The AKG K712 Pro Support and Impressions Thread

[Rob80b]

I think the K712 is pretty darn neutral the added bass is not so much as to affect that neutrality. You could Springer an amp like the Cyan C5 and use its bass button when You want more bass. But for me the K712 has more bass plus added clarity and detail over the Q701.

+2   The K712 IMHO is what the K700 series should have always aspired to, the added extension just fills out the audio spectrum.

 

[burdie]

AKG K712 Balanced Mod
With reference to the guide provided by Rob Robinette on how to mod AKG K240 (http://robrobinette.com/HeadphoneMods.htm#K240 Balanced Mod) which is very useful for DIY (Thanks Rob for the detailed steps), I am helping a friend to perform balanced mod on his K712.
 
The steps more or less similar to Rob's guide except the removal of the cover (plenty of video guides). To remove the ear cup cap it will be easier to pull it out from the mini xlr connector side, of course you need to remove two screws before you pull it out.
 
This is how it looks like, next thing to do is desolder the 3 cable connected to the mini xlr and also the white cable which is  for R- that connected to L-

 
To take the 3 pin mini XLR out you need to push it out from connector side (refer to photo below) using screw driver with little punch, as the mini xlr is secured by super glue at the rear of the jack.

I use Re-An 4 pin tiny xlr male as the replacement for balanced mod. After solder all 4 cables (I use standard XLR pinout), this Re-An XLR somehow cannot seated firmly even though there is alignment tab. Follow Rob's guide I need to apply one drop of super glue to secure it. How to make the XLR connector in the right position before you apply super glue? use another female mini XLR through the hole until you hear 'click' and the male mini XLR jack is not moving.
 
Below is the photo of balanced mod K712 with homemade custom balanced cable

 
And hook it up to balanced amp

The balanced cable is half-finished as the owner requested to use mini XLR instead of full size XLR, then terminate another mini XLR to full size XLR for balanced and mini XLR to 3.5mm stereo plug for SE.
 
I am not here to comment on how it sounded but with balanced amp it definitely better

 

[Rob80b]

  AKG K712 Balanced Mod
   
To take the 3 pin mini XLR out you need to push it out from connector side (refer to photo below) using screw driver with little punch, as the mini xlr is secured by super glue at the rear of the jack.

I use Re-An 4 pin tiny xlr male as the replacement for balanced mod. After solder all 4 cables (I use standard XLR pinout), this Re-An XLR somehow cannot seated firmly even though there is alignment tab. Follow Rob's guide I need to apply one drop of super glue to secure it. How to make the XLR connector in the right position before you apply super glue? use another female mini XLR through the hole until you hear 'click' and the male mini XLR jack is not moving.
 

Thanks Burdie
 
I'm planning on doing this Mod and was under the impression the whole sleeve came out in the opposite direction as seen from another post, good to know I can just remove the mini xlr jack.
 
The 712s sound fine single ended but they'll appreciate the extra gain when balanced.

 

[burdie]

  Thanks Burdie
 
I'm planning on doing this Mod and was under the impression the whole sleeve came out in the opposite direction as seen from another post, good to know I can just remove the mini xlr jack.
 
The 712s sound fine single ended but they'll appreciate the extra gain when balanced.

You are welcome. Regarding the whole sleeve came out in the opposite direction as the photo above, I believed it is the 'holder' for the 3 pin mini XLR. Just apply super glue then it should be good. Since it already came out, why not just advise that guy to mob it balanced?
 
Just now I finished the mini XLR to full size XLR adapter cable as well as 3,5mm (not shown), as the main cable now is mini XLR to mini XLR. It will be lighter if using with 3.5mm adapter cable,  as below

 

[Rob80b]

  You are welcome. Regarding the whole sleeve came out in the opposite direction ........................ Since it already came out, why not just advise that guy to mob it balanced?

I did indirectly, by stating that I wish mine came like that  as the mod would be even easier.

 

[burdie]

The three cables I DIY for the balanced mod K712

The main cable I terminated with female mini XLR at both end so that either end can be used to connect to K712 and don't have to identify male or female. The other 2 cables are male mini XLR to full size XLR and 3.5mm stereo plug. For SE 3.5mm stereo plug, I used 3 conductors only (24 awg) for easier termination at 3.5mm plug, however, I need to short pin 2 and pin 4 (which represent L- & R- under standard XLR pinout) so that the L- & R- will share the negative.
 
iBasso Trio (DX50/DB2/PB2) with balanced mod K712

 

[gabrielnorena]

  To be sure, I was definitely making a big deal out of it, because I was using his guide to determine a decision about which headphone I would buy. Everyone has their own opinion, but everyone does not make a guide so thorough and comprehensive as he did. I take my purchases of headphones very seriously, not like whimsical choices of the moment. This means I make it a big deal about how I read my guides. 

