noob got a K271S - should he expect decent bass levels out of a cmoy?
Mar 24, 2004 at 2:17 AM Post #16 of 34
Quote:

Originally posted by Snufkin
As much as I hate relying on response graphs to judge a headphone, that's exactly how I perceive both headphones to sound.

I still stand by my opinion that the DT250 is a better all-round headhpone than the K271S
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Snuffkin, you did a few tests back when I was having problems with the 250-250. With the same source, did you find the 250 to have better bass? If so, then I suspect mine was faulty somehow. I'll emailed headroom now anyway, lets just hope they can test that unit.

Sorry for the thread hijacking btw
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Mar 24, 2004 at 2:23 AM Post #17 of 34
Yep, I've always found the DT250 to have more bass than the K271S. It's not a vast difference though.

I think the K271S bass might be a little more melodic in that the bass detail is more forward than the DT250 bass, but the lack if impact is what gets me.

"better" is such a subjective term!
 
Mar 24, 2004 at 2:31 AM Post #18 of 34
I think what it comes down to is personal preferance. I find that my 271's provide plenty of fast hard hitting base, maybe I'm stupid or something, but thats just my opinion. Oh, and I use them almost always with rock music. Could it be as one of you suggested that AKG has some quality control issues?
 
Mar 24, 2004 at 2:43 AM Post #20 of 34
Wodgy, I am saving to get my hands on a pair of RS-1's and an RA-1. But with a college students budget and all the beer I buy its gonna take a while. You are right though, the first time I heard a pair of RS-1's I went nuts.
 
Mar 24, 2004 at 2:48 AM Post #21 of 34
I find the lack of bass that people keep describing difficult to believe. AKG headphones are loved by audio engineers worldwide and they are made as monitoring headphones that should provide an uncoloured sound. This leads me to believe that the people that are complaining about lack of bass are used to hearing bloated bass rather than "correct" sounding bass.

The complaints about bass and difficulty in driving them are what's holding me back from buying these, only being more confused by others saying that they have not found the 271s to lack bass and are not difficult to drive.
 
Mar 24, 2004 at 2:55 AM Post #23 of 34
Quote:

Originally posted by 3lusiv3
I find the lack of bass that people keep describing difficult to believe. AKG headphones are loved by audio engineers worldwide and they are made as monitoring headphones that should provide an uncoloured sound. This leads me to believe that the people that are complaining about lack of bass are used to hearing bloated bass rather than "correct" sounding bass.

The complaints about bass and difficulty in driving them are what's holding me back from buying these, only being more confused by others saying that they have not found the 271s to lack bass and are not difficult to drive.


I agree with you on both parts.

People often describe the AKG 271s as hard to drive, but perhaps they are only repeating what someone else said. If you look thru the earlier part of this thread, and the thread I linked to, Snuffkin and I both are of the opinion that they're not hard to drive at all.
 
Mar 24, 2004 at 3:02 AM Post #24 of 34
Quote:

Originally posted by Wodgy
Britishbane, try a pair of Grados sometime. You'll go nuts with the fast hard hitting bass. The K271S is a soggy napkin in comparison.


to each his own I guess... while I found the Grados (RS1's and SR225's) a very fun change... I thought their sound was very coloured and overdone... while I find the K271S effortless deliver just the music and nothing else... the sound is very similar to Stax which I also like... and the bass is similar... not overdone but very well defined
 
Mar 24, 2004 at 3:02 AM Post #25 of 34
I really don't think the 271S is hard to drive at all, amplification allows for more volume but the overall sound characteristics are much the same.

3lusiv3 - many AKG headphones in general do sound even and balanced, but recording engineers are known for using all sorts of headphones - I don't think who-uses-what is a qualifier for good headphones
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I've seen just as many Beyer and Sony headphones in recording studios as I have AKG.


commando - I'm not a big fan of the Grado SR60 or 80 myself either, I guess they'd fit a sub-$100AU pricetag, but the prices they go for here and in NZ are almost criminal. OTOH, I love the Alessandro range
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Mar 24, 2004 at 3:58 AM Post #26 of 34
Commando, based on what I heard/hear w/the DT250-250's and my former K271's, your pair were almost certainly defective. The bass in the 250-250's is LOTS stronger and more authoritative than the K271 ever was, and that result was consistent regardless of which of my amps I had them hooked too. The 250-250's remain my #1 choice for a closed headphone. Just a thought, but maybe you should try another pair of 250-250's, I'm willing to bet that they would sound a lot better. For me there really was no comparison especially when it came to bass. Mids were a lot closer between the 2, but the highs also go to the 250-250's for being less sibilant (although the K271 is pretty good in this area for a closed can).
 
Mar 24, 2004 at 4:50 AM Post #27 of 34
Quote:

Originally posted by 3lusiv3
I find the lack of bass that people keep describing difficult to believe. AKG headphones are loved by audio engineers worldwide and they are made as monitoring headphones that should provide an uncoloured sound. This leads me to believe that the people that are complaining about lack of bass are used to hearing bloated bass rather than "correct" sounding bass.


AKG seems to recommend the K240S for monitoring mixes (based on a post a while ago from someone who had spoken to AKG). The K240S is a much more balanced headphone than the K271S. Same basic midrange and highs, but with a proper bass response.

Sealed headphones are hard to design; that's why there are so few good ones. The K271S is not a bad headphone by any means, but it's not the most neutral can in the world -- compare its frequency response graph to most of the others in Headroom's database, and it's pretty clear.

For the record, I'm personally not a fan of the Grado sound -- my earlier comment was just meant to provide a reference point for comparison -- an example of a can with a sense of "slam" that the K271S lacks. The K271S has many nice attributes, and I'm not slamming it by any means. There is no "best" headphone. Every can has its strengths and weaknesses. It's a fairly honest appraisal to say that the K271S has a very lean bass in comparison to most mainstream cans. To my ears, anyway. Any the frequency response graphs seem to bear this out.

Edit: I agree with Tyson, btw, the DT250-250 are the most balanced closed cans I've heard. (Though I have no experience with the Ultrasones.)
 
Mar 24, 2004 at 5:49 AM Post #30 of 34
Commando,
You had asked earlier if I heard improvement in the bass out of the NJB3's headphone out (vs line out into Cmoy). I just compared both, but did not detect much of a difference, if any.

Thank you, and everyone else, for the great responses. I'm going to give the K271S more burn-in time before I decide, but I have a feeling I'm going to be seeking out some 250-250s. I would miss the great isolation of the K271S though - it looks like the 250-250s have only half as much. But I'm willing to sacrifice that for more balanced bass.

BTW, if it wasn't obvious, I require a closed, or nearly-closed headphone. My KSC-35s aren't closed, but they're quiet enough at sane volumes in my work environment.

Thanks,
PB
 
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