Or you mod them

Another review suggesting that there is definitely something wrong with K812s... http://www.head-fi.org/t/708755/akg-k812-serial-no-001106-headphones-review

"I even heard them ringing, yes, true. Was listen to Bach cello suites by Jean Guihen Queyras track no.1 in G Major .1.Prélude and at the very last part when cello takes that higher pitch, man, sszzinng happens for a second several times during play. I pick up HD800 and nothing there, putting K702 on, no, also nothing. Trying K812 again and yes, here we go, same place, same distortion, I checked 5 times to be sure of it."

"HD800 are less direct sounding, having very beautiful 3D presentation, without pushing the midsection. The level of detail is on pair with K812, but less shouting, it doesn’t jump out, if you like. The bass is deeper and less prominent, subtle midbass oomph is very acceptable. Voices are smooth and very delicate, all the time and with any record I tried. They are not neutral, certainly not the same tonality as K812, but this makes them sound more forgiving with many different music styles. Think of hard and heavy metal or electronica, they do them very well without making your ears cry."

That quite matches my opinion about HD800 (at least with the pair I own). Even though I can hear its ringing/excess energy in treble (and therefore trying to mod them), I would definitely not call them completely unforgiving... I can easily listen to whatever music I want - including the worst-recorded metal or dance music - as they are smooth-sounding on my setup. That said, I agree that it takes some work to establish the right synergy within your chain... And that there definitely are more forgiving headphones out there.

If anything HF has done for the "community", it's to help escalate prices to completely absurd levels. I simply consider headphones like the HE-500+jerg pads and Slants to be better for far less money.

Here's to the Chinese not giving a fuck  . HiFiMan fanboi for life.

I started to wonder when I realized my friend uses Decware amps, and how I thought mine sounded a little less lively on that amp compared to his.. I asked him to bring his K812 over, and we listened to both his and mine on the Black Diamond side-by-side. My suspicions were confirmed: the treble on his was sharper and more pronounced. On the Decware this resulted in my liking his K812 more, because it kind of counter balanced the more euphonic amp. On the Black Diamond however, it became clear to both of us that the treble was more fatiguing on his set.

I still wouldn't call it anything like the HD700, but it shows me that variation is there among K812s like with the K550. Wouldn't surprise me if some K812s were quite a bit more fatiguing subjective to some.

The K812 still wont be for everyone obviously, but I do encourage others to give it a try if the opportunity arises. I was talking to Don about them, and he told me he felt there were the best commercial dynamic he's ever heard (obviously modded dynamics don't count). Personally I'm a very happy camper with my K812 --- I dig it. Dunno if I'd be as happy with my friend's however. Like the SR-009, the fatigue sets in over time.