I just recently bought the k712 and the k702/65th, and let me tell you, differences are so subtle that it may be just because of a confirmation bias effect. So, I will not discus the really really small differences between the two and just say that they sound 99 % the same. if so, that 1% should be a little more bass on the k712, but is almost unpercetible (never 3db).

 

[Boogirl]

I am currently pairing the Q701 and Audio GD NFB 15. 
 
 
I have recently purchased the AKG K712 pro, and was wondering whether it would be better to pair these with the Audio GD NFB 15 or  Audio GB NFB 11? I don't currently own the NFB 11 and still waiting for the K712s to arrive, and was looking for some advice regarding which of these amps would be best, and whether the NFB 11 was worth buying?
 
 
The Q701 with the NFB 15 – in comparison to the NFB 11 – is said to be a good combination, because the NFB 15 deals with the Q701 "shrillness" some claim to experience and dislike in the top end. Compared to the colder more analytical NFB 11, the warmness of the NFB 15 is said to balance out the somewhat dry, analytical Q701 sound; hence the NFB 15 is said to offer body to the Q701s, which also benefits their bass lightness. 
 
However, for the K712 pros, I was wondering if the NFB 11 might actually be the better of the two DAC/AMPS to pair it with? The K712s have a warmer and darker sound than the Q701s, therefore the more analytical NFB 11 (with no filtering its upper frequencies) presumably would be better for them?
 
Since the K712s are known to have a more intimate sound stage than the Q701s, I also presume that the more analytical NFB 11 sound is going to help with sound separation?

 

[Muinarc]

The K712 are not THAT much different than a Q701. They both have the AKG house sound which trends toward neutral/brighter presentations. I don't think you'd gain all that much going from the NFB15 to the 11.

 

[chailee80]

Anyone able to comment on how the k712 bass is compared with the sennheiser hd598? Cheers!

 

[BillsonChang007]

Anyone able to comment on how the k712 bass is compared with the sennheiser hd598? Cheers!

I have a K702/65 and the HD598 is definitely warmer

 

[chailee80]

I have a K702/65 and the HD598 is definitely warmer

So you'd say the hd598 has a stronger bass impact than the K702? How about the soundstage?

 

[kman1211]

Anyone able to comment on how the k712 bass is compared with the sennheiser hd598? Cheers!

I found the K712 warmer than the HD 598 overall in it's overall tone. It has tighter, more textured, deeper, and more detailed bass. Presence is about the same but the HD 598 bass is more bloomish, somewhat more boomy, and more uncontrolled and may seems like it has more, but better systems tell a different story. The soundstage I would say is similar in size but the K712 has much better imaging. The K712 sounds a lot more refined than the HD 598 to my ears. Note how the bass sounds on the K712 will vary a lot depending on the system and the song. The impact actually varies, I've heard it hit hard in some systems or quite weak in others. 

 

[BillsonChang007]

I found the K712 warmer than the HD 598 overall in it's overall tone. It has tighter, more textured, deeper, and more detailed bass. Presence is about the same but the HD 598 bass is more bloomish, somewhat more boomy, and more uncontrolled and may seems like it has more, but better systems tell a different story. The soundstage I would say is similar in size but the K712 has much better imaging. The K712 sounds a lot more refined than the HD 598 to my ears. Note how the bass sounds on the K712 will vary a lot depending on the system and the song. The impact actually varies, I've heard it hit hard in some systems or quite weak in others. 

Agreed with what he said but I personally do not find K702/65 to be warmer than HD598. Which amp/DAC are you using? Just curious to find out. I am iPhone 4 for the comparison. Long time ago.

 

[kman1211]

Agreed with what he said but I personally do not find K702/65 to be warmer than HD598. Which amp/DAC are you using? Just curious to find out. I am iPhone 4 for the comparison. Long time ago.

Well the K712 sounds different than the Annie's. I heard the newer Annies sound the same but not the old ones and when I heard the two, the K712 was warmer and bassier while the Annie was more midrange oriented and darker in the upper treble. I tried them both on the Lyr 2 with an HRT Musicstreamer II+ as the dac the last time I compared the K712 and HD 598. The K712 is about as warm as the HD 600 but a bit more aggressive and spacious sounding,