the older signature. Because of this, I will be selling my standard K702, but not before purchasing a second set of non-memory foam ear pads which will essentially give me two distinct and great signatures.
So you have install the Annie memory foam ear pads on your old K702 and got the same sound signature with better bass? If yes I'm very exited because I just received my K702 and would love to try these pads and get the Annie sound.
So you have install the Annie memory foam ear pads on your old K702 and got the same sound signature with better bass? If yes I'm very exited because I just received my K702 and would love to try these pads and get the Annie sound.
I did. I took the Annie pads and installed them on the standard K702 and found the signature to be the same as the ones on the Annie. The signature follows the ear pads.
The entire signature of the K702 65th Anniversary has been pushed warmer and I would consider them to be even more balanced than the previous models.
There is definitely a level of warmth and fullness you get in the bass that you don't get with the standard K702. It adds to a generally more laid back and slow sound.
The mids on the Annies are also pushed forward a little compared to the K702. They're slightly smoother and slightly heavier.
The highs are darker and the treble has been pulled back slightly. The standard K702 had a very large soundstage and large separation. The Annie is still nicely detailed and positional accuracy is still good, but the revised warmth appears to have lessened that depth and separation.
For me, as good as this revised headphone is, I can't help but miss and prefer the excitement, speed, and sparkliness of the older signature. Because of this, I will be selling my standard K702, but not before purchasing a second set of non-memory foam ear pads which will essentially give me two distinct and great signatures.
Yup. That decision was directly influenced by you and what I heard was, "buy the pads, sell the K702, use the Annie on your gaming rig, buy the HE-500 for your home music rig," or something like that.
I did. I took the Annie pads and installed them on the standard K702 and found the signature to be the same as the ones on the Annie. The signature follows the ear pads.
Generally, I'm pretty closed minded and hard headed when it comes to EQing anything (just being honest), but I tried it anyway to see the results. In my opinion and from just this initial test, you can't really do this without suffering a loss in quality. It's small, but I can still hear it. It also doesn't sound like it opens up the soundstage at all (really my biggest critique). I think I'd rather just stick to purchasing the older pads.
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
i wish i had the chance to try on these planars actually ahah
