I have used AKG K702/K612 with a Fiio E10K for years, but im tired how the headstrap always wears down so fast, and the side things always break, and become uncomfortable to use after the side things lose tension.
I was eyeing some of the Beyerdynamic ones like these, but Im worried about headstrap confort. And tbh Im kinda stuck on which ones to choose.
Take a look at AKG offerings. Such as the k612 and k702. Super comfy and lightweight. Out of your choices, the 560s would be pretty great, but the clamp force is quite high and you will need to stretch the headband out a bit before use.
The AKG K612 Pro offers the most spatiality you'll get for this price. The sound is relatively neutral; the only thing that might bother you is a slight lack of bass, but the truth is it's there just as much as it should be. It's a very analytical and absolutely clear sound; the line is very straight and doesn't embellish any frequency. Forget any other AKG model; those that should be superior have so much spatiality between one ear and the other that the center practically dies, and they are a bit forced in the highs to give a feeling of greater clarity.
“I did plenty of research before the purchase, and I did not expect how hot the treble is on these things.”
What reviews did you read that they didn’t reference the infamous Mt. Beyer treble peaks?!? From my understanding, Beyer based their house sound off of pure Free-Field response curves… how a “flat” monitor speaker is perceived by a microphone in an anechoic chamber, or in other words all influence of walls and a performance space is removed. I don’t know how close they positioned the mic to the speaker in their measurements, but it seems there was NO treble energy lost over distance. It’s an “off” unnatural sound to me, because I always listen to speakers in a room, or a concert in an orchestra hall or performance amphitheater.
I guess Beyer’s target sounds close to PA speakers of a rock & roll concert performed in a grassy meadow, but those kinds of performances always left my ears ringing… and guess what Beyers do to me?
I did read numerous complaints about the upper mids and treble about Beyerdynamic’s DT880 and DT990, but I also read a few fans who praised them for their clarity, transparency, and comfort. As a gamer, I thought they would give me analytical fidelity, extra “detail” that would help me play more competitively, and maybe the detractors were over exaggerating. I’ve always been the type to weigh positive reviews more than negative ones. From my research, I also picked up a Premium model because they have a lower clamping force and more comfort than the Pro models, a less snag-some straight cable than the heavy coiled cable of the Pro, and I also got a higher 600 Ω model because I thought it had the best potential and I had a nice tube hybrid amp that should be powerful enough for it. When it arrived from Amazon, I was shocked how much it sounded like listening to music through a tin-can. It’s repeated over and over that too much bass can overwhelm and muddy the mids and other frequencies, well I’m here to tell you that too much treble can also mask other frequencies in the same way. There’s something else about the “classic” Beyer highs too… they’re not just relatively louder, I also felt like there was a glare that made me wince more than, say, a Stax played with the highs at the same decibels or louder. Also, I read almost universal praise for Beyerdynamic’s plus velour earpads… but I can’t understand why nobody mentioned that the headband had a hard, prominent stitching along the entire underside length, and why no tester didn’t tell Beyerdynamic that this was a terrible idea that would cause sore spots for anyone who doesn’t have really thick, lofty head of hair or a hat to do all the cushioning and pressure diffusion for Beyerdynamic’s work for them. Despite the ringing ears and fatigue, I gave the DT 880 as much of a chance to grow on me as I could, and used the entire Amazon return period to see if I could eventually get used to them. Nope. Refund.
I will say, I have since learned that my ear canals are narrower than the average, and they create a resonance that seems to amplify highs more for me than other people whose resonant frequencies would be different. And I will add, if you felt like the DT990’s balance of frequencies was ok but you too wish it had less glare, I felt like the DT1990 was exactly the change Beyer needed to make. However, I think my favorite Beyer was their smaller on-ear ones… I forget their model number, but here’s a picture 😂 Also, I preferred the AKG K612 Pro and Sennheiser HD 660S2 over all of Beyer’s headphones, at least with my ears and subjective tastes.
https://preview.redd.it/aglkjy37lblg1.jpeg?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c489c980ad363fc114ad1eb64453ba052f0303f9
BrokenSil
