[HiSenn5]

  I'm deciding between these two right now.  I have the K712 and I miss the "airy" quality of my old, Austrian made K701s... which I did NOT think lacked in bass.  Which is the better choice, for the money?  Does the K612 have "memory foam" ear pads?  AKG cites the same replacement for the K612, K712, and the K702 Annie but I'm not sure which one it (the K612) actually ships with?

Thanks in advance!

PS  I see the newest Chinese K702 seem to all come with a flat headband (no bumps!)  Is there a part number or something, some easy way of making sure I buy the flat headband and not the bumpy version, if I go K702 over K612???

...or...  do I wait for the next Massdrop on the K7XX?

I'd go with the K612. The K702 is better in resolution but trimmed to be perfectly linear. Great plus for studio applications but very unnatural sounding. The K612 is IMHO a more comfortable and more natural/warm sounding headphone. They sit in the middle, between the K702 and the HD600. The one thing I dislike is that they sound a bit distant.
 
The K712 one the other hand is overpriced, too dark for my taste and apparantly not made in austria.

 

[Oktyabr]

 
I'd go with the K612. The K702 is better in resolution but trimmed to be perfectly linear. Great plus for studio applications but very unnatural sounding. The K612 is IMHO a more comfortable and more natural/warm sounding headphone. They sit in the middle, between the K702 and the HD600. The one thing I dislike is that they sound a bit distant.
 
The K712 one the other hand is overpriced, too dark for my taste and apparantly not made in austria.

As a K612 owner could you confirm whether or not the ear pads are the same memory foam as the K712?  I DO like the pads on the K712 but agree that perhaps they are a bit "dark" sounding.

 

[HiSenn5]

The K612 pads are the same as the K702 pads, except they're not angled. I couldn't get used to the K712 pads. They felt very weird, similar to a closed headphone.

 

[Oktyabr]

  The K612 pads are the same as the K702 pads, except they're not angled. I couldn't get used to the K712 pads. They felt very weird, similar to a closed headphone.

So the K612 does NOT have the same pads as the K712?

 

[kman1211]

  So the K612 does NOT have the same pads as the K712?

No they don't. The K712 has deeper memory foam pads, the K712 pads are also smoother and less scratchy on the skin. The K612 pads are not memory foam and are less dense, softer, and less deep. Also the K612 pads are not the same as the K701/2 & Q701, they are much softer and not angled. The K701/2 and Q701 have the firmest pads of the bunch. 

 

[Oktyabr]

  No they don't. The K712 has deeper memory foam pads, the K712 pads are also smoother and less scratchy on the skin. The K612 pads are not memory foam and are less dense, softer, and less deep. Also the K612 pads are not the same as the K701/2 & Q701, they are much softer and not angled. The K701/2 and Q701 have the firmest pads of the bunch. 

Harman Direct says they only offer part number "5021871                $47.55 each pad                 CUSHION, K 612,K 712,K702_Anniversary"

So a part of me was thinking that if the K612 actually ships brand new with these pads, that would make them a steal in replacement parts alone.

 

[kman1211]

  Harman Direct says they only offer part number "5021871                $47.55 each pad                 CUSHION, K 612,K 712,K702_Anniversary"

So a part of me was thinking that if the K612 actually ships brand new with these pads, that would make them a steal in replacement parts alone.

When comparing my K712 to my K612 the pads are very different, the K712 pads also sound much warmer. A friend of mine says her K7XX pads are not near as soft as my K712 pads, could be simple wear on my pads, won't be sure until I actually hear her pair of K7XX's. So expensive for earpads... :/ 

 

[Oktyabr]

  When comparing my K712 to my K612 the pads are very different, the K712 pads also sound much warmer. A friend of mine says her K7XX pads are not near as soft as my K712 pads, could be simple wear on my pads, won't be sure until I actually hear her pair of K7XX's. So expensive for earpads... :/ 

I'd really like to know.  Please do share here, when you find out?  Yes, they ARE expensive replacements...  that's why I was thinking that...  Amazon has the K612 on sale right now for $147.  If they ship brand new with the same exact pads as the K712 (or for that matter, the K7XX, K702/65) someone could actually buy the K612 when they needed pads for the other headphone, swap them, and still end up with two excellent pair of phones for only about $50 more than the pads by themselves!

The "memory foam" is obviously very different.  I have the K712 now and used to have the K701.  While both appeared similar, a quick prod into the pad itself with a single finger tip easily revealed the difference.

 

[shineonyou]

Great review brookoo. Thanks for it! I am deciding betwen k612, k712, q701 and k701/702. I have a stereo amp pioneer ad 30 k and a reciever yamaha. I think both of them have enough juice to fully drive every of the akgs mentioned above, or am I wrong?
I listen to most every kind of music, so I need a neutral headphones. From the review by brookoo and from the discussion I am ready to buy k612.I just hope the soundstage wont be very much smaller as by other headphones mentioned above.

 

[Brooko]

Your receiver should have no problems with power delivery for any of the AKGs
 
Honestly, any of the AKGs listed should be great - I really enjoyed them all.  If you are on a tighter budget though, and enjoy a little more natural sound, I'd start with the K612 first.

 

[shineonyou]

Your receiver should have no problems with power delivery for any of the AKGs

Honestly, any of the AKGs listed should be great - I really enjoyed them all.  If you are on a tighter budget though, and enjoy a little more natural sound, I'd start with the K612 first.

a
actualy i am not tight at budget, i am just looking for the most natural sound with a feel of good soundstage and i also like the look of akgs. And you mentioned, that the most natural sound comes from k612 from the akgs. or did I understand it bad?

 

[Brooko]

a
actualy i am not tight at budget, i am just looking for the most natural sound with a feel of good soundstage and i also like the look of akgs. And you mentioned, that the most natural sound comes from k612 from the akgs. or did I understand it bad?

 
To me, the K612 sounds more natural than it's siblings (others may have varying opinions).  It's not quite as detailed, but staging is more circular than L ...... C ....... R of the 701/702 (which I always felt were too wide anyway).
 
And when I say natural, a lot of the headphones we listen to can be relatively neutral (AKG 701/702, Beyer DT880 etc), but still be slightly brighter than what is natural (or real sounding).  The K612 is a lot like the Sennheiser HD600 in this regard.  Enough mid-bass to sound more natural tonally.

 

[shineonyou]

To me, the K612 sounds more natural than it's siblings (others may have varying opinions).  It's not quite as detailed, but staging is more circular than L ...... C ....... R of the 701/702 (which I always felt were too wide anyway).

And when I say natural, a lot of the headphones we listen to can be relatively neutral (AKG 701/702, Beyer DT880 etc), but still be slightly brighter than what is natural (or real sounding).  The K612 is a lot like the Sennheiser HD600 in this regard.  Enough mid-bass to sound more natural tonally.

Well, if that is so, I will go for k612, cause natural sound is my main goal - to hear the nearest to a live session.

 

[Brooko]

Well, if that is so, I will go for k612, cause natural sound is my main goal - to hear the nearest to a live session.

 
Is there anywhere you can try them first - so you can compare? IMO that is always the secret - listening with your ears

 

[shineonyou]

I

Is there anywhere you can try them first - so you can compare? IMO that is always the secret - listening with your ears

Good point I will do that. There is a shop, where I can try 702,701,612 and 712