Yeah the K712 is definitely an improvement over the K702 although they're a lot more expensive in the US which is why I didn't originally suggest it. The treble was still a bit much for me on the K712. I don't think the K7xx is as good from some things I've read, I think it may use the K702 driver with K712 pads whereas the k712 has a different driver.
In that case, both the HD6x0 series and K712 seem like great options, so I'll try to try them at a store before buying. Thanks for your help!
Will do!
I've only just seen this thread samwell7. That's true, I have indeed sent off one of my K702 to Oratory for measuring, but at the moment the parcel is doing an unnecessary dance between countries according to the online parcel tracking! It should have arrived with Oratory by Monday latest according to the service I paid for, but alas. I always recommend the K702 if you're gonna EQ, as long as you're not a total bass head, but I think it does everything else really well, and notably with an excellent soundstage that is unrivalled amongst the headphones I've tried (albeit I've not listened to the fabled HD800s).....but the K702 does feel/seem unique from this perspective. Here's my EQ that is based on a measurement by Crinacle who uses a GRAS measuring device that is compatible with the Harman Curve (the EqualiserAPO file is also attached):
How about the Dan Clarke headphone that Amir reviewed here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-audio-aeon-rt-review-closed-headphone.19393/
AKG K702 based on my experience of it's soundstage being very unique, also resolving detail very well & with great tonality when EQ'd. Solder fails on wires in earcup though after a couple of years, so you'll either want to be open to learning how to use a solder iron or live with the real possibility that it might fail within 2 yrs. I fixed mine using a solder iron (£16) and my solder hasn't failed for over 2 yrs now. I'm using an EQ I created from a measurement by Crinacle, which was done on a bonafide GRAS rig that is compatible with the Harman Curve....I've also sent my K702 off to Oratory for measurement and hoping it's not gonna be denied at customs this time.
Good thing is I solder for a living (clinical engineer) and I’ve soldered and modified a few headphone drivers so that’s a safe bet. I’ll look at the 702’s. Hopefully crinacle measure your headphones, we would benefit a lot from it.
Excellent, an even better choice the K702 would be considering you're a soldering professional....in my eyes it's the only downside of the headphone. If I'm being critical the other imperfection is that it's not optimal to EQ the bass all the way to Harman levels down to 20Hz because my listening tests suggest it can't handle it (subtle not disastrous effect), but that's really the same for any dynamic driver in an open backed headphone....it does respond better to bass EQ than the HD600 though, so there's a point of comparison for you. You quoted you wanted comfort & large earcups, the K702 certainly has both of those, along with the other plus points I mentioned in my last post.
Sorry about mixing up Crinacle and Oratory.
Ha, it don't matter!Sorry about mixing up Crinacle and Oratory.
For open backed, I think you can't get much better than Sennheiser HD800s. I've not tried that headphone, but by all accounts the soundstage is unique, which I believe because I have a pair of K702 which is also unique in it's great soundstage which I've found to be the case when comparing against my other headphones....K702 often has the reputation of being a baby brother to the HD800s in terms of soundstage. You'll need to EQ that headphone though, the HD800s. My one reservation with the HD800s and pretty much all open back dynamic headphones is that the bass has increased distortion when EQ'd, and is probably the weak point of these types of headphone. I don't really like the looks of the frequency responses of planar headphones to recommend them, even though their strength is low distortion in the bass whilst still being open backed headphones.......those frequency responses are just too jagged to be able to fix (lots of fine grass jaggedness that I think could negatively influence the sound, as well in some cases some unfixable deep sharp dips). I think HD800s is as good as you can get with an open backed headphone, I'd be interested to compare it against my K702 when both are EQ'd to the Harman Curve, so be aware I'm recommending a headphone I've not listened to, but it gets very good reports.
