AKG K702 Headphones (Playback 26)
Smooth and Well-Balanced
December 21st, 2009 -- by Tom MartinSource: Playback
Playback has reviewed quite a few headphones this year (click here to download our free 81 page Buyer's Guide), with a focus on well-known or highly touted models from major manufacturers. Continuing in this vein, we wanted to get the AKG K702 into the lab because it has a strong reputation and comes from a venerable manufacturer.
The K702 is a new addition to the Austrian manufacturers’ Pro line, though it is basically an improved version of the much-loved K701, the main purpose of which seems to have been to change the color so it shows less studio dirt. In the high-quality headphone market, the K702 claims uniqueness in its use of flat wire technology along with a patented Varimotion 2-layer diaphragm driven by neodymium magnets. In keeping with modern marketing practice little suggestion is made by AKG about how these things might impact the sound delivered by the K702s, other than to make a nod to accuracy, agility and spaciousness. One understandable feature is the easily removable cable, allowing upgrades or length changes as needed. The K702 also has several features aimed at ensuring comfort, an area where technology often offers more hope than reality–but which work in this case, as we shall see.
Like many other headphones, the K702 is an open back design—a feature that clearly makes them less suitable for use on airplane or in an office. Some listeners, however, insist that open-back headphones are consistently more natural sounding.
So, we have here a (slightly) new headphone based on a storied, time-proven design. But how does it fare in the rigors of the Playback lab?
Overview
Consider this headset if: you want headphones with an even tonal balance, just a touch of warmth in the treble and you want to avoid the edgy or harsh sound that often comes with headphones that emphasize transparency at the expense of sonic rough edges—rough edges that the AKG simply doesn’t have.
Look elsewhere if: micro-dynamic detail is at the top of your list of sonic desires, or if your musical needs demand the punchiest dynamics.
Ratings (compared to similarly-priced headphones)
- Tonal Balance: 9
- Clarity: 9.0
- Dynamics: 8.5
- Comfort/Fit: 9.5
- Sensitivity: 7.5
- Value: 9.5
Sonic Character
The K702 offers a sound that manages to seem almost faultless to the casual listener. This is an important achievement, and one that bespeaks smart design choices that may work well for many listeners. Like every headphone we’ve heard, the K702 has its limits, but first let’s catalog some of its superb performance attributes.
The core strength of the K702 is the artful frequency balance that AKG’s engineers have delivered. The K702 sounds very flat from about 150hz up to around 10khz, which means that instruments in a band or orchestra are consistently reproduced in proper relationship to each other. Not only that, but also most instruments sound natural on an individual basis.
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Comments
The only differences between these headphones and the K701's are the detachable cable and the color. They are otherwise exactly the same. AKG says so, too.
Dude, please let the reviewers do their thing. They think that it is improved and full stop. Who cares what AKG says about their lineup. It would have been so easy to write a review like this:
K702 is the same exactly like K701.
Instead we have several extra pages with some interesting comments, advert etc.
For those of us that own a pair of 701's, it would have been nice to know how they compare, directly.
Back at ya dude, the reviewers can do their thing, but everything in the technical description of the 702's is ALSO true about the 701's. Both use flat wire technology, Varimotion diaphragm, neodymium magnets. THEY ARE EXACTLY THE SAME EXCEPT FOR COLOR AND A DETACHABLE CABLE. The "improvements" have nothing to do with sound quality or build quality. The detachable cable is an advantage over the 701s for people who want to replace or upgrade the stock cable themselves. The two AKG models sound exactly the same. FWIW, I own 702's and really like them.
Here is what AKG says about the 702 vs. the 701:
"The new K 702 headphones advance the legacy and sonic integrity of the successful K 701, are accompanied by personalized fitting ear pads, light weight and come in a sleek stage blue finish to withstand the wear and tear of professional studio life." They say that the white 701 wasn't ideal for heavy use because it showed the wear and grime of handling.
As I said, AKG doesn't say much, formally. I have a question in, but with the holidays, turn around on these things is slow (still no answer as of 1-26-10).
CEO and Editorial Director, Nextscreen LLC
Well the cable makes big difference in audio quality and usibility
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Tom with all due respect you say the AKG has a ' similar ' sound to the Shure SRH 840?? I own both and agree with you that the AKG is a bit laid back on the bass end, also compared to my Grado RS2s and Senn 650s.I believe we both agree on that. But the Shure SRH 840s?? They are EXTREMELY bumped up on the low end, compared to all the phones I just referenced (if you want to "see" it, go to Headroom's frequency comparison charts, if you agree with that type of thing). If anything, the AKGs are about as far away, sound wise, from the Shures as you can get, IMO.Can anyone else comment on the sound differences between the two?
