[EvilKillaruna]

Never heard of it. Maybe it was about recabling with poor quality cable? With good cable (Canare in my case) there is a quality boost in highs (clearer with better resolution, maybe slightly sharper) and midrange (wider, more spacial, better separation) vs standard EK300/500 cables, unfortunately amount of bass remained untouched.
Q701/K702/K712 all have upper hand here as they are equipped with detacheable cables, so any changes can be reversed very easily.

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

That's true. That's the reason why the drivers have different part numbers. The one is with an open bass reflex hole (q701) and the other one is without (k701)

Don't think this is true either. My Q701 has no holes and same driver capsule as K702. Closed off like the K702/K701.
 
Now to figure out which ones really do have an open capsule...
 
Maybe some Q701 versions have it open but I doubt it..
 
I really don't know where people come up with this stuff..
 
It's a good idea as to why they all sound different though...

 

[bracko]

Don't think this is true either. My Q701 has no holes and same driver capsule as K702. Closed off like the K702/K701.

OK. Then I am taking back what I just said. Something I read on another forum.

Have you tried to open the bass reflex hole on yours?

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

OK. Then I am taking back what I just said. Something I read on another forum.

Have you tried to open the bass reflex hole on yours?

Nope, don't want to risk it. I learned my lesson when I did this on my KRK KNS-6400 and was never able to get the sound back to normal.
It would be an interesting experiment, but just not for me. I'd also have to remove the large headband screw to remove the felt/paper on the hole I think.
When you do that there is an even greater risk of cutting a wire.
 
Maybe the K712's capsule is open? Maybe someone can take pictures of it.
 
Maybe some very old K701 have it open? Some say their older K701 is quite warm and almost bassy. Strange. You know never..I guess it's possible.

 

[jmsaxon69]

Hopefully I will have my K702 pads today when I get home, curious to hear the Annies with the different pads, I know some have done it already, but after reading time after time totally opposite opinions than mine over products I own, I basically trust no one's opinion at this point...

 

[Dafo]

I just opened my Q701 and it has the paper/felt over the hole on the capsule. So it looks like this isn't causing the differences.
Darn, I was hoping it was!

The circle piece of paper looks identical to the one on the K702.

Strange. I guy in the thread I was referring to has a q701 without the tape. Well it was worth a shot trying to determine some of differences between these models, but obviously no certainty there. I would remove this tape no matter what though, it simply sounds better without it.

 

[NA Blur]

I cannot wait to run these through the ringer.
 
I figured I would post these graphs too so we all can see what the bass boost may sound like:
 
http://graphs.headphone.com/graphCompare.php?graphType=0&graphID[]=4163&graphID[]=2931&graphID[]=853&graphID[]=2621&
 
Having addressed my major concerns regarding comfort and lack of bass AKG has earned my attention once again.
 
The detachable cable is a huge plus and the color is something I can live with.
 
A big thanks to AKG for trying to move with some positive momentum.

 

[demon321]

AKG Q701 is my first headphone that make me feel impressive about sound stage and 3D of sonic.
 
I hope K712 will do it better.

 

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

It won't, as it's more bass heavy and warmer. Warmer headphones don't match brighter, thinner sounding ones in terms of soundstaging.

This is evident when comparing the Q701 to the K702 Annie (which is warmer than the Q701, and probably a near equivalent to the K712). The soundstage will be the same size, but due to the thicker body, there is less virtual space, so everything sounds more closed in.

 

[jmsaxon69]

Quote:

It won't, as it's more bass heavy and warmer. Warmer headphones don't match brighter, thinner sounding ones in terms of soundstaging.

This is evident when comparing the Q701 to the K702 Annie (which is warmer than the Q701, and probably a near equivalent to the K712). The soundstage will be the same size, but due to the thicker body, there is less virtual space, so everything sounds more closed in.

So you think "thin" makes things sound more spacious? I'm not so sure soundstage positioning has anything to do with tonal balance.  It may cause you to "perceive" it as more airy, but I think that's about it.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Like I said, its about perception. The biggest soundstage have almost more or less have come from thinner sounding headphones.

AD700, K701, HD800, Electrostats, out of all I have ever tried, thinner headphones have always had the larger sense of space and best instrument separation, imaging, etc.

It's not a golden rule, but it helps. Stronger treble emphasis is also a benefit. This is why the Q701 sounds more spacious than the K702 Annie.

 

[NA Blur]

The K712 still has its large hump at 6kHz so it should retain its treble cues for positioning.  This can be a pro and a con as I suspect the K712 will sound pretty bright until well burned in or slightly EQed down.  If they smooth out that hump at 6kHz and keep the other characteristics of the current K712 it will be a direct competitor to the HD650 as well.

 

[MLee]

I'll be shipping the K712 to Chicolom tomorrow. They will have about 36 hours of burn in when he gets them. Even though I've owned the K702, Q701, and the Annies I don't feel comfortable comparing as it would be from memory and not very accurate. I had forgotten how comfortable they are, especially with the bumpless headband, and how much I enjoyed their presentation. I've been spending some time with the KEF M500 and M200 and I like some things about them and other things about the K712. Looking forward to reading Chicolom's analysis.

 

[macbob713]

I've been using the K712 for several weeks now and it is not bright or thin sounding. It is warmer than the Q701, but still presents a large soundstage. I've tried some back to back comparisons with the Q and the 712, and I personally prefer the sound of the 712. Warmer,fuller and deeper, better defined bass. This is not a repainted 701.

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

I've been using the K712 for several weeks now and it is not bright or thin sounding. It is warmer than the Q701, but still presents a large soundstage. I've tried some back to back comparisons with the Q and the 712, and I personally prefer the sound of the 712. Warmer,fuller and deeper, better defined bass. This is not a repainted 701.

 
I think most of us expected or knew it wasn't just going to be just another K702/K701 since it uses the memory foam pads. It would be impossible almost.
Most of us are probably wondering more if it's a clone of the K702 Anniversary OR a much improved version of that.
 
I just hope it's not warmer/darker than the Anniversary.
 
What's actually on my radar a little more is the K612. I definitely don't expect anyone to be comparing that to the K601. K601 was never very popular to begin with it seems. I always preferred that to the K701/K702 but not the Q701.
 
I bet K612 with memory foam would be very interesting.