AKG K371 Review (closed back headphone)

[solderdude]

In the case of Koss they made their own drivers.
New pads were used on both old and new ones and even got send a used one manufactured a year before that.

definitely the resonance frequency shifted upwards over time.

 

[mshenay]

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.

Hmm I didn't have any issues getting a consistent seal. Tho I don't wear mine every day, still the plush pads are flexible enough and the headband holds a pretty good bit of tension. Still it's good to know others are having a difficult time with seal

 

[Feelas]

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.

I believe it was @Dreyfus who firstly addressed that he doesn't really like the shrillness of K371 and then posted how they seal on his head - a MASSIVE problem!

 

[bobbooo]

Ain't got no time for a full round of ASR Cleudo. Spit it out.

Hypocrisy, in the Abyss of the ASR library, with the candlestick.

 

[Soundstage]

Got the bluetooth version today. When I plug them to bypass the internal DAC and use my Topping D70, the left speaker does not work. So I am returning them.
The bluetooth works very well. As others said they are not very stable and I would appreciate more clamping.
Sound-wise, I am disappointed so far compared to my HD650 with DSP. The mids/highs are better on the HD650.

 

[amirm]

Talking of distortion, I see there's no absolute distortion vs frequency plot for this headphone. Bit of an odd omission considering all the previous vitriol and furore over other reviewers only posting 'misleading' percentage distortion plots...despite them being commonly used in academic papers (log scaled no less) by leading acoustic scientists in the field of headphone research such as Dr. Sean Olive.

Quit the conspiracy nonsense. When a standard graph is missing, it simply means I forgot to include it, nothing more. I just added it to the review:

As you see, it has the date of the original review and shows much better response compared to abyss diana v2:

There is 30 dB distortion above our threshold at 5 kHz with Abyss compared to just 5 dB for AKG. And that is where our hearing is most sensitive. The distortion components there are so loud in Abyss that they actually lift the frequency response there!

You also missed the previous argument which had to do with Jude using log display in his measurements to counter mine but then comparing them to my linear scale. That obviously is wrong and must not be done as they two present radically different visual results even though actual amounts are the same. Since most people -- especially on head-fi -- don't read the graphs and just go by the words, what he did was quite misleading.

So don't go picking battles when you don't know the argument itself, nor have facts on your side.

 

[Grotti]

Received the K371 today.

I can confirm, that it feels a little "cheap" and that the position of the plug is BS: better don't move while listening...

I had no problems with the seal with my average sized head and even wearing my glasses, it did seal very well (I wear glasses with very thin arms though).

First impression: what a bass! The last headphones I listened to were Sennheiser HD 800 from a friend with an old Musical Fidelity headphone amp. It was before I owned the RME so I had to listen to them without EQ. I stopped listening after a few minutes: absence of deep bass and sharp presence with shiny but piercing treble.

The K371 is a different ballgame out of box! The bass is tight, really deep, quite well controlled and doesn't bleed into the midrange. I am not so impressed with the presence but this may be due to my bias reading too much on ASR.....

All in all not the best headphones I have experienced but they seem to build everything seamlessly on this remarkable bass. And since I decided to give them a try without EQ for the first days I have to admit, that without this thread (and the measurement and comments of @solderdude on his website) I literally would change nothing about the FR and listen to them as they are.
I will dial in some EQ in the days to come: see what happens ....

And last but not least: I really enjoyed the harman curve!!! And I am pretty shure, that the next purchase will be a magnetostatic HP which should be tuned the harman way or which would well respond to EQ.

Just my two cents...

 

[daftcombo]

I listen to the K371 at the office with the coil cable. The DAC is on the left. I move the computer mouse with the left hand, so the coil is always next to my hand.

In that position, I have no problem moving my head to the rhythm without having the cable becoming microphonic. It is not as good with the other cables.

 

[Grotti]

I listen to the K371 at the office with the coil cable. The DAC is on the left. I move the computer mouse with the left hand, so the coil is always next to my hand.

In that position, I have no problem moving my head to the rhythm without having the cable becoming microphonic. It is not as good with the other cables.

Just tried the coil cable. It is no alternative for me as I listen at home about 2, 5 meters away from the RME: there is too much tension on the cable. Again this plug: I wear a shirt with a collar right now and every time I turn my head the cable/plug touches the collar which is clearly audible. I think I will go for a cable with a 90 degree plug....

