Can you elaborate how the sound can be different when just the manufacturing has moved? I mean, itâs the same driver and same design, right?
The ones sold on Amazon.co.uk are apparently made in China, not Slovakia. Am confused
Different materials used, different tolerances, also different tooling perhaps. I donât know exactly what was changed, but I do know the older ones sound different from the newer ones
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Small differences can change the sound a lot on some headphones. Changes in tolerances that move the driver to another position relative to your ears, pad materials that can change the way they reflect/pass sound, soldering and other material that may change the driver frequency response. I would like to see some batch measurements to know if there are differences beyond normal manufacturing dispersion between Austrian and Slovakian made K712.
I never heard the old ones, but mine are apparently made in Slovakia and I am very happy with them, 100% worth it IMO. If you can hear them before pulling the trigger is always better. You can also buy then and send them back if you donât like them. Ultimately, your experience will be yours alone, so trying them out is the best way to clear things up.
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Personally I think these are a better headphone than the much more expensive K812. I find nothing objectionable in the K712 and the sound signature/tuning is one that I suspect most would enjoy. I love the industrial design and build of the K812 but find something odd about the highs. I wouldnât go as far as to call them âbadâ but theyâre not cheap and I find the K712 to be more enjoyable with no real vices for a lot less.
The K812âs arnât my favorite either, they have some strange things going on tuning wise. They do have good technicalities but the tuning and presentation is strange. They are very amp picky though so perhaps on the right amp they would sound correct
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Now Iâm wondering how the Chinese K712 differ from the Slovakian lol
I bought these adapters from Modhouse (as well as Sennheiser adapters). Theyâre pretty handy for pad swapping K712s.
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Just a quick update: been listening for them in the FX Dac/Amp for about 2 weeks now and I can clearly see the befit. To some degree, I think the sound-stage got a little wider and the separation between instruments get to a incredible level. I also fell less the impression on both multi-vocals and electronic music, so mostly benefits.
I did begin hearing some of the strange âtreble peaksâ I heard about in some string songs. Itâs like a half a second of âouch, is this to loud?â and then itâs gone. Definitively not enough to offend me in any way, but maybe for a treble sensitive person this may be relevant.
I also recommend a specific music to try them out: Bamako - Chamber version, by Ballake Sissoko and Thibault Cauvin. I swear I teared up a little hearing this on then, it was a freaking experience to say the least.
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Hey, I am looking at buying the IFI HipDac asap and am thinking about these as well. If anyone has experience with the combo I would greatly appreciate your opinions/insights.
I have that combo. Itâs sounds pretty good. The extra bass button works well too. It powers them great with the power match button. I reccomend it instead of buying something more expensive. Ive used the enog and Dark voice wich sounds a bit better but the hip dac does a good job
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Thanks man, appreciate the insight!
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Does anyone else have a rattle insider their K712s? Not from sound vibrations, but from just tilting your head a little. Like thereâs something loose knocking around inside?
It kind of sounds like the driver is not securely held in place and is shifting slightly when I move.
It sounds like a piece of something broke off on the inside. You definitely shouldnât be able to hear stuff moving around on the inside of it.
Definitively donât rear a rattle or anything. The cup housing is kind of âlooseâ in the structure, but I only rear anything if I shake then outside my head. For checking what @marcgii said, try taking off the pads and looking at the driver. You just need to rotate until you hear a click, and they come off pretty easily.
Hi everyone! I bought both the akg k712 and the k702 during the 4th July sale. I have a question for k702. There is no official forum, I donât think there are many people owning this. This is how I am hearing:
For some reason it sounds big and tall in the center. Left and right is kind of distant and small.
I am using the Modius/Asgard 3 stack
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Hmm, Iâve only had the k712 and the soundstage is pretty wide but not very accurate. Now i could be wrong but a wide soundstage on a lower fi headphone isnt gonna replicate the track all that well. The parts that are gonna be thrown wide may not sound detailed compared to something being thrown more intimate. Listen to âSpill the Wineâ by Eric burdon and let me know how the soundstage/imaging/ instrument seperation and detail sound
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I had both before and ended selling them. I decide to rebuy them for the sale price. The k712 sounds wide and more coherent. Coming from beyer headphones imaging is not as good lol.
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Two things to consider:
First, is the connector on your amp ok? I had a similar sensation one time because the 1/4" Jack was kinda wobbly and the stereo sound was kinda âunder amplifiedâ, and anything center was better to hear. I guess since everything more centered comes by both connectors, although Iâm not 100% sure.
Second, are you hearing thins in multiple songs/recordings? I remember my utter shock listening to Red Hot Chili Peppers âDani Californiaâ on both the K712 and HD58X for the first time, it was that strangest âball of soundâ.
Now, considering both of these cases donât solve this, maybe youâre suffering from the inaccuracy described by @Bmn1251. I donât know about the K702, but my K712 are not that inaccurate, but you will kinda see come âconcentrationâ of the instruments on the left/center/right position. To evaluate this, Yosi Horikawaâs âLetterâ or âBubblesâ are a great test tracks, although they do get a little on my nerves as Iâm not a big fan of AMSR like stuff.
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Thank you for the reply. The adapter is good, the imaging and soundstage is good. The difference came from using beyer for to long. The akg k702 sounds huge, the imaging is good, but the the added height and width it became a little difuse.
Hello! 
I havenât been here in a while, I am thinking of getting these as they are pretty cheap (230⏠on Thomann) I dont know if Iâm gonna be a fan of the mids as they are colored, but there are alot of measurements for these and oratory even has an EQ.
I wanna get these cuz of the soundstage and the comfort and cuz they will definitely fit my head, and they seem to extend in the bass for the most part, and they are cheap, was also looking at DT880 but those probably wont fit my melon sized head.
If I could EQ them to sound like HD600/650 but with soundstage and subbass that would be amazing! definitely gonna try that! 
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