Summary comparisons are tricky, so apologies for any confusion. First, the 840s and the 702s are similar in terms of being smooth and having limited low-level information retrieval. The 840s do have more bass and sound more dynamic in the bass, which is what I tried to indicate when I pointed out that the 702s are more evenly balanced and less dynamic. Read my last musical example for some additional thoughts on the bass performance of the 702s. Thanks for the requested clarification.
I had a chance to review the Headroom frequency response data. Just a few comments:
1. If you compare the 100hz level with the average level from about 2khz-10khz, the Shure 840s and the Sennheiser HD 800s have about a 10db difference; the Ultrasone Edition 8s have maybe an 8db difference. This is another important illustration that "flat" isn't obviously the goal (I chose the latter headphones because there is some general recognition that they're pretty good).
2. If you look at the K702 curve, you see that it has less rise in the bass; I'd estimate it at 3-4 db using 100hz as a measurement point. I am cautious about interpreting this because of the vagueness about what the target curve should be (that, and FR isn't everything). It does seem to indicate a difference in the bass, and indeed one does hear one.
3. Comparing the K702 curve and the Shure 840 curve, they share some basic similarities in gross shape from 300hz to 10khz (and above actually). I am unclear whether the smoothness and limited low-level detail that I hear in common between these two is due to FR similarities in this (all important) region or something else or both.
4. I have no knowledge of the Headroom test methodology and its limitations, so I would treat these comments as food for thought only.
CEO and Editorial Director, Nextscreen LLC
The K702s come with a ten-meter cord and a phone plug/mini-plug.
I hope he meant 10 feet.
The cord is indeed ~10 feet/3 meters.
CEO and Editorial Director, Nextscreen LLC
wait, what gear did they test/use the k702 with?
what amp, dac, etc.
Associated test equipment:
Woo Audio WA22, Luxman P200 and PS Audio GCHA headphone amps. Esoteric DV60 universal player, in PCM>DSD mode. Nordost Blue Heaven interconnects. Shunyata Python power cables. PS Audio Premier Power Plant. Dedicated AC line (20 amp).
CEO and Editorial Director, Nextscreen LLC
My 702's have about 200 hours on them and are still burning in. For that reason it wouldn't be fair to address anything specific in the review, but I can tell you that they sounded mesmerizing last evening. I meant to listen to part of a track to guage burn-in progress and ended up flipping though CD's for an hour. Two observations I would add to the review are that the 702's are highly revealing of the quality of the electronics I am using to drive them and they seem to crave power. The NuForce Icon Mobile does a fine job with my CX300's but is completely overmatched by the 702's. The 702's sound magical (and are plenty loud) directly through a Meridian F80, but I get the sense they can handle far more power if you are so inclined.
Buttonwood I agree with you. If I had to own just one of the many phones I have the AKGs would be the one. IMO they do more things better than my others, which include Grado RS2s (very LIVE sound) and Senn 650s ( very ORGANIC sound ).The AKGs IMO have by far the widest and clearest (seperation between instuments) soundstage of any headphone I've heard. Also very revealing of changes to source components and cabling, amps, etc. Love 'em all, but the AKGs are my fave.
Hi Big Du,
I have the 702's and love them but am not sure if I am getting the absolute best from them. I use an external hard drive to store my uncompressed music files and connect my PC up to a Yulong Dah1 mark 2 to drive the phones. What would be your recommendation and should I buy a fancy USB cable and a Cardas upgrade headphone cable ?
You dudes would pay $500 for a pair of headphones? That's crazy! I'll keep my Sony MDR-S50 which sounds as good as any of your high end headphones.
You just don't have any idea what you are talking about. You should go find your nearest boutique dealer and ask him to show you what you are missing.
Somebody thinks paying $500 for a pair of high-end headphones is ridiculous. That's a matter of opinion. But the 702's may LIST for that price, yet they are commonly selling for a lot less.
I bought my excellent AKG 701's on ebay for a lot less than retail...a lot less. They are wonderful....a very special headphone...and I have had expensive sony's and Koss...even the old 4 channel koss headphones. Comfort factor alone is through the roof.
