AKG k370 - the lost dynamic gem @ USD$100 ?? - sonically better than senn ie80 and 70percent match to akg k3003 !!

[radi9red]

AKG k370 - High end in ear headphones
 
All that music professionals demand from studio headphones – high sensitivity, a wide dynamic range and high sound-pressure levels – is also available in ultra light, ultra portable K 370 in-ear headphones.
 
** disclaimer ** All the above were extracted from the AKG website - including the wording "High end in ear headphones"
that was from the PDF specification sheet.
 
http://us.akg.com/akg-product-detail-us/k370alu.html
 
Frequency range: 12Hz to 24kHz
Sensitivity: 120dB SPL/V
Max. input power: 22mW

Cable:99.99% Oxygen-free cable 1m
 


All this for just USD$100 or even below ?? you better believe this ! - i do..
because i bought one today .. and i was blown away !
 
Story continues :
 
i do not proclaimed that i'm audiophile, i'm just an average joe who loves music and happened to be messing & playing around with audio gear for the past 12 years.  Today i was casually shopping around in town and happened to pass by a audio eq store.   i didn't really have anything that i really wanted to buy with the exception of  (the store carries the Denon D7000 and the beyer t1) - which i have been lusting for sometime.
 
in my casual routine window shopping within the shop , i came across this earphone in a box lying in a quiet corner .  It was beautifully claded in a black box ( box size similar to an ipad mini)  - AKG K370.  In my mind,   this is one of the rare product that was produced prior to year 2010 where audio manufacturers were not crazy about technical specifications comparing to the current era - where people are judging how good the iem are based on the number of BAs / hybrid BA dynamic and all sorts of marketing gimmicks.   i took a close look at the price tag wrote - S$109 and the shop assistant told me there was a further 10percent discount.  I bought this at S$100 (approximately $75USD).   .. In my mind - at $75USD..you can not even get a single BA driver earphone -entry level from popular big brands ( and they look and sound crap for some of them) . 
 
p/s : I did some research , it seem this product was probably launched in year 2008 - 2009 - retailing close to USD$200 - 5 years back , that would be a very expensive piece of audio gear for single dynamic driver earphone.
 
i'm glad that i bought this.  This gem blew me away literally !
 
(even though i have a whole collections of iems that i'm still holding on- Senn IE80 , final audio fi-ba-ss , final audio piano forte ix ,  akg k3003i)
i have previously used , senn ie800 , audio technical ck90pro mkii , yamaha eph-100, t-peos, grado gr10 , tdk BA200, tdk ie 800 , UE 900  .. and even unique melody customs
 
 
Here's some unboxing photos to show you why this earphone is worth 3-4 X more !
 

 
A nice window box presentation showing the earphones.  How i wish manufactures bother to package their product now when they are selling their earphones for 5x more ?
 

 
 
Unboxing it ... ( it has 3 sets of tips - small medium and large.  the default fitted was medium. )
- it has a airflight 2 jack connector  (what a bonus !!! )
- It has an "Extremely robust semi hard case !! "  - i rate the built quality 10/10 !!
- it's pretty big - around the height of the iphone  - slightly wider.  It can fit an iphone.
 

 
it fits my portable DAP with ease - i like the pockets - i can place the earphones on the left.
Manufacturers doesn't bother to provide free cases nowadays.. it's all about commercially profitable for them now.
 

 
 
Okay.... last pic - the actual iem itself.
 

 

[radi9red]

Here's the main geez of the review
Out of the box - audio gears tested  = 1st hour - not burn in ..
 
1.  AKG k370 on iphone 5 direct , on samsung note 2 with custom rom for audiophiles,   on hisoundadudio studio V DAP ,  on fiio X3 DAP..
 
Summary :   An awesome dynamic very wide frequency earphone with excellent wide soundstage  !
 
Highs : treble were not detailed and analytical for sure- but it does have a subtle presentation of all the high and low trebles that was in the music.   When i switched to my top resolving IEMs , FAD fi-ba-ss , akg 3003 ,  the BAs on those IEMS sounds brighter and cleaner for sure.   But the AKG k370 managed to capture majority of the little details in the treble subtlely.  It's comparable to the senn ie 80 (with tape mod)
 
Mids : this is where this AKG k370 shines.   It has  a very textured and slightly recessed into background, slightly dark mids..  the vocals were beautifully rendered in most vocal tracks.  It was an extremely shockingly smooth projection of mids - unlike the Balanced armatures earpieces.   This is truly the beauty of the dynamic drivers which i dearly missed..  In some tracks , the mids were not covered by the high trebles and nor the bass.
 
Lows :   the bass is a masterpiece of this AKG earphone.   The only reason why i kept senn ie80 (i sold the ie8) - was the quality of the bass and not the QUANTity..  the akg has that dynamic bass and the low were fully extended..  In some instrumental classical pieces , the low bass were so smooth with absolutely beautiful resonance.   Pop songs bass were textured with tight impact (but i did notice that on some complex musical tracks, the bass were sometimes loose and appears slightly messy)   -Nevertheless - i would rate the quality of the bass on par with senn ie80 - and i think it did better than the senn ie80 as the bass were well controlled and the boom boom roll does not extend to the senn Ie80 (which i have to reduce that from the tape mod)
 
2.  AKG K370 - at home  -marantz cd player>optical connection>  Schiit Bifrost DAC > Graham slee solo ultra linear amp >  AKG k 370
 
Highs : similar to above - except tighter sounding & cleaner details.   AKG k3003 details were 30-40 percent better - nor surprising since k3003 is a top notch resolution IEM.  detailed & treble wise - AKGk370 is not that fantastic, never attempt to buy this for analytical / resolving music pieces.  It's not meant for critical listening.
 
