AKG K371 Review (closed back headphone)

[Joe Smith]

Weak deep bass and terrible reduced deteriorated highs :*(

View attachment 406623

Harsh! I continue to think the K361 and K371 both offer great headphone value. And I say this as a long-term Sennheiser user.

 

[markanini]

Weak deep bass and terrible reduced deteriorated highs :*(

View attachment 406623

I don't consider the graph source reliable. It's maintained and a guy known to act insufferably on various audio forums including here. Since there's headphones and mics(!) in the same database, and no rig specified, it's likely the data is from varying origins a not suitable to for comparison. He's also pushed Beyer DT990 as an ultimate headphone in earnest, a very bright headphones to most people, so it's a bit rich to see any headphones criticized by his standards, you are referencing his personal FR target.

 

[FTB]

These measurements don't seem ok for me too.

Sources like Amir, Oratory, DIY audio heaven and Crinacle have similar measurements of the K371.

When several sources have similar graphs, that's the truth.

 

[Dazerdoreal]

I don't consider the graph source reliable. It's maintained and a guy known to act insufferably on various audio forums including here. Since there's headphones and mics(!) in the same database, and no rig specified, it's likely the data is from varying origins a not suitable to for comparison. He's also pushed Beyer DT990 as an ultimate headphone in earnest, a very bright headphones to most people, so it's a bit rich to see any headphones criticized by his standards, you are referencing his personal FR target.

He likely took these measurements from Oratory1990 though. They look exactly the same. (If so, is @oratory1990 okay with this?)

Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

So the measurements are "as good as it gets". What differs here is the target. It goes for a DT 770-ish sound, as the user shows himself in this post:

Neumann NDH 30 Review

Welcome to Cuckoo Studio review. I'm Anzol, The following content is presented from the perspective of a mixing engineer. If you prefer video version: We have received the NDH 30 sent by Neumann and let's take a comprehensive look at its performance. The NDH 30 is an open-back over-ear...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[markanini]

He likely took these measurements from Oratory1990 though. They look exactly the same. (If so, is @oratory1990 okay with this?)

Some other models have not been measured by Oratory1990. The fact that we are forced to guess where the data is from puts a bad taste in my mouth. Even more so when the URL referenced in each graph he posts has Amazon affiliate links and PayPal donation link. That would be captializing on other work without giving credit. Lastly him sharing an opinion that's opposed to Amirs out of nowhere comes off deliberate. A lot of this in line with a small subset of social media audio influencers that try to gain views and notoriety by attacking well received audio gear, clickbait style.

 

[markanini]

In the United States, works of commentary, criticism, research, teaching, or news reporting may be considered fair use. In the EU, more limited exceptions are recognized and the use must fit into specific categories, such as quotation, criticism, review, caricature, parody, and pastiche.

So you consider yourself an audio journalist?

 

[Joe Smith]

Hey, just re-started trying out Equalizer APO and the Peace interface in Windows. I referenced Amir's suggestions at top of this review for EQ changes in the K371. Does anyone have any alternate settings for the K361 phones you recommend? His changes are very subtle to my ears, I'm not really hearing much difference.

 

[Dazerdoreal]

Hey, just re-started trying out Equalizer APO and the Peace interface in Windows. I referenced Amir's suggestions at top of this review for EQ changes in the K371. Does anyone have any alternate settings for the K361 phones you recommend? His changes are very subtle to my ears, I'm not really hearing much difference.

Are you looking for K371 or K361 settings?

 

[Joe Smith]

Are you looking for K371 or K361 settings?

K361 is what I have...

 

[staticV3]

K361 is what I have...

Attached below are oratory1990's EQ presets for the K361, which you can import into Equalizer APO like so

Before the "Include Configuration File" block, please add a Preamp block and set it to -5dB to prevent digital clipping.

It should look something like this (but with just one Include block):


Here's why I recommend you use the stock Equalizer APO GUI instead of Peace.

With the Configuration Editor setup like this, you can switch the EQ On/Off, without an overall change in volume.

One nifty aspect of oratory's EQ presets are that they're designed to be adjusted to preference.

Instructions for this you can find in the respective PDFs (bottom right-hand corner):

Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

To easily adjust the presets, click on the green arrow next to the Include block.
A new tab will open where you can fiddle with each of the bands. All changes there are stored to the .txt file in realtime, so there's no need to save them manually.

When you're happy with the adjustment, simply close the tab.

And if you want to start from stock again, just redownload the files from here (or make a backup beforehand).

 

[Joe Smith]

Attached below are oratory1990's EQ presets for the K361, which you can import into Equalizer APO like so

Before the "Include Configuration File" block, please add a Preamp block and set it to -5dB to prevent digital clipping.

It should look something like this (but with just one Include block):
View attachment 407069

Here's why I recommend you use the stock Equalizer APO GUI instead of Peace.

With the Configuration Editor setup like this, you can switch the EQ On/Off, without an overall change in volume.

One nifty aspect of oratory's EQ presets are that they're designed to be adjusted to preference.

