[hatrack71]

I dug these out a few days ago. They were sitting in my closet for quite some time. I guess I figured they weren't worthy at the time. And I think I know why- the elastics are worn out and they hung too low. To remedy until I get replacement elastics, I just moved the upper stop closer to the lower one. They seem to fit just fine now. Well, I hooked them up to the X-24K/X-CANS setup and was a bit suprised. Sure they don't have the heavy bass of HE-400 and HD-650s and take a bit more power than those to get going. But I will say I can listen to these ones a lot louder and they remain incredibly tight. And the lower frenquency etension is there just not over accentuated. I listen primarily to speakers and the older AKGs sound closest to that. I'm not saying I don't like bass but it seems most headphones I have/used have over-accentuated bass. Again, not saying that isn't enjoyable at times. Not these, the bass has more definition than the HD650s, hands down. These are the weird AKGs with the dual drivers in each cup. There doesn't seem to be anything covering the drivers. Should there be an earpad cut in the shape of a rectangle or figure 8 to dampen or no? Or install felt lining on the little center side triangles? Has anyone ever changed out the pleather cups for the velour ones? Impressions? Other mods? I actually think these are worth pimping out a little. I know the cups are not to my liking. I kinda think velour might make an improvement in the soundstage. There does seem to be more of a midrange push but so far it hasn't bothered me with fatigue. It sounds more normal to me than the over emphasized bass of other headphones. LOL. Oh, by the way, these are the 75 ohm hard wired made in Austria version. I prefer them to the K240 Sextets. Love to hear from other K270 owners.

 

[hatrack71]

No kidding? Nobody plays with these anymore? I ordered the velour pads to lose the hollow sound the pleathers allegedly cause. I will say one thing. These beat all the other headphones I have when played extremely loud. It seems when played loudly, the hollowness is overcome and these take on the characteristics of a nice balanced speaker system. I am amazed the soundstage holds together as well as it does with the prominent midrange. The same volume makes the HD650s sound a bit congested. And pretty much every other headphone I have heard except electrostats. Seriously, I think too many manufacturers augment their headphones with artificial bass. I can't hear the midrange clearly and the bass has a bloat to it that doesn't seem natural. It sounds bad to me. You guys will have to bear with my newbiness.. I really am just new to exploring cans. The AKG models I have heard sound more like the music with much less coloration and artificial low end slam. I am suprised AKG doesn't have a bigger following here as to me they seem the purist's choice hands down. I think I am gonna cut figure earpad foams to lay over the dual drivers and see if that changes the sound. I really don't like how debris gets into the exposed drivers. Um, these 4 driver AKGs are quite nice. Very musical and they don't hurt or rattle my skull with bass. And believe me, there is still plenty of it there and it goes low- it seems to get down as low as the HE-400 and lower than the HD650. Just not as bloaty as either. The highs are rolled so I prefer the HIfiman there. But the highs on the K270 are very similar to the HD650. Mids are more prominent in the AKG. I really like midrange goodness.
 
Anybody else share the same view about most headphones having too much basss or is it just me? It seems really strange to me that AKGs are the only ones that sound right to me as far as dynamics... so far. And at way less of a price? Maybe I just don't like modern headphones tonal balance... I don't know. Or maybe  haven't heard the right ones. I really like the Hifiman HE-400 better overall but it still has that artificially deep bass. So just barely. The Senn HD650 just barely too. But they cost so much more. I think my conclusion with these supposedly lesser K270s is gonna have me searching higher up the AKG line. Maybe I'll just go straight to the K-1000. Thinking I would probably be happy with the K712 Pro though. Just really like the way AKG eqs their cans.
 
Oh, by the way, I primarily listen to stacked Quad ESL 57s, Altec and JBL horn systems. And I augment with Renaissance Audio Phantom subs. All but the subs driven with various tube separates. And as far as cans most would know here, I prefer the Hifiman sound over Sennheiser if that helps. Just so you guys know I'm not using an Emerson/Sound Design as my reference.

 

[hatrack71]

Well, since it seems I am the only one playing.. I cut a Sennheiser HD650 inner pad in half and inserted them into the cups of the K270. I can say with absolute certainty that they do not belong there. Some of the top end sparkle is lost which is already a limiting factor with these. So I think the velour cups are the only viable improvement unless I re cable these. I think they are absolutely worth it. They do something my other cans can't do and that is an honest presentation of the source material. These could jump all the way up to being my favorite cans if the velours diminish a little of that "cupped ear" ocean effect you have to get used to with these initially. But honestly, the more I listen and use these, the more that seems to diminish or just not matter. These are easily my most beat up looking cans but I seem to grab for them more than the others now. And if they weren't so damn big, I'd buy an outboard headphone amp and use them portably. I like the neutral sound of them that much. I think I like the AKG sound and that is 100% the direction I'm going. Everything else seems like too much bass. Way too much to the point it messes with my ears and is uncomfortable physically. One time my inner ear started throbbing randomly and clicking because of the extreme bass. Enough to scare me away from all these bass augmented phones. What the hell happened to flat response headphones? There doesn't seem too many out there on the present market. 80% of the phones I listen to have that ridiculous bass extension and I am immediately turned off. It's like that one annoying friend you have the cranks the volume and bass on his speakers to the point it is offensive. And he will think it sounds awesome.

 

[TominJapan]

just recieved my AKG270 playback, bought them for 25€... and I love them! if you don't like the veiled and blurred bass HD650 you should try a Sennheiser HD540..

 

[Rayyn]

Quote:

just recieved my AKG270 playback, bought them for 25€... and I love them! if you don't like the veiled and blurred bass HD650 you should try a Sennheiser HD540..

 
Or maybe even just the Senn HD600s.

 

[arielext]

Digging up this old tread.
I just found a nice pair of 270 studio and they underwhelmed me. Compared to the sextett these lack everything... that is untill I remembered that I bought leather replacement pads that made the sextett sound like a booming boombox with the bass turned up to 11.
Used them instead of the original (though newly bought) AKG pads and wow! These pads make the seal seal and the headphones come to life.

for reference, these are the pads I am talking about http://www.ebay.nl/itm/Replacement-...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
I guess most tight sealing (proper) leather pads can have the same effect.