[MickeS]

I only use it for listening purposes, and got it because i have previous experience with apogee products from my studio.
Its much more mobile than my phonitor, and also works great with my ipad/iphone. Kenrockwell.com has reviewed it also.

 

[TheManko]

I’ve had the AKG 812 now for a few days. My impressions so far are very positive, though I’m certainly also hearing the problems in the treble. The 812 do many things well, like the frequency balance, the spacious sound and the heavy bass impact. The HD 800 have a cold and sterile quality to their sound which the AKG 812 completely lacks. The 812 aren’t as dark as the Audeze headphones either, so it’s right in the middle between the two, and to my ears it’s the closest to linear any high end headphone has gotten so far. The wearing comfort is also as good as the HD 800, so yesterday I wore the 812 for 8 hours straight and didn’t experience any comfort issues whatsoever. Quite a contrast to the Audeze LCD-2 and LCD-X which I can’t wear for more than 2.5 hours.
 
If only they didn’t have the high frequency distortion issue! It depends on the track whether you’ll hear it, but on worst case scenario tracks it’s quite grating to listen to. On most songs it’s like the issue doesn’t even exist, so it depends on the instruments, mics, vocalists etc whether the problem areas are being excited or not. With the majority of music there’s no problem. Maybe only 10% of my music have the issue audible in any way, and maybe 2% total are actively unpleasant to listen to. So personally this isn’t a killer. But I can certainly see how it would be if your favorite music happens to sound awful with them. Especially depending on how high your expectations are going in to these headphones.
 
The 812 are so close to perfect. I hope AKG start working on a MK II model and release that in two years, or however long it takes. As it is now I don’t think people should write them off completely, as they’re certainly way better than the Beyerdynamic T1 for example. It sure is annoying how nobody seems capable of making a perfect high end headphone with no issues or caveats whatsoever.

 

[Claritas]

I’ve had the AKG 812 now for a few days. My impressions so far are very positive, though I’m certainly also hearing the problems in the treble. The 812 do many things well, like the frequency balance, the spacious sound and the heavy bass impact. The HD 800 have a cold and sterile quality to their sound which the AKG 812 completely lacks. The 812 aren’t as dark as the Audeze headphones either, so it’s right in the middle between the two, and to my ears it’s the closest to linear any high end headphone has gotten so far. The wearing comfort is also as good as the HD 800, so yesterday I wore the 812 for 8 hours straight and didn’t experience any comfort issues whatsoever. Quite a contrast to the Audeze LCD-2 and LCD-X which I can’t wear for more than 2.5 hours.

If only they didn’t have the high frequency distortion issue! It depends on the track whether you’ll hear it, but on worst case scenario tracks it’s quite grating to listen to. On most songs it’s like the issue doesn’t even exist, so it depends on the instruments, mics, vocalists etc whether the problem areas are being excited or not. With the majority of music there’s no problem. Maybe only 10% of my music have the issue audible in any way, and maybe 2% total are actively unpleasant to listen to. So personally this isn’t a killer. But I can certainly see how it would be if your favorite music happens to sound awful with them. Especially depending on how high your expectations are going in to these headphones.

The 812 are so close to perfect. I hope AKG start working on a MK II model and release that in two years, or however long it takes. As it is now I don’t think people should write them off completely, as they’re certainly way better than the Beyerdynamic T1 for example. It sure is annoying how nobody seems capable of making a perfect high end headphone with no issues or caveats whatsoever.

I would say, "Don't count on it," considering that it's their flagship. But this is AKG we're talking about: we saw how they repackaged K701. Four variants, five of one counts K712. So give them a few years. Even so, I don't anticipate major changes.

 

[pearljam50000]

Did anyone sell their HD800 and kept their K812?

 

[flatmap]

   The wearing comfort is also as good as the HD 800, so yesterday I wore the 812 for 8 hours straight and didn’t experience any comfort issues whatsoever.

Wow!!!!!!
 
Thanks, yours was a very helpful account of the balance and high freq issues.

 

[timbukktwo]

Hey all, I also own the K812's. I really believe that this headphone is so revealing, that it is not the fault of the K812's, but rather in WHAT it was designed to do. Though, as well as being for audiophiles, its true intent is more so for the engineer in the studio as a MONITOR. It's simply doing the job it was created to do. Numerous factors go into why the 'tizz' can be heard, but this 'tizz' is not the fault of the K812. Best regards-T.

