AKG "K267 TIËSTO" - Discussion, Impression, Review & Appreciation Thread - Page 43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tus-Chan 

It looks like the dotty bit that connects the extenders to the headband is still plastic. Can you confirm or deny this?

The dotty bits are plastic. However, the swivel pieces, cans,and the height adjustment is metal. top band (dotted part) is plastic, with the top cushion a pleather/cloth material.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phoenix Jackson 

Oooooh.  They don't look too big!  I can wear them outside.  Now I'm interested... again.  (My God!  My M50 and DT770 haven't even burned in yet -.-)

naw, i just have a big head. I wish the pads were bigger. They feel like borderline on-ears.

I refuse to believe that it has the same impedance rating as the k167. The driver is 50mm after all. What do you guys think?

Any first impressions?

Or at least say this: SQ wise, do you like them or not?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Minarets 

Looks good.

I need SQ impressions, burned in or not!

haha, alright. These are very rough impressions, and likely to change. Overall, the sound quality seems to be good, but not really better than the competition it seems (unfortunately). Imma try and compare them to the Denon D600's, D5000's, and Logitech UE 6000's to give an idea of how they sound (though I recently returned the UE6000's I had cause I found them to be way too dark in passive mode).

The K267 seem like they stand right in between the Logitech UE 6000 and the Denon AH-D600 in terms of sound signature. It seems like it is less balanced than the UE6000 (in passive mode), but not nearly as dark (again, in passive mode), yet still more balanced than the D600. The mids are ok, though I think I detect a hump in the lower mids/mid-bass. Overall, the mids are better than on the D600 (that's not saying much), but less natural than the mids on the UE 6000. The treble is a step up from the D600 (again, not saying much), but it feels like there's a spike around 5-6khz, and the extension is quite lackluster. 

And as for bass... well, it's easier to say what it does do well, and that is 'punchy-ness'/'slam' (though, still not quite as well as the UE 6000 in active mode). Also, it seems to start rolling off at around 40hz (as opposed to the D600 and D5000's 30-25hz), and it drops sharply after 25hz. So right now, without burn-in, you pretty much can't hear any rumble at all below 20hz (for comparison, both Denons rumble down to 1-5hz), and this is on the highest bass setting ('Stage'). I got these primarily to compare the bass on them with the Denons, but so far it's looking disappointing. The D600's bass seems to have better speed, texture, clarity, and even more quantity than the K267's at this point. And for reference, I find that the D600's bass bests the D5000's in those areas as well, making the D600 some of the best bass headphones I've found so far.

In terms of soundstage, the K267 has a bigger soundstage than the UE6000, but it's not as good as the D600's, and none of those are as good as the D5000's. The imaging is the weakest of the UE6000 and both Denons though.

So yeah, the first impressions aren't very pretty, but Imma keep burning them in for at least a full day before continuing to bash them any further.

I like them :)

I think they are quite balanced. Not too dark, not too bright. 

I think the bass is good, but it is no WOW factor.

I'm going to have to agree with oblique on this one. The sound imaging doesn't seem too natural to me.

Instruments sound a tad bit 'fake' to me. Vocals are still pretty good though.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that I'm not amping them. I don't have my amps with me at the moment. What are you amping them with, Oblique?

I'm using them through my ODAC+Objective2 combo. And yeah, don't get me wrong, they're a good set of headphones, I guess I'm just expecting quite a bit from what seem to be AKG's closed-back flagship (next to the open Q701's and K702-65's). I really do hope they open up a bit more with the burn in period though, especially since AKG's are notorious for needing lots of break-in....

I still think they play electronic music quite well.

When it comes to classical or jazz, they are only a bit weak in giving instruments that natural feeling or sound. I don't know how to explain it. It's just..not there. Not like my Mad Dogs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by oblique63 

haha, alright. These are very rough impressions, and likely to change. Overall, the sound quality seems to be good, but not really better than the competition it seems (unfortunately). Imma try and compare them to the Denon D600's, D5000's, and Logitech UE 6000's to give an idea of how they sound (though I recently returned the UE6000's I had cause I found them to be way too dark in passive mode).

