[Kammerat Rebekka]

I’ve never really heard the K702 as a headphone that changes character with different amps, not even over OTLs as AKGs of this design seem immune to impedance humps in the bass.
I can understand why one would find the K702 to be coloured-sounding if one is coming from the HD600..which Oluv is…and that is also part of why you have to take these things with a pinch of salt and learn to trust your own tastebuds. Oluv is always on the hunt for ‘perfectly neutral’ and equalises headphones in order to make them sound neutral. His reference for neutral is the HD600..which he has listened to for lord knows how many years.
If you then throw a K702 on his head with even more forward mids than the 600..he is going to have a natural reaction. Hell I had a similar one when I first listened to the AKG…mostly because I was coming directly from my own HD600. After 5 minutes though my mind was completely taken aback by the (slightly) new tuning and completely different presentation due to the enormous cups.
Then again I love different presentations depending on my mood. I also own the HD58X…which isn’t as realistic sounding as the HD600 nor the K702..but I really dig it all the same

 

[TheGiantHogweed]

On which amp did you hear the K702? And which DT880 version are you comparing to?

I used them on quite a few amps, but mainly my FiiO A3. Also used them on an S.M.S.L M3 and SD 793II.

My DT880s are the premium version, but the 600ohm which admittedly isn't what he is reviewing. Thought the impedance is the only difference. I sort of regret going for these as i would rather they were easier to drive. My fault there!

​

 

[TheGiantHogweed]

I’ve never really heard the K702 as a headphone that changes character with different amps, not even over OTLs as AKGs of this design seem immune to impedance humps in the bass.
I can understand why one would find the K702 to be coloured-sounding if one is coming from the HD600..which Oluv is…and that is also part of why you have to take these things with a pinch of salt and learn to trust your own tastebuds. Oluv is always on the hunt for ‘perfectly neutral’ and equalises headphones in order to make them sound neutral. His reference for neutral is the HD600..which he has listened to for lord knows how many years.
If you then throw a K702 on his head with even more forward mids than the 600..he is going to have a natural reaction. Hell I had a similar one when I first listened to the AKG…mostly because I was coming directly from my own HD600. After 5 minutes though my mind was completely taken aback by the (slightly) new tuning and completely different presentation due to the enormous cups.
Then again I love different presentations depending on my mood. I also own the HD58X…which isn’t as realistic sounding as the HD600 nor the K702..but I really dig it all the same

Yea it is obvious we have our own personal tastes. I still own some Audio-Technica ATH-AD700s. They really lack weight to the bass, but the notes are certainly present. The treble however is actually that bit brighter than the DT880s, but the peak is higher up in the spectrum and is far more pleasant to my ears. They have the best treble of any of the headphones I've tried. All of mine are treble heavy and that includes 2 pairs of AKG K550s. Then the K702s were pretty sharp too. I generally like this.

My DT880s are much more balanced so I mostly use them now for home listening. Still like my K550s though. They sound great for closed back headphones, but the admittedly sound a bit artificial at times.
To me on Oluv's recordings, the HD58x's sound far closer to the original recording than the K702s do. Is this just maybe how he hears things if you think the K702 sounds more realistic?

 

[Kammerat Rebekka]

The HD58X has considerably more bass than neutral and is pulled back ever so slightly in the uppermids. The K702 does not have recessed upper mids..the opposite in fact.
It’s all down to taste and what you are coming from tuningwise that in the end dictates what you find to be natural sounding. I personally find the HD58X to sound way more natural than it’s bigger brother the 660…yet when I look at the frequency response it’s obvious that the latter is the more neutral can. I just find that the somewhat peaky nature around 5k that shows up in both headphones (because they’re incredibly close to one another) is better masked over the cheapskate Drop can. Conversely I find the 600 way more natural sounding than the 650…which makes perfect sense on paper.

Back to the K702! I imagine quite a few Sennheiser and Grado fans digging this can. I also think that the latter should try out something brand new: a comfortable headphone..with cups that go AROUND the ears. Oh yes..they do actually exist!

 

[Pinkfloyd0]

Yes i do think so too. The K702 are still one of the best headphones for me. I remember comparing them side by side to the HD800 and for me i preferred the K702 vastly. They are also the fastest dynamic headphone i know after the Utopia.

Are there other people who compared AKG K 702 sonics with current top contenders with a price sometimes 10 times (or more) that of K702? I am interested in people's experiences!

 

[Kammerat Rebekka]

It’s more to do about tuning if you ask me. The HD800 is a technical marvel sure..but I personally don’t care for it’s voicing. I prefer the K702 to the Sennie flagship but then again I also prefer the HD600 to the 800. Music just sounds more natural than over the 800 for me.
I’ve also a/b’ed with the Abyss flagship..where the latter fell flat on it’s face. I ended up prefering the K702, HD600 as well as the Sundara over the 1266 TC. The latter is just void of midrange cohesion and feels like a headphone that skipped the crucial tuning-step.
In fact most TOTL offerings these days are criminally poor sound quality-wise if the listener digs his/her mids…which incidentally is where most of the music unfolds…and who wants to spend 10 times the amount of dough on a headphone with slightly better bass extension..but poorer mids and treble performance?
They do look very nice and luxurious though…but who looks at themselves in the mirror whilst chilling to their favourite tunes?

 

[Deolum]

I used them on quite a few amps, but mainly my FiiO A3. Also used them on an S.M.S.L M3 and SD 793II.

