jezz
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2008
- Posts
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Why the AKG K271 MKII is an exceptional safe-lab headphone:
The Short Version™
The Long Version™
My name is Jeremy. I work in a laboratory. This isn’t a particularly dangerous laboratory, where the worst thing that happens is the occasional capacitor explodes, or the magic purple smoke that makes semiconductors work will escape its ceramic prison. Even in the worst case, the fire alarm is so piercing that I’m not sure it would be possible to fully block it out. In other words, I work in a white collar lab.
I spend a lot of time around exceptionally loud fans, specifically inside of computers. Protip: if loud computers bother you, you should not consider a job in the semiconductor industry. While that does make me a prime candidate for noise cancelling headphones, I basically just don’t like changing the batteries in them, meaning such phones as the Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7 and the like were out. This meant that in my particular circumstances, my highest priorities were comfort, isolation, and sound. I have a lab workbench as well, so moving around isn’t an issue either, meaning that I can drive the headphones however I please.
I should also add that my tastes in music are generally classical, some folk and acoustic rock, and electronic. I don’t need a lot of bass. And I can’t stand sibilance. Really, it makes me take off a pair of headphones in seconds flat. I equalize everything above 15 kHz if the headphones require it.
I was looking for a ~$200 pair of headphones. Provantage had the AKG K271 MKII for $160 shipped to the USA, so I went with them. I didn’t have the opportunity to listen to some of the other widely recommended closed headphones, so I went with these sight-unseen. Having the K340’s, I felt confident that the fit would be acceptable for me. I’d bought the Shure SRH-840’s and immediately sold them in the FS/FT forums as my ears stick out and broke their seal.
My points of comparison for this set of headphones: the Grado SR-80, the AKG K340, the ATH-A700, and the Denon AH-C551K ear buds.
The setups I tested with were:
ASIO -> USB -> γ2 -> Tangent PPAv2 and
ASIO -> USB -> γ2
DirectSound -> USB -> γ1 -> Cavalli CTH
iPod mini, generation 2.
and I’ve burned these headphones in now for around 100 hours. They sounded pretty good from the start and haven’t dramatically improved, at least to my ears. They don’t sound good straight out of the iPod; they do need either an amplifier or a powerful enough source. For example, my γ2 is sufficient to power them. I’m using the velour pads because the vinyl pads get sticky after around 2 hours.
Comfort: This is essentially my largest concern; I wanted to be able to wear these for about 12 hours straight. The K271 hits the mark perfectly. They don’t clamp too hard, the velour ear pads that are included are great and the coiled cable and straight cables are excellent for switching depending on if I need to venture to a far side of the lab. The sibilance doesn’t inspire me to take them off and the bass isn’t overwhelming. The sound is somewhat forward, but again not in a way that I find offensive. I prefer the velour's but the vinyl pads aren’t bad either.
Looks: Outside of the audiophile communities, people tend to think certain headphones look ugly. These are, according to my coworkers, less offensive than others. However, most people see them and don’t think twice about wanting them. This again suits me fine; my office is fairly safe and no one’s vying to steal them.
Build: Sturdy, I don’t mind bashing them around, tossing them onto my desk, and pulling them off. Would I drive over them with a car? No. Can they be stepped on like the German Maestro phones? I don’t want to try. There is a small button that breaks the circuit when the headphones aren’t being worn; some people dislike this feature, but it suits my needs nicely. I don’t fear these breaking any time soon.
Value: I think they sound pretty good. Particularly, if someone does steal them, I don’t necessarily mind replacing them. It wouldn’t be the end of the world to me, and I’d probably get another pair.
Bass: Present and accounted for. Overwhelming? Again, no. The bass is more present than on my K340’s, however is less present than the ATH-A700’s and the AH-C551K’s. It’s tight and defined and doesn’t sound muddy. I would say it’s more defined than the ATH-A700’s, but that may be because there is less of it.
Mids: I’m spoiled. My K340’s ruined me. Absolutely ruined. I find myself listening to more music with female vocals over male vocals. I understand that this is typical of AKG headphones though. I absolutely prefer the mids of the K271 over the ATH-A700 though, also over the AH-C551K.
Treble: I like it. It’s there, it’s detailed and not sibilant. It sounds comparable to the ATH-A700 to me.
Soundstage: There isn’t much to speak of it. There’s more soundstage than the SR-80, and there’s less soundstage than my ATH-A700. The source of each instrument isn’t well defined; I can find them if I listen for them, but in general they come from either the “left” or the “right.”
Fun: I can corroborate the opinion that these are somewhat clinical and flat. For my tastes in music, they’re great. I wouldn’t recommend these with metal, hip hop, rap, or hard rock. I tried out a few Miles Davis tracks and they sounded good to me. Imogen Heap was just great. I love the sound of a grand through these.
Overall: I like them. I like my K340’s more; I tend to prefer open headphones, but I can’t get away with them at work. They don’t need much in terms of amplification, and definitely don’t need much in terms of equalization or coloring by an amp. I’m happy with my PPAv2 driving them, but then the CTH also sounds good. An overly tubey sound might make the mids too present though.
Things I couldn’t figure out where to mention: They are extremely revealing of clipping, much more than the ATH-A700. They aren’t studio headphones without reason.
