Selection Guide

AKG Acoustics in Austria has brought their considerable audio engineering skills into sharp focus on their high-end dynamic headphone designs and produced an astonishingly superb-sounding pair of cans in their flagship K701 and this nearly-identical K702 model. The only differences between the two is color and the K702's handy 'quick-detach' cord, which makes it a breeze to replace or upgrade later. As headphone lovers know, getting it absolutely right at this demanding level of reference-grade audio performance is tough and the K702 get pretty darn near perfection. These headphones deliver a truly dynamic and texturally punchy sound, articulate and clear over the full audio spectrum. Precise musical detail connoisseurs should appreciate the clean punch and tightly focused bottom-end control of these headphones. Classical and acoustic music afficionados will likewise love the fact that the dynamic control moves right on up the frequency range to distinctly articulate every finger pluck and rosin-on-gut string texture present in the sound mix. About the only thing that we can possibly say bad about these headphones is that those who like a very laid-back, mellow-sounding, or heavy bass presentation might want to look elsewhere since these are certainly highly refined, audiophile-oriented headphones that deliver a deeply expansive soundstage image along with analytical detail and a liquid immediacy that demands your full attention. And... oh!... what a lovely musical demand it is! For folks looking to approximate the sonic performance of $1,000 headphones, the AKG K702 gets you there at a fraction of the price.

As mentioned, the major difference between the K701-White and K702-Black is the K702 has a detachable headphone cable while the K701 cord is a fixed 'hard-wired' cable design. Both of these basically identical AKG cans offer a number of unique features that create a dramatic improvement over previous AKG 'best-of-category' headphones. Their dynamic range extension and clarity of musical detail & texture is directly improved by a revolutionary proprietary AKG Varimotion diaphragm that is designed to provide smoother pistonic motion and excellent acoustic resonance control. Further, AKG's revolutionary flat-wound voice coil design allows for greater concentrations of the magnetic field within the coil, thus driving the element diaphragm with more authority to deliver a cleaner, faster and ultra-articulate response.

Our own HeadRoom experiences with the AKG K702 echoes the widely held assumption that it requires an extensive chunk of burn-in time to 'open up' sonically and perform at its best, so assume a MINIMUM 300 hours of play-time before the full pleasure of these cans is realized. The soft fabric 'ergonomically-perfect' earcup cushions are a soft velour material -- very comfortable -- and are also designed to angle the drivers precisely at the ear for a more spatially correct listening experience. The K702's easily detachable cord links to the headphones using a 3-pin 'mini-XLR' plug cable system featuring an extremely secure connection and ease of cable replacement should it ever become needed. High-end after-market AUDIOPHILE cords are also available. The headphone cord terminates to a 1/8" [3.5mm] jack with a 'screw-type' 1/4" [6.3mm] plug adapter provided. We love the K702's deep blue-black color scheme, which is understated and sleek. We also think most listeners will enjoy how amazingly comfortable these full-size headphones feel on the head with their well-designed, albeit slightly oversize ergonomics.

Headphone Amp:

For portable listeners using the AKG K702 with iPod, iPad, MP3 players and computers, a dedicated headphone amp of some sort is simply a must for maximized audio performance due to the headphone's low sensitivity, despite its fairly efficient 62 Ohm impedance. Our entry HeadRoom 'Mobile Line' portable headphone amps ($99-$159usd) will do the trick nicely but the more accurate, robust and dynamically-quick HeadRoom 'Micro' or Desktop Amp come well-recommended for this superb headphone.

Accesories:

For dedicated AKG K702 listeners, HeadRoom recommends investing in an upgraded K702 replacement headphone cord from Cardas Audio. Cardas headphone cords are renown for improving dynamic range quickness, soundstage imaging depth & 'spatiality' and maximizing overall musical detail resolution. It's certainly worth trying for audiophiles looking to make their beloved K702 perform at the very top of their acoustic game. Remember, our 30-day 'no questions asked' HeadRoom return period guarantees you'll love what you hear!

Exclusive HeadRoom / Cardas Audio 'Fat-Pipe' AKG K702 headphone replacement cords are available in 10ft and 15ft lengths. 

Exceptional cans
Posted by danielsiders on 2011-10-07

Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: Comfortable, great sound
Cons: needs an amp, delicate construction

Incredibly articulate, with a super-wide soundstage. Best headphones I've ever listened for electronic/dubstep by far. Sound never blurs together, but never blows you over. Every tap, kick, and effect feels separate. I'm catching a lot of bits and pieces I missed with my old RS2's.

Wouldn't recommend for anything you want to be knocked over by. They're accurate and precise and ideal for examining a composition piece by piece, but not for emotional immersion in heavier music--wonderful for electric and acoustic. Might be different on a different amp.

Extremely comfortable for long listening sessions, you barely feel them.

Absolutely needs an amp. Even something basic makes a huge difference, but don't even bother plugging into your source directly, they need a lot more to drive them.

