[MuZI]

Hi guys, I recently purchased a pair of AKG K 272HS headphones. They arrived today and compared to my Koss Porta Pros they seemed a bit muffled. I understand they are closed vs. open headphones but I'm slightly disappointed.
 
I do have to set the volume much higher so I was wondering if the headphones would benefit from an Amp?

 

[Coll5nEpps]

Closed vs. open wouldn't make them muffled.    The Porta Pros don't take much power to make the sound get loud.  You may need to burn them in for a few days and/or get an amp.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Hi guys, I recently purchased a pair of AKG K 272HS headphones. They arrived today and compared to my Koss Porta Pros they seemed a bit muffled. I understand they are closed vs. open headphones but I'm slightly disappointed.
 
I do have to set the volume much higher so I was wondering if the headphones would benefit from an Amp?

AKG's like a little amping.

 

[MuZI]

Quote:

AKG's like a little amping.

 
Got any recommendations?

 

[machoboy]

Are you sure you're hearing "muffled" and not just the difference in sound signature? The K 240/271/272/etc/etc/etc center around the lower mid range and have an "old school" sound compared to headphones with booming bass and sparkly treble. This is intentional.
 
However they would benefit from an amp. I've said before, my K 240s need an amp more than my K 702s do. It tightens everything up so much.

 

[MuZI]

Quote:

Are you sure you're hearing "muffled" and not just the difference in sound signature? The K 240/271/272/etc/etc/etc center around the lower mid range and have an "old school" sound compared to headphones with booming bass and sparkly treble. This is intentional.
 
However they would benefit from an amp. I've said before, my K 240s need an amp more than my K 702s do. It tightens everything up so much.

 
This could be it. I've mostly used open headphones so I might not be used to the different sound signature.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

 
This could be it. I've mostly used open headphones so I might not be used to the different sound signature.

What do you plug the AKG K272HDs into?

 

[machoboy]

Quote:

 
This could be it. I've mostly used open headphones so I might not be used to the different sound signature.

I don't think it's a matter of open vs closed. Someone correct me if my memory is mistaken, but I think that whole 240/271/272/etc series uses the same driver.
If by muffled you mean you're hearing a lot of mid range with rolled off mellow treble (very little "snap" on snares) and much more midbass than subbass, then that's just the sound of that driver.
 
Open vs closed effects the bass quantity and soundstage slightly but the fundamental sound is not "hi fi" on these either way. These are a derivative of an old studio headphone converted into a lower impedance consumer headphone with a little more upperbass. The result shouldn't sound anything like portapros.
 
What genres are you listening to through them? I find electronica unbearable through the K 2xx series. They shine -- predictably -- on midrangey guitar and vocal recordings. Thumpy drums and bass with sparkly digital treble will just constantly remind you of their shortcomings.

 

[MuZI]

Quote:

I don't think it's a matter of open vs closed. Someone correct me if my memory is mistaken, but I think that whole 240/271/272/etc series uses the same driver.
If by muffled you mean you're hearing a lot of mid range with rolled off mellow treble (very little "snap" on snares) and much more midbass than subbass, then that's just the sound of that driver.
 
Open vs closed effects the bass quantity and soundstage slightly but the fundamental sound is not "hi fi" on these either way. These are a derivative of an old studio headphone converted into a lower impedance consumer headphone with a little more upperbass. The result shouldn't sound anything like portapros.
 
What genres are you listening to through them? I find electronica unbearable through the K 2xx series. They shine -- predictably -- on midrangey guitar and vocal recordings. Thumpy drums and bass with sparkly digital treble will just constantly remind you of their shortcomings.

 
Mostly rock. Was listening to Rolling Stones before.

 

[MuZI]

Quote:

What do you plug the AKG K272HDs into?

 
Laptop or iPod.
 
What type of Amp should I look into.
 
1.) Fiio E9
2.) Little Dot III
3.) Little Dot IV
4.) ??
 
Schiit Valhalla is also an option but I might need to save for a few weeks or buy used.

