[Kammerat Rebekka]

Thank you for the insights guys, I will digest this and look at picking one of them up. Are any of the models better suited for particular music genres? I have the 650 and love the vocals and midrange, maybe an AKG with increased detail & soundstage might be a good complement.

The K712 will certainly sound different than your 650, that’s for sure! You still get the warmth though, but then the comparisons stop. The AKG is much more spacious and ‘in-ya-face’ with it’s presentation. It’s basically like a pseudo styled Grado-tuning done right in that it sports a somewhat similar flavour only done much more elegantly and enjoyable..well at least to my ears. Like I’ve previously mentioned: this headphone does something very unique - like an all-out assault on all frequencies where the bass comes atcha..but also the mids and treble. Everything is coming at you..yet it’s done in an exciting way without ever really becoming aggressive or overblown…and again totally opposite to a Grado, you get these beautifully big bulsterous circumaural cups that are about the most comfortable in the hobby. The low weight also helps tremendously.

I will say this though - especially to peeps who are coming from a Sennie 6 series headphone as their daily driver. I’ve previously sold off the K712 because I put it on directly after having used my HD580 for a couple of weeks…and it sounded off.
Well…that’s what I get for being way too quick in my assessment, because owning it this time around, I accidentally put on my HD580 after a couple of days with the AKG…and well the Sennheiser sounded dull and uninteresting. So there you go
What did I learn? Never make decisions after switching to a headphone I haven’t used for a while..or at the very least I’ll make sure to do 2 things: make sure I start out the day with the “new” headphone opposed to doing the switcheroo midway through my listening bit..and secondly I’ll choose music that I haven’t listened to for a while. This I believe gives my brain a chance to ‘reboot’ so to speak. If I start out with the last couple of albums lying next to my cd player..then the old cockpit automatically starts comparing this new headphone presentation to the old one..and well most often the one I’m most used to tends to win

But yeah..long story short: I think the 712 is a very nice complementary can to the 650. If you dig a bit of electronic music or just music with a lot of subbass present, then chances are you’ll prefer the AKG over the Sennie. Having to choose only between my 580 and 712 for electronic/subbass heavy music, I’ll certainly reach out for the AKG. Then again, that does not mean that the 712 sounds poor with old school rock, jazz or classical. It sounds amazing! Whilst not sounding as correct and natural as an HD580/600/650 it does something else entirely and gives you ‘excitement’ and ‘fun’.

 

[TwtBeard]

The K712 will certainly sound different than your 650, that’s for sure! You still get the warmth though, but then the comparisons stop. The AKG is much more spacious and ‘in-ya-face’ with it’s presentation. It’s basically like a pseudo styled Grado-tuning done right in that it sports a somewhat similar flavour only done much more elegantly and enjoyable..well at least to my ears. Like I’ve previously mentioned: this headphone does something very unique - like an all-out assault on all frequencies where the bass comes atcha..but also the mids and treble. Everything is coming at you..yet it’s done in an exciting way without ever really becoming aggressive or overblown…and again totally opposite to a Grado, you get these beautifully big bulsterous circumaural cups that are about the most comfortable in the hobby. The low weight also helps tremendously.

I will say this though - especially to peeps who are coming from a Sennie 6 series headphone as their daily driver. I’ve previously sold off the K712 because I put it on directly after having used my HD580 for a couple of weeks…and it sounded off.
Well…that’s what I get for being way too quick in my assessment, because owning it this time around, I accidentally put on my HD580 after a couple of days with the AKG…and well the Sennheiser sounded dull and uninteresting. So there you go
What did I learn? Never make decisions after switching to a headphone I haven’t used for a while..or at the very least I’ll make sure to do 2 things: make sure I start out the day with the “new” headphone opposed to doing the switcheroo midway through my listening bit..and secondly I’ll choose music that I haven’t listened to for a while. This I believe gives my brain a chance to ‘reboot’ so to speak. If I start out with the last couple of albums lying next to my cd player..then the old cockpit automatically starts comparing this new headphone presentation to the old one..and well most often the one I’m most used to tends to win

But yeah..long story short: I think the 712 is a very nice complementary can to the 650. If you dig a bit of electronic music or just music with a lot of subbass present, then chances are you’ll prefer the AKG over the Sennie. Having to choose only between my 580 and 712 for electronic/subbass heavy music, I’ll certainly reach out for the AKG. Then again, that does not mean that the 712 sounds poor with old school rock, jazz or classical. It sounds amazing! Whilst not sounding as correct and natural as an HD580/600/650 it does something else entirely and gives you ‘excitement’ and ‘fun’.

