[RockSloth]

I'm a novice say this but this is my current work in progress for the K275s. Just tweaking by ear trying to make everything seem balanced and natural sounding. It's just on a 10 band graphic eq.

 

[Mad Max]

I'm a novice say this but this is my current work in progress for the K275s. Just tweaking by ear trying to make everything seem balanced and natural sounding. It's just on a 10 band graphic eq.

I haven't tried this EQ plugin yet, but if you use Foobar2k at home, it is worth a shot. Parametric is best for what you're doing: https://plugins4free.com/plugin/1021/
Otherwise, DMG Audio's EQuilibrium is the best.

 

[slapo]

Not just more subbass, much more midbass, too. K245 sounds like they were going for "club bass".

I think I started getting too used to them. You're right, there's also a good bit more midbass. I just found out that Sonarworks has a profile for it, so I'm going to try it in the morning. Havig said that, the FR they have looks quite different from the one they have for the K275, but it doesn't sound quite as different to me. Having swapped pads on them probably has a fair bit to do with it, though, as they aren't on-ear for me anymore. Maybe I should compare them again, as my impression of them stock is getting pretty foggy.

 

[Nolbert0]

For EQing, I find reducing to be preferable to boosting. Less distortion n all that. Reducing mid bass is much easier than trying to add sub bass. Qudelix 5K with it's PEQ is ideal for my K245.

I find bassy headphones with bass dialed down sounds better than lean headphones with bass boosted... Mostly

 

[Mad Max]

Some musicians outside of head-fi told me that bass boost sounds better with headphones that have less inherent bass distortion. Last example I saw mentioned was HD800S versus the original, silver HD800. HD800S has higher bass distortion, which sounds more pleasant for normal playback but the original is better suited to EQ, including bass boost, due to the lower distortion. Note that distortion and overdrive VST plugins are very often used on bass lines in order to add warmth and fullness to basses during music production. I often do it, too, so Sennheiser increasing bass distortion a bit in HD800S for audiophiles' listening comfort makes a lot of sense.

 

[130rne]

Some musicians outside of head-fi told me that bass boost sounds better with headphones that have less inherent bass distortion. Last example I saw mentioned was HD800S versus the original, silver HD800. HD800S has higher bass distortion, which sounds more pleasant for normal playback but the original is better suited to EQ, including bass boost, due to the lower distortion. Note that distortion and overdrive VST plugins are very often used on bass lines in order to add warmth and fullness to basses during music production. I often do it, too, so Sennheiser increasing bass distortion a bit in HD800S for audiophiles' listening comfort makes a lot of sense.

The 245s have a near perfect bass response, it's a straight line according to rtings. Probably why eq is so good, I've had good results and can dial in the bass however I want.

 

[RockSloth]

Does anyone have both the k275 and k245? How different are they? I’ve heard mixed opinions about the k245 not sounding open.

I’ve got k702 to compare again as well. Just wondering if the k245 are an easy to drive open back or would just be too similar and I only fancy them as I have a problem and keep wanting new headphones

edit - I have read the thread history I was just wondering if the people with both think they are worth having in addition. Thanks.

 

[Corti]

Hi all,
this is my first post here on head-fi (ive been a reading a bit but never bothered to participate).
also i am a pretty new hi-fier in general, so my knowledge is very limited.

About the AKG K245

i have had the k245 for 3 weeks now and im very impressed with them. originally i was looking for an open-back headphone with portable capabilites, wich seems to be a rather uncommon combination. so i thought ill give the k245 a try since it was (still is) on a big sale (90€ in germany).

What i expected after reading this thread and other information about the k245, was that its gonna be a more or less neutral sounding, subbass-elevated, treble-recessed piece of headphone (if that makes any sense ). for me this happens to be a good description. unfortunately there are no frequency response measurements available in the www (at least i didnt find any).
my two reference headphones that i currently own are the HiFiman Sundara (2020) and the AKG K371.
While SUndara is a very open and the 371 a very closed-back, the 245 is pretty much in between (maybe one could call it a semiopen-back (but im not too good with technical terms yet)).

