AKG K271 MK II Chinese Review (Headphone)

[DanielT]

Thanks for the test Amir!

Now I'm not a "headphone guy" but in addition to sound quality, I would definitely go for how nice headphones are to wear. Of course it is subjective so Amir can not "test" it, but like Amir does here , pointed out, a little note in passing,I think is perfectly ok.
Amir:
I tested, these feel quite cheap. But due to large cups, they are reasonably comfortable.

Maybe a "sweaty ear test" he he.

Material in the headphones, however, I think should be stated, that is, type of fabric or leather (artificial leather or genuine).

 

[pavuol]

Yep, thanks Harman for that. Thanks for closing the Austrian factory and losing all that accumulated knowledge. Thanks for downgrading just about every part of AKGs headphones, from the quality of the plugs, the cable, the hinges, the pads and clearly it seems, the drivers too. Thanks for shutting down the availability of spare parts for the 'pro' lines where you used to be able to ring a guy and get anything you needed, right down to the elastic suspension strings for any product, no matter how old.

But hey, we still have service manual available, from when, 2008..?

Seriously, Amazon listing this as "Professional Studio Headphones" with this sort of out-of-box FR seems just crazy to me.. (no matter what "version")

 

[Thomas_A]

Thanks for this review. I listened to the original K271 20 years ago and it sounded and measured way better than this. Perhaps there has been successive degradation of quality.

@amirm, is it possible to RMS average L and R and show the Austrian and Chinese-made models in the same diagram?

 

[solderdude]

But hey, we still have service manual available, from when, 2008..?

Seriously, Amazon listing this as "Professional Studio Headphones" with this sort of out-of-box FR seems just crazy to me.. (no matter what "version")

AKG lists it as a professional studio headphone. I think it is much more useful as a monitor headphone than a hi-fi headphone.
They have other line-ups for that.

I (and I don't think any serious studio owner) would ever think of using it for mastering.
It's just a cheap throwaway headphone that due to its construction can take a beating.

I just got in a DT240Pro... it says professional monitoring headphone on it.. costs € 66,-
There really is nothing professional about it other than the coiled cord and price.

 

[Razorhelm]

Any ideas what is causing that abrupt response change at 700hz? I have a set of coaxial speakers with a very similar looking effect in my measurements of them.

 

[solderdude]

It is a resonance, could be in the driver and/or cup.
This can be seen in the GD and impedance plot.

 

[Razorhelm]

@solderdude Thanks!

 

[heraldo_jones]

These were my first pro headphones. I must admit that the stock sound is better in perception than the graphs show. Also with the Oratory eq correction they are vastly improved. Mine were the austrian made.

 

[Thomas_A]

These were my first pro headphones. I must admit that the stock sound is better in perception than the graphs show. Also with the Oratory eq correction they are vastly improved. Mine were the austrian made.

There are measurements of the K271 made in 2002 which looks far better than the ones reviewed here.

 

[Jimbob54]

I think anyone would be well advised to put there money elsewhere than these. Seems the £100- £200 market is as much of a wild west as the high end market.

 

[solderdude]

There are measurements of the K271 made in 2002 which looks far better than the ones reviewed here.

Maybe the older (mk1) had a somewhat different sound ?
The mkII was launched around 2009 (as far as I can see).


Tyll's measurements (K271-mkII) with (roughly) Harman target drawn in and the needed correction for Tyll's incorrect compensation.
So the green line is actually the horizontal line and the measurements are relative to the green line.

Note 5dB/div where Amir uses 2.5dB/div.

Looks pretty similar.

and don't forget @oratory1990 measurements.

I haven't measured it nor am I ever planning to. It's not a hifi headphone.

 

[Thomas_A]

The measurement I have in a magazine from 2002 is similar to that attached for the K271 Studio. Better bass and smoother treble.

 

[respice finem]

But hey, we still have service manual available, from when, 2008..?

Seriously, Amazon listing this as "Professional Studio Headphones" with this sort of out-of-box FR seems just crazy to me.. (no matter what "version")

Professionally screwed up is also, somehow, "professional" it's all just marketing BS nowadays...

 

[_thelaughingman]

OMG, that FR is hideous. I bought these about six months ago from Amazon, returned them immediately due to their poor quality build. It's made of plastic and the ear pads were extremely uncomfortable. Glad I did not waste my money on this.

 

[solderdude]

The measurement I have in a magazine from 2002 is similar to that attached for the K271 Studio. Better bass and smoother treble.

The mk1 is no longer available though so the measurements are not representative for the current mk2 version.

 

[Thomas_A]

The mk1 is no longer available though so the measurements are not representative for the current mk2 version.

Yes agree about that. My point was that the K271 model has not been improved upon but rather the opposite. Perhaps in several steps from mk1 to mk2 and from Austrian to Chinese manufacturing.

 

[Vini darko]

Superlux offer the same shonky build and binbag pads for £30.

 

[nyxnyxnyx]

Yep, thanks Harman for that. Thanks for closing the Austrian factory and losing all that accumulated knowledge. Thanks for downgrading just about every part of AKGs headphones, from the quality of the plugs, the cable, the hinges, the pads and clearly it seems, the drivers too. Thanks for shutting down the availability of spare parts for the 'pro' lines where you used to be able to ring a guy and get anything you needed, right down to the elastic suspension strings for any product, no matter how old.

wow.... I've heard pieces and bits about the downfall of AKG's quality throughout the years but I didn't expect it to sound so.... terrible in this fashion.
Can you tell me your previous experiences with AKG back when they were still a dominant force in the headphones market? I've had a few vintages AKG and while I never truly liked any of them I found out that they were highly appreciated back in the days.

 

[Zensō]

Yikes!

 

[Robbo99999]

Maybe the older (mk1) had a somewhat different sound ?
The mkII was launched around 2009 (as far as I can see).


Tyll's measurements (K271-mkII) with (roughly) Harman target drawn in and the needed correction for Tyll's incorrect compensation.
So the green line is actually the horizontal line and the measurements are relative to the green line.
View attachment 183841
Note 5dB/div where Amir uses 2.5dB/div.

Looks pretty similar.

and don't forget @oratory1990 measurements.

I haven't measured it nor am I ever planning to. It's not a hifi headphone.

Wow, and Oratory also says the following on his pdf file re the EQ for this headphone:

So that's another negative point for this headphone. Gees, not good, oh well.