[Maxvla]

I couldn't agree less more. A lot of the $300 to $500 headphones pretty much get it all. But instead of refining those to "perfection", the major headphone players throw the mould away, start with something new and head down a long tunnel that supposedly leads to sonic nirvana but they just disappear up their own arses and end up with something that sounds worse but costs 500% more. I am not including the thread topic K812 because I have not heard it yet.

I for one am glad they did throw away the mold a few times otherwise I'd still be using HD600s, which, while good, are not good enough. After listening to my HD800s, putting on the HD600s feels like my head is in a can. Sure after a while, it seems to open up as I get used to it, but going back to the HD800 feels like I just emerged from a cave.

 

[Claritas]

  All you need is a real good amp and there's NO way the K701, K702, Q701, HD600, HD650 et al could match the flagships. Except the ED10 which is a load of sibilant fail.

 
Again, it's a matter of preference. The planar magnetic and dynamic flagships I've heard--and I tried them with good amps--haven't gotten the overall tonal effect right for the records I listen to. That matters more to me than improved resolution, soundstage, bass extension, &c. Maybe K812 will be different. But having tried the others, my expectations aren't high.

 

[Beagle]

   
Again, it's a matter of preference. The planar magnetic and dynamic flagships I've heard--and I tried them with good amps--haven't gotten the overall tonal effect right for the records I listen to. That matters more to me than improved resolution, soundstage, bass extension, &c. Maybe K812 will be different. But having tried the others, my expectations aren't high.

 
Exactly. If the midrange and tonal balance are not right, nothing else matters....wise words from the late J. Gordon Holt.
 
And I think that a lot of people prefer the more expensive headphones/amps just because they are more expensive, so they must be better.....not always the case.

 

[MacedonianHero]

^ Well here's Tyll's official review. I guess he decided to do it anyway:
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/akg-k812-professional-reference-headphone
 
BTW Dave, looks like you were mentioned in his article. 

 

 

[62ohm]

  ^ Well here's Tyll's official review. I guess he decided to do it anyway:
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/akg-k812-professional-reference-headphone
 
BTW Dave, looks like you were mentioned in his article. 

 

 
Exactly what I experienced when I auditioned both with Soloist SL. With tracks from Fleetwood Mac, the K812 was more musical but more peaky. The treble in my opinion can be much more piercing than the HD800 IMO. The bass was punchier than the HD800 though, but as soundstage junkie, I settled with HD800.
 
YMMV

 

[Maxvla]

Agreed with most of the review. As I stated from the beginning. Similarities to HD800, but not quite as good. I personally think it is more detailed than Tyll credits it, but we have different ears.

 

[Claritas]

I'll have to read it more carefully, but I notice that he (presumably on purpose) did not use the word "tizzy." In the video, we have "quite strident and harsh and somewhat confused-sounding," "too ragged," and "a bit ear-piercing."

 

[62ohm]

One of the thing that I agree most with the review would be the HD800 sounds cold in comparison to K812. Time and again, I missed the 'musicality' of the K812, but I feared that if I went for the K812, I'd miss the transparency and soundstage of HD800. Getting both would be too expensive for me 

 

[Sonido]

Looks to have the same problem my KEF M500 has. A peak at around 3kHz which makes the 'eeee's strident and piercing, and just unnatural sounding. Not good for a lot of JPop. The female vocalists tend to favor the 'eeee's and that frequency. At first I thought it was just turning the volume too high on my smartphone and the amp in it sucked, but tried it through my Vali and same problem at higher volumes. Not a problem below 80 dB though. That's my only major complaint on the M500. Looks like the K812 might not be for me. :/

 

[Claritas]

It was good to see Tyll wearing them so we can see what they look like on a normal guy: they look hella better than HD800.

 

[M-13]

Strident female vocals for Jpop? Hmm... I'll have to test that out when I get my replacement pair. I did listen to some Amuro Namie and didn't notice anything odd, or any other female singers. Some popular Head-Fi favorites like Norah Jones and Diana Krall all sounded fantastic without being strident in the least. It was very smooth. I also ran some Kpop, singers like IU and she sounded amazing on it as well.
 
Did Tyll get another pair of K812s or did he do the review with his original?

 

[M-13]

  It was good to see Tyll wearing them so we can see what they look like on a normal guy: they look hella better than HD800.

They look awesome, makes the HD800 look like a weird alien device.

 

[up late]

wow! epic review from Tyll - full of useful info. the hd800 didn't sound cold to me tho. maybe the tube amp warmed it up.

 

[elwappo99]

  ^ Well here's Tyll's official review. I guess he decided to do it anyway:
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/akg-k812-professional-reference-headphone
 
BTW Dave, looks like you were mentioned in his article. 

 

 
Good review from Tyll, as always. He always makes really easy going videos and seems to find a really honest pros/cons balance. I hope to hear these headphones someday, but I don't think I'll be purchasing them to give them a go. Really like this point in the video. You can tell he was really hopeful for these to be pretty stellar right at this moment. 
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRyPgQU-WMc#t=476

 

[Sonido]

Strident female vocals for Jpop? Hmm... I'll have to test that out when I get my replacement pair. I did listen to some Amuro Namie and didn't notice anything odd, or any other female singers. Some popular Head-Fi favorites like Norah Jones and Diana Krall all sounded fantastic without being strident in the least. It was very smooth. I also ran some Kpop, singers like IU and she sounded amazing on it as well.

Did Tyll get another pair of K812s or did he do the review with his original?

I don't know about the K812. Just making an inference because I know this is a problem at louder volumes on the M500, both from measuring the frequency on the songs with problems and looking at the M500 graph. I can hear and see the peak at 3kHz. Tyll mentions a problem on the K812 at 3kHz as well and even mentioned problems with the 'ee' sound, and that's why I'm making this inference. Of course I could be way off base, and the K812 has no such problem the M500 has. If you want to test this, listen to Hitohira no Hanabira by Stereopony. You'll know what I'm talking about with the 'eeee's if there's a problem.