K702

Update - sev years on with these now - totally used to them - good stereo image - they have def had the wearing in period. Bass is solid - highs are smooth. You can make some critiical mix decisions - but as always in my opinion you cant actually mix songs on headphones cause any long periods totally alter your hearing - but all in all they have been fine - I like these. I'm using them to make music on with logic. I have a problem with a new neighbour , I have a expensive pair of PMC speakers , very detailed but due to my new neighbour I can barely use them , hence ... Some headphones. I read the reviews and went with these as they are cheap at 130. I do to music for the voice / big bro ' Americas got talent and like to think I know a good mixdown , it's prob my best skill. When I got them I played them immediately on a laptop and thought they were tinny and bass was low. I put a song on a loop for 4 hours with bass boosted at max volume with a sound card. and let them burn in , they sounded better afterwards . They are good because the panning is v evident with them , the highs are clear and bass is fine, if the bass were really strong like some headphones , ie pumping , your ears will get knackered after an hour , your eardrums can't handle it. My way of working is I make a track through the speakers of my 50 inch tv , then I move to a pair of monitors to check stuff then I use the headphones for the main part due to my neighbour prob, then I go back to the speakers to get it right. The headphones are comfy tho are heavier than a normal pair as they are huge , lot of sound bleed which is no prob as that's what they are for. They sound flat , ie not enhanced , you can spot stuff you can't on speakers and mine cost 3k and these are actually better, at least at low volumes you can. I couldn't do a track with these alone , but my process of making it for 5hrs on a tv then 5hrs on speakers then 25 on headphones for a track works well. I would recommend them for music making , kind of like the ns10 of headphones , I think if a headphone has been around a while then it's got to have something good about it . I like it when I see they were 400 and now only 130 , I've never owned pro headphones so please take my review as an uninformed one of headphones as I have never used 1k headphones, but in my opinion I'm very pleased with them and I imagine if I get used to them then I will stick to this model if this one ever fails.