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WOW!
Posted by Alex699 from Sydney, AUSTRALIA on 2011-05-07

Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: Build is as solid as a house
Cons: Haven't found any yet

First off, when I first opened the box to these, my impression was WOW. I know that I've already tried a pair of '701's here locally so I knew what to expect, but these just seemed to be that much better.

After first putting them on my head they seemed massive and way oversized, but when you start listening to some music you begin to understand why the over-statement. I purchased the Cardas Audio Fat Pipe upgrade cable along with these headphones and after trialing the incliding boxed cable and the upgrade cable it's like compairing: chalk and cheese (there's no real compairson).

I write this review after only a short 'burn-in' time of around +/- 50 hours and all I can say is these are by far the best headphones at this pricepoint. I've also tried Senn's HD800's and much prefer the sound but can anyone really justify the extra expense for a pair of cans that are not really twice as good as the price tag suggests?

Again, with the limited burn in time there are sounds in my vinyl collection that I've never heard before on my basic Yamaha turn table, which will be soon replaced with a top Denon (DP-300f), so it's only up from here. All this is keeping in mind that I'm used to the AKG K240's Mk II which are no slouch.

I would by far recommend this product to someone that is serious into getting into the serious head-gear, and missing the serious pricetag.

By the way: here in Sydney Australia these cans are no longer available and the sister K701's retail at AU$1000.

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Detailed Imaging - Not so great low-end
Posted by John Black from Virginia on 2011-01-09

Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: Outstanding details in highs and mids
Cons: Not so great lows until they've had about 400 hours of use

Where to start. I actually bought the K701 headphones in late 2006, and have used them weekly ever since. I recently purchased the K702 as a replacement set and I can say that they are 100% exactly identical, sonically. (Durability was a factor for a replacement purchase. The K701 wore out within almost 5 years.) Out of the box, these are very, very bright, and need to be sufficiently powered to even begin to reach their full potential. As someone who uses headphones for 6-8 hours daily, and deals with many different genres of music, this would not be my pick for engineering tracks, or for remixing. It would however be one of my favorites for listening to certain genres. These headphones require a lot of work to become fully capable, and by lots of work, I mean lots of money after the fact. Investing in a good amp and an upgraded cable will make them sound better, but more importantly it will give you a bit more control and power. They are needy, but treat them well, and they will return the favor.

The upper-end and the mid-range are very accurate, but clinical. By that I mean that they sound harsh at times, but this is their strength, not their weakness. The lows need some work, about 400 hours of burn-in to release the drivers into a more natural state. Any set of headphones will need a time of burn-in to allow the drivers to begin working themselves to a looser position so they can more more freely. The longer you use them, the better they will sound because of this. Drivers start out with stiff choppy movements, especially on the K702, so to loosen them up, I recommend deep tracks with lots of drawn-out bass parts. Overall, this set has certain requirements before listening to them.

Loudness and the lack thereof, are two key factors for me, especially when I'm in the studio. When engineering a track you need to verify the loudness of the track to make sure it isn't clipping, and to get rid of unwanted background noise. Sounds (no pun intended) simple, but it really isn't, unless you have a Superman ears, or just a really great pair of headphones. For this purpose, I cannot recommend the K701/K702.

On the other hand, this set does do quite well in two specific genres. The first that stood out to me was classical and baroque style music. Anything from the early 16th century up to the half-way through the 18th century sounds amazing. The other would have to be Electronica of almost any type. While this set clearly requires an amplified source, and about 400 hours of burn-in to release the full sound of the headphones, it does handle trance/house/dubstep/techno genres with brilliant accuracy. Almost eerie in fact. Listening to the 'Trance Around the World' radio show with A&B has never sounded so good to me. I would dare to say, specifically within this genre, these even beat the Sennheiser HD650 (which beat the AKG's everywhere else...lol).

It's unfortunate that I cannot rate these higher because I really love this set. They are comfortable enough to me, that I am able to where them for extended periods of time without cramps (6-8 hours). Mind you, normal people do not listen with headphones for this long, and rightfully so. PLEASE do not exceed 90dB if you are going to use this set for more than 1 hour at a time, you will damage your hearing indefinitely. Hearing loss is gradual, and goes unnoticed most of the time, so be careful. Overall, I really like this set, and you can easily derive more power from it with an upgraded cable such as the Cardas cable that Headroom sells here on the website. Lastly these things look like a giant antennae atop your noggin, but don't let that throw you off buying them.

My final word, 3.8 stars based on the following. Sound quality - 4.2 stars. Comfort - 4.5 stars only because it's not as tight a fit as the HD650. Look & Feel - 3.5 stars. Durability - 3.5 stars, because I've had other brands easily last twice as long. Overall score - 3.9.

If you do purchase these, plan to invest another $400-$600 in an amp and upgraded cable for them. In the long run, they will NOT achieve what they are capable of without these two essential items.

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Comfort

Look & Feel

Durability

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