Enter to Win a $8000 PA System!

AKG K812 Open-back Reference Headphones

Open-back Circumaural Headphones with 5Hz-54kHz Frequency Response
$1,819.00

Earn $91 back in Bonus Bucks OR pay $76/month with 24 month financing*

In Stock!

Add to Cart
Notify me about deals

Ask An Expert

Our expertly trained Sales Engineers are ready to help!

What is a Sales Engineer?
Sweetwater Gear Exchange

Have one to sell?
Check out Sweetwater's Gear Exchange!
Learn More

Most Popular Accessories & Related Items

AKG K812 Open-back Reference Headphones
In Stock!
$1,819.00
Add to Cart
Add to list
Back to navigation

This article was Written By

Our Product Research Team

Get to know them!

Unlike Any Headphones You've Heard Before

The AKG K812 reference headphones represent the absolute pinnacle of AKG's headphone technology, giving you the sonic transparency and critical details you need for mixing and mastering. Engineers at Sweetwater know that true reference headphones need to reveal every nuance of your mix, not just sound good. The AKG K812s give you an extremely wide frequency range and excellent transient response, and you can listen for hours without fatigue. Whenever you need an alternative reference to your studio monitor speakers, you can trust the AKG K812 reference headphones.

AKG K812 Open-back Reference Headphones at a Glance:
  • You'll recognize the incredible quality before you even hear them
  • Extended frequency response - yes, it does matter
  • Outstanding transient response and detail from the extremely lightweight design
You'll recognize the incredible quality before you even hear them

AKG understands that virtually every component in your headphones affects the overall sound, from how well the earpads are sealed to the materials used for the voice coil. The K812 reference headphones have been designed from the ground up using top notch materials and construction methods, resulting in the most accurate and wide-ranging headphones AKG has ever produced. The first time you get them in your hands, you just know you're in for a special listening experience.

Extended frequency response - yes, it does matter

The AKG K812 reference headphones boast an amazingly wide frequency response, from just 5Hz all the way to 54kHz. We're often asked at Sweetwater why extended frequency response matters if it goes far beyond our hearing limits. Any speaker or headphone acts like a filter, and it becomes more difficult for the speakers to accurately reproduce frequencies at the extremes of the range - the likelihood of roll-off and distortion increases when you get towards the high- and low-frequency limits. With the extremes of the frequency range lying far outside the audible spectrum, the AKG K812 headphones have no issues giving you ultra-flat, accurate response within the audible range.

Outstanding transient response and detail from the extremely lightweight design

The ultra-lightweight, two-layer aluminum voice coils in the K812 reference headphones give you the superior transient response you need for critical listening tasks. Subtle complexities like brushes on a snare drum or breath noise from a woodwind player are revealed to you just as they appear in your mix.

AKG K812 Open-back Reference Headphones Features:
  • Incredibly accurate and precise headphones for mixing, mastering, and critical listening
  • Outstanding stereo imaging and frequency response from the most powerful magnet system on the market
  • Rich, powerful sound from large 53mm drivers
  • Fast, precise transient details from the lightweight, 2-layer voice coil
  • Accurate sound even when driven hard, thanks to the airflow dome that controls membrane movement
You can mix with confidence on headphones with the AKG K812s!

Additional Media

Warranty Info

Sweetwater's FREE 2-Year Total Confidence Coverage Warranty

Extra peace of mind at no extra cost.

  • Save money with FREE parts and labor
  • Get back to making music with the industry's fastest turnaround time
  • Fix it the first time with our award-winning, factory-certified Service Department
Learn More about Total Confidence Coverage

Free 2-year Warranty

Sweetwater's 2-year Total Confidence Coverage™ Warranty gives you extra peace of mind at no extra cost.

Learn More about Total Confidence Coverage
Tools Icon

Save money with free parts & labor!

Fast Icon

Get back to making music with the industry's fastest turnaround time.

Award Icon

Fix it the first time with our award-winning, factory-certified Service Department.

Back to navigation

Tech Specs

  • Type: Wired
  • Open/Closed: Open
  • Fit Style: Circumaural (Around the Ear)
  • Driver Size: 53mm
  • Noise Attenuation: Passive Noise Isolating
  • Frequency Response: 5Hz-54kHz
  • Impedance: 36 ohms
  • Connectivity: 1/8", 1/4" adapter
  • Cable Type: Straight
  • Cable Length: 9.8'
  • Detachable Cable: Yes
  • Color: Black
  • Material: 3D Shaped Slow-retention Foam Earpads
  • Weight: 0.86 lbs.
  • Manufacturer Part Number: 3458X00010

What Makes Our Sales Engineers Great?

