A lot of people hit it right on the nose.

Affluence, Luxury, Convenience, Preference~

The motivations for any hobby differ from person to person.
Audio is a predominantly subjectively driven pursuit with many variable opinions on qualifiers for quality, tonality, impressions, and A E S T E T I C appriciation.

The end result is, people adapt their budget, space, and interest into exploring the rabbit hole.

One person's opinion : Speakers aren't terribly sexy. I can't take them with me, they depend heavily on the room for performance. They are bothersome to the people I share my home with. I seldom have the opportunity to sit and enjoy them, and I'm not particularly fond of what they do to music.

It feels like I never have absolute control of sound, and that I'm suck on one piece of equipment as opposed to having fun exploring different ideas and profiles.

I've moved even from Headphones to IEMs & DAPS.
Having immediate, enduring, long lasting access to music when I NEED it most has been far more enriching to my life than the demo room. I've had speakers, but didn't fall in love with music until I had FIDELITY in the office.

Low key, unironically some of the best content on here!
Very creative, I love it~

It may be even less pretentious than actual audio reviews and Its amazing!

The nature of good transparent headphones is that they're absolutely boring, agreed! I think people come to appreciate those sorts of sets later in life as hearing goes and things get muddied, keeping things separated, clean, and resolving tends to shine there~

Like putting on glasses as vison grows poor!

That said, I think everyone would benefit from at least one set of GOOD transparent headphones so they have something to compare against; a "Control" so to speak so you can reference what some of the wonkier Frequency responses sound like in comparison to just "Transparent" sound

That's been my big issue with the DT 770 too, there's really nowhere to go~You start getting into some real meme level headphones in their upgrade path as their tuning is peculiar in the closed back world and nothing unmodded or without EQ really sounds like a more Resolving DT 770.

To that end nothing is really exactly LIKE the DT 770 but better, there's always a compromise so instead of looking to "Replace" them, I've just gone for entirely different tuning profiles as supplementation~ I imagine I'll keep these until they're gone then promptly replace them!

Despite having many different headphones, the DT 770 32 ohm set is the one I use daily on my PC~ It's a variable monster that's distinct in it's category and a wonderful gateway into accessible audiophile sound~ The Velour absolutely is a must, they help so much with on-ear heat and the loss of seal isn't too bad!

Great choice! Enjoy!

Between the 701 & 712, the 712 receives more attention~

I'm not in music production, reviews, or an industry that really would benefit from the traits that really allow the 701 to shine; it's own invisibility.

I bought the 701 during a time where I was experimenting with sound in the absence of EQ, looking for something that would enchant me. They fall into a very comfortable middle ground, a safe side grade option against the HD6XX series of headphones.

The K712 turns up with some quality of life improvements with more comfortable cups; the faintest darker sound, and a bit more spice; like adding a pinch of salt to bland food.

It doesn't RADICALLY change the K7XX series, it tunes it a bit to warm it up a little.

Between the 701, 712 Pro, and DT 990, if I was getting in the game, and could only take one, I'd go with the DT 990 for music, it's just a lot more fun to actually listen to things with. If I needed a versatile headphone for things alongside music; watching youtube, TV, Laptop sound, some games, then Probably the Q701/K701.

It's transparency means you get a very 'true to life' feel for sound that is not so much anemic as much as it is... "Straight up", You get what you get and nothing more, which IS valuable to some people.

The AKG701 / AKG 712 Pro are a more neutral sounding, restrained and mellow headphone than the DT 990.

Some people find the DT 990 to be to bright, a little fatiguing for long sessions, and a bit uneven, and the AKG 701/712 offers a good, clear, and wide headset that still focuses predominantly in areas of treble without being as forward or overtly present.

The 701/712 has a recessed tuning on all areas of Bass which results on a sense of "Forward" presentation for vocals, strings, and cymbals. As a result, it makes for a headphone that at lower volumes can feel like it's lacking in excitement and as a result they can be a little boring.

They do have a healthy amount of sound reproduction and authenticity with above average soundstage which as made them popular for things outside of music, like media consumption (youtube, podcasts, anime, and video games) as content requiring space, speaking, and clarity are well expressed within the AKG 701/712.

The DT 990 ends up being the more "Fun" headphone, and while AKG would love to replace the DT 990 as your budget studio headphone, they don't really fill the same needs.

That said, they are not DRASTICALLY different in general profile~ I'd say the K701 is less forgiving than the DT 990 and cares more about source clarity and will let you hear a good bit of transparency in your equipment and sound, while the DT990 will bring it forward, enthuse a listener a bit more, and amp up the treble at average listening in a way that's a little unnatural but not oppressive in most tracks.

If you LIKE the DT 990, and are looking for a step up, the AKG 701/712 is not going to be a suitable jump for you. Beyerdynamic headphones have a distinct sound profile among their equipment that isn't often done better than their own in-house stuff.