AKG K371 Review (closed back headphone)

[Cahudson42]

Had to find out what these were like, given all the hub-bub..

While they sound pretty good to me, after an hour they seem unbearably hot and sticky..Relegated now to car/kid use...

 

[Frank Dernie]

An iconoclast, so brave...

Another half wit to the ignore list.

 

[phoenixsong]

Rtings measure frequency response consistency (deviation from average response, bass measured using in-ear mics on actual people, including with glasses). Here's the K371:

View attachment 108151

That's a 7.4 dB range in response at 40 Hz, which is huge really. The K371 has been known for a while to have poor frequency response consistency and seal variation.

Could this be the reason for seemingly imbalance issues?

 

[AndreaT]

I received my AKG K371 today: $119 on Amazon. I agree 100 % w Amir assessment. It is annoying not to have R and L clearly marked on earcups. At a first listen they appear analytical (plenty of low level details do not get lost or obscured by the main bass line, tiny recording noises, like moving a guitar stand, are retrieved) and with correct spectral balance (as driven by Schiit Magni Heresy in low gain mode: my usual listening level is reproduced with the volume a bit below 11AM). A winner at that price.

 

[dmac6419]

I received my AKG K371 today: $119 on Amazon. I agree 100 % w Amir assessment. It is annoying not to have R and L clearly marked on earcups. At a first listen they appear analytical (plenty of low level details do not get lost or obscured by the main bass line, tiny recording noises, like moving a guitar stand, are retrieved) and with correct spectral balance (as driven by Schiit Magni Heresy in low gain mode: my usual listening level is reproduced with the volume a bit below 11AM). A winner at that price.

FYI the left cup has the cord,hopes that help

 

[markanini]

I can confirm a previous reply that the current batch K361 has a reworked headband. It looks slightly different and has a more tactile click compared to my early batch K371.

 

[AudioManNewb]

What EQ does everyone use? There are 3 choices I know of the oratory1990, auto eq rting's, or amirs.

 

[Helicopter]

What EQ does everyone use? There are 3 choices I know of the oratory1990, auto eq rting's, or amirs.

I usually start with whatever Amir posts in the first post of the review thread and then sometimes I change the bass filters a little bit below 100Hz to suit my tastes, sometimes leave it alone.

 

[Berwhale]

What EQ does everyone use? There are 3 choices I know of the oratory1990, auto eq rting's, or amirs.

I used AutoEQ in the past, but I took the time to manually enter Oratory 1990's settings recently and I prefer them now...

This is all very subjective, I wouldn't claim to be able to tell the difference between them in a proper blind test.

 

[Robbo99999]

I used AutoEQ in the past, but I took the time to manually enter Oratory 1990's settings recently and I prefer them now...

View attachment 121409

This is all very subjective, I wouldn't claim to be able to tell the difference between them in a proper blind test.

That would be my expected conclusion based on my own experience too (in general, I don't have the K371).

 

[Robin L]

I'm perfectly happy with the sound without EQ. That bass boost agrees with me, the treble is a little odd, but moving a few rows over or back in an auditorium would cause a similar coloration. The best thing about these headphones is you can plug them into just about anything and they'll sound fine.

 

[phoenixsong]

AKG K371 Quality Control Issues (UPDATE READ DESCRIPTION) - YouTube
Just came across this vid, kinda sad tbh to see such QC issues now

 

[sweetchaos]

AKG K371 Quality Control Issues (UPDATE READ DESCRIPTION) - YouTube
Just came across this vid, kinda sad tbh to see such QC issues now

This video is pointless, since the issue was resolved already.

In the description:

EDIT: May 2020
My latest unit was received in November 2019 and is still going strong. From discussions I have had with AKG/Harman I am happy to say this is resolved now and that my previous issues were the result of early production problems.

I don't own these, but strongly considering.

 

[phoenixsong]

This video is pointless, since the issue was resolved already.

In the description:


I don't own these, but strongly considering.

From that we only know that the 5th unit works well. Online there are still many recent reports of QC issues (dated end of 2020)
Edit: Maybe they are circulating old units, but there's no way to be certain of when it'll end

 

[Phorize]

From that we only know that the 5th unit works well. Online there are still many recent reports of QC issues (dated end of 2020)
Edit: Maybe they are circulating old units, but there's no way to be certain of when it'll end

Well here’s report of a pair that arrived working perfectly and continue to do so. Idiosyncratic build aside these are hands down the best closed backs I’ve used and I’d recommend them provided you can return if faulty.

 

[Berwhale]

I use Equalizer APO with the Peace interface. I've tried all of the different EQ settings on Jaakko Pasanen's github. Ended up liking Oratory 1990's the most as well. Not much difference between the different pre sets in my opinion.

The settings on Jaakko's website are all generated by his AutoEQ algorithm. The settings that refer to Oratory1990 are simply generated from Oratory1990's measurements, they are not Oratory1990's PEQ settings. This is explained by Oratory1990 here: index/faq - oratory1990 (reddit.com)

Oratory1990's measurements and PEQ settings (to Harman OE target) for the K371 are here: AKG K371.pdf (dropbox.com)

(full list of headphones here: index/list_of_presets - oratory1990 (reddit.com))

You have to manually enter Oratory1990's PEQ settings into PEACE (there's no text file to import like the ones AutoEQ generates).

Here's what the K371 settings linked to above look like in PEACE...

Here's the graph of the settings...

Here's the graph on the settings generated by AutoEQ for the K371 (I think these are based of Oratory1990's measurements). You can see that there is a fair bit of difference...

 

[solderdude]

The real question is.. which one is more correct and why ?
Both EQ are different from Amir's (and mine) and measurements also differ from Crinacle and Rtings a bit.
Looking at all the plots the AutoEQ seems way off.
There probably is a good reason for that.

 

[Berwhale]

I have the impression that AutoEQ algorithm tries to fix too many things, maybe some things that shouldn't be fixed, and sounds worse as a result. Oratory1990's approach seems to be more aligned to Amir's where only the gross errors are addressed, smaller errors are left alone and some suggestions are made regarding settings that can be tuned for listener preference.

 

[Soundstage]

My brand new AkG juste broke. Second defect in one month, first one was the wired speaker that did not work. Not sure they will cover it this time again.
Advice: stay away from this!

 

[WickedInsignia]

Compared these to the HD600 very briefly the other night.
I think some other people mentioned the bass sounds a little disconnected and the treble isn't quite smooth (sounds like there are some peaks that come across a little unnatural) and I agree with that. The HD600 sounds considerably more linear with some sort of crazy magic in the midrange that just sounds right, for lack of a technical description. Although subbass is rolled off, I didn't find myself missing what the K371 offered in that area.
I wish I could explain the feeling of "natural" that the HD600 conveys. There'll be a technical explanation somewhere....just the right peaks in the FR, adhering to the appropriate targets....but it's crazy that a 24-year-old headphone can still go toe-to-toe with the most well-informed headphones we have today.

The K371 is great. Nothing (detail, transient response, timbre) felt lacking enough to bump it against anything under $1k. I know the measurements reflect this, but it was really cool to analyse the differences between the two. It helped me to appreciate both the HD600 and K371 even more.