A significant improvement on AKG’s previous flagship headphones, the K812s are refined, revealing and comfortable.

But when the music has a complex treble, it's harsh uncontrolled frequency response between 3kHz and 10kHz reveals itself as a fatal flaw to my ears. Many will perceive them as simply highly detailed, and many will disagree with my take by putting more weight on the beautifully musical and spacious aspects of the K812. But I find them artificially bright compared to the true high-frequency resolution of the Sennheiser HD 800, which I warm up with careful component matching and EQ if I feel the need.

Pamper the K812s and you get a wonderfully faithful sound that’s as insightful as we’ve heard from headphones at this price