[xxAMAROKxx]

My other mod after cable replacement - perforated pleather pads from aliexpress (arrived in 5 days from china! talking about pandemic delays? what the bonkers?!!). These are more spongy, memory pads. Rock still sounds amazing with these pads, there is maybe a tiny bit more rumble on lower end, slightly more weight on kicks, still great instruments separation, guitars crunchy, voices sounding very clear, depending on the mix, like here:
I keep raising windows volume bar, how good it sounds. Who else got perforated ones? Any difference for you?

Also a question, do you keep those foam rings inside? They just fell off while replacing, and wasn't bothered to put back in, hah.

I use two types of foam rings. The original black one and the new gray AKG rings, which are less denser and therefore they have clearer treble.
https://www.thomann.de/gb/akg_foam_net_piece_k_701.htm
Recently I have ordered PCOCC cable, made in Japan. I'm curious about the sound.

 

[Ufasas]

Testing K702 with Asus Strix Soar SNR 116 dB 6pin PCIe card only for the first time today, sound is busy, warm, full, detailed, no cardboard tin festival, while listening to mp3 320kbps in AIMP3 and youtube songs and movie trailers too. Sounded very warm and full with Rotting Christ latest songs compilation

 

[xxAMAROKxx]

Testing K702 with Asus Strix Soar SNR 116 dB 6pin PCIe card only for the first time today, sound is busy, warm, full, detailed, no cardboard tin festival, while listening to mp3 320kbps in AIMP3 and youtube songs and movie trailers too. Sounded very warm and full with Rotting Christ latest songs compilation

I really wish that to you. My ASUS STX II sound card (with MUSES02) is not enough for the K702, even at high gain. It is not a bad sound, but struggles mostly in bass (authority) and treble (detail, smoothness) area. Some extra amplification helps a lot.

 

[Ufasas]

dunno mate, it gives up to +6 db bass boost or 9db in sonic studio just easily, unlike sony ma900, which doesn't give much when using EQ/or bass boost

 

[Mad Max]

I forget about the foam rings, my K701's rings disintegrated some years ago. They helped fatten the bass a bit, but hurt upper frequencies a bit, too. Best thing for me has been K702 pads, I get better bass with these pads but the difference is somewhat marginal.

 

[Pinkfloyd0]

Hello,

I am just wandering for some time now, are there other people who find AKG K702 and also K712 are of the same standing soundwise as far more expensive headphones? Just curious about other peoples experiences!

I mean, I compared them with Sennheiser HD 800, Sony MDR-Z1, Audeze LCD 2 (from memory) and some others. They are all different flavours. The only one I think is technically a bit better is HD 800.

So, I think AKG K702 and K712 are a bargain!
€130 for AKG K702

 

[Twjones]

Sonically I would agree they are currently a tremendous bargain. For reference, after years of trying many headphones, I have settled on three: for ultimate portability, Noble Kaiser CIEMs; for closed-backs at home, the Denon D9200s, and for open-backs, AKG K702s. About 1/10 the cost of either of the others. I sold my Audeze LCD2 Fazors for them. The Audezes are great headphones, but I found them too treble-shy. Two caveats: 1) I modded the hell out of the AKGs, partially to allow them to play well with a Shanling M8 DAP, as I found they needed more juice than the Shanling could provide single-ended. 2) In doing so, I discovered just how much cost had been engineered out, destroying one pair in the process. They are almost all plastic. Cheap plastic, to boot. I melted the left cup significantly while using a hairdryer on a heatshrink splice. It did not take long at all. While I was at it, the right side went on the fritz. And not from the crap soldering of the incredibly thin wires to the steel headband (which causes many failures) but from the even thinner few inches of wire that run into and out of the capsule. It is, no exaggeration, the diameter of a human hair. Very fragile. And it just snapped. (An aside - I just cannot fathom after-market cables having much if any impact on the sonic qualities of the AKGs given the internal wiring.) Modded for balanced use and tweaked for response (bass mod, different earpads, different foam rings) they sound glorious. Especially for classical when no-one is bothered by the sound leakage. But handle with care! The failure rate on them is high...

 

[Deolum]

Hello,

I am just wandering for some time now, are there other people who find AKG K702 and also K712 are of the same standing soundwise as far more expensive headphones? Just curious about other peoples experiences!

I mean, I compared them with Sennheiser HD 800, Sony MDR-Z1, Audeze LCD 2 (from memory) and some others. They are all different flavours. The only one I think is technically a bit better is HD 800.

So, I think AKG K702 and K712 are a bargain!
€130 for AKG K702

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.

 

[pbarach]

Hello,

I am just wandering for some time now, are there other people who find AKG K702 and also K712 are of the same standing soundwise as far more expensive headphones? Just curious about other peoples experiences!

I mean, I compared them with Sennheiser HD 800, Sony MDR-Z1, Audeze LCD 2 (from memory) and some others. They are all different flavours. The only one I think is technically a bit better is HD 800.