I chose to buy the AKG Q702 headphones after a lot of research. Headphones are a difficult purchase because it's hard to audition them due to the difficulty of finding a retailer who stocks a wide range and also because retailers are reluctant to let people try them due to health and safety concerns around cleanliness. My research was threefold. Firstly I looked at reviews by hifi magazines and websites. Then I consulted hifi forums and lastly I looked at product reviews on sites like Amazon from people who actually had purchased items. All opinions gathered in this way have to be treated with some caution because the views are subjective and, to be frank, some people do have favourite brands. The opinions I took the most notice of were from people who like the same type of music as me, which is mainly classical. These came out heavily in favour of AKG headphones and the Q702s in particular. I also took price into account. I was willing to spend rather more than the roughly £250 the AKGs cost but there is a law of diminishing returns in hifi and everything I read made me think that, whilst I could get better headphones, I would probably be satisfied with the AKGs. Ok so they come in a nice enough box. There is no case but that is not a concern for me as they will only be used at home and I have a convenient shelf for them to sit on. They have a tubular metal framework with a leather strap which goes on top of your head. The bodies are made of plastic and they have foam ear-surrounds. They are pretty light, 360g on my kitchen scales, including the cable, which is detachable. They are "open back" which means that they don't insulate you fully from external noise nor indeed do they protect others from your music. So they are for use in private! I have found them very comfortable. As mentioned, they are light so there is no problem there and I didn't find that my ears got hot even after a couple of hours of listening. Some reviewers have said that they found the ridges under the leather strap uncomfortable but to be frank I didn't really notice they were there. (I wonder if people have been pulling the phones hard down onto their scalp?) In terms of sound quality this is an early review. Some reviewers say that they need hundreds of hours to "run in" but I found them excellent straight out of the box. Some reviewers also say that they are much better with a dedicated headphone amp but I haven't tried that. In fact so far I have only tried them using the headphone socket on my Marantz CD6004. I will in due course try them using the socket on my Marantz PM6004. I've listened to a wide variety of music but the main ones to talk about are: * Grieg Lieder - Ann Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg - DG437 521-2 * Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto - Kyung Wha Chung, LSO, Previn - Decca 475 7734 * Allegri Miserere - Tallis Scholars - Gimell CDGIM 339 * Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds - Columbia DPCD96000 (I think!) * Jennifer Warnes, Famous Blue Raincoat -20th anniversary edition - Shout 826663-10490 * Prokofiev Symphony 5, SNO, Jarvi - Chandos 8450 The Grieg is rather special, being a Penguin Guide Rosette winner and a former Gramophone "record of the year". The performances by both singer and accompanist are outstanding and the digital recording is demonstration quality. It is a tough test for any piece of equipment. The AKGs shone here. Von Otter's voice was captured in all its beauty and in some ways even better the piano was beautifully reproduced, all the notes perfectly represented to my ears. The sound staging was also excellent and by closing my eyes I could easily envisage a live performance. The Tchaikovsky is a much older (1970) analogue recording and I included it in the test not only because it is a wonderful performance but also I wanted to be see how the AKGs handed a non-digital recording (albeit a well-regarded one) and how they would integrate a soloist with a full orchestra. I'm pleased to say that all was well and indeed it was so good I played it through twice. The Allegri is also an old analogue recording but you wouldn't guess that. This is also a really tough test because the key thing is to be able to reproduce the acoustic of the venue, actually the Chapel of Merton College, Oxford, and to set the voices properly in perspective in it. This is hard because the solo group and the main choir are located at opposite ends of the Chapel, so to get it right you have to recreate a huge 3-dimensional sound stage. The distant and often hushed voices of the main choir have to live in harmony with the much closer solo group and Alison Stamp's wonderful treble has to soar above everything. I was quite stunned at how good the AKGs were at achieving this. My KEF Q500s do it better but you would expect that as they have the whole volume of a room to achieve it in. To make it realistic with headphones is excellent. The "War of the Worlds" is an old favourite and includes some excellent sound effects as well as some punchy popular music, with the added bonus of Richard Burton's wonderful narration. Burton really came alive through the AKGs and indeed everything sounded great. The "unscrewing" of the Martian canister sounded fantastic, I won't say realistic because that would be the wrong word, and it conveyed a wonderful impression of what was happening. It was so involving that I listened to the whole CD rather than the first 10 minutes as I had intended. Jennifer Warnes is one of "the" voices of the late 20th century in my opinion and her versions of Leonard Cohen's songs are highly prized. As Cohen himself said of her singing "I stand by my original astonishment". I won't go through the tracks but the AKGs didn't stumble and of particular note they handled with ease the rather difficult live version of "Joan of Arc", which can sound dreadful on cheap equipment. I chose the Prokofiev because it is highly percussive and I wanted to see if the AKGs could separate out all the various percussion instruments that are employed. In addition I wanted to know if they could convey the great excitement and drive of the final movement. They could! I could identify all the instruments and when I closed my eyes it took me back to a live performance I saw in the Albert Hall many years ago. To summarise, the AKGs performed well on all the music I tried. They were particularly good at presenting a realistic sound-stage; the performers seemed to be there in front of you. The Allegri was particularly impressive. I have read reviews that say the AKGs lack bass. I don't think that is right. I think they are neutral and reproduce what is there. If you want bass to be boosted these are not the headphones for you! They are rather analytical, i.e. everything is separated out and put into place, and people who like a smoother sound might find that wearing. I simply think it is realistic and I think the more you listen to these headphones the more you will appreciate the analysis. Overall I am very pleased with my purchase!