 

[ishouldbeking]

Got the bluetooth version today. When I plug them to bypass the internal DAC and use my Topping D70, the left speaker does not work. So I am returning them.
The bluetooth works very well. As others said they are not very stable and I would appreciate more clamping.
Sound-wise, I am disappointed so far compared to my HD650 with DSP. The mids/highs are better on the HD650.

No personal experience to contribute but it's been reported on reddit (r/headphones) and elsewhere that the BT version has shallower pad depth than the wired version, which sounds suboptimal and probably has some impact on sonic presentation. Purely anecdotal, but people seem generally happier with the sound of the wired version; seen quite a few more complaints about unimpressive performance from the BT, some of which could also be the natural compression effects of whatever BT codec is in play.

 

[Soundstage]

No personal experience to contribute but it's been reported on reddit (r/headphones) and elsewhere that the BT version has shallower pad depth than the wired version, which sounds suboptimal and probably has some impact on sonic presentation. Purely anecdotal, but people seem generally happier with the sound of the wired version; seen quite a few more complaints about unimpressive performance from the BT, some of which could also be the natural compression effects of whatever BT codec is in play.

I will report on the difference between BT and the wired plug with D70/THX787 but I can't as the left speakers is off when plugged.

 

[samwell7]

I listen to the K371 at the office with the coil cable. The DAC is on the left. I move the computer mouse with the left hand, so the coil is always next to my hand.

In that position, I have no problem moving my head to the rhythm without having the cable becoming microphonic. It is not as good with the other cables.

I'm listening with the 3m cable, ran to the left of my keyboard (I'm probably only 1m away from where I plug it in), no issues with microphonics for me although I've only been wearing polo shirts, might be different with a stiff collar

 

[daftcombo]

Listening again to the K361 right now. It seems more balanced to me than the K371 (with and without Amir's EQ). But it is less detailed than with Amir's EQ.

I should try to EQ the K361 by filling the 4 kHz dip.

 

[daftcombo]

To me, K361 is better than K371 if one doesn't plan to use EQ.

And with EQ, they could well end up sounding the same...

 

[samwell7]

To me, K361 is better than K371 if one doesn't plan to use EQ.

And with EQ, they could well end up sounding the same...

Interesting, I prefer not to use EQ and the K361s are half the price of the K371s on Amazon for some reason, what about the 361 is better?

 

[daftcombo]

They are very close. But on the K361, bass level is a bit lower (more neutral) and there is no peak in the treble at 8 kHz. The K371 is a bit better between 2 and 3.5 kHz though.

See the comparison graph "The K371 vs the K361" on @solderdude 's great website:
https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/headphones/measurements/akg/k361/

 

[samwell7]

They are very close. But on the K361, bass level is a bit lower (more neutral) and there is no peak in the treble at 8 kHz. The K371 is a bit better between 2 and 3.5 kHz though.

See the comparison graph "The K371 vs the K361" on @solderdude 's great website:
https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/headphones/measurements/akg/k361/

Thanks! I love @solderdude's website, I've been using it a lot.

I must not be getting a good seal because all of my headphones would typically be deemed bass-light (K702, Etymotics, Rock It R-50) and the bass from the K371 is at more or less the same level.
I used the hearing test function on PEACE and my bass response is practically the same for the K702 and K371

Edit: added a screenshot, note it's hardly a scientific test because I matched levels 'by ear' and it wasn't completely quiet environment, however this should negatively impact the K702's bass measurements if anything

 

[frogmeat69]

Scary how good these headphones sound, even without EQ. Had to grab a set with all of this hype, lol.
But, like what has already been said, not too keen on the build quality. I baby my gear, so shouldn't be a problem, we shall see.

 

[fieldcar]

FYI. It's on sale at amazon for $120 (usa)

 

[schmu]

Hey ya'll,
I'm using the AKG K371 for Techno (bedroom DJ & listening) and really like them.
But I'm sometimes - like many of you can probably relate too - looking for something better, for a bit "more".

Here is what I love about the K371 with electronic music: the kickdrumm sounds really fast, punchy, tight and almost aggressively crisp.
I couldn't find this crisp attack in any headphones I tried thus far.
Also the subbass and bass in general creates a noticeable pressure that I couldn't find in other models.
It feels more like a closed back physical thing instead of a tonal feeling.

This thumping crisp low end. Can I find this somewhere else? Maybe with a little bit more soundstage?
Maybe a bit warm & fun, but still fast & tight?
I'm about to call it a day and just stop looking, since I'm already pretty happy.
But it's nice to have something to look forward to, some sort of goal or endgame.
I'd like to not spend more than 600€ to be honest, but who knows.

@solderdude did you come across something that might tick these boxes?

cheers