Sweetwater Sales Engineers are a world-class team of experts dedicated to you. Hand selected from across the globe, each brings a wealth of experience and expertise in the world of music gear to provide you with unparalleled service completely free of charge. Friendly relationships, real trust, and the right gear are only a call or a click away!

Back to navigation

Customer Reviews

Write your review
Rated 5/5

A wonderful reference headphone monitors mixing and mastering

good lord where do I start? First off, i was blown away instantly when i pressed play in PT and heard an old session. this baby picks up all the nuiances, color, detail, texture, i mean just amazing. i had used sennheiser hd 650 headphones and they were good but these are so far above those granted the price would make that obvious but seriously if you want monitors to mix and master this are your headphones. Its difficult to describe sound with words but I will liken it to an overcast day thats cold compared to a sunny nice hot summer day by the pool. perhaps its not a great analogy but honestly i don't know how else to describe the intensity of the audio i hear from these. they are adjustable so if your proclivities include small heads then do not fret....you can make then tighter. the stand is outstanding PUN INTENDED sorry bad one :) anyway yeah i'd say buy these in A HEART BEAT. also one little bonus just one cable connecting from the left ear so there aren't two cables getting in your way when your drumming some grateful dead song in 11/3 timing. that always annoying me about the HD 650's. other than that, I'd say these are as good as it gets for my budget. and save up for them if need be but trust me I know its good stuff.
Music background: lots of stuff
Rated 5/5

AKG K812 Pro - Wow . . .

There are many pieces of fantastic equipment (from great companies) that deserve an applause from me! I am one THANKFUL dude! This round goes to Akg and the Akg K812 Pro! The headphone, like a studio monitor, is a representation of the culmination of the end product in making or enjoying music. This is why I really wanted to let anyone know whom is interested, just how good I feel this headphone is for those reasons, and why I wanted to drop this line- that the Akg K812 has represented, to me, a sound like no other I have ever heard for its' intended use (studio or audiophile). I have always loved the Akg 'sound', and have or had, quite a few of their headphones (240M, 240DF, 271, K701, Q701)- and now the K812. I wanted a 'true' reference studio monitor to reveal the amazing sonics' of the Korg Kronos for enjoyment and also for complimentary studio mixing and mastering (I know, but I'm not going there!). Yes, things can always improve (and will), but the primary balance of what is required in the studio is all there [and in spades]. I won't go into all the details, as all the information about this headphone is out there online in reviews, etc. Do your homework, as- subjectivities, preferences, YMMV'ies, etc., all abound and to no end. Nothing is perfect, but the Akg K812 allows me to hear a fantastic representation of what a 'good' sound is (as a studio can) and enjoyment (as an audiophile can) just enough, that any quibble about anything else elitist doesn't matter! It simply just sounds amazing and gets the job done enough for me. This headphone sounds just like a 'high quality' studio monitor in an acoustically treated room. You just have to hear it for yourself and decide if it's for you. The Akg K812 is not cheap (it depends on how you look at it and what your value system is), but is without a doubt, absolutely worth every penny in the production and enjoyment of music. This is not so much a review, as it is an endorsement of a really great product in sound, build quality, and support from Akg. (Thanks to- Nate Edwards, Credit [and Erlita {I'm sorry if I improperly spelled your name, it's just that I've never forgotten you and wanted to mention you!}], and all at Sweetwater for everything! I couldn't have afforded in building my studio without all of you!). I hope this helps anyone even a little bit if your interested in a seriously great headphone! -(IMHO, and Aloha) Excited about music!- Tim
Music background: Recording (Artist)
Rated 4.5/5

AKG K812

One of the best headphones I have ever owned!
Rated 1/5

THOUGHT THEY WERE GOOD BUT THINK AGAIN

STAY AWAY!! THESE HAVE BROKEN TWICE FOR NO REASON THEY ARE TOTAL JUNK!!

AT FIRST BEAUTIFUL THEN THEY BREAK ONCE. GET EM FIXED. BREAK AGAIN. THIS IS A TREND. THEY ARE TOTAL JUNK. STAY AWAY FROM ANY AND ALL AKG HEADPHONES!!!
Music background: lots o' stuff

Hear from a Sales Engineer

What Do Our In-house Gear Experts Think?

Ryan Murray

Incredible, in every way. I've owned and listened to a number of high-end headphones, and AKG's K812s have me absolutely hooked. They deliver deep, punchy bass in all the right ways, wide-open imaging, and a musical depth that's truly uncommon in a headphone. I couldn't be more impressed with these.
Close Close $8,000 PA System Giveaway -- input your email address below to enter or click here to learn more.

See giveaway details & rules or check out our past winners!

Success!

Your email, test has been entered to win this giveaway. Good Luck!