You are clearly passionate about the 712 and it has definitely piqued my interest...I value comfort and the big cups and low weight makes me think of the hd 800.

The signature does sound like a change from the laid back Senns, like you I have to listen to something completely different else I am liable to compare to the Senn.

 

[Fasterball]

Does anyone in this thread know where I can get a replacement driver for the right earcup. I have bad driver rattle kind of out of nowhere. I harassed my kids to see if they accidentally drop this set but they swear they didn't.

 

[Kimmeri]

Has anyone bought Dekoni replacement pads for this? Are they deeper than stock ones? Stocks are just a little bit too shallow (ear touches driver). Thinking about ordering Dekoni Elite Velour but I wont if not deeper.

 

[dstarr3]

Does anyone in this thread know where I can get a replacement driver for the right earcup. I have bad driver rattle kind of out of nowhere. I harassed my kids to see if they accidentally drop this set but they swear they didn't.

My K702 once developed a strange rattling kind of noise that was particularly apparent on bass hits. Turned out it was just a hair in the driver. Took off the earpad, blew away the hair, good as new.

 

[dstarr3]

Has anyone bought Dekoni replacement pads for this? Are they deeper than stock ones? Stocks are just a little bit too shallow (ear touches driver). Thinking about ordering Dekoni Elite Velour but I wont if not deeper.

I unfortunately don't remember what the stock pads on my K702 were like, but I also have large ears and on every other AKG I've ever worn, the pads were too shallow for mine. And I presently have the Dekoni velour pads on my K702 and there's plenty of room for my ears. So, I guess speaking as someone with ears big enough to have caused me comfort and fitment problems in the past, especially with AKG cans, the Dekoni velour pads fit me fine. I know there's a lot of grains of salt there, but it's something.

 

[Chodi]

I don't think the 712 gets the praise it deserves. I suspect it is because of it's extremely affordable price. In my experience the 712 scales amazingly well the stronger your front end. I personally find it works magic with classical music on a good transformer coupled tube amp. Granted the cost of the NOS tubes is several times that of the headphones but it is still revealing to know that the 712 just keeps getting better as you upgrade your source. I have some expensive headphones that cannot say the same.

 

[schmalgausen]

Are they made in China nowadays? The cheapest sellers declare that.

 

[PROblemdetected]

I don't think the 712 gets the praise it deserves. I suspect it is because of it's extremely affordable price. In my experience the 712 scales amazingly well the stronger your front end. I personally find it works magic with classical music on a good transformer coupled tube amp. Granted the cost of the NOS tubes is several times that of the headphones but it is still revealing to know that the 712 just keeps getting better as you upgrade your source. I have some expensive headphones that cannot say the same.

I can say the same thing about the aryas.

Akg series 7 got a nice firm that could be achieved with a 100dollars amp.

And please, let me know which headphone got the inmesive soundstage of this akg

 

[Evshrug]

And please, let me know which headphone got the inmesive soundstage of this akg

AKG definitely has produced some of the elite-tier soundstage headphones. I still own one (a K612 Pro)! Some others in this tier include certain models from Audio Technica, Sennheiser, and Sony.

Soundstage comes from a number of characteristics. It helps when the audio mixes naturally with noises in your listening environment (ever have that moment where you think you hear a car driving by or someone knocking at your door, but it’s actually just in the recording?), but the most important thing is how well the headphone drivers (sitting at 90° or almost 90° to your ear canals) are tuned to mimic the HRTF of speakers placed in front of you. You may already know what an HRTF is (Head-Transfer-Related-Function), but anyway it’s how sound is affected (and re-tuned) by how sound waves are deflected, reflected, and absorbed by our nose, face, shoulders, and all the little folds in our cartilage-filled ears. I also highlighted you, because everyone’s ears and HRTF is a little bit different, and the closer the headphone’s HRTF is tuned to yours the more realistic and 3D “holographic” it feels.

So, headphone designers that want good soundstage have to tune with accommodation for headphones only interacting with a small part of your head, the fact that the sound is coming from the side rather than in front, and the fact that most music is mastered for playback on speakers.

Anyway, this stuff fascinates me, hopefully you found it interesting too!

