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AKG K371 Review (closed back headphone)

_thelaughingman

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Crinacle' EQ actually corrects the dip around 3k to 4.8k.
 

Robbo99999

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Crinacle' EQ actually corrects the dip around 3k to 4.8k.
Does he provide EQ's now? Last time I looked I just thought he provided measurements, where does he publish the EQ's?

EDIT: and that looks a lot easier to correct than the Oratory measurement - so that's unit to unit variation or his measurement protocol.
 

Feelas

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Does he provide EQ's now? Last time I looked I just thought he provided measurements, where does he publish the EQ's?

EDIT: and that looks a lot easier to correct than the Oratory measurement - so that's unit to unit variation or his measurement protocol.
Might as well be both due to unit variation and slight placement differences; see on RTINGS how much fit variability they arrived at for 371s - that's quite a big one.
 

Jim Shaw

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I just sprung for a pair of the AKG K371 headphones. Good review here, especially for me because I'd rather buy good transducers than mess with the complexity of EQ. And my big usage is for long days, once a month, of anti-immune infusions with just an Android phone, Amazon HD, a dongle , and a wired headphone. I've had annoying experiences with wireless and active noise canceling devices, pretty uniformly. Music means everything to me -- especially when I'm stuck to a chair and able to concentrate. Earlier today, I decided to bench my AKG 241s, which I'll still use for routine editing chores on the laptop. They are fine for comfort and routine 'studio' use. These K371s are currently on sale for $109 at Sweetwater (thru 8/31/22), shipped free, with a 30-day return if I don't love them. Previously, I've had entirely good experiences with Sweetwater.

Wish me success. Listening to a most beautiful rendition of the Saint Saens #3 earlier today, I noticed some annoyances with low frequencies and uneven highs -- thus the benching of the K241s. Here's hoping. And if I break or lose them, it's not like a set of Dan Clark's, eh?

PS: Why not the K361s? They're on sale also, but the 371s come with an included coiled cord, which fits my use. ~~~~~
 

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_thelaughingman

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Does he provide EQ's now? Last time I looked I just thought he provided measurements, where does he publish the EQ's?

EDIT: and that looks a lot easier to correct than the Oratory measurement - so that's unit to unit variation or his measurement protocol.
When you go to his webpage he provides free graphs, but on the right side there is an option to create autoeq file based off the measurements. I think his measurements are a tad bit different than oratory. He also predominantly measures his own target, he calls “IEF Neutral”
 

Jim Shaw

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Oratory EQ doesn't fully correct that dip though, still looks pretty significant even after EQ:
I think that's enough that it wouldn't "sound amazing" - as you say you didn't think they sounded amazing. The soundstage variable and also how well they seal on your head is another variable that could throw a spanner in the works.....also unit to unit variation, I don't know how much the K371 varies between units. I mean I still think that the K371 can be a solid headphone if it fits you properly, just I wouldn't expect it to sound amazing.
Amazing? What does that even mean?
One man's "amazing" is another man's "gawd awful." Beats generally tend to sound "amazing." Tweens love 'em: bash, crash, zing, scream, thud, cheer.

-Just one man's view :)
 

Robbo99999

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Amazing? What does that even mean?
One man's "amazing" is another man's "gawd awful." Beats generally tend to sound "amazing." Tweens love 'em: bash, crash, zing, scream, thud, cheer.

-Just one man's view :)
In terms of "amazing", I'm just talking about my own experience with headphones and headphone EQ and judging how they'd sound from the fact that there's a massive and quite wide dip there in the treble - hence me saying that I think they wouldn't sound amazing. If you can think of a perfect reason why there should be large dip there in the treble, in terms of it being an advantage that you've experienced, then perhaps they would sound amazing to you. In my experience that kind of frequency response deficiency would not be optimal.
 

