[gradoist]

Somehow I cannot post my review on product page so I will just post it here.
 
 
Star: 3/5

 
Pros: Big soundstage, good for monitoring            
Cons: But not good for music listening. Very hard to drive. Phones for pros, not for audiophiles.
 
 
The reason I say that K812 is not good for audiophiles is because K812 seems to has its "special" way in presenting music: K812 tends to confine every piece of music in a certain room with a stress of bass. This is good because that will ensure you hear something familiar every time you use K812. The strong signature is definitely for pros who do not want to waste time getting familiar with a headphone again and again.  But for those who are not basshead or those who want to hear "music free in style", this strong signature is a big big big problem. 
 
The sound is a bit dark, detailed but no way balanced. To much bass; imaging is good in a bad way (Clear, wonderful imaging, you can see everything but the singer seems to be in an awkward position: behind/is the drumer

) ; treble harsh like hell if you don't drive it properly; sounds depressing as if  I was listening via closeback phones
 
 
Bottom line:  Remember these are monitor headphones. Don't waste you time if you are not a pro. 
                     
 

 

[ALFA100]

I’m using AKG K812 and do not find them bass heavy at all. In fact they are neutral and present music very well. Coming from a high ed speaker rig I’m amazed at how good the K812 sounds.

 

[John Buchanan]

I love my AKG K812 (it's my favourite all rounder) - IMHO, it has always been underrated and simply loves good amplification. Bass is NOT emphasised and it is tonally pretty much neutral. The top end is a LITTLE more spicy than it should be, with the accent on slightly. Don't choose this if you don't want to annoy your significant other, however - there is no attenuation of sound either into or out of. There's always the closed back K872 for that.
It has a great soundstage too.
To anybody who has the $$$, I'd suggest buy 'em while you can.

 

[ALFA100]

you describe the AKG K812 perfectly. What amplifier would you recommend? I have the Schiit Lyr . Replaced stick tubes with Sovtek added a little meat to the bones.

 

[John Buchanan]

you describe the AKG K812 perfectly. What amplifier would you recommend? I have the Schiit Lyr . Replaced stick tubes with Sovtek added a little meat to the bones.

See my signature for 2 amplifiers that sound great with the AKG K812 (the original Phonitor, however, is not ideal for the 812). The Fidelice and the Merging Anubis are both excellent.

 

[alpha80]

Pros:

- Frequency response from 10hz - 1khz is the absolute best from all the open back, wide/deep soundstage flagships. Some other open backs come very close, but none of the super huge soundstage competitors come close to extension this far and flat, and thru the most important frequency ranges.

- Best, most holographically vivid soundstage available at any price. Yes, it’s even better than the close 2nd alltime great soundstage: Sennheiser HD-800 series. And definitely much better than some cand which cost 3-4x the K812 price.

- Truly great ergonomic design with the best sealing ear pads I’ve ever worn, in a large open back.

- relatively low impedance, designed to be used by younger audio professionals and producers, who use MacBook pro’s everywhere all the time. AKG designed it specifically to pair perfectly with the (shockingly nice) stock 3.5mm jacks on MacBookPro’s


Cons:

- slight dip on the upper end of vocal range / instrument range, similar to the Sennheiser HD-800 series, from 1khz-3.5/4khz. This is done to increase spatial perception and enhance the sense of an even more expansive soundstage.

- a few treble spikes, one in particular quite high. And while they’re placed strategically, and in line with many common 2nd and 3rd order harmonics and such, do produce a very bright presence in older recordings or poorly finished recordings.

- fairly uncommon connection that makes utilizing aftermarket cables less convenient

 

[alpha80]

Don't choose this if you don't want to annoy your significant other, however - there is no attenuation of sound either into or out of.

Ohhhh, and THIS AF. For any hobbyist aiming to use these at home in a shared area. People two rooms over will hear what you’re listening to, quite clearly lol… even at a relatively sensible volume.

That’s part of the trade off for having such a massive soundstage, that can only be bested, by a treated room with good Genelec’s / etc ….

 

[John Buchanan]

Pros:

- Frequency response from 10hz - 1khz is the absolute best from all the open back, wide/deep soundstage flagships. Some other open backs come very close, but none of the super huge soundstage competitors come close to extension this far and flat, and thru the most important frequency ranges.

- Best, most holographically vivid soundstage available at any price. Yes, it’s even better than the close 2nd alltime great soundstage: Sennheiser HD-800 series. And definitely much better than some cand which cost 3-4x the K812 price.

- Truly great ergonomic design with the best sealing ear pads I’ve ever worn, in a large open back.

- relatively low impedance, designed to be used by younger audio professionals and producers, who use MacBook pro’s everywhere all the time. AKG designed it specifically to pair perfectly with the (shockingly nice) stock 3.5mm jacks on MacBookPro’s


Cons:

- slight dip on the upper end of vocal range / instrument range, similar to the Sennheiser HD-800 series, from 1khz-3.5/4khz. This is done to increase spatial perception and enhance the sense of an even more expansive soundstage.

