[Murder Mike]

Hey fellow audiophiles. I am new to the game and just experiencing what good headphones could sound like... First off I am blown away all ready. I mainly use these for gaming, and I have a pro mix amp for it. I am currently wanting to get an amp for these and possibly a DAC later on. My question is this- what is the amout of money that would take to drive these to 80-100% potential? I understand that you can spend over 1000$ on an amp but to me I can't mentally afford to do that when I got the cans for 350.... BUT I would like to know where they stand in reference to what I could get out of them. I have heard a lot of good things about schiit. Would the magni do them enough justice, or save my money because the Valhalla 2 will be that much better? Any thoughts on the matter I will appreciate. Thanks

 
Audio-GD NFB-11 or NFB-15 would be great. If you wanted to step up your price range a little, the Compass 2 also has a lot of praise and more input options. 

 

[new reformation]

Can't help but laugh a bit at how quickly things got derailed with the "Made In China" subject matter.  My K712's were indeed made in Austria (said so on the cans and on the box) and they contained a operational defect.  Doesn't this illustrate that flaws can occur regardless of where the product is made?  Civil rights for Chinese workers is of course a completely different issue...
 
Mad Lust Envy, you seem to be in a fantastic position to compare the K712's to the Hifiman HE-4's as I gather you have heard/owned both.  I was looking at spending a bit more than the K712's to get the Hifimans.  Do you think it would be worth it?  (Not trying to stray off-topic here... a comparison would technically be an "impression" right?

) 

 

[Evshrug]

Mad may have heard the HE-4's... When he had the HE-400 with velour Earpads (which made positive improvements to SQ, less harsh highs), he loaned them to me and I listened to them for almost a full week getting used to them and on the last day did a comparison with my Q701's I had at the time.

Mad will have his own opinion (he wrote a review of the HE-400, you can check it out on his surround gaming thread), I found them to be good but with the AKG in the same room I found the HE-400 to be too genre-specific. The facts are that it has deep, controlled, strong bass, an overall sharp V-shaped sound signature, narrow soundstage but decent imaging, relatively not irritating feel but loses comfort points because it's heavy and any objects within about half a foot from the earcups affect the sound. My opinion was that the mids are so recessed that it changes the presentation of a song dramatically, a mid-centric tube helped soften the V-shaped frequency response but even so I heard a Janis Joplin song (woman left lonely) and Janis' vocals were pushed so far back in the mix behind the cymbals/drums and bass that she sounded like a background singer. The HE-400 would be great for electronic/Dubstep, but any music or movies with vocals or guitars or anything that pays attention to mids would be colored differently from what the artist intends. I've heard a lot of good things about the HE-500 and other planar models, but I would only recommend the HE-400 for a specific niché. The HE-4... I know next to nothing about it other than it's apparently a b***** to amp, lol.

 

[new reformation]

In regards to the HE-400's your observations sound like pretty much everything I have heard about them... Lets just say, not to my taste.  The HE-4's however are supposed to be just a bit under the quality of the HE500's with a similar, yet forward+balanced sound resembling the DT880's curve. Pretty sure MLE's been posting on the HE-4 support thread, so I figured he would be in a unique position to compare them to the K712's.  
 
I guess I could always buy a speaker amp and use that for power, right?  Might save some cash that way and get a better result. I'm pretty sure my HP50's have spoiled me terribly... I really was looking for the K712's to be at that next level of performance. Now I am spending a bit more than planned... Is this some sort of right of passage for head-fi? 

 

 

[BillsonChang007]

Yeap your on the right track to Head-Fi :evil:

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

The HE-4 is a fantastic headphone, and if you like the DT880 type sound signature, the HE-4 is just like that, but super powered. It really is a fantastic headphone. It's quite airy, and for a planar, is on the dry side, in comparison to the other planar headphones. The K712 is FANTASTIC, and while balanced, is on the warmer side of neutral. It's also a little more musical than the HE-4, which is more technical. The treble on the HE-4 is extended and energetic (like the DT880), but not overwhelming.

I didn't find the HE-4's depth to be as good as the HE-400 or LCD2, and I felt the K712 sounded more holographic and spacious overall. Despite the K712 being more spacious sounding, the HE-4 sounded more airy. That tends to happen when you compare a warm headphone with a dry one.

Prior to the HE400i's release (and I honestly feel you should hold out and wait to see what the HE-400i is about), I would say the HE-4 and K712 are my fave headphones in the $400 ballpark, the K712 being cheaper, and the HE-4 being more expensive.

If going off sheer sound quality, the HE-4 is definitely the more impressive one overall. That being said, the K712 falls more in line with my preferences.

From the new impressions of the 400i, it seems to take more from the HE-500 than the HE-400, which can only mean good things. Seriously, I suggest waiting another month if you're going to be spending enough to afford the HE-4.

 

[BunnyNamedCraig]

Well, the big thing about tubes is that you can swap a tube and get a different tuning, lol! However... I see you're in Pittsburgh?

Yeah I am- and I find that fascinating that you can change tubes to do that....

 

[BunnyNamedCraig]

Audio-GD NFB-11 or NFB-15 would be great. If you wanted to step up your price range a little, the Compass 2 also has a lot of praise and more input options. 

Hey thanks for this! I really only heard about schiit products or o2, or this other amp I cannot think of now.... Hmmm ha oh Mstage! So it's nice to hear about something different to match them to.

 

[Evshrug]

Yeah I am- and I find that fascinating that you can change tubes to do that....

Did you see where I'm from? Maybe we'll set up an impromptu head-Fi meet via PM's sometime.

 

[LolkaZZ]

Sup, guys.I`ve bought this cans today.Sound is great, except one thing.Heavy genres recordings sounds deaf.Is it normal?
Asus Essence STX as a source.

 

[Nic Rhodes]

Can anyone comment on the 712 vs the K240DF 600 ohm that AKG made years ago that I still use?

 

[Evshrug]

Sup, guys.I`ve bought this cans today.Sound is great, except one thing.Heavy genres recordings sounds deaf.Is it normal?
Asus Essence STX as a source.

I'm not sure what you mean by "sounds deaf." Are you getting no sound at all (mute)?

Can anyone comment on the 712 vs the K240DF 600 ohm that AKG made years ago that I still use?

Not I.
I remember reading an early review of the K701 that claimed that headphone had better base extension than any flagship AKG before it (and the K712 has better still extension), but I haven't heard the K240DF myself.

 

[LolkaZZ]

I'm not sure what you mean by "sounds deaf." Are you getting no sound at all (mute)?
 

I mean there is a sound like if you are listening it through the cotton pads.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Do you turn off the surrond processing when listening to music? You must always stay on top of your settings, and change it everytimne you play and/or listen to music/other 2 channel audio. If not music will sound horrible, as 2 channel with baked on virtual surround is always a bad idea. ONLY use the surround option when playing the games (also making sure the speaker configuration is set to 7.1). Movies as well, as long as they have Dolby Digital.

 

[LolkaZZ]

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?