My DT880s are the premium version, but the 600ohm which admittedly isn't what he is reviewing. Thought the impedance is the only difference. I sort of regret going for these as i would rather they were easier to drive. My fault there!

​

With these amps i'm not surprised that the K702 sounds like crap. However the DT880 600 ohm shouldn't be that easy to drive either.

I’ve never really heard the K702 as a headphone that changes character with different amps, not even over OTLs as AKGs of this design seem immune to impedance humps in the bass.
I can understand why one would find the K702 to be coloured-sounding if one is coming from the HD600..which Oluv is…and that is also part of why you have to take these things with a pinch of salt and learn to trust your own tastebuds. Oluv is always on the hunt for ‘perfectly neutral’ and equalises headphones in order to make them sound neutral. His reference for neutral is the HD600..which he has listened to for lord knows how many years.
If you then throw a K702 on his head with even more forward mids than the 600..he is going to have a natural reaction. Hell I had a similar one when I first listened to the AKG…mostly because I was coming directly from my own HD600. After 5 minutes though my mind was completely taken aback by the (slightly) new tuning and completely different presentation due to the enormous cups.
Then again I love different presentations depending on my mood. I also own the HD58X…which isn’t as realistic sounding as the HD600 nor the K702..but I really dig it all the same

Personally i disagree with the first statement. In my experience the K702 is extremely amp dependant. Usually i'm not that of an amp fetishist and i don't think that more expensive amps are better but there are some headphones that are either extremely picky about synergy like Grados or that need lots of power and i think the K702 falls at least under the second category. It's way harder to drive than it looks at first and it sounds like crap when not properly driven unlike other headphones like the HD600 who still sound okayisch.

When i found the K702 to be my top contender was when i used it with the Audiovalve Solaris. I don't say this amp is justified for the price but it has lots of power for sure and the smooth presentation synergized well with the K702's aggressiveness. Really liked the Utopia there too.

 

[Kammerat Rebekka]

I used to be big into amps and thought I could hear small differences between X and Y. I threw a whole lot of dough down that rabbithole until my old friend helped me set up some blindtests. He works professionally at a recording studio and also teaches this stuff to up and coming sound engineers. That helped me out big time..mostly because it taught me to focus on the important stuf..and well amps are fairly easy to make these days. We’ve been making them for a 100 years now..and well 90% of them nowadays sound exactly the same…outside of impedance mismatching.
We tend to add characteristics and certain flavours to them because they look a certain way..but when you place them behind a big box and levelmatch the buggers..the amp magic simply disappears. I had a very hard time accepting this, because I had used so much money on shiny boxes that I merely ignored my findings. I needed a couple of more rounds in order to fully grasp this. Then I started reading up on things..and well the science actually makes perfect sense if one hasn’t spent the better part of a century learning about audio from salesmen and reviewers with no accountability whatsoever.

 

[Deolum]

Yeah i came to the same conclusion. Thats why i "downgraded" from a Metrum Pavane + Audiovalve Solaris setup to a Gustard X16 + THX 887.

However even though the THX 887 can drive the Susvara, the HE560 and the HD250 600 ohm for example to way more than my preferred listening volume i think that the switch to the Fluxlabs FA-10 improved those headphones very much purely because it has more power.

When people drive the K702 on mobile or not very powerful amps it should be a problem.

 

[Nicolas from France]

Hi all. Bought a AKG 702 about 2 years ago however i sometimes feels it misses a bit a bass. Will an upgrade to the AkG K712 be a good idea? Will i miss anything i love from the AKG 702 like soundstage, imaging etc...?

 

[CHRISNCHIN]

Ive been using k702 for years and very happy with them. In fact, my son started using my pair so I had to recently picked up another pair.

 

[Pinkfloyd0]

Hi all. Bought a AKG 702 about 2 years ago however i sometimes feels it misses a bit a bass. Will an upgrade to the AkG K712 be a good idea? Will i miss anything i love from the AKG 702 like soundstage, imaging etc...?

Hello Nicolas,

I have had K712 for a couple of years now. In this time I compared them with other more expensive headphones and found them on the same level, but another flavour. This was the reason for me to buy AKG K702, which I have for a couple of months now.

What comes to mind when you would ask me this question is ; AKG K712 also has a big soundstage. K712 is indeed fuller in the bass (but doesn't go deeper allthough it sounds this way sometimes). K702 appears to be more precise, maybe because it's less full sounding.

For me K712 is not an upgrade, but more of a sidegrade. I like them both and allthough they sure have similarities, they are also different enough to keep both of them!

Any other idees?

 

[Ufasas]

Hi all. Bought a AKG 702 about 2 years ago however i sometimes feels it misses a bit a bass. Will an upgrade to the AkG K712 be a good idea? Will i miss anything i love from the AKG 702 like soundstage, imaging etc...?

The only bass i ever use on k702 + strix soar, and it hits well, more rounded at 6dB, at 9db is fine for me, and 12db becomes least pleasant

 

[Old Deaf Donkey]

Yes i do think so too. The K702 are still one of the best headphones for me. I remember comparing them side by side to the HD800 and for me i preferred the K702 vastly. They are also the fastest dynamic headphone i know after the Utopia.

I found my nirvana in a setup that includes K702. Never bother to look for anything else but rolling the tubes that I already own from time to time.

 

[Ufasas]

Paired AKG k702 with EVGA Nu Audio, just today, music feels amazing, relistening all my libraries from start, I think i will sell Asus Strix Soar away, highly possible, that after 15~ years I am ending my audio exploration journey