[silvesnake]

I purchased k371's and was not satisfied with the them. I primarily use audio technica ath msr7b and 1more triple driver h1707 with source as hidizs dh1000(a bit of warm sounding source) DAC for music listening.

After looking at the reviews online i decided to buy them as many reviews quoted that they have good resolution and balanced sound. After listening to them, apart from the balanced tuning which they have nothing stood out and it was very disappointing.

1. Firstly they lack soundstage and sound very congested and many 50$ chifi iems do better in this regard.

2. Bass didn't have the tightness which i expected which makes them sound not so resolving and same applied to highs as they lacked air even when compared to consumer headphones like audio technica msr7b and h1707.

3. Brightly recorded tracks sound alright and tracks which are a bit dark in recording sounds too warm and veiled.

Overall i was disappointed by the purchase and i felt if people who are okay with v shaped signature, there many headphones which are more resolving than K371 in this price range for music listening.

 

[syrias]

Yeah I have pretty much the same opinion about them. I was really eager to try them but they're mediocre at best. I tried a side by side comparison with the Senns HD660s and the quality difference between them is miles apart. The one sounds like 100$ and the other like 1000$. Absolutely no comparison. I can't understand all the promotion for them by LOTS of YT reviewers. I mean, just correctly balanced tuning should not be enough to recommend a headphone.

 

[silvesnake]

Yeah I have pretty much the same opinion about them. I was really eager to try them but they're mediocre at best. I tried a side by side comparison with the Senns HD660s and the quality difference between them is miles apart. The one sounds like 100$ and the other like 1000$. Absolutely no comparison. I can't understand all the promotion for them by LOTS of YT reviewers. I mean, just correctly balanced tuning should not be enough to recommend a headphone.

I feel that they're over hyped and i feel that k371 should be compared with latest closed back headphones before buying them.

 

[thesheik137]

There is obviously a big difference between K371 and headphones that cost twice as much (and are open back?), can't even believe people are surprised about this. Valid comparisons should be made with headphones in the same price range, of which the K371 is on top in the $100-150 range. The technicalities are not amazing, but the tonality is spot on for people that can appreciate the Harman target tuning. And there have been comments differences in sound based on fit and placement, so that should also be considered.

 

[bcaulf17]

There is obviously a big difference between K371 and headphones that cost twice as much (and are open back?), can't even believe people are surprised about this. Valid comparisons should be made with headphones in the same price range, of which the K371 is on top in the $100-150 range. The technicalities are not amazing, but the tonality is spot on for people that can appreciate the Harman target tuning. And there have been comments differences in sound based on fit and placement, so that should also be considered.

This is exactly what I was trying to say earlier. It won’t beat headphones twice the price in terms of technical performance, no one was saying that. Compared to everything else in its price range for closed backs, it wins. And frequency response is one of the more varied aspects of this hobby because people have different preferences.

 

[thesheik137]

Yeah, I guess some people seem to be disappointed by K371 because it doesn't outperform X headphone, rather than appreciating how much it provides at it's price. Especially since there seems to be a shortage of good performing portable closed back headphones nowadays.

 

[metal571]

I really don't understand why reviews are constantly seen as, this $150 dollar thing beats $1000 things. Nobody has said that. This is the best overall FR in a closed back studio headphone under $200, and it's nothing more than that. Why are we comparing it to open backs at double the price again?

 

[Tsukuyomi]

I really don't understand why reviews are constantly seen as, this $150 dollar thing beats $1000 things. Nobody has said that. This is the best overall FR in a closed back studio headphone under $200, and it's nothing more than that. Why are we comparing it to open backs at double the price again?

I completely agree, despite having compared it to my B&O H6(gen2) which i use for commutes and closed back entertainment(DS4 when i game or watch movies.) I would absolutely agree with your statement. the 371 are perfect cheapy closed backs for work use(studio or otherwise). we shouldn't be comparing it to something open, let alone something 3x-5x the price. it makes no sense. people shouldn't be hoping for a hidden gem within the 150-200$ lo-fi market that can destroy engineered headphones purposely built for a higher bracket of requirements.

I think i've lucked out and recived a unicorn pair of 371 that have 0 issues thus far and heres hoping this lasts atleast another year or so.

PS: if anyone is even wondering if they should buy the Audio Technica m50x/m40x or Sony 7506/7510/7520, save your time, get the AKG K371. for the build/comfort/sound they're fantastic for this price and are great for work use in the office with no amp/dac available. I plug them straight into my work PC (i work in videogame QA)

 

[tdockweiler]

PS: if anyone is even wondering if they should buy the Audio Technica m50x/m40x or Sony 7506/7510/7520, save your time, get the AKG K371. for the build/comfort/sound they're fantastic for this price and are great for work use in the office with no amp/dac available. I plug them straight into my work PC (i work in videogame QA)

If anyone lives near a Guitar Center, they have a demo set up where you can listen to the M40, M50x and K371. Unfortunately I don't think they let you plug them into your own device though.
I primarily got the K371 because it's a bit smaller and more portable than the M50, Shure SRH-840 and KRK headphones.
I actually was going to use the K371 at the gym without looking like a total dork
Actually I should just use my AKG Q701 with giant portable amp setup! If I had a K1000 I would use that!

