My AKG K712 and Q701 experiment! Are they truly the same stripped down?

Ryanr1987

Ryanr1987

Ryanr1987

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AKG have always been terrible for disclosure..The reps nver seem to know what makes one product like the Q's different from the Annie and K712. After some experiments the last few days that I've quiet due to me wanted my findings to be as accurate as possible.

When I previously switched pads between them they all sounded different and not alike, the Q701 with Annie pads sounded different than the Annie with Annie pads and the K712 sounded different with Q pads.
Now one thing I just thought about doing was swapping the foam disc. The 712 uses a different textured foam disc, it's more soft while the Qs is more stringy with a more harder texture. I have been switching the K712 pads with the Q701 pads but also the foam disc and the results have been really interesting.

The Q701 with the K712 pads plus disc sound like the Annie but with more space due to the larger K712 pads. It’s more fuller, has a smoother treble and less air than the K712. Basically I have an idea of how the newer Annie MAY sound but I still can’t confirm that, YET. The K712 with Q701 pads + foam sounds more extended in the treble than the Q701 but sounds similar everywhere else. With the foams left to the original headphone but with just the pads swapped they sound different hence when I said the K712 and Annie have more warmth.

So you are probably wondering is the K712 the same as the Q701?
No, what I’ve taken from this is that the original Annie was darker and lusher than what AKG wanted so what they did was placed the K712 pads on the Annie but they still sound more polite and lush. Because they are limited quantity AKG decided to tune the treble up on the latest edition, the K712 to give it that more air and extension that was lacking in the Annie due to the more dense memory foam ear pads and the smoother foam disc! The result?
Similar warmth and bass, more space and air and less focused mids which is exactly how the K712 of today sounds.

It’s looking like the Annie is in fact the Q701 but with the dense pads but more importantly the foam disc! So the K712 is actually different due to it’s more extended treble to help it pierce through the thicker pads and foam.
 
They do have different driver numbers though, so it's likely there are differences:

The K702 and K702 Annie use (2400Z00080) and the K712 uses (2400Z00090)

As for the foam pads, I assume they must come with the ear pads as there is no separate listing for them. There is a foam ring but that is common to them all.

mrk tried the Q701 with the K712 ear pads and didn't like the result at all, though that was with the port mod done and I don't know if the pads were also changed.
 
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The K712 definitely has a more extended treble than the Q701 and Annie. The foam 100% adds to the sound the Q701 with the K712 pads and Q701 foam sounds too dry and grainy! Hated it. Switch the foam they sound lovely and I prefer them to the K712 die to the less peaky lower treble.

It makes sense that the original Annie's small pads give that intimate lush sound but with the K712 pads space outta bit more. I think the only other difference stripped down is the K712s have that extended treble. Without it, will be too smooth and more like the Annie.

The only thing I need now is the new Annie to confirm if it is the Q701 with memory foam pads and K712 foam.

The Qs foam ring is different and more rough with a different texture. When switched they create a different sound.
 
That's weird because the foam ring for the K702, K702 Annie, K612 and K712 has exactly the same part number - could that be the difference between the K702 and the Q701? Because pretty much everything else is the same.
 
That is strange. They are definitely different, well those two anyway. I'm wondering if they have recently changed the part to be universal with all AKGs and my Qs have an older foam part and it's only when the 712 came out that they changed it?
 
I can't find a part number for the Q701's foam ring, because they only have parts lists for the professional range and the Q701's are classed as "lifestyle".
Maybe that foam ring is different to the K702 because there has to be some difference to account for the sound signature differences, no matter how slight. As far as I know they use the same pads, same chassis, same drivers so whatever it is that makes that difference is probably something pretty subtle.
 
If I still had my K702 and K701 I would switch the foam to see if it's that giving the Qs a slightly different sound. They Bass on the Qs is quite a bit noticeable so maybe some tuning. It seems like if someone can get the Annie's sound for an extra £80 but those specific foam rings would be needed.
 
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Ryanr1987 said:
I imagine he didn't like the pads because the bass port mod would make them too congested with the K712 pads.
Click to expand...

With the Annie pads the bass on the Q701 didn't increase much at all. There was a small difference maybe but the bas sport mod imporves the bass more than just the pads. So in effect I didn't notie double the bass putting the Annie pads on the bass port modded Q701 but there was almost double the bass just doing the bass port mod alone on stock Q701 pads.

The bas sport mod made no difference to soundstage. Removing the foam rings made a big difference though and I didn't like that so put the rings back.

I wouldn't have liked the Annie pads even without the port mod as they change the character of the Q701 that I really like with my NAD amp. NADs have a certain sound signature that goes well with the majority of speakers and headphones. It's warm and colourful but the D 3020 goes a bit further with more detail in the highs than competing analogue models (I had the C 325 Bee).

For that reason I didn't like the Annie pads on the Q701, they just changed the sound too much and it lost the finer details and soundstage on this combination.

Like I said in my review of the pads on Q701, I bet that if the Annie pads had thicker rears resulting in an angled and directional position of each ear cup then the soundstage willbe different and probably better. The Annie pads are the same thickness all round whereas the Q701 stock pads angle the cup/driver a certain amount and that will certainly change the sound signature.
 
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With the K712 foam that would have made the sound fuller especially at the bottom. My Q701 with Gel pads but with the Qs own foam sounded lean in the bass still but once I switched to the 712 foam they sound lush and full. You would definitely prefer the K712 as it's more trebly and airy but the Annie is a no go if you don't like the thicker and fuller sound.

I would have liked to see the Annie stay as AKGs more warmer headphone and have their 712 as the airy more reference headphone kind of like the HD600 and 650.
 
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