[leo01]

hi
I just bought the akg 712 pro. extremely disappointed with the out of box sound quality. does it need any dac/amp for significant sound improvement ? if so suggest me a good dac/amp under 200$
 
Thank you

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  I just bought the akg 712 pro. extremely disappointed with the out of box sound quality. does it need any dac/amp for significant sound improvement ? if so suggest me a good dac/amp under 200

 
What do you have it plugged into? It needs a fair bit of power at its nominal impedance, even more than what a more efficient headphone like the HD650 needs at 300ohms. Also it needs to have a low output impedance on whatever it's plugged into.

 

[leo01]

i used it with my mabook and iphone

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  i used it with my mabook and iphone

 

Output impedance isn't the problem then, but the lack of clean power. That said, if you generally don't like the sound at low volume, there is a chance that even with an amp that can deliver a lot of clean power for it will not change it drastically enough for it to be what you want. In other words, it isn't going to be a tonal day-night difference. Maybe at louder output levels you'll notice the amp still delivering more punch in the percussion, cleaner and better defined percussion hits and bass guitar notes, etc, but the thing is, not everybody gets to appreciate that and even then that's only necessary at higher output levels (even I only really crank it up for a few songs). Basically, if you're listening at very safe volume levels anyway, and won't listen louder with a new DAC-HPamp, there won't be any changes to appreciate. Think of it like this: it's like driving a Ferrari around town rather than on the backroads or the track (which actually can be horrible, especially the older ones with a clutch, something they weren't known for making them street friendly).

 

The one upside to getting a good DAC-HPamp now though is that if you decide that it's the headphone that you don't like, at least you have the DAC-HPamp to drive whatever you get to replace it. At $200 though your best bet is the Modi+Magni, and honestly I'd much rather save up and get something like the Asgard and Modi or an AudioGD NFB-11. Alternately, you can just sell the K712 and just get a Grado SR225 and a Fiio Q1.

 

[Me x3]

What things you don't like about K712?
 
If you are used to a very different headphone give yourself 20 listening hours (exclusively with K712) to let your mind get used to the new sound signature.

 

[leo01]

honestly, it sounds  exactly like my 30 $ sony headphone. too generic. no bass, soundstage, absolutely nothing. 

 

[leo01]

where do i sell it? i am new in usa. dont really know the selling websites.

 

[Me x3]

It might be faulty...

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Quote:

Originally Posted by leo01 /img/forum/go_quote.gif

honestly, it sounds  exactly like my 30 $ sony headphone. too generic. no bass, soundstage, absolutely nothing. 

 

No bass can be due to how new the pads are. Stiff pads are thicker, thus positioning the drivers farther from your ears, and the lack of compression and effective density prevents them from trapping bass. Another possible cause is that you are hearing other things more than what bass there is - like the treble spike, or ambient noise. When I use my HD600 I have nothing running but the A/C unit, and even then it's on minimal output.

 

As for soundstage, the first thing you should look into is whether what you're listening to actually has soundstage in the recording, and if it has any, it wouldn't necessarily be the ears' equivalent of VR glasses. You get the percussion moved farther back away from your face, like how the cymbals aren't exploding right by your ears as they would with Grados for examples. Pushing the bass drum farther out can make it seem like the bass isn't there, since part of hearing it coming farther out of your head is to not hear it as loud, which ambient noise can worsen. Past these, overall assuming the recording has enough spatial information in it, you're just going to get the instruments in more believable positions relative to each other.

 

[Ventace]

  hi
I just bought the akg 712 pro. extremely disappointed with the out of box sound quality. does it need any dac/amp for significant sound improvement ? if so suggest me a good dac/amp under 200$
 
Thank you

 

  It might be faulty...

The headphones are probably not faulty at all.
AKG's K7 series is famous for needing lots of burn-in and is very picky with amps. You could even say they're amp-reliant.
The K701/02's for example, are said to need anywhere from 150-300 hours of burn-in. The K712 is no exception, so of course they wouldn't sound great out of the box.
The K7 series also have amazing amp scaling, and one of the only series that are so amp-reliant that people would actually spend anywhere from 2 to 4 times as much on an amp than on the headphones themselves. They have amazing benefit from an amp, and do extremely poorly with a poor power source.
To add to that, the K712 specifically are said to be extremely, extremely picky when it comes to amp pairing, even among the K7 series. The K7 series benefit from having a good current too.
To be honest, if you're only going to spend $200 on an amp, you should return the K712's, A $200 amp may actually serve you somewhat with the K701/02's (not that it'd be anywhere near optimal), but for the K712's I honestly can't see you getting half it's maximum potential even with double the budget. You'd need anywhere from $500-2k to really make these headphones shine as greatly as it can (at that point some people prefer them even over LCDs, just saying)
TL;DR 
They're great headphones if you spend money on an amp properly.
They only sound bad because of the lack of current from the lack of an optimal amp, and no burn-in time.