The K267 seem like they stand right in between the Logitech UE 6000 and the Denon AH-D600 in terms of sound signature. It seems like it is less balanced than the UE6000 (in passive mode), but not nearly as dark (again, in passive mode), yet still more balanced than the D600. The mids are ok, though I think I detect a hump in the lower mids/mid-bass. Overall, the mids are better than on the D600 (that's not saying much), but less natural than the mids on the UE 6000. The treble is a step up from the D600 (again, not saying much), but it feels like there's a spike around 5-6khz, and the extension is quite lackluster. 

And as for bass... well, it's easier to say what it does do well, and that is 'punchy-ness'/'slam' (though, still not quite as well as the UE 6000 in active mode). Also, it seems to start rolling off at around 40hz (as opposed to the D600 and D5000's 30-25hz), and it drops sharply after 25hz. So right now, without burn-in, you pretty much can't hear any rumble at all below 20hz (for comparison, both Denons rumble down to 1-5hz), and this is on the highest bass setting ('Stage'). I got these primarily to compare the bass on them with the Denons, but so far it's looking disappointing. The D600's bass seems to have better speed, texture, clarity, and even more quantity than the K267's at this point. And for reference, I find that the D600's bass bests the D5000's in those areas as well, making the D600 some of the best bass headphones I've found so far.

In terms of soundstage, the K267 has a bigger soundstage than the UE6000, but it's not as good as the D600's, and none of those are as good as the D5000's. The imaging is the weakest of the UE6000 and both Denons though.

So yeah, the first impressions aren't very pretty, but Imma keep burning them in for at least a full day before continuing to bash them any further.

Great comparison, I think I have an idea of their signature.  Based on what you describe, I think the V-Moda M-100 would appeal to you.

What kind of difference are you guys hearing with the different settings on the porting? Given what I've been hearing, these seem like, as far as sound signature goes, they're pretty all-round. Classical, electronic, rock, ect. won't sound strange due to boosting frequencies?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Craigster75 

Great comparison, I think I have an idea of their signature.  Based on what you describe, I think the V-Moda M-100 would appeal to you.

I was considering them for a while, but heard lots of mixed reviews... How would you describe them compared to the UE or D600? I basically really wanted to like the UE 6000, but it was much too dark for me in passive mode, and although I liked the punch it brought in active mode, it made the highs too artificial, and honestly, I'm too lazy to keep buying batteries just to have an enjoyable headphone, lol.

and I'll apologize to everyone else for the off-topic-ness ahead of time, lol.

Not sure if it's psychological, but it seems as though these cans achieve a smoother presentation of the music after you play them for a few hours out of the box.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AzureBeat 

What kind of difference are you guys hearing with the different settings on the porting? Given what I've been hearing, these seem like, as far as sound signature goes, they're pretty all-round. Classical, electronic, rock, ect. won't sound strange due to boosting frequencies?

I think one of the first reviewers pretty much nailed it when he/she said that there isn't much of a difference between the first two settings ('studio' and 'club'), and then there's a noticeable boost when switching to the 'stage' setting. Interestingly though, I find the middle/'club' setting to be the most neutral, as the 'studio' setting feels a bit too light to be neutral, and the 'stage' setting just sounds a bit too boomy/muddy at this point (prior to break-in). The overall sound-signature doesn't really change a whole lot though (aside from the muddiness when going to 'stage' mode), so I wouldn't really say it suddenly gets better at different genres in different settings. And honestly, if it's true what's been said about the K167's essentially sounding the same as the K267 but stuck between 'club' and 'stage', then I'd say those would be more ideal, cause this whole bass switching thing really feels more like a bit of a gimmick than an actual useful function. I want to stress again though, that I haven't put nearly enough time into these to really have any reliable opinions on them, and I won't be surprised if I find myself eating my own words later on... 

Interesting. I'd really like to see some FR graphs when people with that equipment get their hands on them. What's your projection of their durability?

Even though the majority of the parts are metal, it still feels fragile and easy to break. If one stretches the plastic band enough (the dotted part), I feel as though it can snap.

Otherwise, the swivel joint feels very durable and the cloth pad on top look strong enough to withstand harsh treatment to a certain degree. I wouldn't try beating it up or stress testing it though, LOL.