AKG K7XX

[Mr. Whale]

I'm considering buying the K7XX's which are currently selling on Massdrop. Would I be able to run them on my motherboards built in soundcard? It's a Maximus VIII Formula. Also, I've never really owned an expensive pair of headphones before and I wanted to know if the price hike is worth it on them? I've got a few friends who say it's not but I would like to see other peoples opinons. I'm currently using a pair of M-Audio BX5 D2'S for most of my audio needs, I am however moving to a place which wont let me crank up the volume too loud because of noise complains, thus my idea of buying a nice pair of headphones. Cheers.

[FloRolf]

Yeah your motherboard is fine. I personally don't like the K7XX a lot though. The price of higher end headphones is defintely justifiable though. 

What kind of sound signature are you looking for? And what usecase? Also better open or closed?

[FIXXX]

In my experience you might need to crank up the volume higher than you're used to.

Owned a pair of AKG Q701's and had to raise it quite a bit for them to work properly. An amplified works quite well to bring them to life.

[Mr. Whale]

1 minute ago, FloRolf said:

Yeah your motherboard is fine. I personally don't like the K7XX a lot though. The price of higher end headphones is defintely justifiable though. 

What kind of sound signature are you looking for? And what usecase? Also better open or closed?

If I'm being honest mate I dont really know, I'm a bit of a novice when it comes to audio. i just wanted a nice quality pair to go with at the start, I'm a graphic desiger so I'll be spending a lot of time with these things on my head. The K7XX's look comfortable, and from what I heard they sound pretty good. Honestly, any suggestions to different products is welcomed

[FloRolf]

1 minute ago, Mr. Whale said:

If I'm being honest mate I dont really know, I'm a bit of a novice when it comes to audio. i just wanted a nice quality pair to go with at the start, I'm a graphic desiger so I'll be spending a lot of time with these things on my head. The K7XX's look comfortable, and from what I heard they sound pretty good. Honestly, any suggestions to different products is welcomed

Okay sure, I totally understand that.

How about you take a look at that list right here and look for something that suits you?

I for one don't think the 7XX are that comfortable. The Beyerdynamics DT series is much better (Like DT880, also what i started from in the audiophile world).

Hifimans are REALLY comfy aswell but don't hold up in build quality with Beyerdynamic.

Sennheiser HD598/599 or HD600 are also always welcome.

 

[Mr. Whale]

1 minute ago, FloRolf said:

Okay sure, I totally understand that.

How about you take a look at that list right here and look for something that suits you?

I for one don't think the 7XX are that comfortable. The Beyerdynamics DT series is much better (Like DT880, also what i started from in the audiophile world).

Hifimans are REALLY comfy aswell but don't hold up in build quality with Beyerdynamic.

Sennheiser HD598/599 or HD600 are also always welcome.

 

Thanks that list should really help, I was thinking about some Bayerdynamic DT990's a little while ago, do you think that would require an amplifer?

 

[FloRolf]

3 minutes ago, Mr. Whale said:

Thanks that list should really help, I was thinking about some Bayerdynamic DT990's a little while ago, do you think that would require an amplifer?

 

yeah, they are the open version of the 880   

And no, only the 600ohm version would require one. You should get the 250Ohm one.

[Mr. Whale]

Just now, FloRolf said:

yeah, they are the open version of the 880   

And no, only the 600ohm version would require one. You should get the 250Ohm one.

Right okay thanks for your help, I'm still at a tossup between the K7XX's but I'll keep researching. That list you linked me to will help a LOT. 

 

[FloRolf]

3 minutes ago, Mr. Whale said:

Right okay thanks for your help, I'm still at a tossup between the K7XX's but I'll keep researching. That list you linked me to will help a LOT. 

 

keep the income taxes in mind though! And like 3months shipping lol.

I'd advice against them. Do you have an audio store near you for testing? 7XX are almost normal K712 for testing.

[Mr. Whale]

Nah I dont really mate, tech stuff in the UK is pretty far and few between.

 

They've said that it would be here in like 2-4 weeks after to drop, it would come to around £170 in total. 

 

13 minutes ago, FloRolf said:

keep the income taxes in mind though! And like 3months shipping lol.

I'd advice against them. Do you have an audio store near you for testing? 7XX are almost normal K712 for testing.

 

[aithos]

1 hour ago, Mr. Whale said:

If I'm being honest mate I dont really know, I'm a bit of a novice when it comes to audio. i just wanted a nice quality pair to go with at the start, I'm a graphic desiger so I'll be spending a lot of time with these things on my head. The K7XX's look comfortable, and from what I heard they sound pretty good. Honestly, any suggestions to different products is welcomed

The K7XX's are good headphones and they are amazing for gaming due to their neutral sound signature and great soundstage.  However, they are pretty picky when it comes to amplification despite not being high impedance headphones so while you can run them off your motherboard (and the ROG MB's are much better than most for sound) they won't sound nearly as good as with dedicated amplification.

 

I also strongly suggest you try to find a pair to test out if at all possible (even some of the other AKG K700 series) to make sure they are comfortable, because they are extremely hit/miss depending on your head size/shape.  I have them and the way the size adjustment works puts pressure in a small bump on the top of my head that after a while becomes pretty uncomfortable.  As a result I don't use them much and instead use my Sennheiser HD650's as my all-around headphones despite the AKG being better for gaming.

 

As for the Beyerdynamic line-up: they aren't very good for gaming and most of them are heavy on the treble and will cause fatigue during longer sessions.  I would strongly recommend either Sennheiser HD598SE's as an entry level pair or the HD650's as the step up, both are extremely comfortable and are well-rounded headphones for gaming use.  Although they are both open-back so in noisy environments you will hear more around you.

 

edit: on the subject of Massdrop... I've bought numerous things from them and they are great.  The prices and products are a very good value for what you get and the customer service is excellent if you have any problems.  If you don't mind a bit of  a wait on certain products I highly recommend them, but can't speak to taxes/import if you're in EU.

[Dackzy]

1 hour ago, FloRolf said:

yeah, they are the open version of the 880   

And no, only the 600ohm version would require one. You should get the 250Ohm one.

 

The 880 and 990 sound very differently, plus the 880s are semi-open but really just open.

[SSL]

My two cents, the price on the K7 xx is more than fair. If they turn out not to be worth it I suspect you could sell them at minimal loss. Being a Mass drop item helps in this regard.

[Mr. Whale]

10 minutes ago, SSL said:

My two cents, the price on the K7 xx is more than fair. If they turn out not to be worth it I suspect you could sell them at minimal loss. Being a Mass drop item helps in this regard.

I can not find a single pair second hand in the UK, so I might even be able to break even if I found the right buyer