AKG K271 MK II Chinese Review (Headphone)

[_theLaughingman]

Wow, and Oratory also says the following on his pdf file re the EQ for this headphone:
View attachment 183927
So that's another negative point for this headphone. Gees, not good, oh well.

Avoid it like the subjectivist plague.

 

[respice finem]

But at least the mfr seems to be reading this (there's one golfing panther vote)

 

[S34MH1]

How about AKG K240 MKII?

 

[tomtoo]

Avoid it like the subjectivist plague.

Thats interesting, it says somehow: You never know what piece of shiit you get, so even EQ makes not much sense.

 

[Robbo99999]

Thats interesting, it says somehow: You never know what piece of shiit you get, so even EQ makes not much sense.

Definitely a plus point for getting a headphone with low unit to unit variation! However, just recently I have had some really great success at tuning a headphone using an Oratory EQ, and specifically altering the "customisation" filters he lists - changing the "bass" filter of course, and more complicated but yielding great results was changing the "shoutiness" filter and to lesser extent a small change to the "timbral" filter - I'm talking my HD560s here (the second one I have that I didn't send to Oratory for measurement so I didn't have a personalised measurement of that unit to rely on). HD560s doesn't have bad unit to unit variation, but it does have it, after my finetuning it sounds bloody excellent now, smooth/balanced & detailed throughout the frequency range. So, in conclusion, low unit to unit variation is a fantastic start, but I'm a recent convert to subtle broad changes (low Q) in the rest of the frequency range - specifically the "customisation" filters that @oratory1990 implements in his EQ's he publishes which would help combat unit to unit variation as well as perhaps moulding the target curve to more suit your own HRTF (preference), would be a combination of the two. Previously I had been a bit hesitant to mess with the Harman Curve beyond bass manipulation, but I think careful changing of those customisation filters along with listening to your test tracks or portions of those test tracks that highlight those targetted frequency areas to really blend the frequency range into one smooth strata, lol! (I've recently found watching a spectrum analyser as I listen to the tracks helps to identify sounds you hear vs the frequency at which they occur, so you can target & check your filter frequency changes.)

EDIT: these are the customisation filters I was talking about (red anotations in following pic) (this is the Oratory EQ for the HD560s):

 

[PuX]

I am very surprised that there is any difference in measurements from regular AKG K271

always assumed the only difference is the inclusion of velvet pads and soiled cable.

 

[respice finem]

I am very surprised that there is any difference in measurements from regular AKG K271

always assumed the only difference is the inclusion of velvet pads and soiled cable.

Oh, so they don't even provide clean cables any more (just a joke of course)

 

[Joe Smith]

I used to like the look of these, but compared to the K361/K371 headphones, they just sound terrible. I'm still a pusher of the K361 as a great under $100 set of cans.

 

[Thomas_A]

Attached is the measurement made of K271 Studio in 2002. Flat plate without pinnae. I don’ t know how they managed to cut the bass of the recent versions.

 

[LTig]

Interesting that a company is able to produce two headphones with very different SQ at almost the same price (K271 vs K371).

 

[Robbo99999]

I am very surprised that there is any difference in measurements from regular AKG K271

always assumed the only difference is the inclusion of velvet pads and soiled cable.

That takes the biscuit, we knew it was sh*t, but matching it with a soiled cable.....that's just a step too far, even though it matches of course!

 

[Robbo99999]

Interesting that a company is able to produce two headphones with very different SQ at almost the same price (K271 vs K371).

K371 is a lot newer model though right, or not? If it's newer then at least that one is a step in the right direction.

 

[PuX]

K371 is a lot newer model though right, or not? If it's newer then at least that one is a step in the right direction.

20 years newer at least I think.

 

[Bleib]

K371 is a lot newer model though right, or not? If it's newer then at least that one is a step in the right direction.

371 I'd like to have in a newer version without the exaggregated deep bas and less EQ needed in general

Attached is the measurement made of K271 Studio in 2002. Flat plate without pinnae. I don’ t know how they managed to cut the bass of the recent versions.

Yeah, that's why I hunted down the Austria version through Ebay. I've had some stellar experiences with it, for instance in this song it sounds like the drums are playing in the room

 

[Aperiodic]

Sad... it really does seem as though the AKG from 20 years ago really isn't with us anymore.

Most definitely not. All AKG production in Austria was shut down a few years ago and moved to the cheap-labor paradise of China. The Massdrop K7xx was the stalking horse for this move while they tested out their QC I suspect. They are counting on name recognition to keep the brand alive until they have run it completely into the ground. Expect the same from Sennheiser, which sold off their consumer line not long ago to some entity which is probably planning on following suit.

 

[respice finem]

The main problem is not where it's made, but how... If a manufacturer isn't "vigilant" with their QC, any country is capable of delivering a lemon. My semi-educated guess: half of the QC people have switched companies, the other half is in lockdown, and at the assembly line "the mice are dancing"

 

[phoenixsong]

What an abomination!

 

[oratory1990]

Attached is the measurement made of K271 Studio in 2002. Flat plate without pinnae. I don’ t know how they managed to cut the bass of the recent versions.

On a flat plate setup it's very easy to achieve perfect sealing. On actual heads / head-and-torso-simulators not so much. The latter are much more representative of how the headphone sounds on a human head though.

Flat-plate setups are great for quality control (verifying whether all units that you produce do indeed measure the same), but they are not useful in determining absolute performance of a headphone and aren't used for that consequentially.

Interesting that a company is able to produce two headphones with very different SQ at almost the same price (K271 vs K371).

They are made by different companies and have been designed by different engineers.
Other than the branding they really have nothing in common.

Remember that AKG closed down in 2015. The brand name is owned by Harman/Samsung, so they can slap it onto anything they like.

 

[Thomas_A]

On a flat plate setup it's very easy to achieve perfect sealing. On actual heads / head-and-torso-simulators not so much. The latter are much more representative of how the headphone sounds on a human head though.

Flat-plate setups are great for quality control (verifying whether all units that you produce do indeed measure the same), but they are not useful in determining absolute performance of a headphone and aren't used for that consequentially.

Agree to some extent; however the original K271 did have a much better bass response than the current K271 Mk2. I evaluated that in comparison to 30 other headphones in 2002-2003, and the K271 was one of the better ones. Listening sessions were made without disclosing any measurements at the time and all subjective poor or exaggerated bass was confirmed by measurements. It was very consistent.

 

[Thomas_A]

@amirm, a typo? Sensitivity 160 or 168?