[oneguy]

What's the general consensus on the made in Slovakia version versus made in Austria. As far as I remember the discussion culminated in some people thinking the Austria version may have been made better since that is where AKG is located and some people thought the Slovakia version might be be better due to it being a possibly updated build. Does that some it up or is there more?

I just acquired a new pair of Slovakian made k812s. I have the HD800 as well. From memory of the last time I listened to K812 the HD800 was overall a better headphone but the K812 did rock better. As said before the kick drums through it was awesome!

 

[mikey1964]

What's the general consensus on the made in Slovakia version versus made in Austria. As far as I remember the discussion culminated in some people thinking the Austria version may have been made better since that is where AKG is located and some people thought the Slovakia version might be be better due to it being a possibly updated build. Does that some it up or is there more?

Heh, kinda curious about this myself, my MiA K812 died on me quite a while back, RMA'ed it and got a spanking new MiS K812 as replacement. Unlike others, I cannot recall how a can (that I'd heard months ago) sounds like compared to one I have at hand. Add to the fact that previously, I was using a Geek Pulse Standard vs Oppo HA-1 combo or Gustard X12/H10 stack (present gear, have since sold off the Geek Pulse). Not arguing which is better as I think each has its fortes and weaknesses.....and that each sounds magnificent to me, which is why I have both.

 

[oneguy]

How did it die on you? Headband cable?

 

[mikey1964]

  How did it die on you? Headband cable?

Really dunno what'd happened, one day it was working fine, next day, the right side (IIRC) went dead silent. Had it checked by the local distributor and they confirmed that one side was non-functional. I had to pay about 55USD to have it shipped to Austria for AKG to verify and see what they could do with it. I was kinda worried about cost and had fully expected to pay for the replacement of a driver. The can was bought used and I was told by the seller that he believed it was off warranty. Add to that, I'd owned and used it for a few months before it died. I was most pleasantly surprised when AKG got back to the distributor, instructing them to replace the dead MIA K812 with a brand new MIS K812. I needn't pay for anything other than the original shipping cost to Austria.....awesome after sale service from AKG, wheich is why I'm waiting for the K872 to hit the local stores to show my appreciation of their awesome goodwill gesture.

 

[EDN80]

I heard them out of the new wa22se prototype against my trusty hd800 at the SF meet. I wrote:

K812 has unequivocally lost classical war to HD800. I cannot think of a situation in which I would recommend them over HD800. They're more immediate, placing you on the podium rather than in the audience, but that's really just a roundabout way of saying the soundstage isn't holographic and kind of surrounds you (the soundstage criticism is my only one for 009). The tone is shrill and sibilant, and the overall effect is not very transparent, not especially neutral, and certainly not euphonic. In the Benchmark school of sound, they seem to be harsh for the sake of being harsh. Also, single ended for the sake of being single ended.

Well, would a meet be the best ideal testing conditions? Anyway, very subjective.
 
When you say stuff like "K812 has unequivocally lost classical war to HD800", make sure you add, "to me" or "IMO" -- so that it doesn't sound like a definitive and authoritative statement. Thanks.
 
Currently listening to Vivaldi Sacred music. Kyrie RV 587 on Philips / Vittorio Negri recording. k812 / HA1 / Phonitor 2 / Fidelizer / FLAC and it's the complete opposite of your description. Soundstage is holographic. Surrounds you. Tone isn't shrill or sibilant. And it is very transparent, quite neutral and euphonic. No harshness. To me.
 
Solo voices, choirs, continuo instruments... coming through with clarion clarity. Best seats at the concert.

 

[EDN80]

 
Not good for a $1,500 set of headphones.

It's the material, not a defect. Irrelevant. 

 

[EDN80]

  As I say, I will continue to hear it every chance I get, but the sound quality does not thus far justify its price to me. Its imaging was not an improvement on HD800 and certainly not K1000, which remains in my view the best thing AKG ever made.

 
... And tear them down every chance you get? You may want to give up at this point. Given your repeated negative reviews, these cans may not be for you.

 

[MozartMan1201]

  Well, would a meet be the best ideal testing conditions? Anyway, very subjective.
 
When you say stuff like "K812 has unequivocally lost classical war to HD800", make sure you add, "to me" or "IMO" -- so that it doesn't sound like a definitive and authoritative statement. Thanks.
 