I was having a hard time working out whether or not I should get these cans - most people love 'em, from what I can tell, and that's what swayed me - there was no way of auditioning them before purchase. From what I understand, and despite what people say, they do need a certain amount of 'burning in' to get them sounding their best. A bit about what I'm expecting from them. I'm a muso, and do a lot of recording. For tracking and mixing to date, I've largely been using a pair of AKG K271 Mk2 headphones, and I'm happy with them, although they're light on the bass, resulting in some rather bass-y mixes. I wanted to get some new headphones for mixing that had a flatter frequency response, and was going to go for a pair of Beyer DT880s. Thing is, from what I could tell from the response curves I've seen, they're bass heavy. The AKG's are flatter. I'd also read that they're VERY detailed and will show up any mistakes in recording. Well, they've turned up and I couldn't wait to unbox them. Packaging is good, although unlike the K271s, they only come with a single cable (as opposed to one straight and one curly) and no replacement ear pads. You need to attach the cable via the mini XLR plug to the headphones, and then you're good to go... They're quite comfortable, and the pads fit enclose your ears nicely. They weigh next-to-nothing. But they are open-backed, so if you buy them, please don't wear them on a bus or a tube, otherwise someone might want to gouge your eardrums out with a knitting needle or something... People WILL be able to hear what you're listening to! Plugging the headphones in to begin with, I'd say that they're not quite as bass-light as the K271s but not far off - certainly not what I'd expected from the graph I'd seen, but I've also been told that the bass response does improve after the burn in period, so for now I'm only giving them 4 out of 5. Maybe it's me not being fully familiar with them yet - that's always a possibility. But to relate the sound in layman's terms, the articulation is phenomenal. Playing Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here, I'd heard quiet synth sounds that I never knew were even there before. Playing 'Slave' off the Rolling Stone's Tattoo You album, it's like you're in the room with Charlie Watts while he's playing it - every detail of the reverb is there. Listening to 'Coma' by Guns And Roses, you can even hear the start and end of the 'heartbeat' sample. You can tell because there's some noise that they didn't get rid of altogether... (Tut tut, GnR!) Whatever music I've played through them so far, you can hear the transients on everything - the detail on these headphones is FANTASTIC!!! I heard a 'count-in' on one track I played and had to look around, as I thought someone was in the room with me. Well worth the money! UPDATE: Well, after a day or two more-or-less continual use, I wasn't so sure whether or not the sound had changed. Until I A-B'd them once more with the K271 Mk2's. The difference in quality is extremely noticeable, where I'm not so sure that it was before - the 271's sound boxy now in comparison; the 702's sound full and crystal clear. Highly recommended! So I'm upgrading my review to 5 stars...

[Update after about three years] I stand by most of what I said in my original review. I still use these headphones a lot, although they now fight for space on my head with the Sennheiser HD58X -- another winner in the price/performance stakes. However, the K702 did fail after three years' regular use. When I dismantled it, I found that one of the solder connections to the driver coils had come lose. It was a five-minute fix with a soldering iron once the headphone was dismantled, but the dismantling itself was a bit of a bear. Still, it's back in perfect working order now, at a total repair cost of zero. Having said that, I can't help remembering that I have headphones that are still working fine after thirty years, and I kind-of expected these to be the same. I guess stuff isn't built to last any more. [Original review] I would like a headphone that sounds as good as decent speakers in a decent listening room. So far as I know, no such thing exists -- not in my price range, anyway. The K702 doesn't provide this experience, but it comes closer to it than anything else I've tried. The stereo image is pretty good -- not as good as speakers, but better than any closed-back headphone I have tried. The sound is clear and neutral, without muddiness and with good L-R separation, at any volume up to painful. For me, the K702 excels with music with a strong solo vocal element -- voices are rendered particularly well. Most genres sound pretty good, to my ears but, for me at least, the K702 does least well with orchestral music. I have no idea why that should be, but it is orchestral music that sounds least different between the K702 and my other headphones (all of which are closed-back units.) The K702 is an open-back headphone and is clearly advertised as such, so I'm surprised by the number of people who complain about sound leakage. _Of course_ it leaks sound -- that's how it works. Complaining about this is like complaining about water being wet. Complaining about the low volume when used with iPods and the like is equally daft -- the K702 has high-impedance coils compared to headphones designed for portable use, and it will need to be driven by a proper amplifier. Open-back, high-impedance headphones are a specialist purchase, really only useful for private listening, with decent equipment, in situations where you can't use speakers, or for professional applications where other people in the room will just have to put up with it. To be frank, in most situations where I use headphones, I need closed-back headphones for sound isolation. However, on the occasions where I have luxury of using open-back devices, and the restriction of not being able to use speakers, the K702 is a winner. It isn't a five-star winner, however, despite the great sound and reasonable price. The problem is that, for me, the K702 isn't as comfortable to wear as most reviewers suggest. Perhaps I have an odd-shaped head, but the fact that the head fit can't be adjusted is problem for me. the whole weight of the headphone rests on the headband, which is connected to the frame by elastic straps. This arrangement means that there is little pressure on the ears, but more on the headband. It's not desperately uncomfortable, but I find that I have to tweak the headband position every five minutes or so. I find the K702 more comfortable than the Sennheiser Momentum (any variant) but that isn't saying much. I prefer the split headband and adjustable earcups of my old HD25. All in all, a great buy for a little over £100 -- there are far worse headphones at this price or higher. However, this is a niche device with a rather particular application, and buyers need to be careful that it will suit their needs.

