AKG K371 Review (closed back headphone)

[markanini]

Thanks for your answers. The Hifiman look great but they are out of my budget. I've seen second hand k702s for a similar price as k371 though, would that be a good open-back alternative?. Apples and oranges I know but...talking about sonic capabilities, are k371 and k702 in the same league? Many people here at AS seem to be in love with them, to the point of preferring the AKGs over the almighty HD600s.

As far as closed backs go the AKG K371 is the most competent one outside of the premium class, and likely will continue to be unless until it's retired/replaced. AKG K702 is overrated IMO for an open back. Easily trumped by K612 and Beyerdynamic DT880.

 

[Joe Smith]

And for a cheaper thrill, the K361s are pretty damn good.

 

[Robbo99999]

Thanks for your answers. The Hifiman look great but they are out of my budget. I've seen second hand k702s for a similar price as k371 though, would that be a good open-back alternative?. Apples and oranges I know but...talking about sonic capabilities, are k371 and k702 in the same league? Many people here at AS seem to be in love with them, to the point of preferring the AKGs over the almighty HD600s.

I have K702, and a number of other headphones (as you can see in my signature) and I prefer the K702 out of all of them (including the HD600 you mention). I'm obviously talking after EQ. Oratory measured my K702 recently & did an EQ for it:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/033kxyf8a0o3iv6/AKG K702.pdf?dl=0
K702 has excellent spatial properties in my experience, that's why I prefer it to my other headphones, a better soundstage & more speaker-like in its sound. K702 would have better soundstage/spatial properties than K371, whilst the K371 has better bass. K702 also has a more accurate/easier EQ on the treble region than the K371. I think K702 would be the better headphone on balance given my experience of comparing against closed backs that I also own.

 

[LTig]

The AKG K371 is clearly the cheapskate's choice. I've got one playback system consisting of a $69 DAP loaded with a $80 512gb Micro SD card with 1600 CDs worth of music, hooked up to the K371 'phones, total cost of about $270.

Or get the K371-bt and use your smartphone with said SD card ...

 

[parnarules]

I ended up biting the bullet and got myself a pair of k371. I tried them this afternoon and first impressions couldn't be better. It took me a few tries to find the perfect fit but once I found it...I was in heaven. I put some go-to tracks, mainly modern electronic music I believe is mixed & mastered to perfection, and I could hear what the hype was about. It was not just how much joy I was getting from this listening session but also how comfortable they felt: I literally did not want to take them off! After this session I put the DT250s on and I have to say I still love them but you could tell they lack a bit of that gorgeous refinement/definition which makes sense considering the age of their drivers. The DT250 sounded a bit rougher/crunchier (is that an acceptable analogy?) in comparison, but they are still great sounding closed-back headphones and I am very happy to have a pair. I have yet to compare them to my Yamaha HPH-MT220 (will they manage to keep up?) . Another thing that I really liked about the k371 is that even when I was running them from my crappy Samsung cellphone the sound was impeccable and loud enough.

Thank you all for your messages. I would love to try k612/K712/k702/Hifiman in the near future but for now I need to spend some time with my new and my not so new buddies

 

[Bob-23]

I've seen second hand k702s for a similar price as k371 though, would that be a good open-back alternative?

I share Robbo99999's opinion: K702s' soundstage is great - that's why I also prefer them clearly over the HD600s (which I also have) - after an extensive love affair with Fidelio X2HR (which also has quite a nice open soundstage, I recently came back to the K702 as my favourites: they are clearer, have a better resolution than the Fidelio (but want high quality recordings 'cause they expose mercilessly every weakness in a recording).

Both of them like a bit of eq'ing: adding a bit bass in the K702s, lowering the sometimes too boomy bass in the Fidelio - and lowering K702s treble. Fidelio plays with more 'authority' - 50mm (!) angled drivers.

That is , if soundstage is important for you, go with the K702s:

"The AKG K702 have excellent sound quality for neutral listening. They're comfortable and reproduce tracks with great fidelity. Bass mids and treble are well balanced, and the well-designed, large, and open ear cups give them a spacious soundstage. They'll sound great with high-res audio and an amp." [1]

"Like most closed-back headphones, the AKG K371 have a sub-par soundstage. Although there’s a lot of pinna interaction, it isn’t really accurate. While this results in a relatively large soundstage, it feels unnatural and inside the listener’s head." [2]

Always consider wearability: you adapt much easier to certain frequency responses than to a phone which is aching after a quarter of an hour. Sometimes you can bend the headband to lower pressure. Or, you can ziptie the leather headband of the K702s to the metal strings above it (what I do - but I only listen in relaxed lying position). The size of your ears plays an important role. If you've got big audiophile ears - the K702s are very comfortable.