 

[lechonbaby]

Will zombie this post as I have the same feeling as the OP and wondering if I've got a dud.
And to note, I'm a peanut when it comes to headphones, so pardon the peanutry.



I just got these today and the volume I have to crank up at least 15-20% more to get the same volume as
my (opens) Grado SR80i and the tiny AKG K420.
I've read about the bass being pulled back with these, but it's actually the volume that I'm concerned about.
My AKG K420 is louder with the same volume setting. wth??
The closest I've had a closed were the Fostex T-7 (they were semi-open) but I don't remember having this big of a difference.

Is this really a major difference with closed back and open headphones? - Can anyone recommend a closed
headphone with the same undriven volume as the Grado SR80i
I'm confused/disappointed and thinking about packing it up and selling it after only 10 minutes use.


Not much headphone testing shops here in Australie, so I've not been able to compare headphones out.
I got this mainly from reading reviews here and a couple of other review sites.
I got these mainly for accoustic/voice work, and since I've read it fleshes out music quite nicely, I thought
I'd give it a run and see what it picks up from my voice/accoustic (hobbyist)
Not too happy at the moment as the MBP and iPhone have to be 50%+ volume, compared to 15-20% with the other two headphones.

Amps I'm looking at include:
-FiiOs
-CMOY amps by ampedup77 on ebay
 

Cheers,
confused listener

 

[devhen]

What's wrong with 50% volume on your iphone/MBP? Headphones have varying levels of efficiency that determines how loud they will get connected to a particular device. I wouldn't worry about what volume level you have to use unless you are maxing it out at 100% volume and its still not loud enough. That said, you could look into buying an amp to slightly improve the sound quality as others have mentioned.

 

[lechonbaby]

cheers devhen,
 
That's what I'm iffy about - whether this is a dud or not.
At 100% The SR80i is loud without distorting, whereas the K272HD sounds weak (it's like 70% of the Grado).

I've dug up some numbers, of which I have to figure out what they mean - any knowledge would be a big help:
I'm pretty much looking for headphones to use for accoustic/vocal work.
And also, any suggestions as to what amp fellow AKG K272HD users are hooked up to would be sweet.


The specs for the AKG K 272 HD headphones are:

Frequency Response (low): 16 Hz

Frequency Response (high): 28 kHz

Impedance: 55 ohms
Sensitivity: 104 dB

The specifications for the Grado SR80i headphones are:

Frequency Response (low): 20 Hz

Frequency Response (high): 20 kHz

Impedance: 32 ohms
Sensitivity: 98 dB


 

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

I demoed these in a shop out of a FiiO E5 and my phone only and I really enjoyed these, these are far from muddy, a bit midrange (lower-mids especially) focused. These are VERY detailed in the mids for the price without any excessive sparkle (for me just right, neither bright or dark => neutral), a bit more old-school headphone signature indeed and portrayed very accurately acoustic based music. Music is in the mids my friend.
 
I'm a bit of a basshead but I just loved the sound of these too even if the bass wasn't overly powerful (but I found the midbass to have plenty of punch though).

 

[devhen]

Quote:

cheers devhen,
 
That's what I'm iffy about - whether this is a dud or not.
At 100% The SR80i is loud without distorting, whereas the K272HD sounds weak (it's like 70% of the Grado).

I've dug up some numbers, of which I have to figure out what they mean - any knowledge would be a big help:
I'm pretty much looking for headphones to use for accoustic/vocal work.
And also, any suggestions as to what amp fellow AKG K272HD users are hooked up to would be sweet.


The specs for the AKG K 272 HD headphones are:

Frequency Response (low): 16 Hz

Frequency Response (high): 28 kHz

Impedance: 55 ohms
Sensitivity: 104 dB

The specifications for the Grado SR80i headphones are:

Frequency Response (low): 20 Hz

Frequency Response (high): 20 kHz

Impedance: 32 ohms
Sensitivity: 98 dB

 
My guess is its not a dud you're just not used to the sound signature and the fact that its a higher impedance headphone that doesn't get as loud as the Grado. It will get louder if amped and as others have said the sound quality should improve slightly as well.