MayaTlab

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In terms of "amazing", I'm just talking about my own experience with headphones and headphone EQ and judging how they'd sound from the fact that there's a massive and quite wide dip there in the treble - hence me saying that I think they wouldn't sound amazing. If you can think of a perfect reason why there should be large dip there in the treble, in terms of it being an advantage that you've experienced, then perhaps they would sound amazing to you. In my experience that kind of frequency response deficiency would not be optimal.

I think that this dip is sufficiently narrow that it's a lesser problem for the K371 compared to more prominent ones. The coupling issues at high and low frequencies and their influence on the overall balance are in my opinion far more problematic with that design.
 

Jim Shaw

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In terms of "amazing", I'm just talking about my own experience with headphones and headphone EQ and judging how they'd sound from the fact that there's a massive and quite wide dip there in the treble - hence me saying that I think they wouldn't sound amazing. If you can think of a perfect reason why there should be large dip there in the treble, in terms of it being an advantage that you've experienced, then perhaps they would sound amazing to you. In my experience that kind of frequency response deficiency would not be optimal.
If we are to add "amazing" to the lexicon of definitive audio terminology, where would it stand, comparatively? Somewhere between "awesome" and "totally rad"?

We need to add "amazing" to our defined glossary of terms including clarity, brilliance, shouty, forward, dry, boomy, one-note, and gritty.
Given these, an optimally trained macaw could be a YT audio reviewer: followed, subscribed, and highly regarded. Amir, take note. ;)
 

Feelas

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If we are to add "amazing" to the lexicon of definitive audio terminology, where would it stand, comparatively? Somewhere between "awesome" and "totally rad"?

We need to add "amazing" to our defined glossary of terms including clarity, brilliance, shouty, forward, dry, boomy, one-note, and gritty.
Given these, an optimally trained macaw could be a YT audio reviewer: followed, subscribed, and highly regarded. Amir, take note. ;)
Do we also need to add "totally amazing" as a full term?
 

Jim Shaw

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Do we also need to add "totally amazing" as a full term?
And thus, the seven dwarfs of audio terminology become a frenzied, flag-waving mob, probably not bent on construction.
;)
 

Feelas

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And thus, the seven dwarfs of audio terminology become a frenzied, flag-waving mob, probably not bent on construction.
;)
We all knew it had to happen.

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! Burn the witch!
 

Robbo99999

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I think that this dip is sufficiently narrow that it's a lesser problem for the K371 compared to more prominent ones. The coupling issues at high and low frequencies and their influence on the overall balance are in my opinion far more problematic with that design.
Yes, I agree that the coupling issues (if you have them) are going to be more significant than the dip in the treble.
If we are to add "amazing" to the lexicon of definitive audio terminology, where would it stand, comparatively? Somewhere between "awesome" and "totally rad"?

We need to add "amazing" to our defined glossary of terms including clarity, brilliance, shouty, forward, dry, boomy, one-note, and gritty.
Given these, an optimally trained macaw could be a YT audio reviewer: followed, subscribed, and highly regarded. Amir, take note. ;)
I think you just need to chill and stop nitpicking on unimportant points. There's nothing wrong with using the word "amazing" to describe how much you like a headphone or not, of course it's not a word to describe the intricacies of what you hear so it's not useful from that point of view. To be honest I used the word because I was responding to someone else who had used the word...but anyway you're certainly grasping at red herrings and making mountains out of mole hills, taking things out of context.
 

Jim Shaw

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I think you just need to chill and stop nitpicking on unimportant points. There's nothing wrong with using the word "amazing" to describe how much you like a headphone or not, of course it's not a word to describe the intricacies of what you hear so it's not useful from that point of view. To be honest I used the word because I was responding to someone else who had used the word...but anyway you're certainly grasping at red herrings and making mountains out of mole hills, taking things out of context.
Used correctly, I am properly amazed at your response. You are amazing. Perhaps hoping to be awesome. <chuckle> Probably not totally rad...Language should be a tool. The communicator shouldn't be. ;)
 

Robbo99999

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Used correctly, I am properly amazed at your response. You are amazing. Perhaps hoping to be awesome. <chuckle> Probably not totally rad...Language should be a tool. The communicator shouldn't be. ;)
:facepalm: Wow, you really do need to be left alone. I don't know what you're trying to achieve, but I'm not going to be part of it.
 

nyxnyxnyx

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If I have to be precise with how I feel about those headphones: 371 definitely are not what I imagine "High-Fidelity" is and not what deeply impressed me unlike some headphones. It did not make me feel "wow" or make me want to sell any of my other headphones, it also did not cement my belief that a well-studied FR target (Harman in this case) is the most important factor in sound quality.

