[taigart]

Hello,

I own a pair of Sennheiser HD598SE and I use them to listen to music from a PC.

I wanted to change them for something better. After reading some review I bought the AKG K712PRO.

I have just plug them in and my first impression was where is the bass?

I mean I tried different genre of musing from rock to electro and when I listen therm from the 598 I feel like "I'm in the song" and clearly the bass is there. Tried the same songs with the 712 PRO and the bass sound clamped, like it was missing some frequencies but generally the sound seemed cleaner and I felt like I could hear more the singer.

Now, my question is do I need an AMP to boost the bass or should I send back the 712? Because the difference between them is like between night and day.

Thank you.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

I don't know anything about those cans but from the specs even a laptop should be able to drive them reasonably well.

What app(s) are you playing music from?

 

[Deolum]

Ich demoed the Sennheiser HD800S today in a store and compared them to my AKG 702 which is my reference atm. To my surprise the 702 needed more amp than the 800S. So i think you need an amp.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Ich demoed the Sennheiser HD800S today in a store and compared them to my AKG 702 which is my reference atm. To my surprise the 702 needed more amp than the 800S. So i think you need an amp.

I can't know what you heard but that is impossible to understand. The 800S is half as efficient and has 5 times more impedance than the AKG 712 Pro.

Based on how many posts there are about the new Slovakian AKGs being defective I would bet on that a lot more than anything else. Something seems terribly, terribly wrong here.

 

[Deolum]

I can't know what you heard but that is impossible to understand. The 800S is half as efficient and has 5 times more impedance than the AKG 712 Pro.

Based on how many posts there are about the new Slovakian AKGs being defective I would bet on that a lot more than anything else. Something seems terribly, terribly wrong here.

I needed to turn the amp higher to get the same volume. Volume steps were digital so it was clear to see. My AKG is the best sounding headphone i have and beats other 1000 € cans i have so i don't think it's defective.

 

[SilverEars]

I've actually tried a hefty amp with lots of power on the K712, and didn't make much of a difference from a portable amp. I found it to sound lean without much bass. I disliked it in general. I thought it was a waste of time and money.

Reason why AKGs sound like they are hard to drive is the distance to the driver and the cup/pad room size. Larger the space, more it takes to get bass.

Many reasons why pads make a difference. Effect on distance of your ear to the driver, surface material, size of the room inside the pads.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

I needed to turn the amp higher to get the same volume. Volume steps were digital so it was clear to see. My AKG is the best sounding headphone i have and beats other 1000 € cans i have so i don't think it's defective.

Well, I was referring to his 712s not your 702s.

 

[taigart]

I don't think the app for playing music is the problem because is the same for both the headphones.

But

Based on how many posts there are about the new Slovakian AKGs being defective I would bet on that a lot more than anything else. Something seems terribly, terribly wrong here.

arf it Is a slovakian model...
the alternative was the beyerdynamic 990pro, definitly with an amp because i can only buy the 250ohm version.

 

[YJX94]

Hello,

I own a pair of Sennheiser HD598SE and I use them to listen to music from a PC.

I wanted to change them for something better. After reading some review I bought the AKG K712PRO.

I have just plug them in and my first impression was where is the bass?

I mean I tried different genre of musing from rock to electro and when I listen therm from the 598 I feel like "I'm in the song" and clearly the bass is there. Tried the same songs with the 712 PRO and the bass sound clamped, like it was missing some frequencies but generally the sound seemed cleaner and I felt like I could hear more the singer.

Now, my question is do I need an AMP to boost the bass or should I send back the 712? Because the difference between them is like between night and day.

Thank you.

K712 is a picky headphone and it matters a lot what source you use it with, if you don't power them properly they do sound a bit dull and lifeless but when powered properly they punch well above their weight. They also shouldn't be your first choice if you love lots of bass and thump from a headphone, what they do have is more of a neutral bass response but the bass is very clean and detailed. Without an amp the HD 598 is better but with an amp the K712 is leaps and bounds better. If you're not interested in investing in an amp then keep the HD 598 but if you are then keep the K712, also you can try out oratory1990's Harman EQ Settings for the K712, I found those settings to improve my K712 tremendously and the region that was most improved was bass with much more presence and slam, K712 responds very well to EQ with zero audible distortion and clipping. Just remember that if you don't want an amp then the K712 isn't worth it.

 

[taigart]

@YJX94 The problem is the passage from the 598 to the K712. I didn't buy the K712 for the bass, I tough it would be similar but the difference is really too much.
I finally decided to buy an amp. I will test it with the K712 + I will follow your hint on the oratory1990 EQ.
If this will do the trick I will keep them otherwise I will buy the Beyer 990 pro because for what I read they surely don't lack bass.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

I own a pair of Sennheiser HD598SE and I use them to listen to music from a PC.

