[Snufkin]

Better than the Sennheiser HD280? Well yeah, I'd probably agree there.

But here's the thing - I'm normally fairly forgiving of "flawed" headphones, I don't mind if a headphone sounds technically bad or coloured in some way, as long as it's still enjoyable to listen to.
eg: The 770pro is insanely bass heavy, I'm ok with that because they're fun to listen to for a while, and I know some people won't mind totally bassheading out for all their listening sessions. Yeah the midrange is recessed and the bass is a bit too much and the highs aren't that great, but you can't say they don't put a grin on your face when you play something like Massive Attack's Angel on them.

The K271S I just can't enjoy with anything I throw at them, I've given them a super-extensive burnin too.

commando - I think either the 250-250 you had was faulty, we have opposite ears, you weren't used to the sound of the Beyers .. or something else was off.
Switching between the 271S and DT250 the first thing I notice is the bass on the DT250 being harder hitting!
The DT250 is just one of my favourite "easy listening" headphones.

And for the record, the AKG K301 is the worst headphone I've had the displeasure of hearing

 

[bangraman]

Reading all this is quite fascinating. Quite apart from differing tastes I can only presume there's a problem in one of our set-ups(s) or perceptions, yet it doesn't seem very likely. Whatever I listen to, the K271 seems to do it well. Cloth ears strikes again? Maybe. Better hold off that Omega II review I guess

 

[Wodgy]

Bangraman, have you seen the frequency response graph for the K271S? It confirms what most people are saying about it, especially the steep bass rolloff.

 

[bangraman]

I can't hear it. That steep a rolloff should be abundantly noticeable... but no, it just feels a bit less bassy than the HFI-650. I wonder what I'm doing wrong (or right)? Since I looked at their site nearly two years ago I've always felt Headroom are frequently fallible, but rather than that maybe I just need my bass senses recalibrated?

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

I didn't notice a huge rolloff either, the bass went EXTREMELY low, and was quite detail, but just didn't have the volume or slam of say a DT770 or CD3000. Better bass IMO than the HD600, becuase it went deeper, without the midbass hump that could obscure details readily present in the K271.

 

[commando]

I think the 271 reproduces the bass that the song has quite well. If the bass in the song isn't strong, then the 271 doesn't emphasize it. When it is strong, you know about it. Try Sarah McLauchlan "I love you" or "Sweet Surrender" - two quieter songs with very strong, low bass that the 271 reproduces well.

Edit - also, remember some of the headroom measurements were done before they got good at them. Is there any other source for frequency response graphs?

 

[3lusiv3]

From a few sites on the K271S:

Todd The Vinyl Junkie gives it 5/5 in their value rating

Our Favorite Closed Headphone

The K271 is one heck of a good closed headphone. They deliver good detail and are not overly bassy like most of the other closed models. Isolation is excellent with 23-25 dB of external sound blocked out. Comfort is also very good.

http://www5.head-fi.org/forums/newre...threadid=67712

And at headwize:
Closed cans shootout: Beyer DT 250-80 vs. Beyer DT 770 Pro vs. AKG K271...

AKG K271 Studio
Pros: The most neutral of the three. Incredibly detailed — tracks long buried in mixes on records I had been listening to for years were suddenly there. Very comfortable. Looks and acts way more expensive than its price tag ($180). Highs are crisp and accurate, not glaring. Percussion, piano, acoustic guitars, and old jazz combos excel on these. Rich, luxurious midrange. Massive soundstage. Very source revealing: garbage in, garbage out. But the good is very good.
Cons: Cord is slightly microphonic. Bass-light at times, particularly on certain 70s rock pressings. Midrange can be overwhelming on these pressings as well. There was an acclimation period (not sure if that’s a con). Certain vocalists (Elton John) can sound thin (Why?).
Final Grade: A-. Great cans for the money. Like the girl you end up marrying, I could tell these were the one right off the bat. I’ve found bass improves if you damp the outside of the shells with your fingertips, and I’m going to try the blutak tweak on them. Also going to try to build my own cable.

http://headwize2.powerpill.org/ubb/s...=6732&fdays=20


And HeadRoom:
AKG K271 Studio
Though slightly lean in the bass, these are a refined and smooth headphone; certainly a superior sealed headphone for acoustic music. Orchestral and chamber music are clear and articulate, and the noise in the environment is dramatically reduced by these excellent sealing headphones.
http://www.headphone.com/layout.php?...tID=0020120271


There's also this press release at this site:
http://www.musicgearreview.com/article-display/912.html

 

[commando]

You can get the from $140 too

http://froogle.google.com/froogle_ur...XxLAAAAAAAAAAA

 

[Snufkin]

Yeah see those are the kind of reviews that confuse me.
They love the lack of bass and agree that vocals sound thin... how does that make them great?

Like I said before - the detail is there, but the placement is terrible.

I can't stand them for any kind of rock, they're ok for acoustic and classical (although stuff like dead can dance just sounds flat and lifeless on them) and boring for dance/trance/electronica.

That frequency response chart is exactly how I hear them, it's terribly humped and .. bleh, anyway, enough from me

 

[bangraman]

This whole thread is beginning to worry me a bit. As are those reviews... TTVJ's summary is the only one I can generally say "yes, that's what I think too" but it's far too generic to make any definite calls on agreement.


The problem is I can't find anything really wrong with the K271S. It seems to work for me an all-round listening phone and I was also sitting at my gearhead table with the HFI-650 as well for comparison. However for a dealer who must himself work his way through quite a lot of gear to find no redeeming qualities about it whatsoever then that's when my eyebrows start doing the caterpillar dance.

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

The only thing that annoyed me about them was the closed-in feeling, which was only real apparent on certain songs or in direct compairson with airier cans.

 

[commando]

I'm wanting to expand my headphone collection, again. Can anyone compare the 271s to the Senn 600, the AKG 240, or the A900? I do most (95%) of my listening in an office so I don't know if I can get away with open or not.

 

[Patrickhat2001]

Chalk me up as another lover of the 271S. I found them to be very balanced across the entire frequency spectrum whether used out of my maxed Meta or strait out of my Revolution soundcard. IMO they are one of the best closed phones out there and I found them superior to the HFI-650 Trackmaster (too bright,weak bass), A900 (very unrealistic tonal character), CD1700 (blurry, undetailed)--all of which I owned at the same time. I also considered them far superior the the 240S which I found to be recessed in the midrange and out-of-control (boomy and way overpresent) in the bass. Chalk it up to personal preference I suppose.

 

[philodox]

I think that much of the confusion with the 271's comes from different qualifications for a 'good' sound and different source/amp combinations... I've heard many people on here tout that the CD3000 is very choosy with the source/amps combo that it uses... is it too much of a leap to say that the 271's are similar in this reguard? as for the different qualifications of a good sound... well, you get some people saying that it has no punch... some of the people saying this are thinking it is a bad thing and some believe that this is a good thing... that is a very simple example, but I think you get where I am going here... it seems pretty obvious that someone who enjoys the beyer 770's will not like the 271's and visa versa

 

[gpalmer]

Quote:

Originally posted by Snufkin After all the praise these headphones have had around here I expected something pretty good. The first pair I received sounded terrible, so I sent them back. The second pair I received sound identical and the supplier confirmed that the first pair wasn't faulty.

They take a LONG time to burn in. My first impressions were that there was no bass and it's still a tad lighter than I would like it, but once they burned in it was a night and day difference.