 

[Sonido]

That tizzy treble is definitely less apparent if not absent after burn-in. Wherever it's real mechanical burn-in or just getting used to it, brain burn-in is another question.

 

[timbukktwo]

I think so as well. I need more time with the K812, though. For me, it's the can I was [waiting] for. I have to go to work. I'll chime in when I have more time.- T.

 

[Claritas]

Did anyone sell their HD800 and kept their K812?

Go back some pages. Some other guy asked the same idly curious question and got something like an answer.

 

[cpygui]

will wait to see how much the price will drop a year later

 

[TheManko]

If you ignore the treble issue the 812 feel as well designed as they should in almost every way. I mentioned the comfort, which I feel is more important with high end headphones like this than with portable headphones. When something sounds this good you want to listen to it all night, and it’s disappointing using planar magnetic headphones where you start feeling the need to take them off before you're done. I’ve owned the HD 800 for more than 4 years now, and the comfort has always been one of the strongest features of the HD 800. It’s something you start appreciating more after owning them for so long. Making headphones that comfortable takes serious effort, and I’m glad AKG took the time to make the 812 live up to the standard set by the HD 800.
 
There’s something about the combination of the open spacious sound and bass impact that makes the 812 highly engaging to listen to. It sounds completely natural with genres the LCD-X and HD 800 can have problems with. The soundstage is the biggest I’ve heard outside of the HD 800, easily beating the LCD-X. The bass with the 812 rolls off earlier than the LCD-X in the very deepest bass notes, but the bass the 812 can play comes across with considerably more physical impact. Listening to orchestral recordings you get a huge open sound like the HD 800, except now with drums that hit with a force you can feel against your ear. I’ve never heard a headphone do EDM as well as the 812. The sound feels neutral and natural, but not at the cost of fun. The LCD-X obviously does a great job playing bass, but it can feel a bit detached with some tracks. Like you can hear the artist wanting you to feel the bass, but the headphone is restrained because it wants to act like a proper studio monitor. The 812 lets the bass go wild and makes you hear and feel it, but it’s not completely out of control like some mediocre closed headphone with booming bass.
 
I remember reading about the T1 and seeing them described as the more musical alternative to the analytical HD 800. I owned the T1 for a few years, and they never really clicked with me. Compared to the HD 800 they failed in many ways. It felt like Beyerdynamic had pushed it out fairly quickly in order to have something to compete with the HD 800. Not just visually, but functionally. The comfort wasn’t nearly as good, and the sound just wasn’t in the same league. The AKG 812 in comparison doesn’t have the same feeling of being slapped together quickly. The natural sound feels too well designed for that. You don’t get this kind of soundstage or bass by accident. It’s almost weird that they even have the treble issue at all. The combination of all the elements with the 812 is terrific. If you zoom in on specific aspects all the other high end alternatives might be a bit better in their own ways. But the way it all comes together with the 812 feels like a step forward to me. This is the kind of sound I want, with this comfort, with this build quality. It just had to have the treble issue. I guess headphone design is hard.

 

[Claritas]

Has anyone who is bothered by the treble tried putting a small circular piece of adhesive foam (slightly larger than a thumbnail) inside the earcup over the center of the driver, or some other mod--and if not, why not?!

 

[TheManko]

The reason I’m not considering modding them is because the majority of the time the sound is perfectly fine. I almost feel like I’ve made too big of a deal about the treble in my posts, because most of the time I’m not hearing it at all. It’s not like with some headphones like the DT 990 where you hear sibilance quite often. With the 812 you can really listen for hours and never hear the issue at all.

 

[Hubert481]

Those guys buying a mod-cable should remember, that there are still about 80cm of the old cable inside the HP on the right side.
So you have only a new cable on the left side, but not on the right side.
If you do not hear any difference between left and right channel - a new cable might be wasted money.

 

[Claritas]

Those guys buying a mod-cable should remember, that there are still about 80cm of the old cable inside the HP on the right side.
So you have only a new cable on the left side, but not on the right side.
If you do not hear any difference between left and right channel - a new cable might be wasted money.

I thought most of Head-Fi is supposed to be an information-free zone. Careful, man! You might make my brain explode with all of that k******** of yours.