[Mad Lust Envy]

I do prefer the standard pads for comfort. While they're not super soft, they feel good on the skin, and don't heat up. The only pad material/density I prefer over the K70x pads are the Skullcandy Slyr's pads, though they could stand to be wider.

 

[jmsaxon69]

I need to order some standard pads and listen to them on my Annies. I love the idea of the angled pads, I wish they'd make angled memory foam pads...

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

I need to order some standard pads and listen to them on my Annies. I love the idea of the angled pads, I wish they'd make angled memory foam pads...

 
K702 pads are cheap too. I really need to order some K601 pads for my K400 and try them with the Q701.
I seriously wonder what angled memory foam pads would do for the sound. I don't even know if this is possible. Maybe there is a way for AKG to use different types of foams.
I tried AKG K400 pads on the Q701. Sounded crystal clear but almost no warmth

 
BTW I saw some pleather pads for the AKG K400 on Amazon UK. Should fit the K702 etc but would probably sound terrible.

 

[judy1992]

I own/ed both 701/T1. No way is the 701 on par with the T1. AKG is misleading the public, when they put out a 'new' headphone, when it's more of a slightly tweaked 701 with a different look. People on head fi know the 712 is not a new headphone, but how about non headphone geeks? To 95% of the population, the 712 is a brand new headphone. AKG needs to move on to higher ground. But what do you expect from company that tried to pass the 701 as the successor to the K1000.
Quote:

 
 
Why would it be deceitful? It would be if AKG claimed the K712 pro was a newly developed, much better headphone than old K702, but they never said that. Its only a slightly refreshed model, that looks better, is better made, and higher quality materials are used in its construction.
 
The driver being identical to the one in K701 is fine, because that driver is still to this day one of the best dynamic drivers out there, that can be on par with T1 / HD800 if placed into a excellent headphone cup, which AKG sort of did by using better materials all around, mainly the ear pads. Technically, its hard to develop a better driver that will perform considerably better WITHOUT huge expenses, which would mean we'd end up with another 1500 dollar headphone that is only slightly better than the current 300-400 ones. 
 
The only think K70x series can use is fine tuning of the sound signature.  And listening to the costumers, AKG did exactly that. They developed new ear pads which place the drivers slightly closer to the ear at a different angle, with different damping and acoustic properties, and they increased the bass performance slightly and made the upper end sweeter. Exactly what most people who were complaining about on the K701/2 wanted.  So, now, if you like a brighter more analytical sound, buy a K701/2. If you want a warmer sound, buy the K712pro. End of story, simple.
 
There are a lot of manufacturers who use the same drivers in many headphones, including Sennheiser and Beyerdynamic. Identical drivers are/were used in HD555 (maybe 515 too),595,518,558,598 and HD380pro.  Beyer uses identical drivers in DT770, 880 and 990, just in different cups, which makes them perform different. Nobody complains about having to pay more for a DT880pro than for a DT770pro, just because they have the same drivers.
 
I just never understood the constant complaining about a certain headphone or manufacturer. There are dozens of manufacturers out there, with dozens of headphone models each, there's plenty to choose from if something is not to your liking.

 

[HaVoC-28]

Quote:

I own/ed both 701/T1. No way is the 701 on par with the T1. AKG is misleading the public, when they put out a 'new' headphone, when it's more of a slightly tweaked 701 with a different look. People on head fi know the 712 is not a new headphone, but how about non headphone geeks? To 95% of the population, the 712 is a brand new headphone. AKG needs to move on to higher ground. But what do you expect from company that tried to pass the 701 as the successor to the K1000.

 
What is the price of K712 Pro and T1 ? (K712 means just it's a slight evolution of K70X) , nothing more .
 
Is their a material from AKG , where they say that K70X are K1000 successor ? , And 1000 > 700 .
 
AKG have to release a K1001 for this .
 
derbigpr just say that current 1000$ and plus flagship , are only a bit better than 300-400$ headphone wich is true . And some can even prefer 300-400$ cans to  the 1000$ plus .
 
And i will remind you the old prophecy , AKG will release the supreme one to rule them all

 

[bracko]

Quote:

I own/ed both 701/T1. No way is the 701 on par with the T1.

 
Could you please elaborate on that? I have heard T1 and wasn't impressed by their sound. Unfortunately I didn't test it with my equipment and didn't compare it directly to my k701, but I doubt T1 would impress me in any system. 