I wanted to change them for something better. After reading some review I bought the AKG K712PRO.

I have just plug them in and my first impression was where is the bass?

I mean I tried different genre of musing from rock to electro and when I listen therm from the 598 I feel like "I'm in the song" and clearly the bass is there. Tried the same songs with the 712 PRO and the bass sound clamped, like it was missing some frequencies but generally the sound seemed cleaner and I felt like I could hear more the singer.

Now, my question is do I need an AMP to boost the bass or should I send back the 712? Because the difference between them is like between night and day.

It could either be the K712 Pro has a loose fit on your head (since its headband design only allows for adjustment the other way) or your soundcard has a high output impedance (along with low power output and some distortion other than due to reduced damping factor).

Press the earcups closer to your head. Does it improve? If the bass is louder (albeit not too clean), then you might have both issues. Maybe an amp will improve how clean that bass when pressed in is, maybe a little bit louder, but overall it really won't changethe quantity of thebass that you can hear. Add how these AKGs even with flat pads tend to image the bass towards the rear because that's how they're supposed to sound on speakers, and what is actually there if you measure the response can get messed up in actual music as the listener can perceive it less despite it being there but just farther away.

If it doesn't improve when pressed in, maybe try the amp.

Either way it's not guaranteed to get you what you want. On the upside any amp that can properly drive that will likely drive others well enough, so you can try any other headphone later on whether you like the sound or not you're hearing what each of them really sounds like.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Hello,
I own a pair of Sennheiser HD598SE and I use them to listen to music from a PC.
I wanted to change them for something better. After reading some review I bought the AKG K712PRO.
I have just plug them in and my first impression was where is the bass?
I mean I tried different genre of musing from rock to electro and when I listen therm from the 598 I feel like "I'm in the song" and clearly the bass is there. Tried the same songs with the 712 PRO and the bass sound clamped, like it was missing some frequencies but generally the sound seemed cleaner and I felt like I could hear more the singer.
Now, my question is do I need an AMP to boost the bass or should I send back the 712? Because the difference between them is like between night and day.
Thank you.

The 50-Ohm HD598SE are very easy to drive.
The AKG K712 Pro is only 62-Ohm, but is more power demanding then a 250-Ohm Beyerdynamics headphone.
A Schiit Asgard should drive the K712 Pro, better than on-board audio.

 

[YJX94]

@YJX94 The problem is the passage from the 598 to the K712. I didn't buy the K712 for the bass, I tough it would be similar but the difference is really too much.
I finally decided to buy an amp. I will test it with the K712 + I will follow your hint on the oratory1990 EQ.
If this will do the trick I will keep them otherwise I will buy the Beyer 990 pro because for what I read they surely don't lack bass.

990s surely don't lack bass but they surely are treble murder cannons if you can handle it and if you CAN handle it they are excellent. ProtegeManiac also made good points as well, if the output impedance of your onboard audio is too high then that can alter the frequency response of the headphones in a bad way and also if the pads don't clamp properly and are loose on your head then the bass will escape. Which amp did you buy btw? also when you use oratory1990's EQ settings you will be applying a -8 dB pre-amplifying gain meaning the overall volume will be quieter, leave that as is and just turn up the volume on your amplifier, I thought I'd just let you know about that if you didn't already know.

 

[Monsterzero]

K712 is a picky headphone and it matters a lot what source you use it with, if you don't power them properly they do sound a bit dull and lifeless but when powered properly they punch well above their weight. They also shouldn't be your first choice if you love lots of bass and thump from a headphone, what they do have is more of a neutral bass response but the bass is very clean and detailed. Without an amp the HD 598 is better but with an amp the K712 is leaps and bounds better. If you're not interested in investing in an amp then keep the HD 598 but if you are then keep the K712, also you can try out oratory1990's Harman EQ Settings for the K712, I found those settings to improve my K712 tremendously and the region that was most improved was bass with much more presence and slam, K712 responds very well to EQ with zero audible distortion and clipping. Just remember that if you don't want an amp then the K712 isn't worth it.

This!

 

[taigart]

Thank you all for your answers.

Update:

I have received an Amp and...well the bass is definitely there.

In the end is the K712pro an upgrade to my 598? Nope!

The K712 sound is like filtered compared to the 598, but is more clean and well defined.
The 598 feels like I'm in the music but I lost some "details", these details are well highlighted by the K712.

So the problem is that I wanted to upgrade but in reality I have found something not better, not worse just different.
I will try the 990 out of curiosity before decide which one I will return.