hero zero
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jun 13, 2003
- Posts
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I'm still in my quest to find a good pair of closed headphones for both home and portable use....I got my Senn Hd280's a year ago and they were just too large and strange looking for that kind of thing...this summer, I got a pair of PX200, I like them a lot, but they don't seem to isolate enough on trains and busses [am i not getting a good fit and seal??]..
...anyway, I ended up getting a pair of AKG K171 Studios a couple days ago....not much is said about them, but they were cheaper than the AKG k240S, so maybe they could be considered as one of the closed headphones that can be had for less than US$100 [along with the V6/7506 and the HD280....]
I'm not a very good review person and i'm new to this, but I'll give it a shot....the K171S's have been burnt in somewhat, but not all that much..anyway, here we go....
In terms of sound, the K171S is quite similar to the 240S, i think...pretty stong bass, decent treble...although on some of the recordings i listened to, vocals got a little sibilant [or the "s"'s were kind of sharp and hissy...both on CD's and crappy 128Kbit Mp3's..but on some material it was ok..]..the vocals [female] sounded slightly distant, or softer [?]..especially comparared to the HD280s....the HD280's had less bass, but not much less....the vocals sounded really upfront with the 280s....also, the 280s seemed a little more forgiving with the material I used with it...I didn't get any of those sibilace problems mentioned above on the same recordings...
For the physical attributes of the K171S's and the HD280's, the K171's are slightly smaller...but the HD280's can fold flat, so they are more convenient to put in a bag [i never fold them up into a ball...I always fold them flat..maybe I'm afraid of the right channel cable getting snapped by the ball joint]...the K171S has small supra-aureal enclosures...not as small as say, the HD25-1, but small enough so that you can hang the K171S's around your neck and still feel comfortable....
As for the fit, both the HD280 and the K171S apply quite a large amount of clamping pressure….for the HD280’s, it’s around the ears, while the K171’s put pressure directly on the ears due to it’s supra-aureal design, as opposed to the circum-aureal design of the HD280s….both headphones are reasonably comfortable, but trap heat…another thing to note is glasses….I wear glasses, and I noticed a slight discomfort from the K171S’s as they pressed on my entire ear, so the area where my glasses rest on my ears hurt….they’re much more comfortable if I don’t put my glasses on…but then I can’t see anything…so the HD280s are a bit more comfortable than the K171S’s…for me at least…
In terms of uses, the HD280 is pretty good for home use…it’s also great for monitering recordings…I don’t know about DJing, though…the headband is too inflexible to really do single sided monitering [I actually kind of opened the headband up and discovered that there are two metal strips (one for each side)..so it’s not quite all plastic after all!]…the K171S has a headband which is much more flexible than that of the HD280…so it’s probably better for DJing…but I don’t think I’d use them for monitering or mastering recordings, etc…
Another issue that comes with closed headphones is microphonics…all the parts of the headphone itself pick up noise if they come in contact with any objects…the headphone cords can also pick up this interference…that being said, the K171S, like the rest of the studio series, comes with a thin, straight cord, which terminates on one end into a mini-XLR cable, and 1/8 inch plug on the other…and picks up a lot of disturbances…the cord for the Hd280 is coiled…it seems to lessen the area of cord the actually picks up noise from movement, or contact with objects [that part being the area of cord between the headphone and the coiled area]…
Now..portable use….both of them can be powered by a contemporary portable [ie. The recently released ones, not the vintage ones..]…both headphones have low impedance [64 Ohms for the HD280 and 55 for the K171S]….the K171S needs higher volume output as it is less sensitive than the HD280….
Are you constantly conscious about the way you look when you wear you’re headphones? Sometimes I am…the HD280’s stick out a lot at the headband and the ball joints, and resembles a giant clamp on your head…so yeah…it’s ugly….the K171S’s headband doesn’t stick out so much, but its earcups do…..in fact, I can actually see them out of the corner of my eye…although it’s not as bad as the AKG K240s…
So where am I now? Hmmphh…I seem to be back at square one…I like the HD280’s better, they don’t sound as good for rock and most electronic music than the K171S’s do, but I don’t listen to much rock anyway….I’d never use the Hd280’s for portable use, although they block out a lot of noise and leak very little….i forgot about the issue of isolation…they both do a really good job…but the K171 leak a little bit…it’s hard to hear, but I can tell that it leaks sound…but it’s nowhere near the amount of leakage the Grados produce…
Anyway, yeah….I prefer the HD280s…in summary, both sound pretty good, but the K171S can get a little bassy and ssssibilant [if that’s the right word]…and then there’s that issue with me and glasses and the K171S’s supra-aureal clamping discomfort….so…it looks like the hunt continues….