"The AKG 702 are very comfortable headphones. The large ear cups easily fit around most ears, and the headband design doesn't put much pressure on the head. They might be a little too large and bulky for some listeners, but they deliver a comfortable listening experience that doesn't cause soreness even on long listening sessions." [1]

The AKG K371 are comfortable over-ear headphones. They have plush ear cups with thick, soft padding and they don't squeeze too tightly on your head, so you're able to wear them for long listening sessions without feeling too fatigued. That said, if you have large ears, they can touch the drivers inside the ear cups, and become uncomfortable over time. [2]

Don't forget built quality & enjoy!

[1] https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/akg/k702
[2] https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/akg/k371

 

[markanini]

The DT250 sounded a bit rougher/crunchier (is that an acceptable analogy?) in comparison

Your's is the DT250-80, right? I've had it in the past, its a little less refined in the treble. The DT250-250 is better but the K371 blows them all away.

 

[parnarules]

Your's is the DT250-80, right? I've had it in the past, its a little less refined in the treble. The DT250-250 is better but the K371 blows them all away.

Yes, the 80 Ohm version. Fingers crossed I don't experience any of the issues other users have with the k371s as the sound is just...

 

[parnarules]

I share Robbo99999's opinion: K702s' soundstage is great - that's why I also prefer them clearly over the HD600s (which I also have) - after an extensive love affair with Fidelio X2HR (which also has quite a nice open soundstage, I recently came back to the K702 as my favourites: they are clearer, have a better resolution than the Fidelio (but want high quality recordings 'cause they expose mercilessly every weakness in a recording).

Both of them like a bit of eq'ing: adding a bit bass in the K702s, lowering the sometimes too boomy bass in the Fidelio - and lowering K702s treble. Fidelio plays with more 'authority' - 50mm (!) angled drivers.

That is , if soundstage is important for you, go with the K702s:

"The AKG K702 have excellent sound quality for neutral listening. They're comfortable and reproduce tracks with great fidelity. Bass mids and treble are well balanced, and the well-designed, large, and open ear cups give them a spacious soundstage. They'll sound great with high-res audio and an amp." [1]

"Like most closed-back headphones, the AKG K371 have a sub-par soundstage. Although there’s a lot of pinna interaction, it isn’t really accurate. While this results in a relatively large soundstage, it feels unnatural and inside the listener’s head." [2]

Always consider wearability: you adapt much easier to certain frequency responses than to a phone which is aching after a quarter of an hour. Sometimes you can bend the headband to lower pressure. Or, you can ziptie the leather headband of the K702s to the metal strings above it (what I do - but I only listen in relaxed lying position). The size of your ears plays an important role. If you've got big audiophile ears - the K702s are very comfortable.

"The AKG 702 are very comfortable headphones. The large ear cups easily fit around most ears, and the headband design doesn't put much pressure on the head. They might be a little too large and bulky for some listeners, but they deliver a comfortable listening experience that doesn't cause soreness even on long listening sessions." [1]

The AKG K371 are comfortable over-ear headphones. They have plush ear cups with thick, soft padding and they don't squeeze too tightly on your head, so you're able to wear them for long listening sessions without feeling too fatigued. That said, if you have large ears, they can touch the drivers inside the ear cups, and become uncomfortable over time. [2]

Don't forget built quality & enjoy!

[1] https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/akg/k702
[2] https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/akg/k371

It's interesting how rtings describes the K702 and K712 as 'almost identical save for a few differences in design and frequency response', giving both the same rating in comfort, neutral sound, build quality...despite the significant difference in price between the two models. Is the K712 then not so much as an upgrade from K702 but rather a less unforgiving/analytical sidegrade?

 

[Robbo99999]

I share Robbo99999's opinion: K702s' soundstage is great - that's why I also prefer them clearly over the HD600s (which I also have) - after an extensive love affair with Fidelio X2HR (which also has quite a nice open soundstage, I recently came back to the K702 as my favourites: they are clearer, have a better resolution than the Fidelio (but want high quality recordings 'cause they expose mercilessly every weakness in a recording).