- a few treble spikes, one in particular quite high. And while they’re placed strategically, and in line with many common 2nd and 3rd order harmonics and such, do produce a very bright presence in older recordings or poorly finished recordings.

- fairly uncommon connection that makes utilizing aftermarket cables less convenient

Agreed with all of the above. After market cables are available (Arctic cables do one), but the supplied cable is good.
Forget about even starting down the path of going balanced with these phones.

 

[coding101]

I rely on my AKG K712 for competitive gaming where soundstatge is critical for enemy positioning. Would you say the K812 is a significant upgrade?

 

[John Buchanan]

I rely on my AKG K712 for competitive gaming where soundstatge is critical for enemy positioning. Would you say the K812 is a significant upgrade?

I never heard a K712, but it certainly is an upgrade from (my wife's) K701. There is a decent bottom end for a start.

 

[Yeeterkeeter]

My question is, are they better than the 712s, and if so, how?

 

[Sefelt103]

From what I've seen of the frequency response curves it seems fairly 'flat' in the low frequencies. The bass has been criticised in the past but not because there was too much. It was usually its quality and having too much distortion in this region. How could one come to the conclusion a 'lean' headphone like this has too much bass emphasis ? I would say this is usually due to lack of time with the headphone like being attuned to less bassy headphones (listening to iems/ earbuds) frequently then listening to the AKG K812.

 

[DillingerEP]

My question is, are they better than the 712s, and if so, how?

Yes, clearly. I had both for some time and for me the K812 is a bigger step to high end in every aspect. They have a very detailed sound, huge soundstage and much better build quality.

Like the Beyerdynamic T1 1st gen and Sennheiser HD800, the sound signature is neutral bright. It seems a little bass shy. The Sennheiser was the most popular, but the AKG is a really good headphone.

 

[John Buchanan]

Pros:

- Frequency response from 10hz - 1khz is the absolute best from all the open back, wide/deep soundstage flagships. Some other open backs come very close, but none of the super huge soundstage competitors come close to extension this far and flat, and thru the most important frequency ranges.

- Best, most holographically vivid soundstage available at any price. Yes, it’s even better than the close 2nd alltime great soundstage: Sennheiser HD-800 series. And definitely much better than some cand which cost 3-4x the K812 price.

- Truly great ergonomic design with the best sealing ear pads I’ve ever worn, in a large open back.

- relatively low impedance, designed to be used by younger audio professionals and producers, who use MacBook pro’s everywhere all the time. AKG designed it specifically to pair perfectly with the (shockingly nice) stock 3.5mm jacks on MacBookPro’s


Cons:

- slight dip on the upper end of vocal range / instrument range, similar to the Sennheiser HD-800 series, from 1khz-3.5/4khz. This is done to increase spatial perception and enhance the sense of an even more expansive soundstage.

- a few treble spikes, one in particular quite high. And while they’re placed strategically, and in line with many common 2nd and 3rd order harmonics and such, do produce a very bright presence in older recordings or poorly finished recordings.

- fairly uncommon connection that makes utilizing aftermarket cables less convenient

Regarding the connector - it's a 3 pin LEMO connector (The Focal Utopia uses 2 x 2 pin versions). It's a beautifully engineered connector more commonly used in the medical world.

 

[JukkaTahtinen]

have had my HD700 seins 2014 and been using them everyday for enjoying music, work and occasionally gaming sessions. never had a issue with them and for me they sounded a lot better than the 600 and 650 which i decided between at the time, and with some EQ they sounded like candy for my ears.

But during the last year, the headband of the hd700's have started degrading and falling apart, so i have been looking around for new headphones, and this time around i decided to treat my self with what i consider "highgrade" headphones.

So after much research, i narrowed it down to the meze 109, HD800, Focal clear and Akg k812. Sadly there is no store near me which allow me to listen these before a purchase, but i found a decent price of the k812, at around 900usd so i decided try it out.

i am a week in now with the k812's, and wow... these sound so good.. and i thought the hd700's was amazing. these AKG's are in its own universe sound wise in comparison. And the soundstage is so wide... been enjoying music almost nonstop, listening to old albums and hearing things i didn't know was there.
And not to speak about the sound in games, feels almost like cheating Couse one hears the enemy very easy and where.

I really cant understand why these don't seem to be popular.. i cant imagine the hd 800 or Focal's being much or any better tbh.

only 2 things that makes we wonder about durability, are these 2 details. i understand they are there to remove any interference to the driver from the cable or headband.
But i am confident that AKG have done proper engineering and QA on this department, i am not to worried.

Oh and btw, the stand that comes with it is very welcome addition. Both storing them when not using the headphones and showcasing