So, I think AKG K702 and K712 are a bargain!
€130 for AKG K702

The K702 phones were the first decent set of headphones I bought. As others also found, burning them in for 100-200 hours brought more bass. Currently, I use them for watching TV late at night. They do not sound as natural in the midrange as the Sennheiser HD600's that I bought to replace them for classical music (which is 90% of what I listen to). Of note, most of the photos and videos of classical music recording sessions over the last decade show people wearing HD600's in the control room.

The K702s lack the detail and dynamic punch of Focal Clear headphones (the original model), but soundstage is wider than either these or the Senns. The K702s seem a little less comfortable since I replaced the partially collapsed pads, but I have had them so long that I probably can't recall how they felt when the original pads were new.

 

[Pinkfloyd0]

Sonically I would agree they are currently a tremendous bargain. For reference, after years of trying many headphones, I have settled on three: for ultimate portability, Noble Kaiser CIEMs; for closed-backs at home, the Denon D9200s, and for open-backs, AKG K702s. About 1/10 the cost of either of the others. I sold my Audeze LCD2 Fazors for them. The Audezes are great headphones, but I found them too treble-shy. Two caveats: 1) I modded the hell out of the AKGs, partially to allow them to play well with a Shanling M8 DAP, as I found they needed more juice than the Shanling could provide single-ended. 2) In doing so, I discovered just how much cost had been engineered out, destroying one pair in the process. They are almost all plastic. Cheap plastic, to boot. I melted the left cup significantly while using a hairdryer on a heatshrink splice. It did not take long at all. While I was at it, the right side went on the fritz. And not from the crap soldering of the incredibly thin wires to the steel headband (which causes many failures) but from the even thinner few inches of wire that run into and out of the capsule. It is, no exaggeration, the diameter of a human hair. Very fragile. And it just snapped. (An aside - I just cannot fathom after-market cables having much if any impact on the sonic qualities of the AKGs given the internal wiring.) Modded for balanced use and tweaked for response (bass mod, different earpads, different foam rings) they sound glorious. Especially for classical when no-one is bothered by the sound leakage. But handle with care! The failure rate on them is high...

I was indeed talking about sonics only!

If it is about building quality there are indeed points which can be bettered. I also did the balanced mod. on K712 (and reversed it later to use non balanced again). If you heat the plastic it will deform quickly. But I think this will happen to other headphones plastic parts also...? I had one of these tiny wires on K712 come loose after a couple of months. If you are a little bit handy with a soldering iron you fix this yourself easily! The elastic straps for adjusting the headband also loose there strength over time. So indeed building quality can be bettered!

But €130 for K702 nowadays. If you are a little bit handy / creative you can fix the problems with build quality and enjoy a headphone with sonics on a level with far more expensive ones.

It really surprises me that nobody talks about this headphone bargain more! I have the feeling people are only looking for the most expensive headphones and think these will be the best automatically (I include myself into this way of thinking).


A question ; I see some people list there used equipment in there posts. I would like to do so also, but don't yet understand how.
I think it is very informative to post a persons used audio equipment. Is there anybody who can enlighten me? A private message will be appreciated! Thanks.

 

[TheGiantHogweed]

In the uk, The DT880 is only a bit more expensive than the K702s, and they are noticeably better in sound and significantly better in build quality.

I had to return my first pair of K702s due to this them creaking and groaning so badly due to a poorly constructed frame.

I didn't trust the next pair to last due to the build quality being so terrible, then this occured just after a year: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/akg-k702-impressions.430984/page-28#post-14107333 - look for my post.


I didn't bother re soldering them even though I could have done. You could tell they had turned the heat up too much when doing the soldering to begin with. Their quality control is shockingly bad.

Amazon let me return them for a refund. I just can't believe how bad the build quality of these are compared to the K550s. They don't feel like they are made by the same brand.

While I don't remember everything about them, I remember those flimsy bits of elastic which i felt would give up at any point. Then there was that transparent plastic that felt like that cheap stuff you get on food packaging. To me, my £15 Sennheiser HD201s felt to be made of better quality plastic than these. And they have lasted over 15 years which included careless use by me when i was a kid.

The sound of the K702s is still good for the money, and one thing I really like about them is the detachable mini XLR connector. But the build quality and quality control is so awful that I couldn't reccomend them to anyone really.

The DT880s may not have a detachable cable, but they sound better and the build quality is on another level in every area.

​

 

[Kammerat Rebekka]

^Funny how that goes. I vastly prefer the sound and comfort of the K702 and find the DT880’s treble unnatural.
I think the AKGs of this series generally are overlooked for all the wrong reasons. The K702 is still the most smooth sounding presentation you can find in a headphone with such big cups. The larger the cups get - the more unwieldy the higher frequencies tend to get. Look at a headphone with enormous cups and I will show you a frequency response with a raggedy treble performance. HD800, HD800S, Aeolus, Auteur, Verité, Atticus, Eikon, K812, Abyss, Audeze, Hifiman’s with eggshaped cups..and the list literally goes on and on and on. It’s not that strange though..it’s just physics.
With the 7 series AKG (including the K612) you arguably get the finest and most smooth sounding upper frequencies I’ve ever come across in such a huge headphone.
It’s also ‘neutral’ meaning it sounds right/realistic…though it does come across extremely detailed because of the gentle but very noticeable wave of energy around 2k. It’s done very elegantly though.
As for pure listening enjoyment these are a hoot! At first they may come across a tad bass light…but as you go along and your brain adjusts to the presentation, the bass comes along just fine..and the headphone starts sounding natural.
The K702:

