[MightySam06]

Hey guys,  I'm looking to pair an amp up with the Astro Mix amp to give me more juice for the 80ohm DT770 Pro's.  I'm thinking about the Fiio E12 'Mont Blanc' which MLE recommended on page one of this guide.  Just want to verify the setup will work without issue and it pairs up well with the DT770 Pro's? If not, can somebody recommend something better for roughly the same price or cheaper for that matter?  I appreciate any responses.  Thanks.

 

[Murder Mike]

IMO the bass of the Annie with the NFB 11.32 is very clean and detailed. The K712 Pro should be fairly similar. It's not going to blow your mind with power, but it will be a step up in clarity and excitement from the PC360s for sure. You would want to add a basic amp to the chain. The Magni/Vali/O2/E09K/etc should be more than up to the task.
 
Something like the X1 would provide more bass, but it wouldn't be as clean or detailed from all accounts I've heard. So it all comes down to budget and preference. 

 

[Evshrug]

Well, I thought I knew...Haha...

I remember reading one of his posts mentioning he has been leaning towards mids lately.

He's been using the Sony MA900 for a while, which leans towards emphasizing mids with a little bump to the midbass

I rather get the ones that will keep me thoroughly happy for a long time and suffer for a couple months without an amp. As I mentioned I am going through the mixamp so that should help a tad, but in the future I will get a warm amp...

So...you think he favors bass...this is interesting... because he seems to be in love with the K712 pros and the Fiio E12. i figured this set was very mid forward and somewhat analytical with a touch of bass (because I thought he loved very very strong mids and natural bass)...perhaps with that particular amp the bass shines through. 

I am looking to buy something by Friday!

The K712 that mad reviewed was the one I loaned him. I also have an E12, which doesn't particularly add warmth (pretty colorless unless you use the bass boost switch).

The K712 is a gentler u shaped freq-curve (graphs available at inner fidelity and headroom), with elevated/forward bass that is below the point where bass usually starts to distort, it dips as it reaches the mids but mostly stays near the neutral point, and then a bit of energy/sparkle to the treble. It HAS stronger bass, and it is engaging in a way that excites me but doesn't do things too much to become irritating, so IMO it's a longer term headphone to have (my current "on a desert island") than the more colored X1.

I used my Mixamp 5.8 with my K712 plugged straight in, often in fact, it sounds very good. The Mixamp has relatively close to the output power of an iPod Classic, so loudness isn't a problem, but double amping just kindof finishes off the weight of impact and helps refine & control sound reproduction.

Before the K712, I was happy with the Q701, which is very similar, for about a year and a half.

 

[frankefrum]

The K712 that mad reviewed was the one I loaned him. I also have an E12, which doesn't particularly add warmth (pretty colorless unless you use the bass boost switch).

The K712 is a gentler u shaped freq-curve (graphs available at inner fidelity and headroom), with elevated/forward bass that is below the point where bass usually starts to distort, it dips as it reaches the mids but mostly stays near the neutral point, and then a bit of energy/sparkle to the treble. It HAS stronger bass, and it is engaging in a way that excites me but doesn't do things too much to become irritating, so IMO it's a longer term headphone to have (my current "on a desert island") than the more colored X1.

I used my Mixamp 5.8 with my K712 plugged straight in, often in fact, it sounds very good. The Mixamp has relatively close to the output power of an iPod Classic, so loudness isn't a problem, but double amping just kindof finishes off the weight of impact and helps refine & control sound reproduction.

Before the K712, I was happy with the Q701, which is very similar, for about a year and a half.

 

 

Wow, this is excellent information. I really appreciate this and it almost seals the deal for me on buying the K712 pro...do you have an opinion on the K712pro vs the Annie? Should I be considering the Annie at all? I know it sounds dumb, but I really don't care for the orange color on the K712pro. LOL. As a FSU alum, it reminds me too much of our rival in both the Gators and Miami. LOL. All joking aside, I can put up with the color if it is the best headphone for me, but seriously, just HOW much different are these from the Annies?

 

[Stillhart]

  IMO the bass of the Annie with the NFB 11.32 is very clean and detailed. The K712 Pro should be fairly similar. It's not going to blow your mind with power, but it will be a step up in clarity and excitement from the PC360s for sure. You would want to add a basic amp to the chain. The Magni/Vali/O2/E09K/etc should be more than up to the task.
 
Something like the X1 would provide more bass, but it wouldn't be as clean or detailed from all accounts I've heard. So it all comes down to budget and preference.

I just want to throw in there that a little bit of amping does wonders for tightening up the X1's bass.  I actually like these a lot better with an amp.  Even my new E11 adds a nice amount of presence and authority (and yes, I'm not talking about volume) to the X1, which doesn't "need" amping like the AKG's.
 
