[Disadadi]

Quick question:
Is there e Pro and a non-Pro version of the K712?
I might have a chance to buy a cheap pair, but it is listes as just "K712", and since I know very little about AKG, I need to ask, so I don't buy something different from what I think it is

Nope, there's only one version which should be the K712 Pro, but sometimes the "pro" is just left out. It's all the same regardless.

 

[Lindholdt]

Nope, there's only one version which should be the K712 Pro, but sometimes the "pro" is just left out. It's all the same regardless.

Perfect, thanks a lot

 

[musicday]

Not sure if this is related to the K702 but I got myself a pair recently made in Austria and paired with L&P W4 I was impressed watching a movie on Netflix. The micro details this relativo cheap headphones are capable of are impressive, and the wide stage is big and realistic. Also the instrument separation is good too. Now I want to mod it to hear it in balanced mode 4.4 .
Just order some high quality leather earpads to take the comfort to the next level.
For the price paid this is a bargain in this busy world of open back headphones.
Really recommend to anyone who want a good sounding open back headphone and very comfortable at a bargain price.

 

[evonimos]

Hi folks,

Have been using the K712 Pro for a few weeks now and I'm enjoying them quite a bit.
Indeed, they are a decent pair, offering great resolution and an excellent sound-stage.
They are also very easily tweaked to match your taste.

One can start by altering the shape/material of the OEM donut-shaped pads covering the ear-side of the baffle under the ear pads.
Or removing them altogether.

I think the foam rings add a bit of body, slam and 'weight' to the lower parts of the spectrum.
But I've noticed that they also affect higher-mid and lower-treble parts, making the sound a bit more splashy and 'grainy'.
The difference is small but you'll probably notice it if you listen closely, with and without the foam rings.

You could try adding similarly shaped pads on top of the OEM ones, but made of a thin natural fabric (like cotton or wool).
This will help mitigate the grainy/splashy character of the OEM foam rings, while retaining their function of adding a bit of body/slam.

If you still find the treble a bit 'zingy' you could add a thin cotton-mesh fabric on top.
I found the use of one ply of cotton bandage to be just right, in order for the driver to breath.
You don't want to cover the driver completely, or else you will start lose definition and speed.

Another modification that might be worth your efforts is re-cabling.
Apart from using a higher grade wire with better connectors, one could actually re-wire the headphones.

As already mentioned, OEM signal conductors are actually the two metal frames (covered by plastic tubes).
These are heavy-gauge, solid metal wires also serving as the structure holding caps together.
Clever engineering by AKG, but these wires are magnetic steel and one could replace them with something more proper, like silver-clad copper wires.

Finally, a well known modification that I personally consider to be essential for this headphone is the so-called bass-mod to increase lower bass.
This is done by exposing the back of the driver and removing the round sticker covering the bass-reflex port.
It will increase the ability of the diver to move more freely and elevate lower-end response.
If you find the need to add a bit more bass to this cans, this is the straight way to do it.

 

[musicday]

The best mod for this and K702 I will say it is to go balanced. Remove the 3 pin adapter and solder one with 4 pin.
Then you can add a high quality cable 4.4 mm balanced if you use that.
Will take the sound to another level.
Also dekoni Audio sheepskin genuine leather earpads are a must. Better comfort and more detailed sound.

 

[musicday]

High quality leather headband.
Better comfort then original.

 

[Alkamei]

The best mod for this and K702 I will say it is to go balanced. Remove the 3 pin adapter and solder one with 4 pin.
Then you can add a high quality cable 4.4 mm balanced if you use that.
Will take the sound to another level.
Also dekoni Audio sheepskin genuine leather earpads are a must. Better comfort and more detailed sound.

what exactly does balanced offer with the overall sound?

 

[musicday]

what exactly does balanced offer with the overall sound?

Better instrument separation, wider stage and a fuller sound to name few.

 

[dstarr3]

Better instrument separation, wider stage and a fuller sound to name few.

These characteristics are differences between the SE vs balanced outputs of your particular amp, not a difference inherent to SE vs balanced circuitry in general.

One only needs to perform the balanced mod if their particular amp sounds better via the balanced output rather than its SE output.

 

[pilipalipeli]

Anyone know where to get replacements parts for K712 in Europe, and would it even be worth a repair? My cans are over 5yrs old and the warranty has passed already.

I accidentally broke some of the plastic parts on the sides while trying to access the cables inside there, so I could resolder them. I managed to resolder the cables, but I broke the two tiny covers with the K712 logo, and one of the clips on the bigger cover on the right side can, as I forgot to unscrew one of the two screws before attempting to pry it off.

The rubber bands on the sides are also worn out, which is why these keep falling off from my head. I'm starting to think this repair is a lost cause.

 

[NotJeffBuckley]

You can use a simple normal rubber band on each side as tensioners, it's how I have my old Q701 and they fit arguably a bit better than they did initially after the rubber band refurbishment But I don't know what to tell you about the other bits, so sorry that happened. Hopefully you can track down a part and get it fixed again.

 

[idsyphe]

I've had my K7XX for near on 9 years by now, the pads are getting a bit old, cracks are appearing in the headband mechanism, and the cable is on it's last legs, so I decided rather than just buy new pads, I'd just upgrade to a set of K712, which ended up being less than double the cost of a set of pads.