Currently listening to Vivaldi Sacred music. Kyrie RV 587 on Philips / Vittorio Negri recording. k812 / HA1 / Phonitor 2 and it's the complete opposite of your description. Soundstage is holographic. Surrounds you. Tone isn't shrill or sibilant. And it is very transparent, quite neutral and euphonic. No harshness. To me.
 
Solo voices, choirs, continuo instruments... coming through with clarion clarity. Best seats at the concert.

 
As an AKG lifer I second EDN80 in the 812's  'holographic soundstage' and I have extensively auditioned the HD800 and came to the conclusion that, while the 800 holds the distinct advantage (but not by much) in large-scale orchestral/choral/operatic works, this advantage melts away in chamber music or vocal recitals, where it puts a small group of musicians inside an aircraft hangar-sized soundstage... it's a weird sensation.  The 812, on the other hand, sounds entirely appropriate and natural for large to small ensembles.   For a demo of this holographic soundstage, try the Mozart Horn Quintet K.407 (Barry Tuckwell/English Chamber Orchestra)... the 800 first and then the 812.  The 812 will blow you away!!

 

[EDN80]

 
I can't account for your impressions, but they do not comport with my own. I find the HD800 is exceedingly neutral and realistic in rendering moments such as the pantomime from Verdi's Otello, in which the double basses play solo. The Stax SR009 beat them, but it's narrow.

 
Yet, you must not be entirely satisfied with your HD800 setup since you've continuously been on the lookout for and auditioning alternatives.
 
Funny thing is, since I've had my K812 and current setup, I've not even contemplated seeking out another pair of HP. One of us must be secure and satisfied with their choice.

 

[EDN80]

  You know, I don't understand these last few posts. No headphone truly sounds realistic, or effectively reproduces the body and power of an instrument like a pair of speakers can. It's simply a matter of physics; headphones cannot move enough air and cannot project a real soundstage due to the simple fact that its a pair of tiny drivers suspended a small distance from your ears. The argument being provided is that the K812 is less realistic than the HD800; an argument that has many merits if you can hear the softness and lack of transparency in the bass, the coarseness of the treble, which falls apart with complex instrumentals or vocal harmonies, and more importantly (for me) the lack of dynamics on both a macro and micro level which makes it less engaging than many mid-fi headphones at a fraction of the price. It took me a couple of auditions with the HD800 directly on hand to clearly see the differences, but once heard, impossible to ignore.
 

 
Subjective and relative.

 

[EDN80]

 
Such a great desktop setup. Love the industrial design... it's sexy to me... and the sound! Amazing. Within the hour, went from Vivaldi to Monteverdi to Bruckner's #8 to Kanye West's Monster to Bjork's Vulnicura to John Adams' City Noir and Dave Brubeck's Brandenburg Gate... incredible sound, transparency and kick. Clarion vocals... instrument separation, soundstage... 

 

[EDN80]

Hhhmmm... MozartMan1201, the Pathos Aurium actually was on my shortlist before I settled on the SPL PHONITOR 2. Must sound great. Hope you're happy with it.

 

[mikey1964]

Heh, I started listening to some DSD tracks earlier on my HA-1 + K812 and am still listening to it, I've not been much time with my K812 and have forgotten how great an all rounder it is. I've been listening to some pop with female vocalists and this badboy is acquitting itself quite well, I'm actually falling in love with the K812 sound all over again! I honestly don't find the sparkle fatiguing at all, now my DT990 Premium can get a little, only a little, fatiguing but not this badboy. I guess when you get older, higher frequency range don't really bother you, I'll take that as one of the perks of growing older,,,,,

 

[bosiemoncrieff]

Quadruple posting is frowned upon; consider editing your existing posts. 
 
As regards my critical impression of k812, I reposted an excerpt from my full meet impressions, which came with an exhaustive disclaimer. I reproduce them below for clarity. Maybe the cans I heard were defective. Maybe I was constipated. Who knows.
 

  A few quick notes, speaking only for classical music. As always, in my opinion, given my taste, biases, prejudices, what I had for lunch, etc.
 