I think the Q/K7 series is a fantastic headphone; I prefer my Q701 to my X1.  But the X1 isn't bad, it's just got a different sound signature and it sounds like Frank may prefer them... especially with an amp.

 

[Napalmhardcore]

Hi guys. I've heard some of you talking about using various AKG 700 series headphones with the K702 anniversary pads. Are you talking about the ones that come standard with the Annies or the after-market gel ones?

 

[Murder Mike]

  Hi guys. I've heard some of you talking about using various AKG 700 series headphones with the K702 anniversary pads. Are you talking about the ones that come standard with the Annies or the after-market gel ones?

 
The standard memory foam K702 65th Anniversary pads. 

 

[kman1211]

My new system is finally complete. The K712 is really starting to strut it's stuff over the K612.
 

 

[Napalmhardcore]

   
The standard memory foam K702 65th Anniversary pads. 

Thanks. I suspected that was the case but just wanted clarification. Given that AKG design their headphones with replaceable ear pads, I'm surprised they don't offer more options for more of their headphones. I was idly searching to see if there were memory foam pads available for the K240 mkii's a while back. I found some on ebay, but I didn't trust that they were actually memory foam or decent quality given the cheap price.

 

[Evshrug]

K712 vs Annie?

Oh I understand color preference completely! The orange headband isn't aesthetically too loud in person, IMO, but I personally would like to be a TRON good guy rather than bad guy. I haven't heard an Annie myself... I imagine that the sonic difference is just above being imagination, a slight sonic tweak, but the Annie's are toned like Q701 but with tighter manufacturing tolerances. I think Mad mentioned a few differences, like the K712 headband is shaped differently and the earcups were shallower...

These are two similar apples. An X1 is an orange

Neither would be a lemon?

My new system is finally complete. The K712 is really starting to strut it's stuff over the K612.

Nice, did the DAC widen the difference that much more?
For some reason, your first sentence made me think of Darth Vader: "Now your conversion is complete!"

 

[kman1211]

Nice, did the DAC widen the difference that much more?
For some reason, your first sentence made me think of Darth Vader: "Now your conversion is complete!"

The DAC widened the difference a good deal, the new cable made the difference even larger. They now sound clearer, more transparent, detailed, textured, refined, dynamic, powerful, etc. compared to the K612.

 

[Stillhart]

Oh I understand color preference completely! The orange headband isn't aesthetically too loud in person, IMO, but I personally would like to be a TRON good guy rather than bad guy. I haven't heard an Annie myself... I imagine that the sonic difference is just above being imagination, a slight sonic tweak, but the Annie's are toned like Q701 but with tighter manufacturing tolerances. I think Mad mentioned a few differences, like the K712 headband is shaped differently and the earcups were shallower...

These are two similar apples. An X1 is an orange

Neither would be a lemon?

 
No, neither are lemons.  It's funny; I really didn't like the X1 all that much when I first got it.  Since I've upgraded my whole signal path (FLAC files, amp, dac, etc), the X1 sounds a lot better.  It's still apples and oranges, but I can definitely see what I wasn't seeing before.... or hearing I guess.  I haven't heard the K712/Annies but I suspect they still can't compare to the X1 for bass presence.  I use my X1 at work and Q701 at home and they both sound good in their own ways.  The more "fun" sound of the X1 goes well with my noisy work environment where the detail-crazy Q701 would lose a lot of what makes it special.
 
It's good to see the AKG's getting more love in this thread these days.  But it's always important to realize why the X1 was FOTM before the K712.  It's weird seeing the FOTM jump more than $100, so having a cheaper option is good.

 

[Murder Mike]

  It's good to see the AKG's getting more love in this thread these days.  But it's always important to realize why the X1 was FOTM before the K712.  It's weird seeing the FOTM jump more than $100, so having a cheaper option is good.

 
Everything gets a FOTM at some point it seems. The Annies were pretty FOTM a while back and they're pretty much the same thing as the K712 Pro. The cycle will continue on. 

 

[Stillhart]

   
Everything gets a FOTM at some point it seems. The Annies were pretty FOTM a while back and they're pretty much the same thing as the K712 Pro. The cycle will continue on.

 
I feel bad for Change.  He really wanted the K612 to be the next FOTM, but it seems to be getting overshadowed by the K712.  Of course the K712 costs more than double and I suspect it doesn't sound more than twice as good.

 

[kman1211]

   
I feel bad for Change.  He really wanted the K612 to be the next FOTM, but it seems to be getting overshadowed by the K712.  Of course the K712 costs more than double and I suspect it doesn't sound more than twice as good.

I want the K612 to be the next FOTM myself as I feel the K712 is probably more than people are willing to pay. The K712 needs a more expensive/better system to make it sound noticeably better than the K612, otherwise it honestly doesn't really sound any better.