OK,these are more or less ignored by the hi fi press, but loved by professional audio community. I would trust the opinion of somebody who spends days with these perched on their heads making the products the Audiophiles listen to rather than someone thinking up words like attack, warmth etc OK, the unboxing experience, mine arrived in a nice black box inside a simple cardboard sleeve. There were some inspirational words on 2 flaps (can't remember what they are, and couldn't care less), then the headphones are in a plastic bag, with the detachable cable tucked away inside another plastic bag. There, they arrived in a box: sorted. If they are truly aimed at professionals I am reminded how Canon pack their expensive semi pro video equipment. It comes in a plain brown cardboard box that you throw in the recycling. Just put it In a box! First visual impression, they are mighty ugly objects. Think two padded pan lids held together with a wire coat hanger. Those ear pads are massive. You could happily pop them on a baby elephant. Yep, there's a lot of plastic, but you could say the same for Grado cans too. The mini XLR plug happily slots into place with a gentle click, and stays put. The gold plated jack plug and 6.3mm adapter look to be well made, and are held together with a screw thread. The cord is thick enough for the job, nonmicrophony if you move it about. A 10 foot(ISH) length is ideal for moving around at a mixing desk or sitting near your hi fi relaxing. The cable can be easily changed for shorter ones at a variety of prices. The headband is supposed to be leather, but there's no residual smell. OK, they are not the most beautiful design, but, hey, are you going to sit and stare at them or put them on and listen to music? Comfort, well you can wear them for hours without discomfort. The velour ear pads don't seem to get warm like plastic or leather ones. I've not experienced the dreaded sweaty ears. You can listen to a whole CD without the dreaded headphones itch. They might look huge (and ridiculous, but the suspension system keeps them happily floating on your head. I've not found any discomfort from the headband at all, I don't even notice it. If the ear pads wear out, replacements can be purchased. Let's address one issue that people have with these cans. They are open backed. That means noise can pass through them. They really are transparent. I mean, with a really quiet music passage you can hear background noise as quiet as the water in your central heating radiators. If someone is having a conversation whilst you are in a listening session you will hear it. I tested this with a few tracks off Vangelis' Alexandra. You could hear background noise despite all those orchestral crescendos. They are far from ideal for isolating yourself or commuting. They are great for their intended purpose however. For me, they were bought so that I can listen to music at high volume late at night without thudding bass disturbing the neighbours. With that intended purpose they are excellent. How do they sound with a phone, well a bit quiet. The same goes for the headphone jack on my Marantz CD player. They really need a little bit more output. You need to crank them up a few notches compared to other 'phones. The downside to this is that you need to careful of this if you have an amp that switches straight to speakers once the headphones are unplugged. Bit of a shock as the higher volume burst out of the room speakers. My Marantz PM6007 amp and MR611 all in one happily drive them though. OK, the sound quality. If the track has plenty of bass, you will hear it, if it doesn't, they faithfully reproduce it. You can tell what that bass note is coming from, not some deep nondescript rumble. Mid range is excellent. As others have mentioned, the positioning of instruments in the sound stage is precise. Choir's seem made up of individuals, not a collection of voices smeared around.Treble: some have used words like harsh or brittle. I would say that percussion has a sharp and precise attack with incredible detail. Lengthy listening sessions are fatigue free. You can drive them to high volumes with no perceptible distortion. Female vocals, classical, acoustic guitars etc are all silky on them. Sound stage. Well, plenty of separation. An album like Suzanne Vega's 99.9F gives that a good demonstration as instruments and vocals hurtle around with high energy. In short, if you are in Europe or the UK where they have reduced dramatically in price recently consider them as a great step up from budget headphones for the sound quality if listening to quality hi fi with good recordings at home. Probably not good for vinyl, as you will hear all that crackle and hiss, they are really goodxatcshowing that up.

