[Rob80b]

I dont exactly think thats true. As for changes, a few have mentioned that the K712 is ever so slightly warmer than the Annie when they both use the same pads. Just going off what my friends here have told me. I personally dont find them different enough and would just get whichever is cheapest. HAD the Annie still been sold with the older memory foam pads, I'd go for those personally, since I prefer its more intimate presentation. Apples vs a slightly less juicy apple. I love both.

That may be true as I haven't tried the Annies and my K701s got sold  just after I obtained the K712s so I did not do a long term comparison. The 701 I believe are considered the brighter of the bunch and with the 712 I found them very close, again with long term listening I may have gotten to notice some differences.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Oh, the K712's treble is definitely on the stronger side, despite its generally warm tonality overall. The Annie is more subdued up top, at least with the older memmory foam pads.

And yes, the K612 (the successor to the K601), is more neutral than the rest.

 

[Rob80b]

Regardless though, the K712s with their deeper denser pads have changed the overall sonic signature to which most K7XX users were accustomed and became, darker, deeper with much more bass extension and body. Personally I now find K712 somewhat similar to the Sennheiser HD6xx series and my Senn HD700s took on more of a K7XX signature, so much so I’ve off loaded my K501’s, K701, Senn HD580/600s and the Grado SR325s as IMHO the K712s and HD700s for me cover all the bases.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/products/akg-k712-pro/reviews/11476

 

[jdlivestrong]

Have any of you K712 owners tried them with a Schiit Valhalla? I'm about to pull the trigger on the K712's, but am up in the air about what I'll do for an amp/DAC for a desktop setup at work. I prefer a slightly warm leaning sound and have the Valhalla already so all I'd need to add is a DAC. Does the Valhalla have enough power for the K712's?

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Valhalla isn't suited for current hungry headphones like the K712. I doubt it will sound bad, but it isn't ideal. valhalla is made for high impedance headphones like the HD650. I would suggest that instead.

I love the K712 AND HD650 about equally.

 

[jdlivestrong]

Thanks for your thoughts - I was afraid that might be the case.  Do you have any suggestions for an amp - or amp/DAC combo for the K712's?  Maybe the Grant?  Or what would be best suited from the Schiit line?  Budget would be $200 - $400.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

If you're adamant on Schiit, the Asgard 2 does fine with the K712 (that's what I used at the time). As for amp/dac combos, I'm a fanboy of Audio-GD equipment, which will absolutely do well with the K712.

NFB 11, NFB 15, Compass 2. Those can drive practically every thing. I suggest the NFB15 since it's on the warmer side, while the NFB11 is using a neutral dac chip. On the more expensive end, the Compass 2 has options, and I would suggest one with the Wolfson dac chips. It was a bit too fast and neutral for me when I owned it with the Sabre chip.

 

[jdlivestrong]

The NFB15 sounds like it would be perfect for that I'm looking for - I went to their site and didn't fully understand pricing/shipping so I'll have to go back again and look more seriously. Thanks again for the recommendation. Do you think the NFB15 is a better match than the Grant Fidelity TubeDAC 11?

I've sent Audio GD an email to get pricing info on the NFB15 - we'll see...

Edit: I see the NFB-15 is $250 + $40 shipping which means it is about $100 cheaper than the Grant Fidelity TubeDAC 11. I think I may start with the NFB-15...sounds like it should be a good fit for the K712's and my listening preferences. Thanks so much for helping out!

 

[jaysins]

Really depends on what you want. Me personally am a fan of a more transparent and neutral sound and have the O2 ODAC and the NFB 11.32 which I really enjoy. Haven't heard a more colored DAC/AMP as I stay away from those. 

 

[Incrementum]

I'm thinking about swapping my Hifiman HE-400's out for some AKG K712's but I'm not entirely sure what I'm getting.  I know the sub-bass is better on the HE-400's but I'm looking for something with more detail.  Still some bass but more detail (especially for long hours of playing competitive games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive).  Any thoughts?

 

[cdma2k]

  I'm thinking about swapping my Hifiman HE-400's out for some AKG K712's but I'm not entirely sure what I'm getting.  I know the sub-bass is better on the HE-400's but I'm looking for something with more detail.  Still some bass but more detail (especially for long hours of playing competitive games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive).  Any thoughts?

some bass but more detail? K712 is a good candidate, or Q701 with or without bass mod

 

[Liu Junyuan]

If you're adamant on Schiit, the Asgard 2 does fine with the K712 (that's what I used at the time). As for amp/dac combos, I'm a fanboy of Audio-GD equipment, which will absolutely do well with the K712.

NFB 11, NFB 15, Compass 2. Those can drive practically every thing. I suggest the NFB15 since it's on the warmer side, while the NFB11 is using a neutral dac chip. On the more expensive end, the Compass 2 has options, and I would suggest one with the Wolfson dac chips. It was a bit too fast and neutral for me when I owned it with the Sabre chip.

As an aside, I just want to say I enjoyed your thread on gaming headphones. 
 
Question about Audio-GD: Why doesn't anyone mention the SA-31? I know that falls out of the poster's price preference, but I rarely see it mentioned at all compared with the NFB15 and Compass 2.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I owned the SA-31 myself. I still preferred the versatility of the Compass 2 over the SA-31. I also hated that it didn't have a volume knob so quick adjustments weren't so quick..

It was a grand, and technically proficient amp however.

Oh yeah, A-GD no longer has the listing for the SA-31, so it appears they're moving on from that design for now.

 

[Asr]

Thanks for your thoughts - I was afraid that might be the case.  Do you have any suggestions for an amp - or amp/DAC combo for the K712's?  Maybe the Grant?  Or what would be best suited from the Schiit line?  Budget would be $200 - $400.

 
From the Schiit line, the best amp for the K712 (on paper at least) is the Lyr 2. For something cheaper that's still American-made, you can't do better than the Garage1217 Project Ember.

 

[jdlivestrong]

I pulled the trigger on the K712's this morning so I'll have them tomorrow  Still have to figure out what I'm going to do for an amp/DAC...