K702 Open-Back Over-Ear Premium Studio Headphones, Reference Grade Sound, Airy and Spacious Soundstage, Precision Crafted

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.

My first review here. You might be wondering what do I mean by my title? You see with every headphones there's always a way to improve how they sound to your liking, but the lower the price the less you can do, at least that's what I found, well not anymore. These headphones can punch well above their weight if paired with a great sounding equipment, starting from the source, and moving on to the software (JPLAY, or MQN, or Foobar2000 with Wasapi on Event, and configured buffer to either 8 or less if your equipment allows, it makes quite a difference), then your DAC presumably connected by a USB which you can upgrade for better sound, all having an difference in sound (I'm telling from experience), then from your DAC a jack or RCAs coming out into your preamp/amp, again all these products having different sound from a company to a company... all this is worth for these cans, they just improve with your system, you hear them grow bigger, you hear the grow better with each bad part of your system replaced. Is it a bad thing? One would say yes, it's bad, because I need to spend all that money trying out different cables and equipment when I could just buy the senns 650 HD with a bit of coloration and more forgiving nature, but how many headphones allow you to change their sound so much with the equipment you use? Not only that, you can buy pads from K601s or K702s Annies and get the 3db bass boost you want if you find them bright, it's up to you. If you use WMP or iTunes than really that's where you should start first (I found Jplay sounding best, but there are new ones on the market already, and if you are looking for one that's free, foobar2000 with WASAPI on Event is great, it gives a more dark presentation somehow, plus bit-perfect playback, well sort of). These headphones demand quality, much more than you would expect in that price field, they can really be taken to great heights, and it's a journey that these headphones have put me on, and I'm liking it. They will sound very weird at the beginning not only because they need to settle in, but they are so detailed and especially transparent that what you hear wrong is your system's shortcomings being frown at your face. No Amp, no DAC? You buy these, you will start to save money for that equipment you researched or aditioned in a shop with your AKG's in hands and your head of course, if really low on money don't buy these otherwise, they will drill a hole in your wallet, but it's all worth it. If you want something even better than these, with a similar presentation but superior in every sense, then Stax is your final destination, or an lcd2, or lcd3 on the way, oh and the Senns 800 HD, plus some other flagships, nothing else beats these. I would also like to mention I had Q701's for a month and I liked K702s better as they had a wider frequency response and more detail, I couldn't settle with the Q701s. I hope I helped with your decision, and gave some stellar information on the way :)

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.

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.

I spent a long time researching these as I wanted something to play games with and listen to music and movies. Firstly, the build quality is excellent for home use and they are super light and comfortable. If you take them out and about they will probably break, but these arent meant for that anyway. I have worn them for 6hrs straight as a newbie and no pain at all. I bought this + the Bravo Audio Ocean amp. Out of the box the k702s are a bit cold sounding, but I left them running for 50hrs on mp3 player to 'burn them in'. This has made the sound a bit less harsh and tinny, but its the good amp that really makes them amazing. Coupled with the warm sounding tube amp (Bravo Audio) and Asus Xonar they sound amazing. No joke I was actually close to tears when I listened to some old classics on Spotify Premium. The details on instruments and vocals are insane. Note if you want a really bassy (ie. muddy, blurred) sound then skip these and go for Beats or something. If you have never used high end headphones before (or not for many years like me) beware you will probably have a headache the first few hours- your brain/ears are not used to hearing 10 different instrument sounds all at once from different directions and its a bit overwhelming! I listen to all sorts of music- pop, trance, classical, hip hop etc. They all sound superb if you enjoy really euphoric melodies regardless of genre like I do. If you just want booming bass and nothing else do NOT buy these you will be very disappointed. I also play games and these are stupidly good for CSGO. I can hear enemies walking from across the map, through several walls etc.. Only 4 stars because of the running in + you need to buy a good amp to get the most out of them which adds cost. Also when you plug them into your ipod they won't sound quite as good, still very good but just not quite the amazing 'live studio experience' like with the amp. In any case before I got the amp I was slightly regretting not going for something less clinical like Sennheisers or Beyerdynamics, but with the amp they now sound really great. So I recommend you do some research and get a 'warm sounding' amplifier to go with these, unless you want a totally pure clinical sound (ie. if you are a music producer or a pro gamer). This was my first ever Amazon review so apologies if it was a bit long winded.