[dweaver]

My pair finally arrived. Comfort is good on my average to slightly smaller noggin. Sound out of the box shows nice bass, ok mids and treble. Compared to my K550 they have a bit more bass slam, more neutral mids with less detail, treble is not as sparkly or detailed.

Initial reaction was these are not as nice as the K550. But I adjusted the volume to find their sweet spot and when I did they started to grow on me. They sound best at a louder volume than the K550 but their sweet spot is a lot funner to listen to than the K550's sweet spot. These can also go to louder levels without being as fatiguing as the K550.

All of this is first impressions. I will now burn these in for the night and see if there is any change. I hope the mids loosen up and treble gains so added sparkle, if the bass gains anything I hope it will primarily be in the sub-bass region.

 

[Minarets]

Its almost as if no two K167 were made alike. The differences in opinions are these are astounding to me. Not that any are wrong just pointing out the complete contrast in opinions. Its something I didn't get from reading other phones reviews as much as these

 

[Craigster75]

Quote:

Its almost as if no two K167 were made alike. The differences in opinions are these are astounding to me. Not that any are wrong just pointing out the complete contrast in opinions. Its something I didn't get from reading other phones reviews as much as these

The differences are more likely human perception vs. manufacturing variance.  Believe it or not, I see this on almost every thread, even my beloved M-100s.  It just goes to show there is no such thing as the "perfect" headphone.

 

[k1n0n3]

I had these for about 2 weeks before returning them. Although I enjoyed their sound, although as manh have stated, found the mid bass a bit lean.
What made me return them was taking them out of the house once. Commuting to work via bus or train, or even walking around NYC, whatever bass these have was cancelled out by the external noises. Making them louder did not help, just made the upper mids and treble unbearable.
Wonder if anyone else had a similar experience.

 

[Genocide174]

Quote:

I had these for about 2 weeks before returning them. Although I enjoyed their sound, although as manh have stated, found the mid bass a bit lean.
What made me return them was taking them out of the house once. Commuting to work via bus or train, or even walking around NYC, whatever bass these have was cancelled out by the external noises. Making them louder did not help, just made the upper mids and treble unbearable.
Wonder if anyone else had a similar experience.

I sure did. Bass was simply too low for me.

 

[Eugguy]

I had these for about 2 weeks before returning them. Although I enjoyed their sound, although as manh have stated, found the mid bass a bit lean.
What made me return them was taking them out of the house once. Commuting to work via bus or train, or even walking around NYC, whatever bass these have was cancelled out by the external noises. Making them louder did not help, just made the upper mids and treble unbearable.
Wonder if anyone else had a similar experience.

Same here. No bass. Wasn't really impressed.

 

[miow]

Quote:

Same here. No bass. Wasn't really impressed.

 

 

[dweaver]

I think these have a very nice bass level when amped and an OK bass level when played straight from my Nokia 920 phone. In regards to amps I think my tube amp has the best bass and adds nice warmth while my solid state amp helps the 167's detail to improve.

I am still struggling with the midrange as it seems to be missing something as compared to the K550 but I am a bit of a mid-head so don't let my comment lead anyone to think these have bad mids.

I really find the K167 to be comfortable and more portable than I expected but I have noticed a lot of cable rubbing noise.

 

[miow]

I've just EQ'ed mids a bit. Spot on! Concerning detail, they're one of the most detailed phones I've heard out of a JDSLabs C421 with silver LOD cable. Concerning bass, its much more quantity amped with Bass Boost enabled.

 

[Maxx134]

