AKG K371 Review (closed back headphone)

[Maxon]

I thought it was better to be a doubting practitioner than a self-confident theorist.

 

[FTB]

Harman curve isn't theorist.
It is a subjective preference curve made with objective methods.

If you think that bad measuring headphones are good according to the manufacturer foolosophy, you are strong on false beliefs.

 

[Maxon]

Harman curve isn't theorist.
It is a subjective preference curve made with objective methods.

If you think that bad measuring headphones are good according to the manufacturer foolosophy, you are strong on false beliefs.

Issus, why are you so dumb? Even Harman is different. There are different formats, and the research did not stop at harman2018, imagine ... I suggest we end our dialogue with you. We have different knowledge and experience. Bye

 

[FTB]

What different formats since 2018 ?
Ok to end the dialogue, if you think bad measuring headphones can be good, you're on the wrong forum.

 

[Robz]

This thing with no bass and 1-2 kHz dip ?
I'll pass.

It definitely has good bass, that target is harman boosted bass.

 

[Bleib]

It definitely has good bass, that target is harman boosted bass.

Yes. Quite a lot deep bas and I haven't noticed it coloring lower vocals unlike some other brands

 

[FTB]

It definitely has good bass, that target is harman boosted bass.

It was about the Edition XS, not the akg.

 

[drewdawg999]

Just scored the K371 not too long ago, used off Amazon, under 100 bucks. They've made me very happy, the sound quality without EQ is very high. The headband though, causes a painful hotspot, and the cable feels icky and cheap. So I accessorized and tricked out my pair.

Got a nice neoprene headband pad. Also this cable is a nice improvement, not microphonic and no memory and braided, like a nice IEM cable.

I have many cans, mostly planars and almost all of them benefit greatly from being EQ'd to Harman target. Now it's all done in the analogue domain with physics, nicely and elegantly, with the K371. They're sensitive and efficient too, sound great straight out my DAP, all this at an affordable price point. My other choices were the FT1, Adam H200, and Shure SRH440. The Shures are supposed to adhere closest to Harman, but are absolute junk build quality. The cheap plastic parts almost guaranteed to fail. I'm happy with my choice.

 

[Laika2]

Just scored the K371 not too long ago, used off Amazon, under 100 bucks. They've made me very happy, the sound quality without EQ is very high. The headband though, causes a painful hotspot, and the cable feels icky and cheap. So I accessorized and tricked out my pair.
View attachment 509724
Got a nice neoprene headband pad. Also this cable is a nice improvement, not microphonic and no memory and braided, like a nice IEM cable.

I have many cans, mostly planars and almost all of them benefit greatly from being EQ'd to Harman target. Now it's all done in the analogue domain with physics, nicely and elegantly, with the K371. They're sensitive and efficient too, sound great straight out my DAP, all this at an affordable price point. My other choices were the FT1, Adam H200, and Shure SRH440. The Shures are supposed to adhere closest to Harman, but are absolute junk build quality. The cheap plastic parts almost guaranteed to fail. I'm happy with my choice.

Nice job, ordered.

 

[bevok]

Just scored the K371 not too long ago, used off Amazon, under 100 bucks. They've made me very happy, the sound quality without EQ is very high. The headband though, causes a painful hotspot, and the cable feels icky and cheap. So I accessorized and tricked out my pair.
View attachment 509724
Got a nice neoprene headband pad. Also this cable is a nice improvement, not microphonic and no memory and braided, like a nice IEM cable.

I have many cans, mostly planars and almost all of them benefit greatly from being EQ'd to Harman target. Now it's all done in the analogue domain with physics, nicely and elegantly, with the K371. They're sensitive and efficient too, sound great straight out my DAP, all this at an affordable price point. My other choices were the FT1, Adam H200, and Shure SRH440. The Shures are supposed to adhere closest to Harman, but are absolute junk build quality. The cheap plastic parts almost guaranteed to fail. I'm happy with my choice.

Cable details please?

 

[drewdawg999]

Cable details please?

It was an AliExpress purchase, brand Earmax. The picture says 6 strand silver plated cable. Retails around 20 bucks, I was able to get it down to 12 with coupon and coins. It's quite nice, makes me much happier than the stock cable.

 

[AMDfanTO]

I've owned the Shure srh440 for 20 years, tossed them around, and have beaten them up. I've replaced the pads with the 840 version for a slightly improved FR. They are still going strong with zero issues. The plastic is high quality and extremely durable. It's too bad Shure replaced them with the inferior 440a.

 

[drewdawg999]

I've owned the Shure srh440 for 20 years, tossed them around, and have beaten them up. I've replaced the pads with the 840 version for a slightly improved FR. They are still going strong with zero issues. The plastic is high quality and extremely durable. It's too bad Shure replaced them with the inferior 440a.

I pretty much want them too, it's just that my plate is full now with the K371. But on Amazon there's pic after pic of broken plastic headbands. Maybe there's just a lot of big heads out there. I'm confident I would baby them and make them last, but choices have been made already.

 

[LTig]

I pretty much want them too, it's just that my plate is full now with the K371. But on Amazon there's pic after pic of broken plastic headbands. Maybe there's just a lot of big heads out there.

Nope. I have a small head (hat size) and mine broke after 2 1/2 years while taking it off. At that time the ear pads were mostly gone.

 

[FTB]

index/list_of_presets - oratory1990

r/oratory1990: Mostly covering topics like headphones, in-ear headphones, acoustics, electroacoustics, acoustic tuning, headphone design …

www.reddit.com

Oratory published the measurements of the K371 Bluetooth :



Wow, that's very different than wired :



I'll stick with the wired version !

 

[Robbo99999]

index/list_of_presets - oratory1990

r/oratory1990: Mostly covering topics like headphones, in-ear headphones, acoustics, electroacoustics, acoustic tuning, headphone design …

www.reddit.com

Oratory published the measurements of the K371 Bluetooth :

View attachment 514888

Wow, that's very different than wired :

View attachment 514889

I'll stick with the wired version !

It's almost like for the BT version they've managed to put in a pretty sharp peak filter at 4.5kHz to EQ up part of that dip, as well as shelving up the bass below 300Hz. I know @solderdude does some passive filters for various headphones so maybe they've put in a couple of passive filters to try to change the headphone a bit for the BT version, or it could be just unit to unit variation I suppose.

 

[FTB]

It's almost like for the BT version they've managed to put in a pretty sharp peak filter at 4.5kHz to EQ up part of that dip, as well as shelving up the bass below 300Hz. I know @solderdude does some passive filters for various headphones so maybe they've put in a couple of passive filters to try to change the headphone a bit for the BT version, or it could be just unit to unit variation I suppose.

It's strange they wanted to shelving up the bass, the wired version has the proper bass level...

 

[Robbo99999]

It's strange they wanted to shelving up the bass, the wired version has the proper bass level...

The BT one is a tad brighter in the treble so perhaps they wanted a bit more bass to offset that increased treble.

 

[solderdude]

They probably are just using internal DSP/tone control functionality from the used chip and lifted the bass and treble to make it more interesting for the younger wireless generation.

 

[Robin L]

Nope. I have a small head (hat size) and mine broke after 2 1/2 years while taking it off. At that time the ear pads were mostly gone.

The problem is obvious—the AKG k371 is made of flimsy materials. I hardly use mine, my default for headphones has been the Drop 6XX. But the earpads of my k371s are flaking and one of the earpieces has to be held in place with duct tape. I'm currently using the 7Hz x Crinacle Zero:2 IEM, blows both of them out of the water.