 

[derbigpr]

Quote:

I own/ed both 701/T1. No way is the 701 on par with the T1. AKG is misleading the public, when they put out a 'new' headphone, when it's more of a slightly tweaked 701 with a different look. People on head fi know the 712 is not a new headphone, but how about non headphone geeks? To 95% of the population, the 712 is a brand new headphone. AKG needs to move on to higher ground. But what do you expect from company that tried to pass the 701 as the successor to the K1000.

 
Well, I own them both now, and switching back and forth between them, there really isn't much difference technically. T1 don't sound noticeably faster, more refined, more detailed, or anything of that sort. Neither are they impressive sounding and make you think you're listening to a more expensive headphone. In fact, I'd bet most people would believe K701 is the more expensive headphone if we take only the sound into consideration.  K701 sound bigger, more open, more similar to speakers, simply more impressive, more "hi-fi", more alive.  They might not be as accurate, but....do you actually know what's accurate? Do you go to a concert, record it, then listen to it and compare how it sounds on headphones compared to what it sounded like in person?  You will NEVER achieve absolute 100% accuracy with headphones, or speakers, and both K701 and T1 are close enough to absolute accuracy that it doesn't really matter which one is "more" accurate, its more about which sound presentation you prefer.  T1 definitely isn't a whole class above K701, those who over-exaggerate in reviews of HD800, T1 and other headphones, making it seem like they're leaps and bounds ahead of headphones like K701 or HD650 are simply fooling themselves, as well as people who blindly believe them. Don't forget that K701 is already beyond what most recording studios use while producing music. T1 ultimately is the BETTER headphone, when you take absolutely everything into consideration, but its definitely not a large jump over the K701, in fact, I don't actually consider it a jump above K701/HD650 level at all, since when A-B comparing either of them with T1, I end up preferring either of them over the T1 in various genres like 50% of the time,  so its not like T1 beats them completely.
 
 
Now, which non-headphone geek will buy a 500 dollar headphone?

 

[derbigpr]

Quote:

 
Could you please elaborate on that? I have heard T1 and wasn't impressed by their sound. Unfortunately I didn't test it with my equipment and didn't compare it directly to my k701, but I doubt T1 would impress me in any system. 

 
 
Its NOT an impressive headphone. Its been designed to interfere with the sound as little as possible, so whatever you listen to has to be impressively well recorded in order for it to sound impressive. And sadly, most music is impressively badly recorded with lots of distortion, sibilance, loudness war ridiculousness, etc. I heard maybe 2-3 recordings in which T1 sounded clearly superior to the K701. And those recordings were not even music...but some testing samples...

 

[bracko]

Quote:

 
 
Its NOT an impressive headphone. Its been designed to interfere with the sound as little as possible, so whatever you listen to has to be impressively well recorded in order for it to sound impressive. And sadly, most music is impressively badly recorded with lots of distortion, sibilance, loudness war ridiculousness, etc. I heard maybe 2-3 recordings in which T1 sounded clearly superior to the K701. And those recordings were not even music...but some testing samples...

Actually I vastly prefer DT880 to T1. 

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Those Tesla Beyers sure are polarizing.

 

[Cristello]

removed

 

[balancebox]

only beef I have with my akg q701 was the bumpy headband. good to see its gone.... hope more reviews come out for k712 at 499.99 its price the same as sennheiser hd650
 

 

[macbob713]

Thanks for sharing the assembly video. That was great.

 

[tdockweiler]

I think past 1khz the differences are definitely audible (on the Annie at least). There is NO WAY the Annie has this much of an improvement in the low bass. So you'd think the K712 is definitely improved over the Annie somehow.
My HD-650 has even more pronounced low bass than the Anniversary by far. To me the differences between the Annie and Q701 in the treble/upper mids are more dramatic than the changes in the bass. Maybe some won't agree.
When I look at that graph above it makes me not want to buy the K712. Annie still reminds me of a giant sized PX100-II with a little more treble.
 
Need more people to actually post impressions of K712 vs the Anniversary! 100% identical in sound or not? Wish I knew...
 
The Anniversary I have doesn't sound like that above graph in the low bass areas. I wish!!
 
The $500 retail price tag from AKG makes me sick! Oh wait, it's a PRO version! Add another $250 for that and some orange.
 

 

Here's another view. Doesn't look as bad when you stretch it out

 

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

 
I think past 1khz the differences are definitely audible (on the Annie at least). There is NO WAY the Annie has this much of an improvement in the low bass. So you'd think the K712 is definitely improved over the Annie somehow.

 
I didn't know Headroom measured the K712 pro. 
 
The sub-bass differences seem pretty extreme on that graph.  Also, isn't it showing the K712 as essentially having the same amount of air as the Q701??