[pataburd]

Have a set of 812 Pro [my third pair since their inception] scheduled to arrive on Thursday (4/18/24).

 

[musicday]

Have a set of 812 Pro [my third pair since their inception] scheduled to arrive on Thursday (4/18/24).

Why did you decide to buy K812 again and not a different pair? Just curious

 

[pataburd]

Why did you decide to buy K812 again and not a different pair? Just curious

Felt like I probably should have spent more time with the K812 the last few times around, plus they stand out in my mind as headphones worthy of some extra attention.
In the past, and too often, I made purchases on impulse just to say "I did" and/or to do cursory a/b-ing.

 

[John Buchanan]

Felt like I probably should have spent more time with the K812 the last few times around, plus they stand out in my mind as headphones worthy of some extra attention.
In the past, and too often, I made purchases on impulse just to say "I did" and/or to do cursory a/b-ing.

Have a listen to them with Oratory1990's EQ as well. That really whips an already wonderful sounding and well constructed headphone with some minor loose ends into shape! I just bought a new one too.

 

[John Buchanan]

Have a set of 812 Pro [my third pair since their inception] scheduled to arrive on Thursday (4/18/24).

Let us know what you think after an extended listen.

 

[pataburd]

Have a listen to them with Oratory1990's EQ as well. That really whips an already wonderful sounding and well constructed headphone with some minor loose ends into shape! I just bought a new one too.

Thank you for the Oratory 1990 reminder!
Just keyed in the settings for the Neumann NDH-30 and hope to give them a try later this evening.

 

[John Buchanan]

Thank you for the Oratory 1990 reminder!
Just keyed in the settings for the Neumann NDH-30 and hope to give them a try later this evening.

Let us know what you think.

 

[pataburd]

Trying the Oratory 1990 settings for the Neumann NDH-30.
Overall a smoother, more rounded tonality and a better sense of coherency. Less midrange recess, with a more natural perception of "midrange bloom"* but without loss of spatiality, in fact the soundstage sounds comparatively enlarged and more musically engaging.
I am pleased at how well the NDH-30 take to EQ-ing.

(*) With some recordings, however, the upper midrange gain at 2200 and/or 3000 Hz can get a bit hard and lose resolution [compared to stock tuning].
Instead of G=+4.1 and Q=1.4 at 2200Hz, I opted for G=+2.25 and Q=1; and instead of G=+4 at 3000Hz, I opted for G=+2 [Q unchanged].

Am looking forward to trying the Oratory 1990 settings for the AKG K340 <--Oops! K340 settings are not there. [Neither are there settings for the AH-D5000, Martin Logan Mikros 90, Ultrasone 780i PRO and Edition Eleven.]

. . . a bit off on a tangent but thanks again!

 

[pataburd]

Agreed with all of the above. After market cables are available (Arctic cables do one), but the supplied cable is good.
Forget about even starting down the path of going balanced with these phones.

Care to elaborate on your last sentence [i.e. balanced cable]?
Thank you.

 

[pataburd]

. . . No worries. Found an answer in the ". . . K812 Underrated . . . " thread.

 

[John Buchanan]

Care to elaborate on your last sentence [i.e. balanced cable]?
Thank you.

LOL - to do this correctly, you'd need to completely disassemble your phones, buy a second left-sided cardanic structure and LEMO socket to modify the right sided headphone shell, rewire the whole thing with 2 left sided cardanic structures and the associated wiring into the LEMO sockets (ALA the Focal Utopia) and assemble a new cable with 2 male LEMO connectors. I'd guess if you had this done professionally (so it at least was done as beautifully as the unmodified set), it would cost about as much again as a new K812 (i.e. around the cost of a new Composer), for possibly minimal sonic gain over the OEM SE unit.

 

[pataburd]

OK.
@John Buchanan , You just talked me out of it!
Thankee.
[The K812 have landed!]

 

[pataburd]

Somehow I cannot post my review on product page so I will just post it here.


Star: 3/5


Pros: Big soundstage, good for monitoring
Cons: But not good for music listening. Very hard to drive. Phones for pros, not for audiophiles.


The reason I say that K812 is not good for audiophiles is because K812 seems to has its "special" way in presenting music: K812 tends to confine every piece of music in a certain room with a stress of bass. This is good because that will ensure you hear something familiar every time you use K812. The strong signature is definitely for pros who do not want to waste time getting familiar with a headphone again and again. But for those who are not basshead or those who want to hear "music free in style", this strong signature is a big big big problem.

The sound is a bit dark, detailed but no way balanced. To much bass; imaging is good in a bad way (Clear, wonderful imaging, you can see everything but the singer seems to be in an awkward position: behind/is the drumer

) ; treble harsh like hell if you don't drive it properly; sounds depressing as if I was listening via closeback phones


Bottom line: Remember these are monitor headphones. Don't waste you time if you are not a pro.

With all due respect, I completely disagree with your assessment.

 

[John Buchanan]

I also found Gradoist's review hard to reconcile with my experience of the K812. It isn't hard to drive and is *slightly* bright. The bottom end isn't accentuated - it's reasonably flat. Oracles1990 EQ brings in sub-bass and tames the slight brightness.

 

[pataburd]

Just received the Arctic Cables "Define" [w/Furutech FP-704 6.35 mm termination] for the AKG K812 PRO.

Quick summary of initial reaction:
To my ears the [AC] cable establishes a more expansive, stable, coherent and 3-D soundstage; a perception of larger individual elements within that soundstage; [much] improved resolution; and a sweeter, more open tonality.

AKG K812 w/Arctic Cables Define now further exceed Sennheiser HD8xx w/Audio Envy ToneKraft . . .