The AKG K712 Pro Support and Impressions Thread
Aug 5, 2014 at 1:56 PM Post #3,166 of 6,341
  Everything is fine with my soundcard settings.The problem is only with some heavy genres, like metal.Everything other than that sounds great.
Hmm....Now looks like it has become a little bit better.Is it real that this is because my headphones are too new?Or things like metal are not for them?


I found the K712 a bit congested and veiled at first, especially on certain songs, that went away after some use. Give them a couple weeks of heavy use. They just need some burning in. You can try using pink noise for many hours a day at higher than listening volumes to help speed it up.
 
Aug 5, 2014 at 2:47 PM Post #3,167 of 6,341
LolkaZZ,
I think I've heard what you mean, like there's something between you and the sound or that something holds back a musical swell from sounding as big and loud as you suspect. I've heard that from time to time... I haven't studied it scientifically so take this with a grain of salt, and there are many possible reasons why, BUT when I leave my Q701's unplayed for a while and then listen to them, it's like the sound gets tightened and restricted, a crescendo feels held back from peaking like you expect. This could be due to:

brain burn-in (used to signature),
pad breaking-in (like favourite shoes),
amping (does the amp have enough headroom to get loud for a moment when music calls for it?),
driver membranes tightening and not vibrating as freely,
or the health of my ears and sanity.

That's a lot of possible reasons, so I can't say "this is what's happening" and why it might be happening to you, BUT I have heard it a few times, especially after having two great headphones and letting one sit for over a month unused, and I had a relatively unexperienced friend point out to me that he heard that effect without me saying to listen for it between my Q701 (that had been sitting for a few months) and my K712 & other head-fi'ers K612 (both of which had been used constantly). I do think that things "open up," and that's what people talk about when they talk about headphone burn-in.

Burn-in is a funny topic, it barely registers with measuring equipment and sometimes becomes a similar debate to "does God exist?" Tyll at InnerFidelity.com tried to measure two Q701's but couldn't measure the difference between old and new, but he and a friend could pretty reliably tell which was which when they listened. Burn-in may not make all things better, but from my personal experience "I" believe there is a change (greater than the difference in cables). Take that however you want, but I encourage you to get experience and make your own conclusion.
 
Aug 5, 2014 at 9:54 PM Post #3,170 of 6,341
it's like the sound gets tightened and restricted, a crescendo feels held back from peaking like you expect

Yep, something like this.I hope this will get away after burning in.Maybe my soundcard amp is not great enough?This thing makes me insane.Why does it sound so flat?!Like somebody is coming and turning my volume down.
 
Aug 7, 2014 at 11:46 AM Post #3,171 of 6,341
So, I just got the K712 and had the chance to try it only briefly.
 
Impressions below, but probably have to apologize in advance if I didn't seem to explain as well or accurately as I should (new to all of this)
 
First thing I immediately noticed about this headphones is on the soundstage. I think the first thing I said when I had them on was "oh god". I know AKG has been said to have really good large soundstage, but I didn't expect it to be THAT big. It's almost way too overwhelming for me, actually. I'm not too sure I'll get used to this.
 
I said previously how worried I am about the bass compared to the Fidelio X1, and therefore losing the "fun" factor, but I'm actually quite happy with the amount of bass in this. They're definitely there, but not heavy by any means, and are quite balanced and elevated. It's almost good enough for me when listening to EDM or trance music. MUCH better fun sounding than the safe HD558 for sure. Having said, I don't see myself regretting not getting the X1 on the bass department, but still do in a few other regards (who knows, I might be wrong)
 
Comfort wise, this is perfect and is probably as good as I can see it go. Headband is pretty much perfect. Only complain I have is how the earpads are inserting quite some pressure, especially at the top part of the head (I assume this will be rectified with repeated use, hopefully?)
 
I've also had the chance to try them with an E10 and E12 (friend's). I saw a lot of posts of how the E10 is bad match with the K712, but man, I think I might have to disagree with that. The E10 made things brighter and improved the bass, and might just be my current go-to for music and movies for now.
 
Overall, first impressions with the sound quality is quite good. AKG's sound is definitely different to what I am used to. I really enjoy the clarity and the "realistic" feeling out of these though. Another additional con when hearing this was how I felt some of the sounds were kind of "staying back" (not really sure how to say this). Having said that, I'm not too sure if whether these are a keeper, I probably will have to listen to these further before deciding to keep these.
 
