AKGK712PRO Open-Back, Over-Ear Premium Reference Class Studio Headphones, Sophisticated Open Technology, Revolutionary Flat Wire Voice Coil, Broad and spacious soundstage, Comfortable Design - Black

Very light, very sturdy, great sound, incredibly comfortable due to earcup shape and automatically adjusting headband which is clever.Could use more bass as they lacked it even after an EQ.

I wanted a fun cheaper end headphone to add to my collection. I see a lot of discussion about the EU or china made ones but thankfully my set are made in the EU.Currently also own the Audeze LCD X & Sennheiser HD 700 and running the Zen Stack for dac/amplificationBuild: They feel like a cheap toy to be honest however for the price I cant fault it too much, the pads are very comfortable and my ears fit nicely without any touching into the pads. The strap on the top does touch the top of my head and was a little annoying at first however I have gotten used to it and overall I am pleased with how they sit on my head.Sound: They are a very well rounded headphone, everything just fits together very cohesively without even an EQ applied. The soundstage is very impressive and you can hear notes extend very wide, they rival my Sennheiser HD 700 in terms of soundstage. However it isn't as good when the music is going left to right very quickly but they do the job. The midrange is very pleasant and vocals are very clear, I actually much prefer vocals on these than the HD 700's. There is just a right amount of bass I feel with these cans, I do have the Xbass button on the Zen Cans so they do help bring up the bass as some have noted its very light however with the Xbass its more than adequate. Some tracks had a very bright highs and I had to turn the volume down however this was only for certain tracks like "More bounce to the ounce".Overall: Very pleased with the sound. very enjoyable and fun to listen to especially for the price and gives me a good alternative to listen to. I had the Beyerdynamic DT 1990 pro's and I remember hating them but the AKG K712's are a great all round headphone. The biggest knock against them is the build however the sound/comfort are more important in my mind.

I have used Sennheiser HD595 'phones for a few years. They sound just fine to me.I tried the Audio-Technica AD900X and found them to be very adequate, maybe a little more Rock than Classical but plenty good enough.In our household the 'phones get moved around a bit and I found myself using these AKGs because my wife's old DragonFly headphone amp struggled to drive them loud. Despite their fairly low impedance they do need a bit of a push. The amp that drove Sennheiser HD595 & 600 and the ATs just fine was almost, but not quite enough for the AKGs.So now I have them.Just now I am using the amp that is built in to the Marantz CD6006.They are tremendous 'phones. They are revealing, punchy, dare I say, musical all-rounders. Everything sounds clear and engaging. Even though they are the open-back type, unless you wish harm upon your fillings there is plenty of deep bass. The sound stage could be described as being rather like closed-back 'phones, but they lack the distortion that they can add.In my opinion these are outstanding headphones and I think they will perform well with most genres and amplifiers. Just be sure that your amp has the juice and you will probably be very happy with them.

Excellent sound quality. clear, balanced and flat. Extremely comfortable for long hours mixing and mastering - best I've had. Can’t fault them. I use them for everything (except recording with a mic- open backs bleed sound). Well worth the cost. Plus the orange lead that rarely tangles is icing on the cake - comes with a coiled lead as well.

I recently bought both the AKG K712 and the AKG K812 so have put a review comparing the experience under both.30 years ago, I bought a set of AKG’s – the K280. These are called parabolic and have two speaker coils in each ear. Always liked these but I decided to treat myself as technology has moved on a bit since then.I am in my 60’s so ears not so good. Kit is an Arcam rHead, iRdac II, A39, CD37, Heybrook TT2 deck. Various music both CD and vinyl.I got the K712’s first. The sound was definitely an improvement on the K280, but not the upgrade I expected. Also, not too keen on the pads – like a foam material that could damage easily. They fit well and are comfortable so I could wear these all day.The sound was engaging - good soundstage and separation of instruments, and bass was much better than I thought it would be. Much much better than the usual headphones with funky names that people wear on the train! I would say these are a good HiFi set of cans for ‘serious’ listening.However I wasn’t totally blown away with these so looking higher up the tree I decided to get a pair of K812’s that Amazon had as open boxed for £520. If the reviews were right then this would be the upgrade I wanted, and I have 30 days to send the K712’s back.So, the K812’s turned up and the box looked tatty, the headphone pads looked a bit ‘second hand’ so I took pictures just in case I went them back and they thought I had misused them!Now came a couple of days using both sets with the rHead; which has two headphone sockets so comparing between the two was easier.First thing I noticed was the K812’s sound louder 36 Ohms vs 62 Ohms for the K712 means they will. That makes comparisons difficult so I figured where on the rHead volume control gave the same level then went at it again.How difficult it is to compare the two. Old ears and the fact that the hearing plays tricks unless you are in exactly the same headspace and playing exactly the same music! I have had to spend hours drinking just enough red while listening to loads of newish music and my old sounds (Floyd, stones etc).I can’t give a scientific analysis but the K812’s wins out in every piece of music – not by a huge amount but the difference, if you can afford it, is worth it. The subtleties that are in music seemed effortless (or should I say more noticeable / clearer) with the K812’s. The rHead is a fantastic class ‘A’ headphone amp that lets me hook the CD or the turntable straight up – with the AKG’s it is perfect. Be aware though a couple of times I thought the coils might be off but it was simply flaws in the recordings. Once I knew what to listen out for the flaws showed up in other headphones on cheaper amps as well, just not so clearly.I am delighted I can still appreciate good headphones at my age, I know the frequency range my ears are good for has dropped, but the frequencies I can hear are well served by both of these headphones.The K812’s does a better job (for a bigger price) so I am going to send the K712’s back but that is only because I am in the happy position to afford the K812's