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SONY 7506 vs AKG K702 Headphones

B

Brian Bowers

As I had posted previously, the SONY model 7506 headphone has been my favorite for over 10 years now. I like them because to me, they sound very flat, when it comes to spectral balance, which I need. They're also efficient, can reach high SPL's when necessary, and sound very close to most of the speaker monitoring systems I listen to on a daily basis. I also like the fact that when I am in loud transmitter rooms, they are able to block out most of the noise, as they are a closed cup design. Most mixing boards don't have any problem driving them at all. I don't doubt a lot of other people like them too, as I seem them everywhere. As I have purchased boxes of these over the years, they always sound great brand new right out of the box, with no burn-in time needed. Drivers, ear pads and connecting cables (not the headband one though) are easily replaceable.

I read many positive reviews of the AKG "Premium Class-Reference" K702's and decided to purchase a set. They are immediately going back. I spent about 15 minutes with them, and that's all the time it took for me to decide the listening experience wasn't pleasurable. I felt that the model wasn't capable of even coming close to the SPL's that the 7506 is capable of reproducing, even if I had given them an extended burn-in time. They are very inefficient (impedance is listed as 62 ohms), requiring a lot of power to make them crank. Even with a ton of power, I felt they were still not capable of producing the 7506 SPL. Bass was almost non-existent right from the start. I just couldn't live with that, and I guess I don't have the patience to give it 100-300 hours of burn-in time to see if the bass response improves. The spectral balance was not flat, to my ears. Comfort level was good. I had already known they were an open cup design, but if they sounded great, I was able to live with that.

I thought I would post that info just in case anyone is interested. Obviously these are my opinions, but I'm betting if you're a fan of the 7506, you'd probably form close to the same opinions as I did.
 
I would check out a pair of Beyerdynamic DT-770 Pros in 32 ohms (if you have mediocre headphone amps)... One of the most transparent headphones you can get, very comfortable adjustable (steel framed) plush pleather headband, just as comfortable velour ear pads, and one of the most noise rejecting pair of cans too... into and out of the ear cups. You won't get any bleed from them, unlike the K70x which are semi-open. The bass rise on them is also very healthy.

Check it out :)

frequency response
http://i.imgur.com/PrMw6.png

isolation
http://i.imgur.com/HYeKV.png

50hz square wave response
http://i.imgur.com/asy7I.png
here you can see how the 7506 is losing a lot of detail in the low-end, in comparison with a more accurate pair of headphones like the DT-770s. Frequency response only tells you part of the story.
 
Jesse Graffam said:
I would check out a pair of Beyerdynamic DT-770 Pros in 32 ohms (if you have mediocre headphone amps)... One of the most transparent headphones you can get, very comfortable adjustable (steel framed) plush pleather headband, just as comfortable velour ear pads, and one of the most noise rejecting pair of cans too... into and out of the ear cups. You won't get any bleed from them, unlike the K70x which are semi-open. The bass rise on them is also very healthy.
Click to expand...

Indeed, the isolation with DT-770 is exceptional. If you're playing music, you will not hear anything around you ;D

I didn't find them as comfortable as the AKGs K240 though, when you need to have the cans on for longer periods of time. And the sound is more accentuated especially in the bass. I didn't find them as relaxed and neutral as the K240s, perhaps because of their closed-back design. Nevertheless, they are excellent headphones and if you're specifically looking for closed headphones, they are probably one of the best in the category.


Regards,
Goran Tomas
 
After using the Sony 7509 (MDR-V900) for a long time I got into trouble when Sony discontinued them. I think getting used to a new set of headphonesis usually a troublesome proces, you lose your reference to sound and texture and have to 'create' a new one. After numerous 'testdrives' I finally ended up using the Beyerdynamic BT-250 and must admit... even if it became available again I wouldn't go back to the 7509 ;D
 
I think you're right Richard. Adjusting to a new reference takes time, and I'm not sure I have the patience to do that anymore, especially with headphones. Interpretting sound reproduction is very subjective. Who knows what you are hearing, and how your brain is processing it, compared to what I am hearing. I guess the 7506 has been my reference for so long, that to my brain and ears, if a different set, model, manufacturer, doesn't have better sound reproduction than it, right off the bat, I seem to recognize that quickly, and dismiss the set. I had mentioned in a previous post how I was recently comparing 5 tuners side by side. I took 2 at a time and A/B'd them, in as a controlled environment as I could. I really studied the sound between these 5 tuners for about 5 months. I took that amount of time because the differences were so subtle. But there were definitely differences. To me, headphones are much easier to compare, because most sound so different from each other. For instance, 3 sets that sound semi close (to me) are the SONY 7506, Grado SR60, and the KOSS Porta Pro. I could spend hours or days comparing those sets, trying to figure out which one sounds best to me. To me they all sound pretty good (at least the 3 sets I have do). I wish you could just walk into a store and demo any headset in a particular price range you were shopping for. I don't have that capability in my area. So instead, if I wanted to, I would have to order sets on-line, and then return them if dissatisfied. Fitting that into my schedule would be tough, and with all of the sets out there, it could almost turn into a fulltime job.
 
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