A dollar spent on a headphone usually gets you the equivalent of $5-$10 spend on a pair of loudspeakers. So, many $100 'phones sound about as good as $1K speakers. My $200 Sennheiser 580s sound wonderful, smooth, open, detailed, etc., sound about as good as many $2K speakers I've heard, and my $50 A-T portable phones w/ 40mm drivers sound about as good as speakers in the $500 range. So your Sony's may be comparable to $1K speakers, more or less, not too shabby by any means, but some audiophiles want to hear WAY into the mix, which better transducers (speakers, 'phones, mics, phono cartridges) tend to do. Enjoy your "cans."
Quote:
"Note: The K702s are very inefficient. This is a headphone that simply must be used with an amplifier."
"Sensitivity: 105dB@1V
Impedance: 62 ohms"
I have a pair of AKG K702s and with such a relatively low impedance and high 105db sensitivity, I have no problems driving them with my Netbook, portable CD player, iPOD and any other portable electronic device I have tested them on.
I am glad that Anonymous Listener is getting good results with portable devices, and your results and your satisfaction are what matter. To put my remarks in context, here are the rough efficiencies of several recently tested or popular headphones/earphones:
Sennheiser HD650: 105db@5mW
Shure SRH840: 105db@2mW
Grado SR 325is: 105db@5mW
Shure SE310 (earbuds): 105db@0.25mW
AKG K702: 105db@16mW
As you can see, the K702s are the least efficient of this group, and need about 50 times the power of products specifically designed for portable devices. My experience is that the sound of the lower efficiency headphones on this list is significantly improved with a headphone amplifier. Some of that could be due to the lower distortion circuitry of a good amp, and not to the extra voltage and current headroom provided. Ideally, you should try the K702s (or other traditional headphones) without an amp, if that is how you'd like to use them, before buying. The converse of this is that if you don't need maximum portability, you should try some amps with the K702. Their quality certainly merits an amplifier.
CEO and Editorial Director, Nextscreen LLC
It's my impression that the AKG -K701 headphones inverted polarity? I haven't heard the AKG K-702 headphones, so does anyone have an opinion regarding the polarity of the AKG K-702 headphones, and if so what polarity are they?
George S. Louis, CEO
Digital Systems & Solutions
I wonder if the detachable headphone cord is polarized because if it isn't, it would be relatively easy to reverse their polarity for to correct the polarity of the sound if that becomes necessary.
George S. Louis
The headset cord connector is a mini XLR plug keyed and polarized. Not possible to change polarity unless you are very strong.
Hello,
Wich is the preamp that you used for your evaluation ? Source ?
In my opinion the AKG is very neutral , not warm or cold, it is certainly not topped of in the high treble.
It is extremely good in microdetail and micro dynamics, just the contrary of what you are writing ..
I'm afraid that those shortcomings you name have to be sought elsewher in teh setup.
I performed the test with the Gracedesign m902 headphone amp/preamp/dac , one of the very best available at a ridicilous low price.Source CEC TL51-X belt driven
Friendly regards,
Wim Vanderstraeten,
Wim: there is a complete list of the associated equipment above in my reply to "dc".
It is of course always possible that this equipment is the source of what I heard, and that other associated equipment would have produced different results in comparison with the absolute sound. That said, the micro-dynamics of the K702s (which are not bad and -- I hope I conveyed -- artfully chosen) are not in the same league with, say, the Sennheiser HD 800s on the same equipment, so there is at least some room for doubt that the equipment is the cause.
CEO and Editorial Director, Nextscreen LLC
Merry Christmas all!
Please tell me... I just ordered the AKG K702, but always wanted to buy the Shure SRH840. Now as I looked at the comparison I begin to regret that I chose the K702 instead of SRH840. Which one of them give a more accurate flat response? Also can I just connect the K702 to my mixer or do I need an extra amp?
I think you will find that the 702 sounds very flat, though perhaps a little bass shy. Whether you need another amp depends on the output capability and analog quality of your mixer. I would guess that you'll be okay.
CEO and Editorial Director, Nextscreen LLC
Is that really a fair comparison? To say that the micro-dynamics are not in the same league as the Senn 800s, seems unfair considering the substantial (about 3x) price difference....
I really appreciated your review and agreed with most of your assesment (I'm a K701 owner), but I find the point about detail strange... Considering that just about all other reviews I've read, claimed the K701/2's greatest strength was detail retrieval... In fact, several claimed it was too detailed, as a possible fault....
So my question is: are you comparing its detail retrieval to comparable priced headphones or the Senn 800s?
I retract the last question, as I see that you also compared it to the Grado 325 and Shures....
And if you looking for the best closed-back reference headphones try the fantastic AKG K550 !