Both of them like a bit of eq'ing: adding a bit bass in the K702s, lowering the sometimes too boomy bass in the Fidelio - and lowering K702s treble. Fidelio plays with more 'authority' - 50mm (!) angled drivers.

That is , if soundstage is important for you, go with the K702s:

"The AKG K702 have excellent sound quality for neutral listening. They're comfortable and reproduce tracks with great fidelity. Bass mids and treble are well balanced, and the well-designed, large, and open ear cups give them a spacious soundstage. They'll sound great with high-res audio and an amp." [1]

"Like most closed-back headphones, the AKG K371 have a sub-par soundstage. Although there’s a lot of pinna interaction, it isn’t really accurate. While this results in a relatively large soundstage, it feels unnatural and inside the listener’s head." [2]

Always consider wearability: you adapt much easier to certain frequency responses than to a phone which is aching after a quarter of an hour. Sometimes you can bend the headband to lower pressure. Or, you can ziptie the leather headband of the K702s to the metal strings above it (what I do - but I only listen in relaxed lying position). The size of your ears plays an important role. If you've got big audiophile ears - the K702s are very comfortable.

"The AKG 702 are very comfortable headphones. The large ear cups easily fit around most ears, and the headband design doesn't put much pressure on the head. They might be a little too large and bulky for some listeners, but they deliver a comfortable listening experience that doesn't cause soreness even on long listening sessions." [1]

The AKG K371 are comfortable over-ear headphones. They have plush ear cups with thick, soft padding and they don't squeeze too tightly on your head, so you're able to wear them for long listening sessions without feeling too fatigued. That said, if you have large ears, they can touch the drivers inside the ear cups, and become uncomfortable over time. [2]

Don't forget built quality & enjoy!

[1] https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/akg/k702
[2] https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/akg/k371

Bob, re K702 news I sent off my second newer pair to Oratory for measuring, so this way he'll have measured both of my K702 and we'll have a better idea of unit to unit variation as well as driver matching. It's in the post as we speak, should be arriving with him early next week.

It's interesting how rtings describes the K702 and K712 as 'almost identical save for a few differences in design and frequency response', giving both the same rating in comfort, neutral sound, build quality...despite the significant difference in price between the two models. Is the K712 then not so much as an upgrade from K702 but rather a less unforgiving/analytical sidegrade?

I've not listened to the K712, but I wouldn't expect it to be an upgrade over the K702 as I think the 700 series all use the same variomotion drivers, but the K712 doesn't have angled pads, so I would expect the angled pads of the K702 to enable a better soundstage than the K712. I wouldn't be surprised if the K702 turned out to be the best headphone they make. On the downside, channel matching wasn't very good on my K702 measured by Oratory, but we'll see how the other sample I sent him stacks up. Distortion is also not as good as some headphones, but can still be described as ok. The soldering is also prone to failure in the K702, with the wires becoming detached from the binding posts in the earcups.....luckily you can fix this relatively simply by soldering the wires back on yourself. So K702 does have some foibles, but for me it's unmatched in soundstage and also has joint (with my HD600) highest detail retrieval / "nuance" of the music.

Always use Oratory's graphing tool database to compare frequency responses if you want to compare how headphones would sound in tonality:
https://headphonedatabase.com/oratory/headphones?ids=37,28
and then his EQ's are here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/oratory1990/wiki/index/list_of_presets

 

[buxtehude]

Long story short, I recently bought DT 1990 Pro, K371, K361 & ATH-M60X.

DT 1990 Pro
Since Beyer T70 is my favorite headphone, I thought I was a Treble-head. But 1990 murdered and tortured my ear. Returned with 20% restocking fee and ringing in my ear lasted 2~3 days.

K371
Wanted to find out what the Harman curve sounds like. Liked the overall sound but, to my taste, it has too much bass and too little sparkle at the top. I respect amirm but I learned that the Harman curve is not for everyone. Returned.

K361
I was blown away! To my ear, this is one of the best headphones I've ever heard and so comfortable to wear. I think I found a perfect headphones!

ATH-M60X
To my taste, this one had the worst sound. Returned.

 

[Robbo99999]

Long story short, I recently bought DT 1990 Pro, K371, K361 & ATH-M60X.

DT 1990 Pro
Since Beyer T70 is my favorite headphone, I thought I was a Treble-head. But 1990 murdered and tortured my ear. Returned with 20% restocking fee and ringing in my ear lasted 2~3 days.