So yea, it does combine 2 of my other headphones properties being a greater soundstage (not too wide. deeper than wide) due to openness, while still retaining a punchy/hitting bass that doesnt get too loose (like it does with the sundaras - which is still great for some genres).
i find the soundstage with the 245 to be quite interesting as i perceive the sound to be layered in front of me (with bass and treble closer and midrange instruments positioned behind, which is really beautyful especially for calming electro music where there are dreamy synths and such fancy things).
i never thought a (semi)open-back would be pleasing to a basshead like me (which i am parttime, the other time being classic/instrumental/voice-focused msuic).

I definitely always use EQ for now (APOeq/Peace on PC and viper4android for smartphone), which brings me to one of the bigger problems (with solution though) of the 245 that is the earpads.

About the Earpads

The earpads are not circumaural for people with bigger ears. also they are very shallow, so your ears definitely touch the drivers at some spot.
while i have rather small ears i still find the stockpads to be too small.

as it has been posted here, the replacement earpads from brainwavz (round, 100mm) do fit on the k245 very well. https://www.head-fi.org/threads/new-akg-headphones-k175-k245-k275.844842/page-12#post-16057754
i ordered the perforated PU ones because i tend to have sweaty ears so that a bit more air circulation would be welcome (maybe it also opens the sound even more).
what it definitely does (and there is the relation to EQing) is it elevates the treble by a lot (like around 8-10db in the 4k-10k region) which is kinda unbearable (#snaresfromhell). but as mentioned i lower the treble with Equalizers which works fine. Additionally yesterday i tried the "paper-mod" as described at diyaudioheaven https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/headphones/taming-the-treble/ and it does help a bit, im still using a 3k highshelf with -5db on average (depending on genre).

One last thing to note how awesome they are is when using them outdoors for a walk in the park or even during shopping (they dont leak too much sound so nobody will be bothered). conversely they dont isolate you from the environment which is pretty handy when being outside. Thats also why i like portable headphones like the 245 and the 371.

So yea, thats it. quite a long first-post and hopefully not too many brackets but i feel like a could go on talking even more about these cans.

Greetings,
your organ of Corti

 

[Corti]

Does anyone have both the k275 and k245? How different are they? I’ve heard mixed opinions about the k245 not sounding open.

I’ve got k702 to compare again as well. Just wondering if the k245 are an easy to drive open back or would just be too similar and I only fancy them as I have a problem and keep wanting new headphones

edit - I have read the thread history I was just wondering if the people with both think they are worth having in addition. Thanks.

-about openness, as i said in my previous post for me it does sound open but it depends a bit on the track you are listening to (like always).
it is not as open as a sundara, but thats also another price-class and a planar aswell.

-drivability
im running my headphones with the fiio btr5 unbalanced output and that works fine.
without amp i just tested on my smartphone and it also works, strangely tho it doesnt get very loud on windows pc (maybe i have some settings wrong).
the k245 has gotten a bit quieter overall after i switched to the brainwavz pads. thats reasonable because the padchamber is a lot bigger than stocks, so the drivers have to to push more air.

i dont know what you are mainly listening to, but if its rock (as your name suggests) i would rather try the akg k361/371, they sound a lot better with that genre.
on the other hand for EDM and such, i definitely prefer the k245.

 

[RockSloth]

Awesome thanks for the detailed post. For the "openness", you mentioned the you can hear your environment better. I'm thinking about using them for gaming and work calls (as well as music). Possibly with these pads.

For gaming I really like to be able to hear myself when speaking, either naturally or through sidetone/mic monitoring. Does it sound open enough that you can hear yourself speak / sound natural?

As for the music, the genre list is long...

Cheers

 

[Corti]

Awesome thanks for the detailed post. For the "openness", you mentioned the you can hear your environment better. I'm thinking about using them for gaming and work calls (as well as music). Possibly with these pads.

For gaming I really like to be able to hear myself when speaking, either naturally or through sidetone/mic monitoring. Does it sound open enough that you can hear yourself speak / sound natural?

As for the music, the genre list is long...

