What is AKG up to these days?

Agreed. It has been a year and a half since the HD800 was introduced at CES 2009, and there hasn't been a peep out of AKG. They are falling behind!

I also agree. They've gone backwards since they discontinued the k1000s.

They don't have to, if they don't think it's commercially viable.... say if they thought the high-end is already oversaturated. But on the other hand AKG does have to worry about their brand prestige, if they don't have any top performers people will start thinking of them as a really boring company. Recently, they've definitely been more boring than Beyer or Senn. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhanja_trinanjan 

What is AKG up to these days?

Sadly not much, if anything at all... :(
 

Ya....waiting on a new flagship myself.

from a business standpoint, they should just repackage the K701/2 drivers in some audiophile approved housings, re-badge it with K-1 or K801, and jack the price up to at least $1000 - anything less and it won't be taken seriously.

Personal opinion of course .... But I heard the K-701s and K601s at the Boston meet, and thought they sounded NOTHING like real music sounds. VERY colored and strange midrange.

Then yesterday, at a local friend's house, I was able to hear a pair of K271s, and found them MUCH better.

To my ears, AKG has some things backwards, and needs a new direction for a flagship. JMO

Agree. They also need to get back to their innovative, electrostatic hybrid, 6 passive driver and earspeaker self again. In the past few years, they've launched two new dynamics and rebranded some old headphones. Meanwhile, the headphone market has returned to being a dynamic, progressive industry in the last few years. AKG has not tackled any of the 'hot' emerging areas - the super-high end (and I assume high profit margin) high-end HiFi headphone market (Senn, Beyer), or the high-end portable (AT, Beyer and Ultrasone), or the serious IEM market. It's alright to play it safe about entering markets, but you can't let yourself get outmaneuvered by your competitors either. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhanja_trinanjan 

Which can sounds REAL to you?

I have made and recorded 5 different CDs with my band. This gives me an ultimate reference for comparison, because I know what it sounded like when I sang/played it in the studio, what it sounded like in the control room over three different sets of monitors, and over several pairs of mixing headphones during recording, mixing, and mastering.

So far, the headphones which sound the most like my band actually sounded, are the Kees modded Ultrasone Pro900s. My voice sounds the most like me, and my Taylor acoustic guitar sounds the most like it does live.

Disclaimer :   Without the Kees mod, the Pro900s are pure trash !

Quote:

Originally Posted by downsize 

I have made and recorded 5 different CDs with my band. This gives me an ultimate reference for comparison, because I know what it sounded like when I sang/played it in the studio, what it sounded like in the control room over three different sets of monitors, and over several pairs of mixing headphones during recording, mixing, and mastering.

 

So far, the headphones which sound the most like my band actually sounded, are the Kees modded Ultrasone Pro900s. My voice sounds the most like me, and my Taylor acoustic guitar sounds the most like it does live.

Disclaimer :   Without the Kees mod, the Pro900s are pure trash !

Different strokes for different folks! Some people like coloured sounds others like neutral.

If all headphones made music sound absolutely neutral, there would be no fun in this hobby. Also, it sounds like you used different rigs for your comparisons and you should keep in mind that every major component will affect the end sound.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhanja_trinanjan 

Which can sounds REAL to you?

This depends not only on headphones and personal preferences, but even listening volume. Human ears lost sensitivity to bass and treble at low volumes. So the quieter you tend to listen, the worse your hearing of those frequencies becomes. So for a listener who prefers low volume, as an example, a neutral sound is one with a V shaped curve, either from the cans or from an EQ.

Then you get what is real. Does neutral equate to natural? Lots of people including myself seem to think they don't. Basically, every person you ask will give you a different answer to what sounds "real."
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Landis 

Different strokes for different folks! Some people like coloured sounds others like neutral.

 

If all headphones made music sound absolutely neutral, there would be no fun in this hobby. Also, it sounds like you used different rigs for your comparisons and you should keep in mind that every major component will affect the end sound.

I agree, it is great to have variance in opinions and tastes. However, I took the respective cans over and listened on MY system ... making the comparisons fair and equal.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by JxK 

This depends not only on headphones and personal preferences, but even listening volume. Human ears lost sensitivity to bass and treble at low volumes. So the quieter you tend to listen, the worse your hearing of those frequencies becomes. So for a listener who prefers low volume, as an example, a neutral sound is one with a V shaped curve, either from the cans or from an EQ.

 

Then you get what is real. Does neutral equate to natural? Lots of people including myself seem to think they don't. Basically, every person you ask will give you a different answer to what sounds "real."
 

Yes agreed .... However, spending 10 years with the same band gives one a VERY good reference on what "real" sounds like