Instructions for this you can find in the respective PDFs (bottom right-hand corner):

Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

To easily adjust the presets, click on the green arrow next to the Include block.
A new tab will open where you can fiddle with each of the bands. All changes there are stored to the .txt file in realtime, so there's no need to save them manually.

When you're happy with the adjustment, simply close the tab.

And if you want to start from stock again, just redownload the files from here (or make a backup beforehand).

Thanks, Static! Here's the way my Equalizer APO screen looks, does this look right? I took out the "Peace" block for now.

I'm not quite sure how to best adjust the pre-amplification level as with this window, I don't see VU bars like there are in the Peace interface?

 

[staticV3]

does this look right?

Yup, looks good.

I'm not quite sure how to best adjust the pre-amplification level

As long as "Peak gain" (shown bottom left) does not exceed 0dB, you're good. No further adjustment necessary.

Out of curiosity, have you already compared the Harman and Optimum presets? Which one do you like more?

 

[Joe Smith]

Yup, looks good.


As long as "Peak gain" (shown bottom left) does not exceed 0dB, you're good. No further adjustment necessary.

Out of curiosity, have you already compared the Harman and Optimum presets? Which one do you like more?

Initially, surprisingly, I did not hear any big sonic difference between the two, and not much difference overall, with the K361. I was concerned that Equalizer APO might not even be working right.

So today I tried another headphone, my Senn HD518s. (These were my daily drivers before switching to the AKG set.) I found Oratory's Harman settings for it, loaded that in, and then added in one additional filter, a +5.0 dB peak at 7,000 hz to counter a FR dip there. Well, I hear THAT non-EQ/EQ difference quite clearly, and the EQ definitely is an improvement. Doing A/B I very much preferred the EQd sound.

So tomorrow I will switch back to the AKG set and do some more detailed listening with different tracks, now that I know the app is working correctly!

I plan to also do some testing with one of my legacy headphones, some Audio-Technica ATH-2s. I got interested in cheap planars a few years back and have a nice set of those. I need to look at the FR curve and do some guessing, as these are older phones and I couldn't find that anyone had done settings for that model.

 

[Joe Smith]

Found HD414s were in the AutoEQ database, also another recommended setting option for the AKGs there. More testing tomorrow! Maybe old ears can learn new tricks.

 

[staticV3]

Initially, surprisingly, I did not hear any big sonic difference between the two, and not much difference overall, with the K361. I was concerned that Equalizer APO might not even be working right.

So today I tried another headphone, my Senn HD518s. (These were my daily drivers before switching to the AKG set.) I found Oratory's Harman settings for it, loaded that in, and then added in one additional filter, a +5.0 dB peak at 7,000 hz to counter a FR dip there. Well, I hear THAT non-EQ/EQ difference quite clearly, and the EQ definitely is an improvement. Doing A/B I very much preferred the EQd sound.

So tomorrow I will switch back to the AKG set and do some more detailed listening with different tracks, now that I know the app is working correctly!

I plan to also do some testing with one of my legacy headphones, some Audio-Technica ATH-2s. I got interested in cheap planars a few years back and have a nice set of those. I need to look at the FR curve and do some guessing, as these are older phones and I couldn't find that anyone had done settings for that model.

Easiest way to make sure that Equalizer APO is working well is to adjust the Preamp.
If you can hear it changing the volume, then everything else is working as well,

 

[insane]

My k371 pads are totally busted. So in order to buy it you have to go to some obscure belgian website? isn't there any other place? Im from EU so I guess im okay but I find that odd. The k371 is widely used so I would expect this to be sold in Thomann, Amazon etc but it's not there.

 

[Joe Smith]

These are the ones I ordered back in February but it looks like they are currently unavailable?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09YG8LG83?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

 

[staticV3]

My k371 pads are totally busted. So in order to buy it you have to go to some obscure belgian website? isn't there any other place? Im from EU so I guess im okay but I find that odd. The k371 is widely used so I would expect this to be sold in Thomann, Amazon etc but it's not there.

You should be able to buy replacement pads by contacting AKG customer service.

The part number is 5125515-00.

 

[FTB]

My k371 pads are totally busted. So in order to buy it you have to go to some obscure belgian website? isn't there any other place? Im from EU so I guess im okay but I find that odd. The k371 is widely used so I would expect this to be sold in Thomann, Amazon etc but it's not there.

The ones you can find on ebay or aliexpress, looking as the originals, do the job to me.
I don't have any measurements tools so I can't say they are exactly the same but in hands they look and feel similar (same foam density).

I noticed no major changes when listening with these replacement pads.
That isn't the same with other pads I tried (velour from dekoni, totally different sound).

 

[insane]

You should be able to buy replacement pads by contacting AKG customer service.

The part number is 5125515-00.

Where do you contact them? Im from EU but my country is not on this list:

Choose your location

support.akg.com

The ones you can find on ebay or aliexpress, looking as the originals, do the job to me.
I don't have any measurements tools so I can't say they are exactly the same but in hands they look and feel similar (same foam density).

I noticed no major changes when listening with these replacement pads.
That isn't the same with other pads I tried (velour from dekoni, totally different sound).

I would like to buy an original part because I don't know what materials these people are using.