[jgrbb]

Well they are working fine now so cannot send them back as defective. At least I know these have good (ahem, a good enough blob) of solder on the right can now. I am undecided as I suspect quality is pretty much the same throughout each set coming out the factory. Bad luck I suppose, I really want to keep them and last me for a long time. How long has everyone here had them without problem?

 

[9tamara9]

  Well they are working fine now so cannot send them back as defective. At least I know these have good (ahem, a good enough blob) of solder on the right can now. I am undecided as I suspect quality is pretty much the same throughout each set coming out the factory. Bad luck I suppose, I really want to keep them and last me for a long time. How long has everyone here had them without problem?

I had k702s for ~5 years, never had any problems. K701s for ~4 years, never any problems. Both made in Austria. Now i bought used k712, also made in Austria, no problems so far. My friend got K7XX, made in China, one side stopped working after few weeks.

 

[BabetakCZE]

Mine old K400 are 21 years old, K500 16 years old and no problems so far 

. K712 Made in Slovakia having 1 month and no problems so far as well.

 

[jgrbb]

These are supposedly made is Solvakia. On another forum, a member had some k7XX made in china with the exact same problem as me, a weak solder and a loose red wire. I guess I will keep them, but do feel I overpaid at £180, but since I got them from amazon and not imported from US via massdrop I know I have valid warrant, to which my experience with AKG warranty has been very good.
 
Would be interesting to compare with the K702's TBH, since they are going for £115.
 
Thank you for the help here BTW .

 

[Me x3]

  Would be interesting to compare with the K702's TBH, since they are going for £115.
 
Thank you for the help here BTW .

I have both. K702 has stiffer angled earpads.
It has bigger and more diffuse stage and less lower midrange and bass next to K712.
(more forward presentation)
 
With K712 earpads, late K702s measure pretty much the same as K712.

 

[Gianluigib]

  I have both. K702 has stiffer angled earpads.
It has bigger and more diffuse stage and less lower midrange and bass next to K712.
(more forward presentation)
 
With K712 earpads, late K702s measure pretty much the same as K712.

the beyerdynamic T1 is a lot better than k702/712 ??

 

[Me x3]

  the beyerdynamic T1 is a lot better than k702/712 ??

Not a lot, but it's a tad better in terms of focus and overall transparency.
 
HD800 is a tad better than the AKGs as well, even more transparent than the T1, but it's leaner.
Even a late K702 sounds fuller than HD800. More so the HD800 has a tendency to sound steely due to raised 5-6kHz.
Unlike the HD800, the T1 and the AKGs sound more organic and less clinical.
 
I don't think you can find something that's a lot better than K702/K712 in objective terms, you can find headphones with very different tuning though, and you might prefer some of those much more than the AKG (or not).

 

[9tamara9]

 
Not a lot, but it's a tad better in terms of focus and overall transparency.
 
HD800 is a tad better than the AKGs as well, even more transparent than the T1, but it's leaner.
Even a late K702 sounds fuller than HD800. More so the HD800 has a tendency to sound steely due to raised 5-6kHz.
Unlike the HD800, the T1 and the AKGs sound more organic and less clinical.
 
I don't think you can find something that's a lot better than K702/K712 in objective terms, you can find headphones with very different tuning though, and you might prefer some of those much more than the AKG (or not).

Stax :3

 

[Gianluigib]

 
Not a lot, but it's a tad better in terms of focus and overall transparency.
 
HD800 is a tad better than the AKGs as well, even more transparent than the T1, but it's leaner.
Even a late K702 sounds fuller than HD800. More so the HD800 has a tendency to sound steely due to raised 5-6kHz.
Unlike the HD800, the T1 and the AKGs sound more organic and less clinical.
 
I don't think you can find something that's a lot better than K702/K712 in objective terms, you can find headphones with very different tuning though, and you might prefer some of those much more than the AKG (or not).

ah ok thanks

 

[Me x3]

  Stax :3

Nah... even the flagship is limited in terms of soundstage size and bass punch.
They do measure a bit better than the AKGs in terms of THD but it's still a subtle difference since the AKG is under 1% in the whole spectrum @ 90-95dB
 
Anyway, as I've said before, Stax has a different tuning, with flatter/lighter bass and softer treble so you might prefer that presentation much more over the AKG.
EQ-ing K712 with a top class equalizer like DMG Equilibrium to match the Stax 009 can give a better impression on how they compare.
 
Not saying K712 is just as good as 009, but I wouldn't say the Stax is a lot better.
K712 is a lot better than Philips Downtown, for instance.
In my experience, once you've reached certain perfomance point, preferred sound signature (and recording matching) becomes more important than ultimate technicalities.

 

[9tamara9]

I dont really care how they "measure". I have them at home, and to my ears they are a big upgrade from k712. They also destroy hd800 for overall sound in my opinion. Oh and I'm talking about the lowest stax. The highest model i didnt like as much tbh, too soft sounding. Oh and for bass, k712s or hd800 cant even touch stax.

 

[Me x3]

I dont really care how they "measure". I have them at home, and to my ears they are a big upgrade from k712. They also destroy hd800 for overall sound in my opinion. Oh and I'm talking about the lowest stax. The highest model i didnt like as much tbh, too soft sounding. Oh and for bass, k712s or hd800 cant even touch stax.

That's why personal preference is that important once you start comparing stuff like this.
Some people I know love the HD650 and say all Staxes sound like plastic and fail to reproduce the natural decay on certain instruments.
Some people love Staxes and say even an entry level one can match the best dynamics.
 
Recordings play a big role as well, Blink 182 on HD800 is not pleasing to my ears, while it sounds better on the 'inferior' HD650.

 

[headhog]

Is the K712 similar to the K702 or Massdrops K7XX?
 
I own both the K702 and K7XX but prefer the sound of the K702 there's better instrument separation the K7XX just sounds big.

 

[jgrbb]

After reading about the web apparently they are similar to the K7XX, with less bass. Might be the "too big" you say of .
 
I received my "replacement", I decided to open and also check the solder on the right side to see if I was just a fluke. Turns out not, this model was 2000 units below my first order and had a miniscule amount of solder also. I am no solder expert or sound engineer or anything, but its pretty clear it could easily come loose like mine did after a few hours. Also a blob of solder was spilt onto the plastic cup outside casing from the factory.
 
I think I am going to order the K702 too see how I find them compared to these. This is getting expensive, hah. I am enjoying them very much so, slight hard to have on long periods with longish hair, but I am due for a cut!
 
One thing that worries me is this head band AKG is going with, I've seen pics of the see through plastic snapping, and while I thought it was see through acrylic, it's more a thin paper flexi plastic, thinking of getting some tape around it to give it a extra layer of protection from snapping. 

 

[Me x3]

  Is the K712 similar to the K702 or Massdrops K7XX?
 
I own both the K702 and K7XX but prefer the sound of the K702 there's better instrument separation the K7XX just sounds big.

K712 is something in between since it has flatter bass than K7XX.
 
If you want to get an idea of how K712 sounds tonally, pick K702 and a parametric equalizer and place a +3dB low shelf at 900Hz
The other difference is that K712 sounds more focused than K702 which is just a tad more expansive and diffuse.