AKGPro Audio K612PRO, Black, 4.30 x 8.80 x 9.80 inches (2458X00100)

I was leery about buying these since I knew ahead of time that most are now made in China instead of Germany. I messaged the seller and he confirmed they would be the China version. I made the purchase anyway. These are made of plastic, sure. It did not detract from the sound quality one bit though. These K612's in my opinion are a must have headphone. Inexpensive for what you get and have superb sound quality. Big earcups, comfortable earpads, lightweight and wonderful sound. The only downside is that they don't have a detachable cable.If you are a gamer looking for a bad a$$ gaming headphone, look no further. A few things to keep in mind though. Make sure you have a good sound card. AKG are known for their mids and highs. If you want a little more warmth in your gaming, just make a couple slight EQ adjustments. I like bass, but don't consider myself a basshead by any means. So I have made a slight adjustment on my Sound Blaster Z's EQ and I must say, these put out some of the cleanest bass I've ever hear. They get very low and sound superb. The mids and highs, well, best I've heard. Crisp and clear. I play competitively and have been since the 90's (old school gamer here), these AKG k612's are almost like using a cheat in FPS gaming. The sound imaging these have will allow you to know exactly where the enemies are (by way of footsteps or any other sounds they make). I game with several people when playing competitively and am always the first person to hear footsteps and pinpoint where they are coming from. I highly recommend these for gaming.As far as music goes. Make sure your collection is in FLAC format or some other high quality lossless. MP3 doesn't cut it anymore. You hear all the imperfections of the compressed audio and it makes music sound terrible. If playing FLAC or something of the sort, your music will sound better than it ever has before. I listen to everything (except country) and these things perform astoundingly.(side note: I also bought a Schiit Magni to go along with these, as a friend on Head-Fi told me that they sound better with more power. My Sound Blaster Z has a 600ohm AMP. I DO double AMP these. I have volumes turned down in Windows and I have my Magni sitting around the 1 O'Clock postion. Swapping back and forth between the AMP and no AMP, I only notice a very slight difference, of course they will get louder, but the sound itself does have a slight change. The Magni is known for making sound "brighter" and it does, this is why I slightly adjust the EQ to offset this. But as far as sound quality goes, I do notice that with the Magni the overall sound gets a little cleaner. It may not justify the extra $100 to buy an AMP, I hear the Schiit Vali is better for the AKG line, but I feel this Magni makes enough difference to justify what I payed. Even if the difference is slight, it is there. The Amp is not necessary with a good Sound Card, but may be something to look into.I also have some Pioneer SE-A1000's coming in the mail, should be here by this weekend. I will compare them with these after I have them and will update this review.

I got them used like new for about 120$, they sound more neutral than the Sennheiser HD6XX headphones (which I got for about 250$) and have much better stereo imaging, the only things worse about them in terms of sound quality is that they are slightly less detailed than the Sennheiser HD6XX.Regarding comfort, they squeeze and crush your head a lot right out the box and the earpads are stiff, but with use, they break in and are pretty comfy, although not as comfy as the Beyerdynamic DT880 Pro. (in case you're wondering, they sound worse than the AKG K612 pro at a similar asking price)Build quality is pretty mediocre but on par with the HD6XX except for the extremely long (3 meters or about 9 feet) soldered on cable, which I use twist ties to keep in check.TL;DR: Amazing sound quality for the price with mediocre build quality and high clamping force right out the box.I recommend putting books between these overnight to fix the clamping force without having to squeeze your head.

First of all, I'd like to thank the highly-recommended seller, Cyberstation Sound, for allowing me to test two versions of the AKG K612PRO: one that is Made in Austria (which I refer to as the original audiophile version) and one Made in China (the mass-market version). This is a subjective, user-experience impression (non-technical/non-scientific), and observations are based on detail-versus-detail. My reason for doing this comparison is to find out if there is a difference in terms of cost-to-value between two supposedly identical products. Furthermore, this is to answer the question, is it worth paying the MSRP of $279 versus the street price of $139, as offered by Cyberstation Sound?Product packaging. Both versions have a well-made box with Velcro closer, but the Austrian's is thinner but stiffer. The outer sleeve to keep the box extra secure is also thinner and stiffer with the Austrian; good as storage case, since the K612PRO does not come with one.The product itself. The build quality of the Austrian appears to be better. It is slightly heavier in weight, likely attributed to the real, though cheap-quality (cracks on the thin sides), self-adjusting leather headband. The Chinese uses pleather (plastic, leather-look), the texture of which is smoother and has that plastic smell. Both have thin vinyl liners on the head side.The outer headband appears to be comparable in quality. The Austrian's is metal (cold to the touch and has that metallic ring when tapped), while the Chinese seems to use plastic (not cold and flat-sounding when tapped). The aluminum-looking headband slider attachments are plastic on both. The Austrian uses metal locking knobs, while the Chinese uses plastic. Both use rubber loops.Cups. The silver grid covers are plastic on both, but the perforations on the Austrian are noticeably larger. The larger cup covers and rings are plastic on both, but the Austrian's black color is really dark brown against the black cushions, while the Chinese has gun-metal gray color.The black cushions are both over-the-ear in size, but the Austrian's surround the ears with seemingly more cavernous space as they enclose the ears without direct pressure on the ears, and they felt more firm against the side of the head despite the velour fabric. The Chinese-made felt more plush and thicker, lending to a more comfy feel with the velour fabric, though they press on the ears.Cables are the same thickness, but the Austrian feels stiffer and gives the impression of made for long-term durability. The Chinese feels softer, giving the impression of made for light-duty, short-term durability.The head fit. The Austrian has a more form-fitting feel over the curvature of the head, thanks to the real leather. The Chinese felt stiffer, as the plastic headband was made as such. In combination with the cushions, the Austrian is significantly preferable.Sound. The Austrian demonstrates more bass than the Chinese. The Chinese exerts crisper highs. The 101 dB SPL helps both versions to exert a loud delivery of sounds, allowing both to project an excellent, clearly-defined soundscape along the wide frequency response range of 12-39500 Hz. In fact, the highs are even better sounding than the 35 kHz generated by the Beyerdynamic DT990. The overall sound generated is not muddy or muffled. The clarity is "HD". And, as suggested by the seller, there is a break-in time of 100 hours to actually get the best sound out of these cans. Out-of-the-box, though, the sound is already notable.Verdict. Initial impressions point to the Austrian as a better deal over the Chinese-made for the price, if slight differences are important factors in the BUYING experience. I like the feel of real leather headband (better if AKG used belt-like cowhide), the real metal (titanium?) outer headband, and the confidence that the headband is held by real metal locking knobs. As far as listening experience, preference for more distinct lows will lean on the Austrian, for more mid and highs on the Chinese. For more bass, the Austrian would appeal more. But, it is the buyer's choice. Build quality is mediocre for both, as both use lots of plastic and cheap parts; this model is likely not as durable as any Beyerdynamic or Sennheiser in the same price range. Given the technology put into it, the MSRP of $279 is likely attributed to the brand name. A street price range of $90-$110 is more realistic for this entry-level pair of cans, in this buyer's opinion. Would I buy this model again? Sure, but for a price below $100 (compare this model with the $83 Audio Technica ATH-A500X, 5-30 kHz, which feels like a feather on your head for long hours of listening). Bottomline, this particular AKG model is a fun pair of cans to use for long periods of time, but buyer beware of the cost/benefit. There are several alternatives out there that can match or beat this model. Three stars overall for good sound balance and for potentially short-term durability (it will fall apart sooner than later mainly due to the heavy use of plastic and cheap materials).