[Rob80b]

It was mentioned here that K872 sounds more similar to K712 than to K812. Could someone who owns both compare the soundstage of K872 to K712 please? I would like to avoid narrow, congested sounding headphones (like HD650), although it might be hard for closed-backs.

Good timing as I've been enamoured by my K872s of late, the K872 are very close to the K812 even in the openness and sound staging, neither of which the K712 come close to IMHO.

Also, several times a honky and nasal sound of K872 was mentioned. What exactly does it mean

Personally I've never experienced this.

 

[Rob80b]

The reason why I am looking at closed-backs now is simply a sound isolation at night listening sessions at home. Hence looking at K872 (not at K812).

Same reason I initially picked up my pair.

What exactly do you mean by saying K872 is superrior to K700 series?

Not to speak for canchet but having owned most of the 700 series the K872 IMHO excels in layering and overall clarity, I've said it time and time again but for me as far as headphones go the K812/872 are an open window to a recording, even over my HD800S. The K712 are more in line with the Sennheiser HD660S, as the the HD600 series is to the HD800 series the the K700 is to the K800 series, completely different playing field and audio presentation, therefor if you like the the K700 series you may not necessarily be tickled by the K872s or you may never look back at your K712s. : )

 

[canchet]

Few years back when my K701 original earpads detoriated I tried earpads from my K712 on them and it was really amazing. Since then I was not going back to the original earpads for K701 . That should be the same, or very close to k702 65th anniversary. And you are right IMO, sometimes I prefer it over the K712 as well. I will check Yaxi pads, did not hear about it, thanks for the suggestion!

The reason why I am looking at closed-backs now is simply a sound isolation at night listening sessions at home. Hence looking at K872 (not at K812).
What exactly do you mean by saying K872 is superrior to K700 series? Can it reach such large soundstage as K700 series? I was not aware how much K700 series is good in this respect until I obtained HD650. Also I like that tight, fast sound of K700.

I had all of the K700 series, except for the K701
The 65th anniversary and k712s with Yaxi pads is still very competitive for todays standard, in their market price of course.

That is the same reason I decided to get a closed-back, and the K872s were the best i could see based on reviews of people I know that have them and have other closed-backs, and some reviews online too.
The K872 are superior to basically any K700 or K240 series. Soundstage is very good for a closed-back. Sometimes I just miss the extended opening that you feel with an open-back, but it’s not that much of a difference. If you get the K872, definitely take off the inner rings behind the earpads and use a high voltage AMP, they really become a monster; specially if you consider their price and weight. They can be found for about $1300-1500 in Amazon, a fella from this thread showed me that trick, I had already purchased mine but if you can score a good deal in Amazon you can nail it.

I agree with Rob80b, the K800 series is a very underrated series. They’ve thrown too much crap to it, probably because of all the changes Harman did to the original AKG brand at the time of the release from the K800 series. But you can’t deny a good product just because new owners of the brand had to close their original HQs.

Something that I also noticed is about all reviews I’ve seen from the K812 are from the first badges made in Austria, we already know all the bad reviews and crap they threw at them. Newer versions made in Slovakia don’t have that annoying super high brightness. They are still bright but not as much as the Austrian-made. I think of all headphones made by AKG, the K812s are the ones that you don’t want to buy if they were made in Austria.
I’ve owned about 20 AKGs that I’ve purchased new, and they were all made in Austria, except for my K712s; I’ve had the same model of a headphone but from different production lines and I can hear the difference from a EP, MP or LP for example. Brands always continue to improve the same model over their time-of-sale in the market, nothing new there.

Ideally, give the K800 series a try as you never want to buy a headphone based on someone else’s opinions and tastes; if you can’t, roll the dices.

 

[John Buchanan]

I bought a K812 made in Austria and one from Slovakia. They sounded the same to me.

 

[Strale]

Thank you all for thorough explanations!
What about reverb (echo)? That is usually another 'issue' with closed-backs. For instance, with ZMF you can choose different wood material which affects reverb amount inside the headphones (different density of the wood). Someone likes it (larger reverb) but I am not a huge fan of it. Probably some reverb must be there due to closed configuration (reflections inside the cups) but is it very much noticeable in K872 compared to K700 series? Does K872 sound slightly echoic with longer decay or is it fast with higher dumping?
Cheers!

 

[canchet]

I bought a K812 made in Austria and one from Slovakia. They sounded the same to me.

There should be a difference. Here are the links from InnerFidelity, where he compares the two.
https://www.stereophile.com/images/ifmeasure/AKGK812SN001130.pdf
https://www.stereophile.com/images/ifmeasure/AKGK812SN002100.pdf

 

[RuslanG]

I treat the measurements as relatively precise information, which from recently I necessarily correlate with my listening impressions, and they often do not coincide. For some reason I remembered measurement for Shure 1840 when graph showed unacceptable distortions. I admit that these distortions slowed down my acquaintance with Shure 1840, and earlier similar story with AKG K812, until I bought both and listened to them with my own ears.

 

[John Buchanan]

There should be a difference. Here are the links from InnerFidelity, where he compares the two.
https://www.stereophile.com/images/ifmeasure/AKGK812SN001130.pdf
https://www.stereophile.com/images/ifmeasure/AKGK812SN002100.pdf

Who knows whether those differences are within normal production deviations. To me, they sound identical. Certainly, the second sample "measures" slightly better - less ringing - but who knows whether it means anything. And, was the second sample from the Austrian product line or the Slovakian product line?

 

[Rob80b]

These K872s always surprise...had them tucked away while spreading time between a pair of Stax L300 and the Grell OAE1 but waiting on replacement headband for my Stax the AKG came off the bench and once reacquainted they loaded all the bases. (and here I'm not a sports fan and never watch baseball), lol .. : )

 

[FritzS]

K872 (I had haven them) a lot of time ago .....
Good but not THE top.

 

[Rob80b]

Good but not THE top.

One's Montmartre is another's Mont Blanc.

 

[FritzS]

One's Montmartre is another's Mont Blanc.

Austrian.Audio Composer is the Olympus in this range

 

[Rob80b]

Austrian.Audio Composer is the Olympus in this range

Above my pay grade but would love to hear one all the same but haven't seen one on these shores yet, Canada's that is.

 

[FritzS]

Above my pay grade but would love to hear one all the same but haven't seen one on these shores yet, Canada's that is.

If you are also looking for more affordable headphones, you might also want to check out the Sennheiser HD490 Pro plus, HD600 (new version), Beyerdynamic DT1990 Pro (MK1, MK2).

 

[Rob80b]

If you are also looking for more affordable headphones, you might also want to check out the Sennheiser HD490 Pro plus, HD600 (new version), Beyerdynamic DT1990 Pro (MK1, MK2).

Thanks, but I'm good as I've been thinning the herd this past year..I've just let go of my HD820, NDH30, Amiron Home, HD660S, HD660S2, HD630VB, Focal Elegia..looking at repurchasing the HD820 though.