- Tungsten and Gold are both great, but I couldn't hear a difference on the AKG K1000, at least not with the 3 classical pieces they had. Tungsten was more powerful, seems to sound better with HE-6.
- I absolutely love K1000. We need to get the engineering specs and bring them back on a DIY basis. That schiit has the most holographic soundstage in the biz short of speakers. I wish I could have A/B'd with Stax. Probably my nominee for once and future king of classical, though being in production, being 9000x more comfortable, and perhaps having more bass heft make HD800 stiff competition.
- Orpheus clone was cool. Wish the CDs provided hadn't been scratched up so badly.
- I could hear no audible difference with audiophile cables. My verdict: bullschiit. 
- SR009/BHSE isn't night and day beyond HD800/GS-X (or HE-6/GS-X). But when a solo double bass plays (ala pantomime leading up to death scene in Verdi's Otello), they render that bass SO WELL. Oh my God. The low orchestral strings, especially by themselves, are ridiculously immediate. I see SR009 in my future, but it's a far-off future.
- HE1000 is better than I thought it was. I still find it lacks the detail retrieval and clarity of HD800, but the round, forgiving tone is seductive.
- HE-X is a crippled waste of money and engineering. Wooly bass, unremarkable treble and mids. Get an HD650 and call it a day.
- Why didn't Schiit send a rag/yggy stack?!?!
- HD800S is a step backward. It smears details and guts the treble. With a multibit DAC and a bit of EQ, the peakiness is easily tamed.
- HD630VB is a weird one. Noise cancellation is a prerequisite for travel phones for me, but I didn't hear much of an effect from the bass dial, and didn't find the sound all that much better than Bose. Heresy, I know.
- The new WA22SE apparently stands for 'special edition,' and is balanced the whole way through. That beast has a lot of power. HD800 at 9am, HE-6 around noon, Abyss at 11:30. Amazing tone, one of the best engineering feats I saw today. My pick for best dynamic headphone amp I've heard, ever, period. K812 maybe 8:30.
- That said, it's still hugely overpriced (estimated 5K), and I almost certainly won't be buying one.
- Abyss is kind of hilarious. For certain tracks (Lisitsa playing Rach 2) there's so much bass in the recording that it's bloated and gross in the bass. In others (Vivaldi's Gloria in D Major, R. 589), it's a very treble-heavy recording, so the effect is incredibly open and refreshing. All in all, so hit and miss for classical that they could never be recommended at their list price.
- K812 has unequivocally lost classical war to HD800. I cannot think of a situation in which I would recommend them over HD800. They're more immediate, placing you on the podium rather than in the audience, but that's really just a roundabout way of saying the soundstage isn't holographic and kind of surrounds you (the soundstage criticism is my only one for 009). The tone is shrill and sibilant, and the overall effect is not very transparent, not especially neutral, and certainly not euphonic. In the Benchmark school of sound, they seem to be harsh for the sake of being harsh. Also, single ended for the sake of being single ended.
- LCD4 is cool, and more amp dependent than previous models. On GS-X, neutral-ish (as it is NOT with WA-5), but A/B/C/D/Eing with 009, HD800, HE-6, HE1000 it just can't compete in classical. 
- On that note, that five-way listening sesh was the highlight of the meet. Go HeadAmp!

 

[Kyle 491]

   
Subjective and relative.

 
What a useful and enlightening post. What you really meant to say was "My opinion is superior to yours, you are wrong, shut up".  Its amusing to see the desperation some people have to defend their purchases, to the point that they tie their self-worth to their headphone of choice, so any criticism of the headphone is considered an attack on themselves. If the K812 is the better headphone for you, you're entirely entitled to that view. But you're surely aware that the prevailing opinion among experienced reviewers is that the K812 underperforms at the flagship level and has rapidly fallen in price relative to other flagships such as the HD800 who held on to their RRPs much longer. Since the market for audiophile flagship headphones priced over a £1000 is a small niche of headphone sales, this is quite telling in regards to AKG K812 sales; they are not selling at the level anticipated for their original pricepoint.
 
What do I mean to say by these statements? That there is a significant amount of people who are heavily invested in this hobby that are not enraptured with this headphone, and value it lower than most other flagship-level products. I am one of those, as is bosiemoncrieff. You're going to have to deal with that reality, I'm afraid.