Damned if I do, damned if I don't.
People always want comparisons. Now if i make comparisons and have a bias towards one, it will come off as the other one not being worth listening to.
MLE,
I wouldn't worry too much about it... I mean, we get your opinion which is pretty consistent, and several thread regulars (where's Chico been lately?) who share other tastes on balance. I think it's pretty easy to agree that a headphone is overall GOOD or unrefined, beyond that though everyone has a personal taste that will make "favourites."
Everyone,
It's like kman1211 said, everyone is going to have their own audiophile journey. I have people come to my electronics store and often ask what headphones to buy, and I always point out a few mid-Fi options in the $100-$200 range that will set a baseline for GOOD (and relatively refined) sound that won't break the bank. I tell them that this is a good price range to play in, to learn what their preferences are. And then get an amp and stuff to fill out their system. Don't splash big right away, because it's easy to misjudge what you prefer on your first upgrade away from earbuds (cuz you need almost everything improved).
Mad,
your tonal preference is mostly for a gentle V-shaped frequency curve, and you like a little extra (but finely done) bass to kick it up a notch (not too much to give you a headache), but sometimes you'll be surprised by a unique character and really like it (hd650, MA900). That's a pretty good sign of knowing-yourself with a dash of open-mindedness IMO, though I know your ultimate holy grail would be Denon D7000 sound with velour Earpad comfort, that can easily be worn while laying in bed
I say that you are easy enough to figure out your preferences, you also state pros and cons, and that most adults will be able to take what they need from your review. The few people who can't analyze for themselves and look for someone else's idea of "the best," well... they're gonna need to make mistakes anyway to learn. Meanwhile, a wise man once told me that you can't help including subjective opinion in reviews, and honestly I think it's more interesting to read when you hear/see one aspect you really like or dislike. It gets the conversation and debate going, keeps the thread lively.
It is kind of weird. I have noticed that seems to be a drawback with neutral dynamic headphones, system matching is vital with anything neutral. I am sensitive to harsh sibilance. Some sibilance bothers me, other types of sibilance doesn't. It's kind of weird. When a headphone bothers me sonically it causes my ears to clog up and eventual ear pain some reason leading to temporary channel imbalances(where the center is behind my right or left ear, usually right) in my hearing which is incredibly annoying. The K612 is one of the only headphones I owned that doesn't do that to me.
I have a friend like that at work. He's really big into playing CS:GO, but I had to take great care in picking a headphone to suggest to him because most of the (gamer) headsets he'd tried so far had the exact same sibilance effect on him, and his ears would clog up with extra earwax (a sign of the body trying to protect from hearing damage). CS:GO is like his fav game, but it's VERY treble harsh (& surprisingly not great with sound positioning IMO), so I recommended darker headphones (IMO the MA900 as well as the usual Sennheisers are "polite"). It'll be interesting to hear the K612 soon.
Honestly, because of that heavy bias, I predicted this the moment Ev decided to send his K712 in at the same time. If the K612 would have arrived alone, like it was supposes to the first time I sent it, the review would have been much less biased... and more people would be inclined to get them.
Instead, everyone is just jumping on the K712 and overlooking the K612. The whole point of me sending it in was so it would stop being overlooked like it is. Didn't work, I guess lol
You know, I hear baby powder is good to help prevent getting a wedgie
Jk, love ya dude. Also, I think you originally pitched the idea to me of sending both (like back in October or something?) and when the cat was outta the bag, Mad and others were much more excited to hear the K612, while the K712 had a much more lukewarm "well you can send it if you really want..."
But anyway, there's nothing to fret about. We've seen like three people go "OOOH, New hotness, THIS is the affordable 'best' headphone," but tons of people lurk this thread and make up their own budget/mind. See my paragraph above about how I recommend headphones to others... The K612 is one of several very good options, pretty upscale, and I haven't heard it yet to know if I'd prefer it BUT it is a generally very strong headphone on paper since it is balanced and neutral, maybe not the loudest off of an iPod but should be very clean and well-dampened while also encouraging users to explore the other benefits of amping... maybe they occasionally want a
bit more volume and then OH WAIT I HEAR BONUS BENEFITS! And the learning lightbulb comes on.
So yeah, I'd say the K612 fills the void in the $150-199 price spot created when the MA900 was discontinued and the price hiked up, and a satisfying second or even first headphone upgrade. I'm still stoked to hear it! But don't take it personally if others prefer something else o_O