PRESENTATION 1. K702 arrive in a simple lightweight box that does not immediately convey the feeling of luxury, one would expect from a world-famous pair of expensive headphones (Picture 1). On the left-hand side there are six labels with praise by different online testing venues: all of them date back to 2009 and 2008. 2. I do like the clever wording: “Expect” on the front of the box, “and discover” on the inner cover (Pictures 2 and 3). 3. At long last, the box is fully opened and one can enjoy the view of the coveted headphones, sort of. They are inside a plastic bag that somewhat ruins the picture (Picture 4). 4. I wish AKG had done a better job of presenting K702. Back in 2008 this frugal style may have been good enough, but now with the likes of Beats (investing heavily in the looks and marketing of their products) and the Philips Fidelio’s of the world, AKG K702’s presentation is something of a let-down. One could argue that they were never meant to be a hugely popular consumer product, and, therefore, they are not marketed as one. Still, I cannot help, but feel a bit underwhelmed. PROS 1. Once out of the box and the cheap wrapping, AKG K702 look excellent in a reserved classical way. They are almost entirely made of dark blue plastic (Picture 5) with silver accents that emulate metal (Picture 6). The headband is made of real leather with blue stitching and adds a touch of luxury (Picture 7). 2. Because they are mostly plastic, K702 are extremely lightweight and very comfortable. You can wear them for hours on end without experiencing any discomfort. In fact, these must be the most comfortable headphones I have ever tried, which is the result of them being so light, but also the fact that the ear cups are quite big with an outer diameter of 11 cm and an inner opening of 6,5 mm (Pictures 8 and 9). Unlike Sennheiser Urbanite XL or Audio-Technica ATH-M50X , K702 are true over-the-ear headphones. It is also worth noting that the ear cups are wrapped in breathable soft velour (Picture 10). 3. Most importantly, K702 are hands down the best sounding headphones under £200. They are way better than any recent Beats of Sony model (for example, Beats by Dr. Dre Studio 2.0 or Sony MDR-1A Prestige ); they best the very popular Audio-Technica ATH-M50X (although the latter have stronger bass), and are superior to the modern classic Philips X2 Fidelio : – To start with, K702 sound much clearer and more transparent than any of the models mentioned above. Their audio frequency bandwidth of 10 to 39,800 Hz is truly outstanding. Even the excellent Philips X2 Fidelio sound muffled in direct comparison. – K702’s stereo picture seems to extend further left and right than that of any of the other headphones I have tested. Not sure how AKG have achieved that, but the result is quite stunning. – Many have mentioned that K702 lack bass, but the truth is that their sound is simply true to the original, with no part of the audio spectrum being accentuated. As AKG’s description reads, K702 have been engineered “for precision listening, mixing and mastering. They combine an extremely accurate response with agility and spaciousness.” Why is that important? Most songs are recorded and mixed to perfection in multi-million dollar studios by professionals with many years of experience in the field and the notion that you can “improve” on a song’s sound by boosting the bass or applying a few DSP effects to skew the audio picture one way or another, cannot be correct. What you want is to hear the song the way its author and producer intended it to be heard and AKG K702 does exactly that, adding no spice or colour of its own. – Likewise, a lot has been written about how notoriously difficult K702 are to drive with their rated impedance of 62 Ohms supposedly not telling the whole story, but frankly, I am using them on my desktop with excellent results and even on my Samsung Galaxy Note 4 they sound decent (although I do have to crank the volume up to 80% to get to a proper level of loudness). Would they sound even better with a good headphone amp? Sure. Do they absolutely need one? No. 4. The ear pads are removable, so it is easy to clean or exchange them for new ones (Pictures 11 and 12). 5. At £132 AKG K702 are very competitively priced, and are actually cheaper than all popular competing models. CONS 1. Many prospective buyers seem to lose sleep over the issue of where these legendary headphones are actually made. Let me put everyone’s worst fears to rest… by confirming them. Welcome to the brave new world, ladies and gentlemen, where Austrian headphones are in fact made in China or the P.R.C. (Picture 13). 2. K702 are exclusively produced from lightweight plastic. Compare this to the fact that Philips X2 Fidelio are entirely made of premium materials like metal and real leather (Pictures 14 and 15). Of course, steel is heavier than plastic, but it is also sturdier and does not necessarily make a pair of headphones less comfortable to wear. 3. The system for attaching the ear pads to the cups looks like something made by school children with a pair of scissors from a sheet of thin black plastic (Pictures 11 and 12). 4. The cups’ suspension system uses… thin elastics of the kind you can find in your mother’s sewing box (Picture 14). They will get slack with time. 5. At 3 m of length, the cable is too long for most practical purposes and terminates with a proprietary “professional mini XLR connector” (Pictures 16, 17 and 18). 6. These are open-back headphones (Picture 6) and everyone in the room will be perfectly aware of what you are listening to. 7. With a width of 19 cm and height of 23.5 cm (Pictures 19 and 20), K702 are nothing short of enormous and because of their size, the fact that they are made of plastic, the 3 m cable and rated impedance of 62 Ohms, they are clearly not made with today’s mobile generation in mind. A single drop to the ground could break or scratch and ruin them. 8. With some genres, artists and songs K702 tend to sound too lean. If you often listen to hard rock, heavy metal or are a fan of Rammstein, you may at times feel that these headphones are draining the life out of your music. They have been compared to the cold precision of a scalpel, cutting through the living flesh of your favourite song. It is not that the bass is completely missing, it has just lost its quality to excite… However, I do not subscribe to this opinion. To my ears K702 are clear and transparent, with an extended stereo image, perfect balance and enough bass to make for a competent and enjoyable listening experience. CONCLUSIONS + 1. AKG K702 are the most comfortable and overall best sounding headphones in this price segment. I returned Audio-Technica ATH-M50X , once I had a chance to directly compare them to Philips X2 Fidelio , and sent the latter back after a few days of testing AKG K702. The bottom line is that music connoisseurs feel passionate about the pure, faithful reproduction of the source audio picture, and this is exactly what AKG K702 delivers. 2. Please, note that there are more expensive and (allegedly) superior sounding headphones on the market if money is not an issue: Mr. Speakers Ether, Sennheiser HD800 , HIFIMAN HE1000 , STAX SR-009 , or the Focal Elear and Utopia models, to just name a few, although some of these models will set you back with the price of a small car. 3. AKG K702 are very competitively priced and unless you listen to most of your music on the go, they are a highly recommended buy. – 4. If you are addicted to thundering bass, K702 should not be your first choice. Both Audio-Technica ATH-M50X and Philips X2 Fidelio deliver accentuated bass and may suit you better. However, be warned that Audio-Technica ATH-M50X feel heavy, rigid and are uncomfortable to wear, while Philips X2 Fidelio sound muffled in direct comparison and have a narrower stereo extension. 5. K702 are, unfortunately, entirely made of fragile plastic (to the point of feeling toyish), and use proprietary cable connectors. UPDATE: I ordered a second pair of AKG K702 about a month after I bought the first one. However, the new pair was promptly sent back to Amazon. Why? 1. There was a creaking sound when moving the ear cups. 2. The right ear pad was thicker and visually bigger than the left one and also thicker and bigger than the ear pads of my “old” pair. Please, note that the thickness and size of the pads does affect sound quality. 3. The new pair sounded differently in an unusual way. To my ears the stereo extension seemed narrower. The overall audio presentation was a bit off, when compared to my “older” pair, but this could have been the result of the “new” pair not having been properly burnt-in (although some do argue that burn-in is a myth). These differences are very unfortunate, and in my opinion could lower the overall rating by a ½ star to reflect the ineffective Quality Control, exercised by AKG’s Chinese or Korean production facility.

