I listened to these headphones today at my local Apple store for about 45 seconds on an iPod to music that I was unfamiliar with. The verdict? They sounded okay but are a long way from great. They definitely didn't knock my socks off. These appear to be well-made and were reasonably comfortable...

Although I respect everyone's passion and their love of certain products, this thread has gotten pretty far off track. Where this all started was to solicit people's ideas, their impressions and thoughts about serious headphones. Head-Fi has areas dedicated to mobile and to general-purpose...

The K171 and K 271 Studio are closed-back headphones - the chief virtue of this design is that it blocks out a good bit of ambient noise. Both of these models have very good bass extension with the type of midrange and high end detail that is synonymous with AKG. The K240 and K 141 (both M...

You should also visit Stereo Trading Outlet at 320 York Rd in Jenkintown. The phone number is 215-886-1650. They are knowledgeable good people.

Yes - I've heard both of these headphones. First of all, I should say that there are very few phones as hard to drive as your K240Ms with their 600-ohm impedance. Their combination of high impedance and low sensitivity require that you have an amplifier with some guts to play them correctly...

I always say this before I write anything on Head-Fi, but I'm biased. That said, I also think the K 501 has pretty decent bass and it is detailed enough that you can easily hear differences in what it's played with. From a psychoacoustic perspective, if a headphone (or loudspeaker) has good...

I've heard a number of excellent-sounding amps with the K 1000s, but not the Musical Fidelity. The two best combinations I've heard with the K 1000s are the Sophia Electric Set One and the Mark Levinson/Red Rose Music Spirit. With the K 1000s, you don't need massive power (anything above 10...

This amp definitely has enough juice; if it's smooth-sounding, you'll be in heaven, if it's bright or thin, you'll know it quickly.

If you ever want an education in "form follows function", download and read the owner's manual for the K 1000. In it the chief engineer describes exactly what he wanted the product to do and tells how he manipulated each and every facet of its performance to achieve exactly what he was...

I think the K 1000 has good low-end response, although the amount and quality of the bass is heavily dependent on what you power them with. I also agree that the power requirements of the K 1000 are often overstated - quality is much more important than quantity. The best amp I've ever heard...

The K271 is a little harder to drive, although the sensitivity and impedance are the same. It's like driving an acoustic suspension speaker vs a Thiele-Small vented model. The K 271 will benefit from a better amplifier, although you don't necessarily need one just to play it.

I have never hidden the fact that I work for AKG and I have never used my membership in Head-Fi as a platform for any business activity. I never slam my competitors or make claims about our products in any forum. I stated my personal experience (and pain) with in-ear 'phones honestly and...

There are a number of people (myself included) that find that pushing in-ear cans into my ears excruciatingly painful. My mom told me never to jam anything into my ears and the advice she gave me has always been reliable. I respect the fact that many people use these devices without...

The K27i is merely specified closer to actual performance - (all AKG products will meet or exceed their specs).

Let's see - the drivers are the same, the ear cups are the same, the acoustical design is the same. Yeah - that's what I'm saying - there's no sonic differences - only cosmetic ones.

The K27i will be available in the U.S. shortly - but you're right - it hasn't happened yet. And yes--it's a cosmetically-differentiated K26P with an in-line level control and a leatherette carrying bag instead of microfiber.

Velour won't absorb sound, but it is less reflective than the normal leatherette covering is.

Don't get me wrong - I know that there can be a perceptible difference. I just don't believe that the difference is the analogous to night and day or walking and driving. The ear-headphone coupling would have to have been pretty far wrong for that kind of difference.

The optional velour pads mentioned earlier are similar to the ones used on the K 601, except they're black instead of grey. The 3D-form pads used on the K 701 are entirely different. I'm totally ambivalent about all these discussions about the "sound" of different ear pads. The single most...

NealPeart - you can get cushy velour ear pads for the AKG K271 and K 171 Studio. For the K271 Studio, the part number is ECV 271 (item number 2955Z2601). The price will be somewhere in the vicinity of $16 a pair. This is a new item and not in stock yet, but should be available shortly. You...

Quote: Originally Posted by Shoewreck I love the sound of K240DF and, a bit less, of K240M. I'm looking for some headphones that are as close to those as possible, but have less impedance to drive with a portable player. Hope K240s and K271s would suit me, but I've never heard the last...

Just so that everyone knows - you can say that I'm biased, but I've been biased for decades longer than I've been an AKG employee. To be fair, no headphone made will fit everyone's head and ears perfectly. And how a headphone fits your head and and couples with your ears is a matter of...

I'd wait and hear these for yourself instead of trusting rumor and innuendo. The people who have actually heard these have been very impressed.

I agree that the K271Studio is better than the K240Studio, although some people like the imaging of semi-open ear cups better. The K271 has a chamber behind the diaphragm that keeps ear drum pressure at a minimum. Its ambient noise isolation is also superb.

I wouldn't argue with anyone who said that they liked the K240M slightly better than the K240 Studio, although I prefer the sound of the Studio myself. However, if you're trying to use your headphone with an iPod, a laptop, a keyboard or other low-output source, I'd bet anything that you'd...