AKG K245 Review

[IAtaman]

Do you mind giving these filters a go with the stock pads and let me know what you think?


Preamp: -13.1 dB Filter 1: ON LSC Fc 100 Hz Gain 3.0 dB Q 0.800 Filter 2: ON PK Fc 1430 Hz Gain 3.0 dB Q 1.800 Filter 3: ON PK Fc 4830 Hz Gain 13.0 dB Q 4.000

Low shelf to taste as you know bass is good on these already - the above just brings it to Harman OE2018.

n.b. I've got a single ply of tissue paper in front of the driver (behind the pad) too but it only brings down highs around 8kHz very slightly - would be ideal if you try the same but shouldn't make much impact on your preference regarding above filters.

When I tried them, I did not realize this was supposed bring the headphones to Harman OE. I am surprised it sounded the way it did - I do prefer the Harman target as-is.

When I measured them on my own head and EQ'ed them to HD600, which tracks the target really well, I got very different results from you. Can it be that the tissue paper "mod" makes a bigger difference than just 8K?

 

[surdo]

Thanks very much @isostasy for the review and others here for their contributions (@IAtaman particularly). The thread is very informative.

I have 8 pairs of the K245 phones for a project. While I'm reasonably happy with sound, they are not as "open" sounding as I'd hoped. In my project, it's important for the listeners to hear what's going on around them and the K245s tend to muffle the external sounds quite a bit.
I wonder for those here that have tried aftermarket pads, can you tell me, which pads produce a more open sound than the stock pads, letting other sounds enter and in general, breathing better? The "round perforated" Brainwavs pads look promising.

Cheers,

 

[IAtaman]

Thanks very much @isostasy for the review and others here for their contributions (@IAtaman particularly). The thread is very informative.

I have 8 pairs of the K245 phones for a project. While I'm reasonably happy with sound, they are not as "open" sounding as I'd hoped. In my project, it's important for the listeners to hear what's going on around them and the K245s tend to muffle the external sounds quite a bit.
I wonder for those here that have tried aftermarket pads, can you tell me, which pads produce a more open sound than the stock pads, letting other sounds enter and in general, breathing better? The "round perforated" Brainwavs pads look promising.

Cheers,

I tried a few pairs of aftermarket pads. I am not sure if they make any meaningful change to the sound isolation. I like Brainvaws XL because they fit my ears better and keeps them cooler. I can try and take some measurements with the in-ear mics this weekend to see perforated pads make any difference to isolation.