 

[Me x3]

   
The headphones are probably not faulty at all.
AKG's K7 series is famous for needing lots of burn-in and is very picky with amps. You could even say they're amp-reliant.
The K701/02's for example, are said to need anywhere from 150-300 hours of burn-in. The K712 is no exception, so of course they wouldn't sound great out of the box.
The K7 series also have amazing amp scaling, and one of the only series that are so amp-reliant that people would actually spend anywhere from 2 to 4 times as much on an amp than on the headphones themselves. They have amazing benefit from an amp, and do extremely poorly with a poor power source.
To add to that, the K712 specifically are said to be extremely, extremely picky when it comes to amp pairing, even among the K7 series. The K7 series benefit from having a good current too.
To be honest, if you're only going to spend $200 on an amp, you should return the K712's, A $200 amp may actually serve you somewhat with the K701/02's (not that it'd be anywhere near optimal), but for the K712's I honestly can't see you getting half it's maximum potential even with double the budget. You'd need anywhere from $500-2k to really make these headphones shine as greatly as it can (at that point some people prefer them even over LCDs, just saying)
TL;DR 
They're great headphones if you spend money on an amp properly.
They only sound bad because of the lack of current from the lack of an optimal amp, and no burn-in time.

I've used my former K702 more than 500 hours and they always sounded and measured pretty much the same.
Now I have a newer slightly warmer K702 (5 hours of use) and it sounds great too, better than HD800 with certain recordings.
K712 is slightly easier to drive than K702

 

[RocketScience]

Tried the K712Pro with the Fostex HP-A4 = too weak
 
Now, I paired it with the Chord Mojo = finally enough power.
 
Here are my impressions:
 
Bass = finally I can feel the promised 3dB lift in bass. There is even a hint of rumble, in some recordings. Pherhaps also a tighter bass.
Mids = not sure, as good as ever
Treb = some of the occasional sharpeness is gone. Good stuff.
Sound signature = some of the k712's airness/thiness is gone, sound is lightly more intimate, in return there is much more presence.
 
Most improved genre -> Rock/Indie = much more alive than before; esp. guitars sound better
Least improved genre -> Classical music = lost some of its airiness and clairty. In return more presence and warmth. Prefer the former for this genre.
 
 
Overall:
With the Chord Mojo the K712 has become more fun, powerful, a touch warmer and present, with a slight loss of its lightness/airiness. Definitely good enough for me.

 

[mosses]

  Tried the K712Pro with the Fostex HP-A4 = too weak
 
Now, I paired it with the Chord Mojo = finally enough power.
 
Here are my impressions:
 
Bass = finally I can feel the promised 3dB lift in bass. There is even a hint of rumble, in some recordings. Pherhaps also a tighter bass.
Mids = not sure, as good as ever
Treb = some of the occasional sharpeness is gone. Good stuff.
Sound signature = some of the k712's airness/thiness is gone, sound is lightly more intimate, in return there is much more presence.
 
Most improved genre -> Rock/Indie = much more alive than before; esp. guitars sound better
Least improved genre -> Classical music = lost some of its airiness and clairty. In return more presence and warmth. Prefer the former for this genre.
 
 
Overall:
With the Chord Mojo the K712 has become more fun, powerful, a touch warmer and present, with a slight loss of its lightness/airiness. Definitely good enough for me.

Can't agree more. Just started pairing them with a Marantz HD DAC1 and they sound amazing. Getting detail on some tracks that I hadn't noticed before. Was driving them from an Oppo HA2 and they always sounded ok, better than the momentums I had. Had good clarity but was lacking presence especially bottom end. 

 

[Luigi Milazzo]

After a session with a momentum everything become thin...

 

[YJX94]

Get yourself an NFB-11.28/R2R-11 and be done with it. You absolutely do not need a $500-$2K amp for the K712, it's not a K1000.