[oneguy]

I think it comes down to accepting every headphone will have its strengths and weakness. I bought the K812 WHILE already owning the HD800 and HE1000 which most would agree (along with me) are better headphones overall. That doesn't mean though that K812 does not have it's place and it's strong suits which is why I bought the K812. It fills a niche (rock music) that I felt my current headphones were lacking in.

 

[Brooko]

[Mod Comment]
 
Gentlemen - I've had a few flags about this thread.
 

• There will be some who see the HD800 as superior to the K812.  There will be others who see the K812 as superior to HD800.  There is no right or wrong - just preference.
  
  Personally - I really enjoy both - and I say this as both an enthusiast and a reviewer.  Each has its strengths and each has its weaknesses.
   
• Preference is subjective.  It is OK to discuss, but can we please stop this current trend of "I'm right, you're wrong" type debate.  Respect from both sides is expected.  Again - this is subjective, the current debate about which is better is pointless, and if it continues I will be forced to give a couple of people a holiday from the thread so they can think about the meaning of the word respect.

 
Thanks

 

[kodreaming]

I am so out of touch on all those new headphones. I was listening on my K701 and was wondering what's the new flagship for AKG.
Turns out it is K812.   Judging by popularity, it looks it lost the battle....
 
My question is: 
As  a die-hard K701/ER-4S/Stax-want-to-own kind of guy, should I try K812 ?

 

[EDN80]

   
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.

 
There is no desperation from me here. The desperation comes from those who feel obligated to come to this thread and bash the K812 - repeatedly. I've never once posted on the HD800 thread to say how relatively thin, wispy, and distant i've found their sound on many configurations. And that's without even mentioning the cheap and ugly plasticky design. Maybe I should. Repeatedly.
 
And of course, I'm entitled my views. And I am. Free mind here. Don't have to kowtow to groupthink anything.
 
Now please don't come and imply that I'm delusional because I'm in a so-called minority if that's what it's about. Discrediting my opinion because I'm in a so-called minority of those who prefer the K812 to HD800 (by far) and I don't aling with "experienced reviewers". And further, please don't talk about my self-worth. I didn't talk about yours. I don't know you.
 
And who are those professionals you speak of BTW? People like Tyll? I've already written at length about what I feel about his testing methods. Check my posting history.
 
After the job he did on his review and the community's sheeplike mentality, I'm not surprised the K812s are "not selling at the level anticipated for their original pricepoint."
 
Whatever.
 
Like I said earlier. Still prefer the K812 over the HD800. By far.
 
I'm afraid you and bosiemoncrieff have to deal with THAT reality.

 

[bosiemoncrieff]

  I am so out of touch on all those new headphones. I was listening on my K701 and was wondering what's the new flagship for AKG.
Turns out it is K812.   Judging by popularity, it looks it lost the battle....
 
My question is: 
As  a die-hard K701/ER-4S/Stax-want-to-own kind of guy, should I try K812 ?

No, you should get the k1000.

 

[MortenB]

  I am so out of touch on all those new headphones. I was listening on my K701 and was wondering what's the new flagship for AKG.
Turns out it is K812.   Judging by popularity, it looks it lost the battle....
 
My question is: 
As  a die-hard K701/ER-4S/Stax-want-to-own kind of guy, should I try K812 ?

Don't be put of by the same few people bashing the K812 over and over and...
 
Of course you should try them, and they are excellent. If you read Stereophile, then check the latest issue where there is a review of a Moon Audio dac/headphone amp. The reviewer mentions the sound with both Audeze and the K812, it's a good read and I fully agree with what he hear.

 

[kodreaming]

 
No, you should get the k1000.

 I liked it every time I listen to it in the meet. But never really felt it is something I can listen for an extended period of time...

 

[bosiemoncrieff]

Don't be put of by the same few people bashing the K812 over and over and...

Of course you should try them, and they are excellent. If you read Stereophile, then check the latest issue where there is a review of a Moon Audio dac/headphone amp. The reviewer mentions the sound with both Audeze and the K812, it's a good read and I fully agree with what he hear.

Sure, obviously, listen to both. But if you can't (and therefore are asking for opinions), get a wyrdmimbyvali2 stack and an hd800. Hifi sound for like 1500. K1000 is excellent but in certain ways it owns you. It is perhaps the airiest can I know, however.

