Harman Kardon BT first impressions

[thepiper92]

  I took a shot at a small modification of the BT's... As I had seen on some pictures on the internet, they have a bass port (a small hole) on the back of the driver. So I opened up the earcups and put a small piece of electrical tape over the hole and... Voila! Now I got a clear reduction of lower bass frequencies!
 
Now, compared to my AKG K240's which I've been A/B testing against the BT's still have their distinct sound of their own. They still sound meatier and have slightly scooped mids, but most importantly, I got rid of that thickness in the lower bass frequencies that had been annoying me and to my ears they sound much more pleasent now!
 
I know that everyone have their own idea of whata balanced sound is. My ears have been accustomed to my Yamaha HS50M studio monitors and K240 headphones which are rather focused on mids and highs so in comparison the BT's represent a different world.

Do you have pictures of this bass port hole? If you want to see bass heavy, take out the rubber aspiration limiter (don't think it really has a name) in the AKG K172, which is likely in the 272's as well.

 

[MrPhilicorda]

  Do you have pictures of this bass port hole? If you want to see bass heavy, take out the rubber aspiration limiter (don't think it really has a name) in the AKG K172, which is likely in the 272's as well.

 
Since I'm a new member I can't post pics without a moderator approving it first (= might take a long time) so let's do it this way:
 
If you google "harman kardon bt king of tweaks" the first result is a link to a blog where a guy has done some mods to a pair of BT's. Scroll down to the third pic. There you can see the backside of the driver, in the center there a three holes glued shut with a bright yellow glue, the fourth hole is open. This is the one I put a small piece of tape over.

 

[Giogio]

I am trying them right now.
My first impressions are that they are really excellent.
WIthouth EQ they are a bit..., "muffled". Not lively.
But a bit low and sub bass more, a bit mid and upper mid, and a tough of high, they are among the 5 best BT Headphones I have tried.
Absolutely worth.
Now, it may be that they look like wearing two iPhones, but, I do not find them so ugly.
Did you ever see the Parrot?
Or, the Sennheiser M400x and M500x, which make your head seem like a Rugby Ball in horizontal position?
I actually find them somehow elegant.
Smaller speaker would have been nicer anyway.
i think the Soho will have more succes for the look.
 
This one are anyway very good.
I must say that they come close to my favorite, the Fidelio M2BT.
Just, the Fidelio have a magic touch more, more, fire, warmth, life.
 
 
BTW, I had a AKG K240 monitor. The old ones, 600ohms.
I think you can not compare bananas with oranges.
BT and wired are and will always be a different world.
Well. Never say never, nor always. But, they are now.
And AKG is unemotional to me.
The K845 are one of the most detailed and clean sounding BT Headphones I have tested, and one of the last in my preferences. A bit for their almost total lack of vass (and they are one of the few which do NOT improve with EQ), and a bit because they are, boring.
They lack fire.
 
But, well. That is already a subjective territory. Which is part of the music experience anyway.

 

[extremeads1]

Hi Music Fanatics,

This is my first post. I listen to 50%classical, 10%jazz, 10%country, 10%pop, 10%alternative and 10%metal. This is the distribution of songs in my playlist. After much research I found that the HK BT, CL & Soho all sound extremely detailed when playing out classical songs. Nevertheless, it does play other genres interestingly well too.
My budget is 250USD & I want to know if the latest release of HK Soho Wireless will be a good buy?

Important factors for me: portability, comfort on-ear, detail-oriented, flat frequency response & styling.

Any suggestions are welcome
Thanks in advance.

 

[Giogio]

Define "research"
 
Do you mean that you have read that or that you have tried them all?
 
What else do you want from a headphone?
 
What do you mean with flat? Balanced, or neutral? (it is not the same)
And, how much portable is "portable" for you?
 
I would tell you "Plantronics Backbeat Pro". They are perfect for all those kind of Music you name.
Yeah, Classical and Metal, crazy how versatile they are.
 
If they are not portable enough, and if you like to have a bass with body (which is anyway not overhyped), the Fidelio M2BT.
 
But well, maybe it would not be a bad idea if you wait a bit and try the new Sennheiser Momentum. They make an On-Ear model which may suit your need well.
 
I would, if you have money enough, buy them all and compare by myself and send back what I do not like.
 
I personally doubt that the Soho would be good enough. The normal Harman Kardon BT are very good but they are on the limit, lacking some depth and soundstage and life.
I suspect that the Soho will not be better but worse. And some reviews confirm this.

 

[extremeads1]

Hi Giogio,
 
Research based on :technical specifications of HK Soho Wireless like 30mm vs 40mm drivers, requirements of nearly flat frequency response, headphone type (closed back, open back, etc),  comfort levels of wearing for long hours, price tags, styling levels, wired vs wireless, fidelity for various genres etc. I compared HK Soho-I, HK CL, HK BT, Beyer DT 880, Sennheiser HD 558, Sennheiser Urbanite, Sennheiser Momentum On-Ear, B&W P5 Series2 which all fall in the price band of 250USD-300USD.
 
I need some pros & cons for buying the new HK Soho Wireless showcased at CES 2015 & releasing soon with estimated delivery of 25th Jan in Sweden.

 

[Giogio]

If you are in Sweden, maybe the Momentum On Ear are already available. In Germany the are.
And the Fidelio M2BT too.
 
I am afraid that your strategy is only partially useful.
You can see my thread "Huge Comparison".
I had the chance to see by myself that the Specs are good only to spend some time reading.
They are just guidelines...
No way that two headphones with same specs are ever possibly sound the same.

 

[shineonyou]

i would like to know also.. i would never used my BTs with blue tooth cause i dont want any of the blue tooth sound loss..
[/quote
Hk bt has aptx codec, so no loss at all.