[ojnihs]

I'm real tempted to hear the K271 out of the M3 with the bass boast to hear exactly what you are saying. I use them out of a Hornet now and I feel that the deep bass is there. I used them out of a GLite before as well and felt that the bass was there too, albeit lighter than with the Hornet.

 

[NeilPeart]

The K271 is my favorite sealed headphone and one that serves most musical pieces very well. I even prefer it to the DT250-250, which I felt was a bit too dark (and the A900, which sounded too artificial in the midrange). The K271 is certainly not the last word in bass extension, but the bass that is present is very detailed and textured (I prefer this to a bloated, thick bass, especially in a sealed headphone). The bass is still more present and impact-full than the K501, whose bass was so lacking that the entire headphone sounded silhouette-like and too thin to truly enjoy with a wide variety of music. The M-cubed really does provide the current the K271 craves (no bass boost necessary) and I'm very happy with this combo for my office setting (the M-cubed seems to synergize well with any headphone I try). The velour earpads reduce attenuation slightly but the increased comfort is certainly worth the sacrifice, IMO (and the measly $15). Larry's Headphile cable also helped slightly with the soundstage and midrange clarity, but I cannot determine if the cable itself was the primary contributor or simply the fact that it was a shorter cable. The AKG K271S likes powerful amplifiers and excellent sources!

 

[taoster]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NeilPeart The velour earpads reduce attenuation slightly but the increased comfort is certainly worth the sacrifice, IMO (and the measly $15).

What velour earpads do you mean? I use the 271S as my work phone and is more than happy with the sound but I do found some discomfort after long periods of use. The foam touches the ear and the cup is just a tad too small for comfort. That said, Im sure that is why it does such an excellent job at isolation.

 

[HFat]

Taoster, it looks like we have the same problem. I guess my ears stick out too much.
I solved this comfort issue by sticking stuff under the pads. I experimented with a few materials before settling for thick hand-rolled cotton strings.
I believe the trouble is that the pads are not mounted on but around the earpieces and that they are not thick enough so that they tend to move closer to the driver than they need to. Before I stuck stuff in there, I was constantly pulling the pads out to give my ears more room.

 

[episiarch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spike33 Hmm... k501 actually has more bass, much more. I have a very hard time hearing bass notes on k271. It doesn't go very deep either, bass boost has no effect. Not looking good....

...but you have one of the K501's with magical bass-supercharging pads, right? 'Cause the bass of my K271 (well burned-in, BTW) is at least comparable to that of my K501 with the regular old not-so-much-with-the-bass pads.

 

[philodox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spike33 Hmm... k501 actually has more bass, much more. I have a very hard time hearing bass notes on k271. It doesn't go very deep either, bass boost has no effect. Not looking good....

If you think that the K501 has more bass you are not getting a proper fit or seal with the K271S.

 

[ojnihs]

Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox If you think that the K501 has more bass you are not getting a proper fit or seal with the K271S.

I was thinking that this was the case as well. I tried the K501 at a HiFi store a few years ago and I kinda didn't like what I heard. The soundstage was quite good and the liquid midrange was very nice, but there was something about the complete lack of bass that just killed the can for me. Maybe I should give it another try someday.

 

[spike33]

Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox If you think that the K501 has more bass you are not getting a proper fit or seal with the K271S.

This is what I'm thinking too since I'm having trouble getting a good fit, earpads are just so small and inner padding doesn't go very deep. I'm finding it very difficult to wear

I don't seem to be hearing any outside noise though so I'm guessing the seal is ok at least. Still, k271 makes k501 seem like a basshead can.

 

[philodox]

Very strange. The K501 has many good things going for it, but I would think that the K271S would beat it in the bass department in any setup.

 

[HFat]

I like the K501 bass better too, but then again I'm one of the weirdos that like the K501's bass period...

 

[kuma]

For one thing, the impedance between the 271s and 501 is different.
The former being 55 ohms vs. 120 ohms for the 501.

I could not get a sufficient bass out of 501 with the Naim Headline for some reasons.

Various findings concerning the bass delivery of those two cans might be partially due to a compatibility between the amp and 'fones' impedance.

 

[taoster]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HFat Taoster, it looks like we have the same problem. I guess my ears stick out too much. I solved this comfort issue by sticking stuff under the pads. I experimented with a few materials before settling for thick hand-rolled cotton strings. I believe the trouble is that the pads are not mounted on but around the earpieces and that they are not thick enough so that they tend to move closer to the driver than they need to. Before I stuck stuff in there, I was constantly pulling the pads out to give my ears more room.

I am always pulling at the pads too. thanks, i'll give your cotton string hint a go!

 

[bangraman]

Strange cans indeed.


One aspect I found problematic with the 271S is the combination of the very low efficiency and the low-ish (but not actually that low) impedance. I once described it as an 'odd load' and I still think that. That though combined with the unassuming but actually very revealing performance actually makes it ideal for exposing the weaknesses of amps. It's one of the few reasonable-cost closed headphones that really rewards quality amping and really reveals relative performance. The PPA for example doesn't perform with the 271, no matter how many Black Gates you stuff in there

, while the Ray Samuels XP-7 makes the 271 sing (relatively speaking). The scalability of the 271 is also quite surprising and goes (well) beyond that of the price-competing closed Beyer, Sennheiser and Audio-Technica products.


It works in a fashion out of portables, but it doesn't quite sound right if you know what it's capable of. So that's the advantage of a low-ish impedance negated.


The earpads are too shallow to accomodate a wide range of ear shapes / stickyoutness. I've had quite a lot of people try out my K271S and on some ears the phones look to be entirely supported by the earlobes and is lifted clear of the head at the back of the ear. I can understand problems of comfort and isolation/leakiness when you have 'the wrong shaped ear'. If you have relatively low-profile ears as I do, it's not an issue but there is still a problem maintaining a earpad-controlled seal. This is what leads to comments by some people that the phone isolates decently but leaks a lot: The back of the phone has been lifted off their head by their ear.


One of those 'try very carefully' phones. I like them, but the problem is that their physical and electrical attributes limit their use in my case to situations where I can get away with (better) open phones.

 

[appar111]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spike33 Hmm... k501 actually has more bass, much more.

I have a very hard time believing anything else you say after a statement like that.... the K501 has "much more bass"? Are you kidding me? If not, I may want to jump on the K501's while they're still available and cheap.

 

[appar111]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HFat I like the K501 bass better too, but then again I'm one of the weirdos that like the K501's bass period...

But there's a big difference between preferring the bass presentation of one can over the other, and saying that one has more bass than the other. I don't know of anyone (save one person) who would say the K501 has more bass.... a more preferable bass presentation perhaps, but not more bass..