 

[PROblemdetected]

AKG definitely has produced some of the elite-tier soundstage headphones. I still own one (a K612 Pro)! Some others in this tier include certain models from Audio Technica, Sennheiser, and Sony.

Soundstage comes from a number of characteristics. It helps when the audio mixes naturally with noises in your listening environment (ever have that moment where you think you hear a car driving by or someone knocking at your door, but it’s actually just in the recording?), but the most important thing is how well the headphone drivers (sitting at 90° or almost 90° to your ear canals) are tuned to mimic the HRTF of speakers placed in front of you. You may already know what an HRTF is (Head-Transfer-Related-Function), but anyway it’s how sound is affected (and re-tuned) by how sound waves are deflected, reflected, and absorbed by our nose, face, shoulders, and all the little folds in our cartilage-filled ears. I also highlighted you, because everyone’s ears and HRTF is a little bit different, and the closer the headphone’s HRTF is tuned to yours the more realistic and 3D “holographic” it feels.

So, headphone designers that want good soundstage have to tune with accommodation for headphones only interacting with a small part of your head, the fact that the sound is coming from the side rather than in front, and the fact that most music is mastered for playback on speakers.

Anyway, this stuff fascinates me, hopefully you found it interesting too!

Nice speech.

Just save time and install HESUVI to try thousands of HRTF.

A tip for an 16 years fps gamer for free.

 

[Evshrug]

Nice speech.

Just save time and install HESUVI to try thousands of HRTF.

A tip for an 16 years fps gamer for free.

Speech?

 

[schmalgausen]

Just received "made in China" order from a Russian online store. "Made in China" is a only sticker on the external plastic box cover, "made in Slovakia" signs on the paper box and headphones themselves.

 

[JdeFalconr]

I've seen the 3D-printed mounts for the Modmic on the K712. Does anyone know if the Modmic Wireless fits into that mount as well? Looking for a good spot to mount it.

 

[buson160man]

AKG definitely has produced some of the elite-tier soundstage headphones. I still own one (a K612 Pro)! Some others in this tier include certain models from Audio Technica, Sennheiser, and Sony.

Soundstage comes from a number of characteristics. It helps when the audio mixes naturally with noises in your listening environment (ever have that moment where you think you hear a car driving by or someone knocking at your door, but it’s actually just in the recording?), but the most important thing is how well the headphone drivers (sitting at 90° or almost 90° to your ear canals) are tuned to mimic the HRTF of speakers placed in front of you. You may already know what an HRTF is (Head-Transfer-Related-Function), but anyway it’s how sound is affected (and re-tuned) by how sound waves are deflected, reflected, and absorbed by our nose, face, shoulders, and all the little folds in our cartilage-filled ears. I also highlighted you, because everyone’s ears and HRTF is a little bit different, and the closer the headphone’s HRTF is tuned to yours the more realistic and 3D “holographic” it feels.

So, headphone designers that want good soundstage have to tune with accommodation for headphones only interacting with a small part of your head, the fact that the sound is coming from the side rather than in front, and the fact that most music is mastered for playback on speakers.

Anyway, this stuff fascinates me, hopefully you found it interesting too!

Yes the soundstage reproduction on the K712 is exceptional. Much more emulating speakers in that sense than most headphones. I have the moon audio silver dragon upgrade cable on mine with the Furutech carbon fiber plug upgrade and the 712s sound amazing. I was using the Sonnett Morpheus dac and after a good experience with a Schiit Multibit 2 in my computer set up I decided to jump all the way in with the Schiit Yddragasil Og dac last year. And wow it is quite the killer dac people say it is. It easily bested the Morpheus by a good margin in a lot of areas. I upgraded my power cords recently and purchased a couple of Harmonic Tech ac-10 fantasy III power cords from Audio Sensibility in Canada. And the Akg 712s are now in another universe where soundstage reproduction is concerned. With the system changes the 712s sound much more palpable in just aboput every area. The clarity has ramped up, the sound is much faster and the definition of instruments is now much clearer and better defined. definition improvement is now across the board .The highs ,the midrange and the bass are much better defined. There is a new sense of completeness to the sound. Images just stand out in a way I have never heard them on my 712. I am hearing a lot more information that was buried in my cds that I have never heard before. Of course bad cd transfers are bad cd transfers nothing can be done about that. But on good cds the sound is very involving. I am in heaven.