For me these a double-edged sword. They are the first decent cans that I actually find comfy - having big jug-ears ! At 9.5cms in diameter, and perfectly round, they actually completely surround my ears, rather than touching them. Nice. But, the foam is very firm, so much so, that they feel more like soft polystyrene, as opposed to memory foam. These literally sit around your ears, as opposed to cushioning softly around them. They are still better than the overly-squishy AKG 550s, which were the complete opposite. Compared to the Fidelio X1s, they are slightly more roomy, and a whole lot less irritating against the skin. So, although the Philips Fidelios were a little warmer and louder (although the sound stage wasn't as good) those went back, and I'm plugging on with these. My main issue is that they are literally, 100% plastic. Very light, but very fragile and flimsy. These are for keeping on a stand next to your listening chair. They are NOT for throwing around in a studio, or taking on a road trip. I doubt they'd survive a drop onto a carpeted floor to be honest. Sonically, again they are a 2-headed beast. Firstly, they really need an amp. TV, streamed music, CD, from optical or USB, is very quiet and clinically flat. Once amplified though (and with my Fiio E17, it needs 6 or even 12 db gain !) it depends on the source material. If there is a rich bass and decent sound stage, these really show it off - beautifully ! Yes, some music will need 4, 6 or even 8 notches of extra bass, and around 2 notches LESS of treble, but a decent recording can be made to sound stunning. However, a poor quality source, and nothing will help it. Now, I haven't burned these in yet - some say they do benefit (a lot), some don't... so I'll edit this review in a week or so, if there is any improvement. For me, at the moment, they are a little bass-light, stunning mids, glorious sound stage, but overly bright treble. What I don't get, is why they need so much amplification, to drive. At 60 ohms, they shouldn't be this quiet, but I'm guessing it's due to their 105 db sensitivity rating, which is quite low. And, why couldn't they just use a little metal at least around the stress points of the structure. The hammock system they have designed, is very fragile, and the plastic components are also very thin - almost laughable, to be honest ! Overall, I have little confidence in their longevity, and as such. may 'bottle,out', and return them for something else. Update: 2016 - not found anything better yet, so going to try again with a more powerful amp. Wi repoet back.