Seriously though I wish I knew how the K371 compared to the K275. The AKG K275 seems to be mostly ignored so far and not many seem to have tried them.
They came out last year I believe. The K275 is closed, but one other in the lineup is open. Someone mentioned the K245 open version sounded similar to their HD-650.
Both of them are under $100USD! Someday i'd also like to try the closed HD-598CS, but no use for a non-portable closed headphone right now.

PS I didn't like the K550 either, so i'm not surprised I'm not a huge fan of the K371. I guess both of them have the same drivers, but sound a little different.

K371 would be decent for me, but it just fatigues my ears way too quickly and is very harsh sounding. I guess most don't experience that with this headphone.

Pretty funny considering I think the DT-990 Pro is pretty smooth sounding and not harsh at all!

 

[silvesnake]

I purchased k371's and was not satisfied with the them. I primarily use audio technica ath msr7b and 1more triple driver h1707 with source as hidizs dh1000(a bit of warm sounding source) DAC for music listening.

After looking at the reviews online i decided to buy them as many reviews quoted that they have good resolution and balanced sound. After listening to them, apart from the balanced tuning which they have nothing stood out and it was very disappointing.

1. Firstly they lack soundstage and sound very congested and many 50$ chifi iems do better in this regard.

2. Bass didn't have the tightness which i expected which makes them sound not so resolving and same applied to highs as they lacked air even when compared to consumer headphones like audio technica msr7b and h1707.

3. Brightly recorded tracks sound alright and tracks which are a bit dark in recording sounds too warm and veiled.

Overall i was disappointed by the purchase and i felt if people who are okay with v shaped signature, there many headphones which are more resolving than K371 in this price range for music listening.

Update:

I replaced my current pair with new one assuming that the current pair would have been defective and i received the new pair. I am unable to figure out how new pair sounds so good and i felt the problem similar to the problem mentioned in wheezy reviews of K371 about tuning mismatch between the left and right drivers. Too mention the differences between the old and new pair - old pair sounded like thick wall of muddied bass and new pair sounds exactly opposite of that.

Now i can easily say that after all the pain i have found real gem of a headphone with a discounted price for 70 dollars.

My suggestion for anyone who wants to purchase K371 is if they have any doubts about the performance, just replace them till you find the right one as i feel there are many defective ones which are sold with the good ones.

 

[Mark Up]

I wish I knew how the K371 compared to the K275.

I have tried both. Similar sound, the K371 is a bit better, with more low sub bass. The K275 and that whole series seemed to be a big mistake. The headband doesn't extend far enough for longer heads, the earpads are barely over ear, somewhere between that and on ear. The lack of space in the pads also seems to work against them sonically also. Sound On Sound magazine also concluded they were vastly inferior to the AKG K371.

 

[silvesnake]

Hi

I have started to notice that the crunchy sound around the earpads is due to the adhesive glue layer coming out behind the earpads - glue between the sponge and the plastic ring that locates the pads on to the headphone driver grooves. The problem I noticed once the adhesive comes out the earpad cloth mesh moves freely and this can be observed while one tries to adjust the headphone position after putting on the headphone.

I really love these headphones, I wish AKG had better quality control. Its natural sound tuning just makes me ignore the flaws of this headphone.

 

[Koui]

These can be harsher if your pair is clampy out of the box. I found with some use the headband does break in a bit. They definitely sound their best when they are not overly clampy and the inside of the cup should not touch your ear.

The box they come in works well for this on its side. Never thought I'd hear a pair of closed backs I like but these really are close in signature to the 650/6XX. Let me add that I do EQ my 6XX using oratory's 650 settings.

 

[Gyroscopics]

Just got my K371 for $119 @ GuitarCenter last night. Their 45 day return policy and lower price swayed me away from Amazon despite Prime membership. I played around with head positioning and finally found the spot with the most audible mid-bass and sub-bass. I wear eyeglasses and medium head. This K371 beat my DT770 80 ohm in sub bass department hands down. Mid bass is not bad but I found DT770 mid bass to have more tone and timbre. I hate bloated and boomy mid-bass and these two HPs fit my preference. This K371 sounds like my HD6xx without the bloated mid-bass of 6xx. Overall pleasing sound signature without EQ and can be driven by my phone and M9. Btw, I bought this as office HPs. It leaks less sound than DT770 and that's a plus. I havent compared with my open back HPs yet but its a keeper.

 

[PlantsmanTX]

Update:

I replaced my current pair with new one assuming that the current pair would have been defective and i received the new pair. I am unable to figure out how new pair sounds so good and i felt the problem similar to the problem mentioned in wheezy reviews of K371 about tuning mismatch between the left and right drivers. Too mention the differences between the old and new pair - old pair sounded like thick wall of muddied bass and new pair sounds exactly opposite of that.

Now i can easily say that after all the pain i have found real gem of a headphone with a discounted price for 70 dollars.

My suggestion for anyone who wants to purchase K371 is if they have any doubts about the performance, just replace them till you find the right one as i feel there are many defective ones which are sold with the good ones.

Now that you have a properly working pair of K371s, how do you think they compare to the MSR7B?