Comfortable, high quality open ear headphones
review by
whitewulfe
This was originally written primarily as a comparison against the Steel Series Siberia V2 headset
For the record, the Siberia V2's were the white bodied analog ones, plugged directly into a front panel input and using onboard audio from an Asus Crosshair IV Formula. Volume was typically set between 35-50% in software, and full volume on the inline volume adjuster, since it quickly got the irritating scratchy pot problem most inline volume controls seem to get. Not the most optimal of setups, but it kept cable clutter down. The AKG K712's are plugged into Headphone 1 on my Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 audio interface, with Windows/software set to 70%, and the Scarlett's potentiometer/volume control set to roughly 11 o'clock. I would have used the same setup for both, however it would appear that I don't have any 1/8" to 1/4" adapters that fit the Siberia V2's (all the adapters I have are screw on)..
I would have to say the difference is leaps and bounds, in both comfort as well as sound quality, even if a lot of the music I listen to wouldn't necessarily "benefit" from the K712's. At present, I've been listening to some of my favourite albums, but I'm hoping to get a round or two of various games in tonight as well. Before going into music and games though, I'll give my thoughts on a few other things..
First of all, the K712's fit a LOT better. Around the ear is clearly more comfortable to me as opposed to over the ear, at least for general listening (I still lean more towards over the ear when it comes to djing, HOWEVER I do know I ~really~ like the HDJ-2000s and how they feel/sound, so at some point I'll be upgrading my djing headphones to the Pioneers, but that's off topic enough tongue.gif). The AKGs barely have any pinching, with only a bit just above my jaw (and below the ear), but I wouldn't doubt that such will go away with some use. The headband, while being solid leather, seems to conform to the top of my head better than the Siberias. Additionally, when doing the "headbang test" my K712's stay on my head when shaking up and down, and only move somewhat side to side. Compare this to the Siberia V2's which would fall off with only a couple of shakes. The rotating ear cups are a nice perk too.
Biggest thing I would have to say comfort wise is that the K712's don't feel like they're squishing down on my ears, AND I don't get that quiet yet still annoying kind of "white noise" if I leave the headphones on but have no sound going through to them. By "white noise", I'm referring to the effect some people get when wearing ear defenders (aka ear muffs) or ear plugs and no loud noises are nearby.
In the aesthetics department, which I know makes no difference to the audio quality but still makes a difference to me, they look absolutely GORGEOUS, but I have to be honest: my two favourite colours are burnt orange and black. They also don't have this appearance of being "toy-like", and the black will blend in with everything else that on my desk quite nicely.
As for audio quality, the K712's are noticeably more balanced than the Siberias, ESPECIALLY in regards to bass. While my Siberia's have this heavily accentuated and muddy bass, the AKG K712's still let you hear the bass but it compliments and blends in cleanly with the rest of the songs one is listening to. For lack of better terms, the music I listen to feels more "alive", and I dare even say "open". The K712's give me plenty of bass for listening for long periods of time - besides, if I really want to bombard my head with bass, my M50's will more than do the job)
Going back to my comment about listening to music that doesn't quite "benefit" from higher end headphones, I'm referring specifically to the main genres of music I listen to: hardstyle, aggrotech industrial, various forms of gabber, hard house, etc etc. Y'know, stuff that tends to be a tad heavy with use of distortion tongue.gif Best thing though, is that the K712's aren't adding in additional distortion on top of things (Funker Vogt's "Fire and Forget" was one where I tended to notice distortion with the Siberia V2's, especially when the vocalist was enunciating as the kick and main pad/lead punched through). Kicks in particular sounded more well rounded on the albums I listened to some of my favourite tracks from (Funker Vogt's "Blutzoll", Juno Reactor's "Gods & Monster", Suicide Commando's "Implements of Hell", Carbon 12's "Very Harsh Frequencies" being a few examples). There's also remarkably more of the lower frequencies actually present in the K712's.
Pros | Cons |
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Replaceable cable, comes with coiled and straight cable in the box, 1/8" to 1/4" adapter is screw on, balanced sound | Not everyone will like the coppery/burnt orange accent colours |
Ratings