I'm also almost thinking whether closed headphones are actually better for me at the moment, even for overall and gaming use. I had the chance to demo the Momentum on a nearby store, and I loved what I heard out of these, making me believe the overall nature of closed headphones might be the reason behind it.
 
Aug 7, 2014 at 12:30 PM Post #3,173 of 6,341
  @RXShadow nice, could you write more about x1 vs k712 please? I am thinking to change x1 for k712 at the moment....what I need from x1 is -2 3dB on bass and better highs

I don't have the X1, so I really can't say. What I actually meant is that I was actually debating whether to buy the K712 or X1, since I was worried the bass on the K712 was not as much as I anticipated (which was cleared after hearing it)
 
Aug 7, 2014 at 12:42 PM Post #3,174 of 6,341
 good enough for me when listening to EDM or trance music

 
With that kind of music why you did not go for X1? I think that for electronic is just perfect. We can swap because we both bought wrong headphones.
biggrin.gif

 
Aug 7, 2014 at 12:44 PM Post #3,175 of 6,341
@RXShadow nice, could you write more about x1 vs k712 please? I am thinking to change x1 for k712 at the moment....what I need from x1 is -2 3dB on bass and better highs


Sounds like the K712 is what you want.
 
Aug 7, 2014 at 7:13 PM Post #3,179 of 6,341
  Woo hoo just got my K712's! I hate how long AKG's take to burn in...


Ah yes, AKGs do take forever to burn-in. Took my K712s a while to burn-in, pads took some breaking in too. Headphones that take a while to burn-in and break-in can be a nuisance at first but I feel they are worth it long-term. I get the feeling my new Beyer DT 150 is one of those slow to mature phones like the AKGs.
 
Aug 7, 2014 at 8:02 PM Post #3,180 of 6,341
So, I just got the K712 and had the chance to try it only briefly.

Impressions below, but probably have to apologize in advance if I didn't seem to explain as well or accurately as I should (new to all of this)

First thing I immediately noticed about this headphones is on the soundstage. I think the first thing I said when I had them on was "oh god". I know AKG has been said to have really good large soundstage, but I didn't expect it to be THAT big. It's almost way too overwhelming for me, actually. I'm not too sure I'll get used to this.

I said previously how worried I am about the bass compared to the Fidelio X1, and therefore losing the "fun" factor, but I'm actually quite happy with the amount of bass in this. They're definitely there, but not heavy by any means, and are quite balanced and elevated. It's almost good enough for me when listening to EDM or trance music. MUCH better fun sounding than the safe HD558 for sure. Having said, I don't see myself regretting not getting the X1 on the bass department, but still do in a few other regards (who knows, I might be wrong)

Comfort wise, this is perfect and is probably as good as I can see it go. Headband is pretty much perfect. Only complain I have is how the earpads are inserting quite some pressure, especially at the top part of the head (I assume this will be rectified with repeated use, hopefully?)

I've also had the chance to try them with an E10 and E12 (friend's). I saw a lot of posts of how the E10 is bad match with the K712, but man, I think I might have to disagree with that. The E10 made things brighter and improved the bass, and might just be my current go-to for music and movies for now.

Overall, first impressions with the sound quality is quite good. AKG's sound is definitely different to what I am used to. I really enjoy the clarity and the "realistic" feeling out of these though. Another additional con when hearing this was how I felt some of the sounds were kind of "staying back" (not really sure how to say this). Having said that, I'm not too sure if whether these are a keeper, I probably will have to listen to these further before deciding to keep these.

I'm also almost thinking whether closed headphones are actually better for me at the moment, even for overall and gaming use. I had the chance to demo the Momentum on a nearby store, and I loved what I heard out of these, making me believe the overall nature of closed headphones might be the reason behind it.


Nice! Glad you like them! IMO, they will scale better with more power. Everything opens up with better equipment with this headphone


@RXShadow nice, could you write more about x1 vs k712 please? I am thinking to change x1 for k712 at the moment....what I need from x1 is -2 3dB on bass and better highs


I do not have the K712 but I do have a pair of Annie to compare with the X1;

X1 is darker in comparison, not as transparent and accurate as Annie
X1 got the bass quantity and goes deeper than Annie but quality wise, I prefer the Annie better
Soundstage is slightly better on the Annie
Midrange of X1 feels a little drowned out to me

Keep in mind that, I have not listen to the X1 for awhile now :)
 

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