Yup…that is actually world-class right there. Look up any of the newer flavours of the month and you realise how brilliant the K702 is.
Only downside? It’s not expensive enough to warrant inspection from the many folks who believe in mo money = better performance…which has been debunked over and over again.
You don’t get the bragging rights, Corinthian Carbon and the Egyptian leather…but you get brilliant sound quality instead

 

[TheGiantHogweed]

^Funny how that goes. I vastly prefer the sound and comfort of the K702 and find the DT880’s treble unnatural.
I think the AKGs of this series generally are overlooked for all the wrong reasons. The K702 is still the most smooth sounding presentation you can find in a headphone with such big cups. The larger the cups get - the more unwieldy the higher frequencies tend to get. Look at a headphone with enormous cups and I will show you a frequency response with a raggedy treble performance. HD800, HD800S, Aeolus, Auteur, Verité, Atticus, Eikon, K812, Abyss, Audeze, Hifiman’s with eggshaped cups..and the list literally goes on and on and on. It’s not that strange though..it’s just physics.
With the 7 series AKG (including the K612) you arguably get the finest and most smooth sounding upper frequencies I’ve ever come across in such a huge headphone.
It’s also ‘neutral’ meaning it sounds right/realistic…though it does come across extremely detailed because of the gentle but very noticeable wave of energy around 2k. It’s done very elegantly though.
As for pure listening enjoyment these are a hoot! At first they may come across a tad bass light…but as you go along and your brain adjusts to the presentation, the bass comes along just fine..and the headphone starts sounding natural.
The K702:

Yup…that is actually world-class right there. Look up any of the newer flavours of the month and you realise how brilliant the K702 is.
Only downside? It’s not expensive enough to warrant inspection from the many folks who believe in mo money = better performance…which has been debunked over and over again.
You don’t get the bragging rights, Corinthian Carbon and the Egyptian leather…but you get brilliant sound quality instead

I personally agree quite strongly with this person's review. He has the best method of getting his recordings to sound realistic compared to anyone else I've come across on youtube. he doesn't have the cash others do or the equipment, but he seems to spend more time tuning it to exactly how he hears it, which others often don't seem to bother with.

It highlights the faults with the sound of all 3 of these headphones (well, one is pretty much faultless) HD58X, DT880, K702.

He does seem to think the same as me regarding the K702 sounding the worst of the 3, but certainly mentions the treble peak issue with the DT880s. I myself can admit to that being a weakness. But I added another layer of that acoustic foam as well as changing the ear pads. They now have a bit more punch and the 8 - 9kHz spike is reduced a fair bit. The K702s came across to me like they do in this video. You can't really reduce how odd something sounds. I think I agree with him that it sounds a bit colored. He also mentioned that the channel balance is poor on the K702s, which is evident in the picture you have posted too.

He even went as far as making a video comparing these to the K612, which if I'm honest, he has convinced me sound better than the K702. To me, it sounds like AKG have tried to make the K702s sound better, but in fact they sound worse despite being a higher end model.

This is the graph comparing the two:

 

[Kammerat Rebekka]

I love Oluv, and his channel is certainly one of the better ones out there besting Z, PMS, Josh Velour and The Headphone Show by quite a margin.
…but I would be very cautious regarding his measurements.
I think it’s a matter of tastebuds. I love all of the headphones mentioned in these reviews, for different reasons. Some headphones suit x album better whereas others are more suited to y.
Here are the K612 as well as the K702 made with proper measuring kit…and well at least to my ears sound way closer to what I actually hear when wearing them:
K612

K702

 

[Deolum]

I personally agree quite strongly with this person's review. He has the best method of getting his recordings to sound realistic compared to anyone else I've come across on youtube. he doesn't have the cash others do or the equipment, but he seems to spend more time tuning it to exactly how he hears it, which others often don't seem to bother with.

It highlights the faults with the sound of all 3 of these headphones (well, one is pretty much faultless) HD58X, DT880, K702.

He does seem to think the same as me regarding the K702 sounding the worst of the 3, but certainly mentions the treble peak issue with the DT880s. I myself can admit to that being a weakness. But I added another layer of that acoustic foam as well as changing the ear pads. They now have a bit more punch and the 8 - 9kHz spike is reduced a fair bit. The K702s came across to me like they do in this video. You can't really reduce how odd something sounds. I think I agree with him that it sounds a bit colored. He also mentioned that the channel balance is poor on the K702s, which is evident in the picture you have posted too.

He even went as far as making a video comparing these to the K612, which if I'm honest, he has convinced me sound better than the K702. To me, it sounds like AKG have tried to make the K702s sound better, but in fact they sound worse despite being a higher end model.

This is the graph comparing the two:

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