K371
Wanted to find out what the Harman curve sounds like. Liked the overall sound but, to my taste, it has too much bass and too little sparkle at the top. I respect amirm but I learned that the Harman curve is not for everyone. Returned.

K361
I was blown away! To my ear, this is one of the best headphones I've ever heard and so comfortable to wear. I think I found a perfect headphones!

ATH-M60X
To my taste, this one had the worst sound. Returned.

K371 is indeed close to the Harman Curve, and more so than most headphones, however it is slightly heavy on the bass in comparison to Harman and there is a dip in the treble in the one area, so if you combine those two effects then I'm not overly surprised by you saying it had a bit too much bass and lacked sparkle, as those two innacuracies I described synergise together to enhance that effect. Something like HD600 would probably be perfect for you tonality wise based on your description of the K371, as the HD600 is perhaps the best headphone without EQ if you respond well to the Harman Curve in general, it is the best headphone I have if I wasn't to use EQ.....it fills out the Harman Treble well (your sparkle) but doesn't fill out the Harman bass (so that could be one deficiency). Soundstage is not great for the HD600 though, narrow soundstage. Best thing to do though if you want to experience what the Harman Curve sounds like is to use the EQ's that Oratory1990 generates over on reddit, I won't link him again because I already did in my previous post in this thread to someone else.

 

[ZENERGiA]

I just ordered a k371. Hopefully I won't be dissapointed!

 

[infinitesymphony]

Long story short, I recently bought DT 1990 Pro, K371, K361 & ATH-M60X.

DT 1990 Pro
Since Beyer T70 is my favorite headphone, I thought I was a Treble-head. But 1990 murdered and tortured my ear. Returned with 20% restocking fee and ringing in my ear lasted 2~3 days.

K371
Wanted to find out what the Harman curve sounds like. Liked the overall sound but, to my taste, it has too much bass and too little sparkle at the top. I respect amirm but I learned that the Harman curve is not for everyone. Returned.

K361
I was blown away! To my ear, this is one of the best headphones I've ever heard and so comfortable to wear. I think I found a perfect headphones!

ATH-M60X
To my taste, this one had the worst sound. Returned.

Thanks for the comparison! I'm intrigued by the perceptual differences between the K361 and K371 because they both target Harman closely:

AKG K371

AKG K361

The K361's accentuation in the 1-2 KHz range could make a difference in presence and soundstage and it could help to balance out the bass. Both have a dip at 4K, and past that point the K361s have some comb filtering in the high frequencies.

Do you have anything more info about your experience with the ATH-M60X in comparison to the others (peaks/dips, bass/treble tilt, apparent width, etc.)?

 

[jmillar]

Here you go: https://www.akg.com/root/N90Q+LE.html

There's got to be something in between. Grado proves that cheap can be rugged. Why does AKG sully its image with a flawed headband adjuster in what otherwise is an outstanding K371 headphone?

 

[markanini]

There's got to be something in between. Grado proves that cheap can be rugged. Why does AKG sully its image with a flawed headband adjuster in what otherwise is an outstanding K371 headphone?

Maybe the N700NC
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-and-dan-clark-aeon2-noire.20329/#post-670627
Or hopefully the JBL Tune 710 https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/new-jbl-closed-back-measurements.23843/

 

[ZENERGiA]

I just ordered a k371. Hopefully I won't be dissapointed!

Welp, just got it. Only listened to a few tracks on my mobile phone. Tonality wise, it's flawless to my ears. I am very happy now! Waiting for an open back headphone that can reach as close to the Harman Curve (without EQ) as the k371 does.

 

[Yorkshire Mouth]

A question for @Amir.

Why didn’t you eq out the excess sub-bass?

 

[Robbo99999]

Welp, just got it. Only listened to a few tracks on my mobile phone. Tonality wise, it's flawless to my ears. I am very happy now! Waiting for an open back headphone that can reach as close to the Harman Curve (without EQ) as the k371 does.

I think that's gonna be difficult re open-back headphone without EQ.....well at least if you want it to hug Harman in the bass.....if you don't want it to hug Harman in the bass then there's the HD600 which is good everywhere else re Harman.

 

[markanini]

Waiting for an open back headphone that can reach as close to the Harman Curve (without EQ) as the k371 does.

Philips X2