My journey so far has been from cheap flavour of the month Samson SR850, JVC HA-RX900 etc, then I settled on a pair of K7XX in one of the early drops. I've had this headphone since, and while I've added numerous other headphones into my life (HD660s, HD560s, K371BT, K361 currently, they all get used in different locations for different purposes), the K7XX has stayed as my gaming headphone for couch gaming on an Xbox and LG OLED. It's been a fantastic headphone, with the highlight being the extreme comfort that the pads provide, they truly are the most comfortable pads I've ever worn, and I'm a recidivist pad roller.

So, getting these new K712 in, first thing I noticed, as has been mentioned time and again, the build quality is an upgrade over the K7XX, while the K7XX was functional and sturdy in it's own way, it rattles and creaks whenever you touch it, in fairness though the creaks all stop when it sits on your head, whereas the K712 just feels a little tighter in this aspect, no phantom creaking noises, just what you would expect of the fragile-ish build.

Put them on my head and I notice a few things, first the headband adjusting mechanism feels like it needs time to loosen up, I think my dome is on the large side (I've had to send back some Shure's because they didn't fit my scalp, and my K7XX don't have enough room to add any padding if I wanted to), so I feel like I have to manually adjust each side's slider just to get the perfect fit, assume this will fix itself over a few weeks of use.

Next, the pads, they are certainly a lot firmer than the K7XX, I kind of expected this, but probably not to this extent, along with the adjustment mechanism mentioned above, it means that they don't quite seal at the bottom towards my jaw as much as I would expect. Comfort is fine, not quite pillows like the K7XX pads, but I'm hoping this may change somewhat as the pads wear in. Interestingly I thought the firmness of the pads makes them feel much closer to what Sennheiser pads are like, I'm currently wearing a set of HD660s, which I wear while working, and the firmness is very similar, much like the HD560s pads. I do have a set of Yaxi pads for my K7XX, however I think I actually prefer the K7XX stock pads, but it certainly explains why the Yaxi is recommended often as it's a bit softer on the head than the default K712 pads. I can certainly see why AKG changed to the firmer pad, probably lasts longer, and maybe customer preference is for a firmer pad considering many popular headphones do go with a firmer pad.

I tried to take some comparison shots, didn't come out as well as I hoped, but here they are. I'll do a proper measure and update this post later today, but I didn't feel the K712 pads were significantly different in depth to the K7XX pads.

 

[Alkamei]

I've had my K7XX for near on 9 years by now, the pads are getting a bit old, cracks are appearing in the headband mechanism, and the cable is on it's last legs, so I decided rather than just buy new pads, I'd just upgrade to a set of K712, which ended up being less than double the cost of a set of pads.

My journey so far has been from cheap flavour of the month Samson SR850, JVC HA-RX900 etc, then I settled on a pair of K7XX in one of the early drops. I've had this headphone since, and while I've added numerous other headphones into my life (HD660s, HD560s, K371BT, K361 currently, they all get used in different locations for different purposes), the K7XX has stayed as my gaming headphone for couch gaming on an Xbox and LG OLED. It's been a fantastic headphone, with the highlight being the extreme comfort that the pads provide, they truly are the most comfortable pads I've ever worn, and I'm a recidivist pad roller.

So, getting these new K712 in, first thing I noticed, as has been mentioned time and again, the build quality is an upgrade over the K7XX, while the K7XX was functional and sturdy in it's own way, it rattles and creaks whenever you touch it, in fairness though the creaks all stop when it sits on your head, whereas the K712 just feels a little tighter in this aspect, no phantom creaking noises, just what you would expect of the fragile-ish build.

Put them on my head and I notice a few things, first the headband adjusting mechanism feels like it needs time to loosen up, I think my dome is on the large side (I've had to send back some Shure's because they didn't fit my scalp, and my K7XX don't have enough room to add any padding if I wanted to), so I feel like I have to manually adjust each side's slider just to get the perfect fit, assume this will fix itself over a few weeks of use.

Next, the pads, they are certainly a lot firmer than the K7XX, I kind of expected this, but probably not to this extent, along with the adjustment mechanism mentioned above, it means that they don't quite seal at the bottom towards my jaw as much as I would expect. Comfort is fine, not quite pillows like the K7XX pads, but I'm hoping this may change somewhat as the pads wear in. Interestingly I thought the firmness of the pads makes them feel much closer to what Sennheiser pads are like, I'm currently wearing a set of HD660s, which I wear while working, and the firmness is very similar, much like the HD560s pads. I do have a set of Yaxi pads for my K7XX, however I think I actually prefer the K7XX stock pads, but it certainly explains why the Yaxi is recommended often as it's a bit softer on the head than the default K712 pads. I can certainly see why AKG changed to the firmer pad, probably lasts longer, and maybe customer preference is for a firmer pad considering many popular headphones do go with a firmer pad.

I tried to take some comparison shots, didn't come out as well as I hoped, but here they are. I'll do a proper measure and update this post later today, but I didn't feel the K712 pads were significantly different in depth to the K7XX pads.

Hey! I am wondering if it was a brand new set and if it says made in Slovakia? I'm just curious if AKG finally move k712 production to China as well.

My see small cracks on my 7+ year old original pair so I may have to get a new set at some point in the future, hopefully not.

 

[idsyphe]

Hey! I am wondering if it was a brand new set and if it says made in Slovakia? I'm just curious if AKG finally move k712 production to China as well.

My see small cracks on my 7+ year old original pair so I may have to get a new set at some point in the future, hopefully not.

I bought a "very good" used item from Amazon marketplace (doesn't seem to have been used much more than a day or so), so can't say how old it was sorry, but it was indeed made in Sovlakia.

 

[Mark K]

Very happy about the Slovakia one. Lighter and plastic than my old one but sonically same