 

[MortenB]

In you previous post you said, no, he should not listen to them. He should get the K1000.
 
Actually, he did not ask for opinions indicating, that he can't get to hear them.  He asked, if he should try them out. It seems he has doubts after you and Kyle 491 repeatedly has bashed the headphones.
 
I agree with EDN80 and Brooko, that it's getting a bit too much, that some seems to only participate to repeatedly bash a product, especially if this keeps people who are actually interested in the product from trying it out for themselves.
 
Me? Yes, I also much prefer my K812 over the HD800, both sonically and -especially- for build quality, but I don't need to participate in HD800 threads to state this over and over.

 

[Herueyes]

   
There is no desperation from me here. The desperation comes from those who feel obligated to come to this thread and bash the K812 - repeatedly. I've never once posted on the HD800 thread to say how relatively thin, wispy, and distant i've found their sound on many configurations. And that's without even mentioning the cheap and ugly plasticky design. Maybe I should. Repeatedly.
 
And of course, I'm entitled my views. And I am. Free mind here. Don't have to kowtow to groupthink anything.
 
Now please don't come and imply that I'm delusional because I'm in a so-called minority if that's what it's about. Discrediting my opinion because I'm in a so-called minority of those who prefer the K812 to HD800 (by far) and I don't aling with "experienced reviewers". And further, please don't talk about my self-worth. I didn't talk about yours. I don't know you.
 
And who are those professionals you speak of BTW? People like Tyll? I've already written at length about what I feel about his testing methods. Check my posting history.
 
After the job he did on his review and the community's sheeplike mentality, I'm not surprised the K812s are "not selling at the level anticipated for their original pricepoint."
 
Whatever.
 
Like I said earlier. Still prefer the K812 over the HD800. By far.
 
I'm afraid you and bosiemoncrieff have to deal with THAT reality.

 
 
 
Ladies & Gentlemen,
 
     Let me start by putting my hearing glasses on... (Who hits a guy with glasses on?)
NeWayz - I own both headphones currently and I prefer the K812's... I haven't modded my HD800's (a la Tyll) and have yet to pony up the loot to get a Draug V2 cable from Trevor.... 
I say the above knowing that there are those who will find it most amusing and are laughing as I type this... Seriously they are laughing and I haven't submitted this post yet!!!

To those Keyboard Warriors I say... What Are You Laughing At???? All because a majority prefers one thing doesn't mean that it's right... ever HEAR of the tyranny of the majority?
Perhaps instead of arguing, fighting, and Laughing at each others head-fi journey... May I suggest, even if it kills us to do so...
We lend one another a helping hand...   <- Click! go on Trust me 

 
 
 
Peace...

 

[kodreaming]

Thanks. I think I should get a pair of K812 to try at least unless I get a stax 009 setup before that...
 
I do a lot blind wine tasting...I think what Head-fi community need is more blind listening party !

 

[mikey1964]

Pretty glad a mod has stepped in to calm things down, I own both the K812 and HD800 and see merits in each......can't say which I like better, that's for sure. Ummm, guess that's all I'd wanted to say....

 

[Tiddlesworth]

How dare people have their own preferences and opinions!

 

[thomson]

Just a note to let you know that I very reluctantly decided to put my balanced (!) K812 up for sale here.
 
I think the stock K812 and the stock HD800 are very much equal (also comfort wise). However, I clearly preferred the balanced K812 to the stock HD800 and even though it was much closer, I also preferred the K812 over the HD800 with the SuperDupont resonator mod as well.
However, since I very seldom use equalizing and only after a very long consideration, I finally found the HD800S to be slightly more to my tastes than the balanced K812.
Maybe I'm getting old but I found the little warmer sound of the HD800S to be more pleasant than the balanced K812.
 
That said, if I didn't have had the opportunity to compare all of them, I would probably have been quite happy with either one since we're still speaking about very good headphones and we also like to exaggerate the differences (just ask any non head-fi person to quantify the differences between the any pair of these headphones and they will normally not be able to). Just my 2 cents...

 

[oneguy]

I was looking to get my K812's balanced as well. I'm glad to hear you liked the changes that it made.