So I thought I had these around six months, turns out its eleven. In the course of what has been almost a year, I have to say that these headphones have revolutionised my life. Well, that may be getting a bit out of proportion, lets say they have revolutionised my listening life, how I consume media, and what I consume. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I now consider myself to be a bit of an audiophile! First off, the 'phones themselves physically. Like many people I was concerned the headphones might lose their grip over time, but its been nearly a year, and I can't say the AKG's have not lost any of their grip. The tension of the cushioned earcups on the side of my head is perfect, just enough to be secure, not too little to be lose, not crushing my skull. They do leave an imprint on my hair as I usually listen for a while, so I have round disc imprints around my ears afterward. A worthy trade off, I use these for chilling at home so its not like it matters. Speaking of using these at home, the K702's are not something I would ever see myself using out in public. The main reason is they are open backed so everyone would hear what I'm listening to along with me, nor are they modest in appearance. Around the house however, it is very easy for me to forget I am wearing headphones at all after a couple of seconds. While you can get sound out of them when using a mobile device, it isn't anything close to what you can achieve by using an amp or a DAC. The tonal range, volume and clarity of these headphones is astounding. I've never listened to music before quite like I have with these. Owning these headphones has taught me to appreciate what goes into making a song, the sheer level of detail some artists put into their tracks is something I've never before experienced, and as a result my taste in music has broadened incredibly. I was a bit of a layman before the advent of these AKG's in my life. These are a stunning set of headphones, and perfect for a home or even a studio environment. I reckon for experienced pro's these are a really safe bet given the price, and for anyone starting out on high end headphones, take the leap! It will be an education.

Bardzo dobre słuchawki domowe, wokółuszne. Przestrzenne brzmienie, średnica i soprany bez zarzutów (naturalne i szczegółowe brzmienie). Jedyny minus to dość słaby bas. Można equalizerem zwiększyć jego odczuwalność (dodać mu kopa), ale wciąż bez rewelacji. Ogólnie K702 brzmią podobnie do Sundary, tylko bez basu. Wygoda, ergonomia na plus (nie mam zastrzeżeń).

Herhangi bir sıkıntı yaşamadım. Ürün kutusunda sıfır geldi. Kulaklığın sahnesi çok güzel yanlız. Hem oyun için hem müzik için piyasada alınabilecek en iyi kulaklıklardan.

Es un audifono muy plano, aunque le falten graves es ideal para mezclar. Los medios tienen mucho cuerpo y precision. Los agudos son extendidos y para nada fatigantes.

Already had an older K601 that was retiring so this was the replacement. This model is great for listening to jazz, blues and classical music. Heavy rock fans look somewhere else, perhaps Audio Technica or a similar headphone. The K601 was more demanding than this newer model but I still recommend some kind of headphone-amp together with it to get the most out of the headphone (or a hq connect).

Omdat mijn oude AKG K601 (links op de foto) na 15 jaar van de trouwe dienst bedankt hadden heb ik opnieuw voor AKG gekozen en mijn verwachtingen zijn volledig overtroffen! Het geluid, draagcomfort, bouwkwaliteit en design zijn helemaal top! Omdat ik voornamelijk deze hoofdtelefoon gebruik om piano te spelen zocht ik naar een hoofdtelefoon die comfortabel is om lang te kunnen oefenen en neutrale klank heeft. In al die twee opzichten ben ik buitengewoon tevreden. Maar ook om gewoon muziek van mijn laptop te luisteren zijn ze uitstekend. Voor piano spelen kies AKG K702 boven mijn Beyerdynamic DT770 omdat ze open zijn. Maar qua geluid en draagcomfort zijn ze bijna identiek. Beyerdynamic heeft wel iets sterker bas maar tegelijkertijd is het meer verfijnd en gedetailleerd dan die van Beyerdynamic. Om volle klank van deze koptelefoon te krijgen raad ik toch aan om ze aan een (elektrische) piano of een versterker aan te sluiten. Mijn MacBook Pro is net iets te zwak om het beste uit deze hoofdtelefoon te halen.