[Germancub]

I just received these headphones in the mail from B&H. After all of the reviews I've read on here ranging from how terrible the bass was to they're the best closed headphones in the world I was a bit worried at what I would finally get! I am very happy to report that none of the negatives I've read were true. I can't believe how nice and airy the sound stage is, considering they're closed... nor can I get over how clear the midrange is. The bass, is quite punchy and present, contrary to what most have said about these however I'm quite used to this style of bass since most of you know my regular phones are K601's.

At any rate, I'm ecstatic at how good these cans sound, they sound quite similar to my K601's and I finally have something to take with me on the plane and to the noisy coffee shops to study without sacrificing sound quality. My only criticism is that they have the same problem my K601 when they were brand new which is a slight honk in the lower treble that I suspect will go away after a nice burn-in.

 

[3602]

Are you using this out of a portable source?

 

[Germancub]

I have tried them out of both of the amps I have as well as my iPod and iBook G4... same case as my K601's, I actually didn't notice too much variation in sound quality between unamped vs. amped, and I'm quite happy about that to be honest. After hearing nearly every amp at canjam with every headphone available I am not too convinced amps do all that much for the K601 and I suspect the same is with the K271 (or at least nothing i can notice!). The K701's on the other hand, changed drastically from amp to amp as I truly believe they were engineered for the audiophile perfectionist who pays a billion dollars for interconnects, whereas these and the k601's are for the more usual crowd and are quite easy to drive. Just my take on it anyway, for what it's worth (probably nothing, lol)

 

[estreeter]

Not the honk in the lower treble again !

I'm glad that you actually went out and bought the K271s - if only we could organise a DBT between these and a pair of K271 Studios to see exactly what the differences are.

Personally, I'm swearing off AKG headphones on the basis that they seem intent on making phones that are hard to drive - whatever the rewards, I am not going to spend valuable time and money chasing that 'perfect' amp.

estreeter

 

[Germancub]

Quote:

Originally Posted by estreeter /img/forum/go_quote.gif Not the honk in the lower treble again ! I'm glad that you actually went out and bought the K271s - if only we could organise a DBT between these and a pair of K271 Studios to see exactly what the differences are. Personally, I'm swearing off AKG headphones on the basis that they seem intent on making phones that are hard to drive - whatever the rewards, I am not going to spend valuable time and money chasing that 'perfect' amp. estreeter

55ohms is hard to drive? hardly not, mate

I agree about the DBT, would be interesting! I think the major difference is the pads, the velour pads are head over heels better than the vinyl pads SQ wise. I can understand that for studio use with sweating and things velour is not really a hygienic option but, ewww... the sound is awful.

 

[estreeter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Germancub /img/forum/go_quote.gif the k601's are for the more usual crowd and are quite easy to drive. Just my take on it anyway, for what it's worth (probably nothing, lol)

Sorry, but thats BS - I invite anyone to go and look at the HeadRoom graphs and tell me if the 601s are easy to drive. Run the numbers for the 601 alongside the 701 - same diaphram, same massive can enclosure. You must have one hell of an iPod to be putting enough juice into the 601s.

 

[Germancub]

Quote:

Originally Posted by estreeter /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sorry, but thats BS - I invite anyone to go and look at the HeadRoom graphs and tell me if the 601s are easy to drive. Run the numbers for the 601 alongside the 701 - same diaphram, same massive can enclosure. You must have one hell of an iPod to be putting enough juice into the 601s.

You're not the first to say that honestly... but everything I plug my K601's in they are MORE than loud enough and sound great out of anything I've plugged them into. The 55-ohm comment was directed to you about the K271's.

 

[estreeter]

OK - I dont know much about the 271's - more study required.

 

[ph0rk]

Good luck w/ the lower treble - mine never lost it

 

[Omega17TheTrue]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Germancub /img/forum/go_quote.gif You're not the first to say that honestly... but everything I plug my K601's in they are MORE than loud enough and sound great out of anything I've plugged them into. The 55-ohm comment was directed to you about the K271's.

I own a k601 myself and they really need a good amplification, sure you can get the sound loud enough from almost anything but the sound quality will be horrible, many seem to said that the k601 are even harder to drive than his 701 brother.

On my azur 340a the sound is thin, lacking power, body and more harsh. On my compass the sound is really better, and its only a little amp compare to others.

The same goes to the k271 but its less evident.

but if you cant find a difference your wallet will thanks you.

 

[winwin]

How can u compare the sound of K271 and SR60i? Which 1 do u think sounds better?

 

[paaj]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Germancub /img/forum/go_quote.gif 55ohms is hard to drive? hardly not, mate I agree about the DBT, would be interesting! I think the major difference is the pads, the velour pads are head over heels better than the vinyl pads SQ wise. I can understand that for studio use with sweating and things velour is not really a hygienic option but, ewww... the sound is awful.

Maybe not hard to drive loud, but IME they really sounded much better out of an amp. That's with the velours pads (the plasticy pads creak when you move around so I ditched them right away)

^sr60 and k271 sound really different, you should find a lot of descriptions with the search option.
basically the sr60 is open, small soundstage and more 'fun', while the k271 is isolated, better soundstage and very neutral, but small bass.

 

[stokitw]

I don't know about SRi's.
But from my personal experience on SR-80 and K271.
I would say K271 sounds better with adequate amplification.

One thing that SR-60 and SR-80 dominate other phones within the price range is the detail. Grado SRs brings you lots of detail by putting the sound little bit forward which sometimes create fatigue after long period of listening.

K271 with its closed natural still has some fatigue issue, but surprisingly low.
The sound is clear with details, and overall comfortable and neutral.
In other words, K271 is more layback and comfortable (in terms of sound, not wearing) than SR-80 while giving the same level of detail you can enjoy.

 

[cerbie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Germancub /img/forum/go_quote.gif 55ohms is hard to drive?

Ohms ain't everything, and you probably won't need voltage gain (I need attenuation!), which is not all that an amp is for. It can be made to sound far better than it does out of that iPod, [size=xx-small]<JustinWilson>[/size]I guarantee[size=xx-small]</JustinWilson>[/size].

 

[Germancub]

Quote:

Originally Posted by winwin /img/forum/go_quote.gif How can u compare the sound of K271 and SR60i? Which 1 do u think sounds better?

While I still stand by the fact that SR60's are by far one of the best headphones out there for price/performance ratio reasons, with that said, there really is no comparison to the K271. The K271 is so much better in every way honestly.

On the topic of amplification, the same can be said for every type of "upgrade" but honestly it becomes a matter of becoming redundant after a while to me. I can't tell a $5,000 difference between a high end setup with any of my headphones and my lowly setup. Granted, there is an improvement but the overall sound signature is nearly identical, just "cleaned up" I guess would be a better description. To my ears, it's definitely not night and day, not anywhere near it... more like 5:10PM to 5:07PM