The Short Version™
- Comfortable enough that I can wear them for a long time
- Isolating enough that you won’t hear the drone around you
- Ugly enough that they won’t be stolen
- Cheap enough that they can be stolen
- Nice looking enough that people don’t think less of me
- Good sounding enough that I don’t miss my home rig too much
- Not perfect enough that I they make my home rig obsolete
The Long Version™
My name is Jeremy. I work in a laboratory. This isn’t a particularly dangerous laboratory, where the worst thing that happens is the occasional capacitor explodes, or the magic purple smoke that makes semiconductors work will escape its ceramic prison. Even in the worst case, the fire alarm is so piercing that I’m not sure it would be possible to fully block it out. In other words, I work in a white collar lab.
I spend a lot of time around exceptionally loud fans, specifically inside of computers. Protip: if loud computers bother you, you should not consider a job in the semiconductor industry. While that does make me a prime candidate for noise cancelling headphones, I basically just don’t like changing the batteries in them, meaning such phones as the Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7 and the like were out. This meant that in my particular circumstances, my highest priorities were comfort, isolation, and sound. I have a lab workbench as well, so moving around isn’t an issue either, meaning that I can drive the headphones however I please.
I should also add that my tastes in music are generally classical, some folk and acoustic rock, and electronic. I don’t need a lot of bass. And I can’t stand sibilance. Really, it makes me take off a pair of headphones in seconds flat. I equalize everything above 15 kHz if the headphones require it.
I was looking for a ~$200 pair of headphones. Provantage had the AKG K271 MKII for $160 shipped to the USA, so I went with them. I didn’t have the opportunity to listen to some of the other widely recommended closed headphones, so I went with these sight-unseen. Having the K340’s, I felt confident that the fit would be acceptable for me. I’d bought the Shure SRH-840’s and immediately sold them in the FS/FT forums as my ears stick out and broke their seal.
My points of comparison for this set of headphones: the Grado SR-80, the AKG K340, the ATH-A700, and the Denon AH-C551K ear buds.
The setups I tested with were:
ASIO -> USB -> γ2 -> Tangent PPAv2 and
ASIO -> USB -> γ2
DirectSound -> USB -> γ1 -> Cavalli CTH
iPod mini, generation 2.
and I’ve burned these headphones in now for around 100 hours. They sounded pretty good from the start and haven’t dramatically improved, at least to my ears. They don’t sound good straight out of the iPod; they do need either an amplifier or a powerful enough source. For example, my γ2 is sufficient to power them. I’m using the velour pads because the vinyl pads get sticky after around 2 hours.
Comfort: This is essentially my largest concern; I wanted to be able to wear these for about 12 hours straight. The K271 hits the mark perfectly. They don’t clamp too hard, the velour ear pads that are included are great and the coiled cable and straight cables are excellent for switching depending on if I need to venture to a far side of the lab. The sibilance doesn’t inspire me to take them off and the bass isn’t overwhelming. The sound is somewhat forward, but again not in a way that I find offensive. I prefer the velour's but the vinyl pads aren’t bad either.
Looks: Outside of the audiophile communities, people tend to think certain headphones look ugly. These are, according to my coworkers, less offensive than others. However, most people see them and don’t think twice about wanting them. This again suits me fine; my office is fairly safe and no one’s vying to steal them.
Build: Sturdy, I don’t mind bashing them around, tossing them onto my desk, and pulling them off. Would I drive over them with a car? No. Can they be stepped on like the German Maestro phones? I don’t want to try. There is a small button that breaks the circuit when the headphones aren’t being worn; some people dislike this feature, but it suits my needs nicely. I don’t fear these breaking any time soon.
Value: I think they sound pretty good. Particularly, if someone does steal them, I don’t necessarily mind replacing them. It wouldn’t be the end of the world to me, and I’d probably get another pair.
Bass: Present and accounted for. Overwhelming? Again, no. The bass is more present than on my K340’s, however is less present than the ATH-A700’s and the AH-C551K’s. It’s tight and defined and doesn’t sound muddy. I would say it’s more defined than the ATH-A700’s, but that may be because there is less of it.
Mids: I’m spoiled. My K340’s ruined me. Absolutely ruined. I find myself listening to more music with female vocals over male vocals. I understand that this is typical of AKG headphones though. I absolutely prefer the mids of the K271 over the ATH-A700 though, also over the AH-C551K.
Treble: I like it. It’s there, it’s detailed and not sibilant. It sounds comparable to the ATH-A700 to me.
Soundstage: There isn’t much to speak of it. There’s more soundstage than the SR-80, and there’s less soundstage than my ATH-A700. The source of each instrument isn’t well defined; I can find them if I listen for them, but in general they come from either the “left” or the “right.”
Fun: I can corroborate the opinion that these are somewhat clinical and flat. For my tastes in music, they’re great. I wouldn’t recommend these with metal, hip hop, rap, or hard rock. I tried out a few Miles Davis tracks and they sounded good to me. Imogen Heap was just great. I love the sound of a grand through these.
Overall: I like them. I like my K340’s more; I tend to prefer open headphones, but I can’t get away with them at work. They don’t need much in terms of amplification, and definitely don’t need much in terms of equalization or coloring by an amp. I’m happy with my PPAv2 driving them, but then the CTH also sounds good. An overly tubey sound might make the mids too present though.
Things I couldn’t figure out where to mention: They are extremely revealing of clipping, much more than the ATH-A700. They aren’t studio headphones without reason.
