[Mink]

Good luck Mink with your reasoning of not persuing the quest to find your ultimate headphones... and long live our TEACs!

I'll drink to that!

 

[warp2600]

I knew I wanted to stay with PCM1795 DAC chip as I loved the Arcam irDac sound. Started researching and almost went for the MF MX-Dac, but then discovered the TEAC UD-301-X. Here in UK for £100 less than the MX-DAC. Reading specifications, it sounded perfect - dual PCM1795 chip, 24/192 for PCM, DSD128, even has its own headphone amp (albeit response on forums was that the amp is not very powerful). Sounded too good to be true so I gave it a try. It arrived earlier this week and I’m absolutely stunned - this little TEAC sounds like it was made for AKG K812 headphones.

Where did you get a TEAC UD-301 with 2 years warranty? AFAIK it is a discontinued model from wayyy back.

 

[Mink]

https://www.wifimedia.eu/en/ud-301-x.html
https://www.hifisound.de/Hifi-Compo...X-USB-Audio-DAC-Digital-Analog-converter.html

 

[Tademeus]

Where did you get a TEAC UD-301 with 2 years warranty? AFAIK it is a discontinued model from wayyy back.

There's a new version UD-301-X:
https://teac.jp/int/product/ud-301-x/top

But can't find what's different between UD-301 and UD-301-X.

And got it from here: https://petertyson.co.uk/teac-ud-301-x-usb-dac

 

[warp2600]

There's a new version UD-301-X:
https://teac.jp/int/product/ud-301-x/top

But can't find what's different between UD-301 and UD-301-X.

And got it from here: https://petertyson.co.uk/teac-ud-301-x-usb-dac

I can see now that it is a new version of the UD-301 (perhaps smaller in size).

 

[audioot]

I have fitted the earkaps around the transducer with a thin open filter material that is normally used for air breathing filters.
This gives me personally very good result in the music reproduction in all areas for the k812.
It is a simple tweak and I have tested it extensively with and without a filter.
I leave this one permanently in view of the improved sound reproduction.
Sonarworks is also highly recommended for the k812 in terms of reproduction quality

 

[Tademeus]

OK, another step in getting the most out of my AKG K812. Have added Musical Fidelity MX-HPA to my system and (I’d say) I reached my end-point. Pairs very nicely with K812, no more ear-piercing treble, has a nice full body and deep bass. Perfectly balanced across whole range. And the amount of detail and clarity is just phenomenal. Can’t get them out of my head now...

 

[486892]

I have fitted the earkaps around the transducer with a thin open filter material that is normally used for air breathing filters.
This gives me personally very good result in the music reproduction in all areas for the k812.
It is a simple tweak and I have tested it extensively with and without a filter.
I leave this one permanently in view of the improved sound reproduction.
Sonarworks is also highly recommended for the k812 in terms of reproduction quality

Sounds interesting, can you post a picture of you fix?

I totally agree that Sonarworks is must have tool with K812, especially when using them for mixing and mastering audio, but for normal use as well, because then you don't need to focus on your DAC/AMP that much.

The hardware elements in K812 are pure gold. Only the tuning is a bit off, and is easy fix with SW + playing them with 192k quality you cannot get any better sound for that price, what that combination gives.

 

[Kingofthecrate]

after reviewing this thread, I am eyeballing a used pair of 812's on the inter webs for a decent price. I currently listen to the 240k and though not full sounding, I enjoy how clean and precise they sound and the sound stage is better than any closed can I have (currently the B&W P9) so I can only hope it gets better. I also own a paid of audeze LCDi3 IEM which dont have nearly the sound stage the 240's do but they have so serious mids and sound much more full. My sources currently are LGV40 into the drop CHT or chord mojo depending on what headphones I am listening to.

 

[Roderick]

I had k240 and K812 definately has bigger soundstage. Infact I think K812 is the most airy and open sounding headphone I've ever had (including hd800, T1, K701, DT1990, Ananda etc).

In other aspects I did not like k812 that much so I sold it.

 

[Kingofthecrate]

I had k240 and K812 definately has bigger soundstage. Infact I think K812 is the most airy and open sounding headphone I've ever had (including hd800, T1, K701, DT1990, Ananda etc).

In other aspects I did not like k812 that much so I sold it.

What were your dislikes?

 

[Roderick]

It was ethereal sounding on expense of realism. To me it sounded artificial, thin and despite it's clarity(lack of veil) I did not find it particularly resolving/detailed. It was just too weird to get me exited about listening. Midrange on T1 sounded allmost thick in comparison...and thats just not right.

For what it goes for used these days one could definately do worse. It's unique and because of that worth trying out atleast.

 

[486892]

It was ethereal sounding on expense of realism. To me it sounded artificial, thin and despite it's clarity(lack of veil) I did not find it particularly resolving/detailed. It was just too weird to get me exited about listening. Midrange on T1 sounded allmost thick in comparison...and thats just not right.

For what it goes for used these days one could definately do worse. It's unique and because of that worth trying out atleast.

I think that unique that they have now is not a good thing, because the reason is bad tune. So, midrage sounds quite weak. SW will fix the whole frequency range including highs and midrange. Without SW they are not worth buying for but with SW they sound better than HD800. More musical, natural and less distant. With SW you can trust them as sound monitor as well if you use them for mixing/mastering - better that HD's.

 

[Kingofthecrate]

I think that unique that they have now is not a good thing, because the reason is bad tune. So, midrage sounds quite weak. SW will fix the whole frequency range including highs and midrange. Without SW they are not worth buying for but with SW they sound better than HD800. More musical, natural and less distant. With SW you can trust them as sound monitor as well if you use them for mixing/mastering - better that HD's.

What is SW?

 

[Tademeus]

Interesting how our experience differ from one another. In my current set up (Teac UD-301 - MX-HPA - K812) they are the best sounding experience I've ever heard. Beating T1.2 Black, DT1990, DT880 Black, DT880 Edition 600ohm and K712 Pro. Just can't fault them, can't get them off my head and when I listen to my other (Lounge) rig, I keep comparing my other headphones to my Study rig and keep finding bits that bother me. Synergy is paramount with K812 and people interested in getting them should be prepared to upgrade their rigs to get the most out of them. It took myself few years to fine tune my Study rig to suit K812.