Mids : hmm ...  honestly - i like the AKG k370 mids better than the k3003.  The coherence seems better, the K370 sounded fuller and with better depth and wider soundstage comparing to k3003.   I'm not referring to the clarity of the mids and how details are the mids and vocals , those are not even close to k3003..  i'm liking them from a musical perspective that it's non-fatigue and has a very smooth dynamic sounding mid.   the soundstage is comparable to Senn ie80 where senn ie8 and ie80 are renowned for insanely wide soundstage for iems.
 
Lows :   i'm loving the bass ..with amp , it's really tighter and the separation is much better again i can distinctly hear the deep bass drums , tom tom drums , cymbals etc ..  I had several dynamic iems in the past that boast excellent bass - audio technica ck99 (bass were messy and muddy at times) - ck90pro mk 2 were pretty clean and with impact in my memory - but AKG k370 really shines from a single dynamic driver setup.  
 
 
My overall review of this earphone :
 
For me it's hard to find a excellent earphone for casual multi genre listening.   Some earphones are either tries to be too analytical and sound sibilance & fatigue on prolonged hours of listening.
Some earphones claim excellent bass - but all you could hear is the muddy bass and the boom bass resonances all over the tracks that shouldn't be there in the 1st place.   Some earphones claimed to be natural and balanced and it the entire frequency range sounded flat ... it doesn't excite or invoke you..
 
There are 2 low priced dynamic iems till to date that i would find it inspiring - for a fuller musical experience.   One of it was yamaha eph 100 where it was really clean neat musical presentation.  the drawback is  i find the mid a little teeny weeny thin for vocals and the bass is pretty lean...
 
I would rate the AKG k370 a score of 9/10 if you are a dynamic iem lover for it's musical qualities.  The iem has a tinge of airy feel to it which boost it's wide soundstage but some might would like it a little bit tigher..  
 
you can always mod it to make the bass and mid tighter by
1.) change the tips to a fatter solid rubbery silicon tip ( the factory default ones are very thin) - Sony hybrid are a good match - you will have a much tighter sound
2) there are 2 air vents on each earpieces -  you can cut a small piece of tape and tape over Half of the air vents each.   Do take note, you should paste half of each vent..since each item still needs 2 vents for airflow efficiently (in & out) ... Do not just cover 1 of the 2 vents completely.  
 
 
Good luck in  your search for this amazing IEM at a unbelievable price., do give it a try if you are a dynamic driver fan.
If you are looking for detailed, clinical , sharp sounds - you will be better served by the BA drivers earphones instead of this. 
 
.  I'm enjoying it every minute of it - musically !  . I'll try to perform 100 hours of burn in and see if it improves.. cheers

 

[radi9red]

Before i forget , here some description of the built of the iem itself.
 
1.  connector : straight jack gold plated- with microphone connections .
2. thickness of wire : average , typical rounded- seems pretty robust to me.
3: iem construction : the connection from wiring to the iem inlet has a long solid rubbery hose which helps strain relieve.  pretty well built
4. IEM : plastic for sure.. housing, casing, nozzle tip all plastic.   Don't ask me what grade are the plastic..
5. Nozzle : i'm surprised that there are angled.. 10 degrees or so. 
6: fit and comfort :  i did not use the stock silicon tips since i always stick to my own pair which i have got a good seal across all my iems.
i wonder why would anyone write a review when they did not get a good seal from the stock tips itself and complain the sound is thin and sharp sibilance etc

 

[radi9red]

AKG k370 - the lost dynamic gem @ USD$100 ?? - sonically better than senn ie80 and 70percent match to akg k3003 !!"

after 24 hours burn in . I noticed the following
1) on classical instruments tracks the soundstage were much tighter ,less airy but it has widen. it resemblances the senn hd 650 open design headphones. the instruments soindstsge on some trscjs were previously at 10oclock on left and 2 oclock on right.. but after burn in. it was around 8 /9 oclock and 3 /4 oclock. it has definately widen

2) I was listening to a pure vocal and acoustic pieces.. the mids has tighten up . its not that loose now and the female vocal has that beautiful pitch transition which is how dynamic drivers renders mids different from ba drivers.

in my humble opinion, I full agree with akg on their labeling of this earphone as High End earphone despite it has only one driver but the frequency range is absolutely fantastic !!

 

[quartertone]

Plenty of enthusiastic reviews on Amazon Germany regarding the sound, but many complaining of build problems (e.g. cable breaking).

 

[radi9red]

yeah, I was pretty surprised when I saw those amazon reviews after I purchase it. Each of those ear shells has the rubber strain relief that is pretty flexible. The cables doesn't feel flimsy.

I reckon it can take some daily usage abuse. Interestingly there are some China audio forum named this earphone the mini little brother of k3003.
I don't think it's a good comparison as k3003 is a very detailed reference iem. This k370 is more of a multi genre musical inclined earphone

I found some other old reviewers who seems to concur my findings about this earphone.

http://reviews.akg.com/7459-en_gb/104/reviews.htm