Cheers

you are welcome
yes, those are the exact same earpads that i ordered from brainwavz. they are very comfy, fully encircling my ears. the padswap was fairly easy aswell. one negative point tho is that the new pads are heavier and really thick which increased the clampforce noticeably, but i think the memory foam will form them with time.

well i dont game a lot, but when i do i usually take the sundaras as they sound unbelievably realistic (which adds a lot to immersion). when i first listened to podcasts and such with them, it almost felt i was in the same room with the people i am so glad i ordered a HiFiman as my first hifi-headphones.

i think there is nothing wrong with using the 245 for gaming (maybe they could be a bit more open regarding hearing oneself clear, since the 245 does block some upperrange sounds -> muffled voice), so i believe there are better choices for that purpose.
i have heard the Philips SHP9500 were recommended quite a lot from gamers.

i saw you own the k702, whats wrong with those?

 

[RockSloth]

Cheers, I know what you mean, I've got the XL Micro Suede on the k275s. The press a bit harder but are comfortable for hours in comparison to the stock pads pushing on your ears and the driver touching my ear.

i have heard the Philips SHP9500 were recommended quite a lot from gamers

I've looked at them extensively! think they have a similar issue with Shallow ear pads but they're harder to replace, also, getting a fair price in the UK seems to involve rolling the AliExpress dice.

I like the look of the X2HRs more but they are pushing the price up further again.

i saw you own the k702, whats wrong with those?

Essentially nothing! I got a SoundBlasterX G6 for listening to the from the laptop and for that they power them great. They feel different on the PS4 though, could be the USB isn't pushing enough out for the G6.


I'm between the X2HR, the K245 with after market pads and admitting I have a problem and to stop looking at headphones.

 

[Nolbert0]

I've been using the 95mm pads which fit nice and snug. Aren't the 100mm pads a little baggy where it mounts? When I put on some spare pads I had for HE-400i on to the K245, just to see how they behave with different pad materials when I first got them, but the loosseness of the pads allowed them to spin around which really adversely affected the comfort. The clamp force held them in place just fine so the sealing on the inside (therefore, sound) wasn't an issue but the spinning pads made them feel so unstable on the head despite the clamp force keeping everything in place. Admittedly, the pads I was using were 110mm...

Really strange as that wasn't even part of my consideration when I was pad rolling.

 

[RockSloth]

I've been using the 95mm pads which fit nice and snug. Aren't the 100mm pads a little baggy where it mounts? When I put on some spare pads I had for HE-400i on to the K245, just to see how they behave with different pad materials when I first got them, but the loosseness of the pads allowed them to spin around which really adversely affected the comfort. The clamp force held them in place just fine so the sealing on the inside (therefore, sound) wasn't an issue but the spinning pads made them feel so unstable on the head despite the clamp force keeping everything in place. Admittedly, the pads I was using were 110mm...

Really strange as that wasn't even part of my consideration when I was pad rolling.

@Corti can cover the 100mm but the micro suede ones I have are 110mm.

I originally fitted them over the cup and had the spinning issue. The time over the cup seemed to stretch them a bit. I put the stock back on after a month or 2 to try them again and still didn't like them. On refitting the 110mm pads I managed to get them into the groove and now they don't spin.

 

[Corti]

I've been using the 95mm pads which fit nice and snug. Aren't the 100mm pads a little baggy where it mounts? When I put on some spare pads I had for HE-400i on to the K245, just to see how they behave with different pad materials when I first got them, but the loosseness of the pads allowed them to spin around which really adversely affected the comfort. The clamp force held them in place just fine so the sealing on the inside (therefore, sound) wasn't an issue but the spinning pads made them feel so unstable on the head despite the clamp force keeping everything in place. Admittedly, the pads I was using were 110mm...

Really strange as that wasn't even part of my consideration when I was pad rolling.

It is true. the 100mm pads are a bit baggy as seen in the following picture. the part where the arrow points to can be stretched by about a cm which makes the pads float around a bit.

The reason is obviously the formfactor, as can be seen in the second picture.

Right now im thinking about cutting the overlapping part out (dashed line circle on the brainwavz) to solve this issue. although, since the material is an elastic polymer, it might happen that the rubber will become unstable with time (sorry my english skills end here, dont know how to describe properly).

But in the end this headphone has already become a modding project and if everything fails i'll have to go with the stockpads again (which are not too bad for shorter listening sessions anyway).

Cheers