[ a bit long-winded…probably a lot of mistakes here and there…ah well, I hope others have found this useful….It would also be great to get some other opinions on the K171S’s….I’ve got this uneasy feeling that I could be wrong about a lot of stuff that I just wrote]
...anyway, I ended up getting a pair of AKG K171 Studios a couple days ago....not much is said about them, but they were cheaper than the AKG k240S, so maybe they could be considered as one of the closed headphones that can be had for less than US$100 [along with the V6/7506 and the HD280....]
I'm not a very good review person and i'm new to this, but I'll give it a shot....the K171S's have been burnt in somewhat, but not all that much..anyway, here we go....
In terms of sound, the K171S is quite similar to the 240S, i think...pretty stong bass, decent treble...although on some of the recordings i listened to, vocals got a little sibilant [or the "s"'s were kind of sharp and hissy...both on CD's and crappy 128Kbit Mp3's..but on some material it was ok..]..the vocals [female] sounded slightly distant, or softer [?]..especially comparared to the HD280s....the HD280's had less bass, but not much less....the vocals sounded really upfront with the 280s....also, the 280s seemed a little more forgiving with the material I used with it...I didn't get any of those sibilace problems mentioned above on the same recordings...
For the physical attributes of the K171S's and the HD280's, the K171's are slightly smaller...but the HD280's can fold flat, so they are more convenient to put in a bag [i never fold them up into a ball...I always fold them flat..maybe I'm afraid of the right channel cable getting snapped by the ball joint]...the K171S has small supra-aureal enclosures...not as small as say, the HD25-1, but small enough so that you can hang the K171S's around your neck and still feel comfortable....
As for the fit, both the HD280 and the K171S apply quite a large amount of clamping pressure….for the HD280’s, it’s around the ears, while the K171’s put pressure directly on the ears due to it’s supra-aureal design, as opposed to the circum-aureal design of the HD280s….both headphones are reasonably comfortable, but trap heat…another thing to note is glasses….I wear glasses, and I noticed a slight discomfort from the K171S’s as they pressed on my entire ear, so the area where my glasses rest on my ears hurt….they’re much more comfortable if I don’t put my glasses on…but then I can’t see anything…so the HD280s are a bit more comfortable than the K171S’s…for me at least…
In terms of uses, the HD280 is pretty good for home use…it’s also great for monitering recordings…I don’t know about DJing, though…the headband is too inflexible to really do single sided monitering [I actually kind of opened the headband up and discovered that there are two metal strips (one for each side)..so it’s not quite all plastic after all!]…the K171S has a headband which is much more flexible than that of the HD280…so it’s probably better for DJing…but I don’t think I’d use them for monitering or mastering recordings, etc…
Another issue that comes with closed headphones is microphonics…all the parts of the headphone itself pick up noise if they come in contact with any objects…the headphone cords can also pick up this interference…that being said, the K171S, like the rest of the studio series, comes with a thin, straight cord, which terminates on one end into a mini-XLR cable, and 1/8 inch plug on the other…and picks up a lot of disturbances…the cord for the Hd280 is coiled…it seems to lessen the area of cord the actually picks up noise from movement, or contact with objects [that part being the area of cord between the headphone and the coiled area]…
Now..portable use….both of them can be powered by a contemporary portable [ie. The recently released ones, not the vintage ones..]…both headphones have low impedance [64 Ohms for the HD280 and 55 for the K171S]….the K171S needs higher volume output as it is less sensitive than the HD280….
Are you constantly conscious about the way you look when you wear you’re headphones? Sometimes I am…the HD280’s stick out a lot at the headband and the ball joints, and resembles a giant clamp on your head…so yeah…it’s ugly….the K171S’s headband doesn’t stick out so much, but its earcups do…..in fact, I can actually see them out of the corner of my eye…although it’s not as bad as the AKG K240s…
So where am I now? Hmmphh…I seem to be back at square one…I like the HD280’s better, they don’t sound as good for rock and most electronic music than the K171S’s do, but I don’t listen to much rock anyway….I’d never use the Hd280’s for portable use, although they block out a lot of noise and leak very little….i forgot about the issue of isolation…they both do a really good job…but the K171 leak a little bit…it’s hard to hear, but I can tell that it leaks sound…but it’s nowhere near the amount of leakage the Grados produce…
Anyway, yeah….I prefer the HD280s…in summary, both sound pretty good, but the K171S can get a little bassy and ssssibilant [if that’s the right word]…and then there’s that issue with me and glasses and the K171S’s supra-aureal clamping discomfort….so…it looks like the hunt continues….
[ a bit long-winded…probably a lot of mistakes here and there…ah well, I hope others have found this useful….It would also be great to get some other opinions on the K171S’s….I’ve got this uneasy feeling that I could be wrong about a lot of stuff that I just wrote]