However, 371 sounds nice enough for me to use it often, sound-wise there is nothing offensive or annoying with 371. I hope 371 is the beginning of the upcoming improvements we might see from AKG and other Harman-target followers.
 

nyxnyxnyx

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I think that cutting upper bass (what freq exactly?) like this might as well cause the music's dynamics to expand, since mid/treble/bass difference goes up. Did you compensate for the missing loudness from the cut range when checking this? In any case, there is this widely known connection between brightness and spaciousness and since there is no way to measure objectively, it cannot really be discussed whether it really yields a better soundstage or just a perception bias. K6xx and K7xx have also done some shenaningans in the general treble range (apart from lack of bass), which might've also contributed.
I don't remember exactly I think it was around 100-250 range, the correct use of Q-factor in this case will indeed yield very effective results. I agree with the hypothesis that a somewhat extended treble paired with modest amount of bass tend to make me feel like the soundstage is less "full" and stuffy. It's hard to say whether this is perception bias or actual improvement just like how we can't take one or two measured units of a model as gospel due to unit variations, how it fits on dummy head vs on our actual head, etc....

If we include open-backs in the topic I think what you and I feel have some sort of coincidences. The headphones with the biggest soundstage I experience are HE1000 and HD800s, both don't have overwhelming bass but they have nice, crisp treble.
 

Garlucky

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If I have to be precise with how I feel about those headphones: 371 definitely are not what I imagine "High-Fidelity" is and not what deeply impressed me unlike some headphones. It did not make me feel "wow" or make me want to sell any of my other headphones, it also did not cement my belief that a well-studied FR target (Harman in this case) is the most important factor in sound quality.

However, 371 sounds nice enough for me to use it often, sound-wise there is nothing offensive or annoying with 371. I hope 371 is the beginning of the upcoming improvements we might see from AKG and other Harman-target followers.
I agree, the k371 isn't a wow headphone, but it is pleasant enough not to be offensive.
 

Jim Shaw

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This is what I paid for: nothing to complain about.

Just tried the new AKG371s. Listened to some CDs, some Amazon UltraHD piano, symphony orchestra, and choral stuff. Tried them on my HP amp, a well-rated dongle, and the HP output of my Emotiva amp. They sound just fine, thanks. I think they were a good value choice at $110. The piano sounds just like a prepared Steinway D played by Lang Lang or Jan Lisiecki. The symphony orchestra sounds just like I remember from visits to concerts, except the sound is inside my head. The chorus (Beethoven Choral/Atlanta/Robert Shaw/Amazon UltraHD) sounds as close as I need to come to real, except it's inside my head as with all headphones. I'd still rather edit with monitors. The Saint Eustache organ of Jean Guillou is spot on (what an acoustic!). An ancient LP of Dave Brubeck sounds as good as the recording machines of 1960 could sound, which ain't bad for analog tape to vinyl in those days.

But, this is what I paid for: nothing to complain about. To me, that's what high fidelity is about, not amazing.
Amir strikes again with a good recommendation. I chase high value without annoying sound.

<chuckle> Maybe if I put on some Metallica it will sound amazing? Nah. I don't need amazing. I need honest. (And there's nothing ever here to smoke...)

For the purists: What is the number of hours, days, and weeks for headphone break-ins? Will some $1799.00 cables make them sound amazing? Will I be amazed if I get a second mortgage and hook them to a Macintosh? IMWTK :)
 
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