K-702 : Wonderful mastering headphones for picking out hidden details, not for recording with mics though!

Let me start by saying I bought these over the 701's because they were in stock and the waiting time on the white 701's was several months. Apparently though they are the same drivers but a bit more comfortable and they feature a removable mini XLR cable.

They come in a fairly low key cardboard box, no fancy accessories or case included though. They are incredibly large if you haven't used pro headphones before, but at the same time wonderfully comfortable. The plush soft velvet ear pads completely fit over the ears and they auto adjust to the size of your head. They are very light and you soon forget you are wearing them! As they are of an open back design, they do little to reduce the background sounds around you. The advantage of this is that you get a very open sound, as if you were listening to speakers. The disadvantage of course is t hat they leak a lot of sound so I would advise against using them when recording a vocal line. For that I use my excellent Audio Technica ATX M50s.

Unlike many reviewers I chose not to 'break them in' and started listening immediately to a few high bit rate m4a tracks in itunes via the headphone output on my Focusrite Saffire Pro 24 DSP. The sound is best described as being faithful, very uncoloured and extremely detailed. Many have said they lack bass, this is not true. Listen to a good quality source and track and you can feel all the low frequencies and hear the instruments, but without the usual bloat and muddle that other cans bring with their emphasised low end. The stereo imaging is extremely solid and well defined, each instrument perfectly placed in the stereo field with precision and clarity. The sound is very open, crisp but not coloured in any way. There's a great sense of depth and this makes these headphones perfect for picking out defects in a mix or analysing the player's slightest nuances on a recording. Listen to a good classical recording and you can clearly hear the players breathing and their hands moving! A very exciting pair of headphones that will surely improve the more I listen to them.

Overall I am very impressed at the 702's, especially given the price of them when compared with other mid to top end headphones. Note that they do take a bit of driving though, I found when using on my iPod that I needed to turn the volume to maximum to get a good listening level so they aren't as sensitive as ear buds or smaller headphones. Get a good headphone amp though and you will love them!

Definitely recommended!