Initial impressions are bright and detailed sound.
Soundstage not close like my daily used s400, yet not far either,
Highs and bass are closer than mids.
Very clean type sound.
Bass goes deep but also seems very neutral compared to what I used to.
Wishing for more bass impact but just my first hour so for now I will EQ
Size seems in athm50 range, but more portable.
I may try the smaller 67 for portability, if they have this sound.
Funny some songs are just unimpressive now ,
Yet some other songs I play are shocking impressive sounding and amazing.
Overall very enjoyable and I would choose these any day over the ath m50 I had, as these k167 have bigger soundstage. While m50 sound great all around, but somewhat "flatter" or less 3-dimensional
And less slightly detailed in terms of soundstage imaging, compared to these k167.
Yet remember both are still above average, excellent sounding all around cans.
I only using m50 as a reference point to compare yet I would never walk around with the m50 as they look too big on my head yet these are nice and dont look out of place due to low profile headband.
I still have yet to compare to the m100 but from memory those are more juicy sounding while these have more of an accurate monitor sound..
Edit: Forgot 2 mention how cool they look !
Very nice professional look and headband very low profile
Side note: The fit and finish is very nice but they do not look as strong or solid as the heavyer athm50 do.
Thats ok they are lighter.
I have medium sized ears and did notice one ear slightly touched inside surface so these pads may be shallow for some users.

 

[HonestAbe]

I have been on the hunt for a pair of HIFI cans that I can use with my iPod without amping. Would these be worth it for me or is there better out there?

 

[Craigster75]

Quote:

I have been on the hunt for a pair of HIFI cans that I can use with my iPod without amping. Would these be worth it for me or is there better out there?

IMO, M-100 or PSB M4U2 is the best on the market for portable use without a separate amp.  However, in fairness, I have not yet heard the K167.

 

[dweaver]

The K167 can be played without an amp and sound very nice. What they lose is bass slam and some clarity but they still sound wonderful. I also own the K550 which has slightly less bass as the K167 (unamped) and is more detailed and airy sounding in the mids and treble. Note that K550 is looser fitting and can be difficult to fit if you have a small head ir wear thick armed glasses (I personally have a head that is slightly smaller than average and wear glasses with no issues) so may be worth auditioning if you can.

I find the K167 do have better fit while being very comfortable and I find it's cable to be light for portability but slightly noisy as it seems pick up rubbing sounds easily.

I have also heard the UE6000 which sounds very nice with similar bass to the K167 with noise cancelling off and more bass with it turned on. The treble treble is a bit quieter and not as extended as the K167 and it mids are more subdued especially in noise cancelling mode. The cups,on this headphone did not quite go all the way around my ear though so may have comfort issues during long listening sessions.

I also owned the MDR1R and found that headphone very comfortable and pleasant sounding with a mid/treble centric signature. This headphone dies have some wind issues though and technically I do not think it is ad detailed as the K550 or K167. For me I found the K167 as comfortable as the 1R but not as good from a cable perspective.

 

[HonestAbe]

The K167 can be played without an amp and sound very nice. What they lose is bass slam and some clarity but they still sound wonderful. I also own the K550 which has slightly less bass as the K167 (unamped) and is more detailed and airy sounding in the mids and treble. Note that K550 is looser fitting and can be difficult to fit if you have a small head ir wear thick armed glasses (I personally have a head that is slightly smaller than average and wear glasses with no issues) so may be worth auditioning if you can.
I find the K167 do have better fit while being very comfortable and I find it's cable to be light for portability but slightly noisy as it seems pick up rubbing sounds easily.
I have also heard the UE6000 which sounds very nice with similar bass to the K167 with noise cancelling off and more bass with it turned on. The treble treble is a bit quieter and not as extended as the K167 and it mids are more subdued especially in noise cancelling mode. The cups,on this headphone did not quite go all the way around my ear though so may have comfort issues during long listening sessions.
I also owned the MDR1R and found that headphone very comfortable and pleasant sounding with a mid/treble centric signature. This headphone dies have some wind issues though and technically I do not think it is ad detailed as the K550 or K167. For me I found the K167 as comfortable as the 1R but not as good from a cable perspective.

I would buy the K550 but that is a little out of my price range (the K167 is a little up there for me but its $150 on ebay right now) I'll check out the UE6000 but so far everything is pointing me towards the K167

 

[dweaver]

I think for the price the K167 is a darn good headphone. For your budget stop looking and order the K167. It fits very well, the cable is nice and light and for a coiled cable is actually one of the better ones I seen. The only people who seem to have issues with,this headphone either have a large head or large ears and if you either of those challenges I suspect getting a headphone that works will be a challenge anyway. As for it's sound it will be neutral for the,most part when unamped which will ensure it works well with just your iPod and most genres. If later on you want to take it to the next level save your money up and get a portable amp.