[theKraken11]

I'm looking for a closed phone with good mids, so these two really stood out when I was doing research... but I'm sensitive to harsh treble. Which one is better for me?

 

[K_19]

K271's highs I wouldn't really call smooth.  They do have a fair share of sparkle and sharpness to them, IMO, and I can see how someone sensitive to treble MAY find it too bright.  Their midrange is uber smooth however.  It depends largely on the amping options as well

 

[theKraken11]

I'll be using it unamped from my computer and my DAP

 

[K_19]

The general consensus here on Head-fi, as well as my own, is that K271 is not really worth it if you don't really plan on amping it. 

 

[eucariote]

^ Agreed.  Of all the closed headphones I've heard the K271 sounded the worst out an ipod, computer-out and even a portable amplifier.  Shures and Denons did sound ok unamplied, tho I did find the Denons a bit bright.  (impressions on amplification and frequency responses pasted below)
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/480354/closed-headphone-shoot-out-k271-vs-dt770-vs-d5000-vs-srh840

 

[moodyrn]

agreed. the 271 really needs amplification to sound good. will an amp, they sound quite nice. so straight out of a portable I recommend the shures.

 

[theKraken11]

Ok. I was relying on a couple posts I saw that said they were good or decent unamped.
 
Is the frequency response of the K171 basically the same, and easier to drive? I want to at least have one AKG can on my list, but I can't find much info on them.

 

[ipm]

I use my K271 MKII's with and without an amp from my PC sound card, and amped from a CD player.
 
While I agree that they really are better with an amp, they sound good enough without one.
 
To me, the K271 is a great bang for the buck headphone no matter how you look at it.
 
Some say that the bass is a bit aenemic but I don't agree with that.

 

[Mr Joboto]

The Beyer DT250 has smooth highs  

 

[yashu]

I know the k271s models are great, and they actually are easier on the ears than the 440s by a mile, even can be amplified well enough by a paltry emu-0202.
 
The MKII versions I cannot speak about. I have not yet heard the new k271s. I am basically telling you how my well kept originals sound. They are open, spakl, yes, but not the most I have heard that still sound good. They have characteristics of DT770s on the upper end and mids seem forward, so it isn't a smile curve, as well, the bass is accurate, but not emphasized. I found the 440s to be lacking in every area but midrange, and it isthis range where they shine, but they reveal more than the k271s, which is good or bad, depending on where you stand. I would rather not hear every single mistake made in the studio, or some compression artifact, but the 440s will serve that up to you on a platter. The 271s are certainly more comfortable, but again, If you are going to buy a new pair today, you are going to get the MKII versions, and I read there were changes. As to what, I cannot say, but I doubt the 440s would end up sounding less cold regrdless. The Shures are very cold, very clinical, and not very musical. They sound, and this phrase is used a lot but really meant here, like they need to be in a studio. The k271s seem to me, like they would work in the studio and at home, and since I have no studio, and just a home, I can attest to the home part of that equasion. They are revealing, but just not in a way that clonks you on the head. Some movie plots move along and you follow observing, as if things are really happening. Some have all these little things that nag the viewer about the what and the why, because the director might not think the audience can follow along otherwise.
 
In my experience, it is the show I have to get involved in to enjoy that brings me the most satisfaction, and so it goes with music, as I do not want to be clonked on the head with it's major artistic, or transient, features. With that in mind, I would consider the Shure 840 if I were to consider one of the Shure monitors. They are all built like tanks, but the 840s don't seem to suffer from this excessive midrange and extreme HF emphasys, perhaps because it uses a larger driver, honestly I don't know why, but they are very different headphones. I still prefer my k271s, but if the MKII ended up being a crappy re-tooling to cut costs, then you may consider some of the other closed back monitors in the price range. If you REALLY hate HF, the k240s will carry very little in the way of brightness, but they aren't dark. They are like a nice knife with a dull blade. All the stuff is there, but they just don't seem to cut it. They are relaxing, though, with certain music that is impossible to listen to on other phones, and love extra amp power. I am speaking of the S models, since I think they are priced about the same? They are a semi-open k271, or rather it is really the reverse, but AKG made a good move taking the 240 and engineering a closed back version, because I listen to mine often. Oddly, they are EQed on the parametric rack unit in a very similar way as the original Grado sr325s. I always thought that to be strange. I don't have to adjust as much, but the scheme is similar.

 

[theKraken11]

I ended up getting the SRH440, which now have over 70 hours of burn in. After listening to some test tracks (192 kbps or higher mp3, q5 ogg), mostly rock but with some metal and electronica, and a little classical, I really like them.

They look like they're built to last, and the detachable cable is too thick to have to worry about messing it up. They're smaller than I thought they would be, and the pads just fit over my ears. The headband is OK, but not very comfortable.

Isolation indoors is good; I have a ceiling fan in my room and it's just audible, along with the whirring of my CD/DVD drive. Keystrokes are more noticeable. I haven't tried them outdoors, but the clamping force is admirable, at least for my medium-ish sized head. It does need some power on my computer; I found myself turning up the volume a lot, and turning it back down when it started to get loud. It's not as easy to measure loudness with them as it is with IEMs and earbuds, so I'm still getting a feel for how much is too much.

I only experienced an echo/resonance issue with one of my q5 ogg tracks. I've tried a lot of low bitrate mp3s (128 kbps) to see how they do in comparison, and the dynamics aren't bad. The 440's seem forgiving most of the time, but a couple of the tracks were sibilant; it's annoying, but not a harsh sound. Unlike my Fuze, which has no hiss, I can hear a noticeable amount of hiss from the headphone out of my computer, but not enough to keep me from using them. Straight out of a computer, it might be bothersome to someone with a sensitivity to hiss, but it's not nearly as bad as my im-590's, which just couldn't play nice with my comp. Soundstage is baaaad. I don't really know how to describe it, but it's kind of like the middle of the stage is missing, because of the closed in sound. From what I've read here, that seems true of closed cans in general, and with the sealed back+clamping force combination I can see why.

But I enjoy the other aspects of the presentation. The mids are excellent. Vocals are clear, significantly forward, and it doesn't seem like there are any technical problems with them; I don't have much to compare to, or A/B with, so I don't really know what nasal, chesty, etc. vocals sound like, but I haven't been able to notice anything wrong with the vocal presentation. Instruments are also good: horns, electric guitars, and strings benefit on a lot of tracks, because they sound tonally accurate and they have the presence they should. Bass guitar seems worse off in comparison, but the details are good, and the highs aren't harsh.

Coming from earbuds, and A/Bing them I can hear a very noticable improvement in bass impact and quality. When I first started writing this, I was going to talk about how seriously recessed the bass was, despite its quality, but that's a source issue, judging by how much more forward it is on my Fuze. The bass is tight, though I'm having a hard time deciding whether it's fun or not (it's probably not). On my computer, it definitely isn't fun. Also, looking at the Headroom graph, I see a little dip in the sub bass which seems to explain the hollowed out character it has in some tracks; I'd like to know if other 440 owners have the same impression. EQing the lower bass registers on my Rockboxed Fuze doesn't seem to fix this.

Overall, I'd like a more fun bass, and a better handling of guitars with some tracks, but the sound sig and the presentation are great. I feel like there isn't much to improve on at this price point.