amartignano
1000+ Head-Fier
[size=medium]AKG K141 Studio REVIEW![/size]
Hi everyone!
There's a new entry in my headphone collection... I've bought a "legendary" Akg K141, the Studio version, which is 55 ohm version of the classic K141 Monitor. In the past I've read very good things about this cans in magazines, so I've bought them for curiosity and even because I needed an "easy" headphone to plug in the keyboard or directly in the cd player. It had to be cheap, well constructed, durable and good sounding (warm, natural but also precise).
I've found the K141 almost perfect for what I want!
[CONSTRUCTION & COMFORT]:
the K141 Studio are very well engineered and builded, soon out of the box I was satisfied about my bought, these are very satisfying headphones at first touch (and also at second, third and all the others too).
They are sturdy, very good black plastic all around and gold metal for the semi-open (or semi closed
) earcups. I LOVE the self-adjusting headband, which is made of an extremely good quality leather-like plastic. And they are builded in Austria, not in a low-cost region. So the 100 eur I've payed for them seems surprisingly good. The earcushions (not the earcup!) can swing and adapt to the head. The cable seems very good, thicker than others, and it's single sided. There's a 3.5 mm mini-jack with an adaptor at 6.3mm that must be screwed on the mini-jack. All the headphone emanates quality. But the comfort is not as good... they are not terrible, but the material of the earcushions is not the most comfortable to rest on the ears. The pressure is not too much, but these are semi-closed supra-aural headphones, so the earcushions must press a bit to ensure the sealing. But comfort is an extremely subjective thing, so others can find the K141 very comfortable... I've found them comfortable enough for a normal listening session (one or two cds). They don't leak much sound, but they don't isolate from external noise (good for me).
[THE SOUND!]:
So cheap and well constructed... but how do they sound? Surprisingly good!!! The first impression (very important I think) soon out of the box was of a warm natural, yet detailed sound. They are not "perfectly" balanced, but they are very musical and involving. Probably the bass is the best thing, very deep, punchy, yet sufficiently "warm" and "rounded". A little bump around 100 Hz helps the warm sound, but that's good. Mids are sufficiently liquid and natural, there's a warm tonality in all the sound which helps to music to express out of the headphone in a very emotional way. The mid-highs and highs can be a little recessed, but they are well extended and linear, so they are still musical and reavaling. Cymbals sounds very natural, so triangles. I've found the transients of string instruments (like harp and classic guitar) to be very well reproduced and analyzed by these legendary headphones. These are both warm, natural and detailed in a good way. The harmonic reconstruction is also good, the timbre of the acoustic instruments is very natural and pleasing. They sounds good with rock and similar, but it seems to me that they feel better when claimed to reproduce classical music: the orchestra is full and powerfull.
Ok, they are not the Sennheiser HD650, which are overall better (obviously?) but I feel the sound signature of the K141 to be very good for my tastes. I'm wondering what a K240 can do if properly amped and driven: I'm saying this because I've found that the K141 seems quite happy to sound directly from a simple headphone out, but when you can drive them with a good amplifier... it's another story, they are very sensible to amplification. My Rudistor Rp3 fits perfectly the sound of the K141: it's quick and compact in the bass region, and very clear and extended in the mid-highs and highs, so it make a very good combo with the K141. The Joe Average sound engineer has to try his over-used K141 with this amp...
The soundstage of the K141 are quite good, it' not very out of head, but seems big and natural, with a sufficient sense of depth, where all the instruments are well delineated on a black-brown background.
The sound is very satisfying but there's a quite clear defect (comparing them in absolute way to top-end cans), sometimes the sound does not "open" enough and remains somewhat compressed, yet natural and pleasing, but you feel you want more room for the air to vibrate.
Not a very defect for the price.
[CONCLUSIONS]:
I can not understand why the AKG K141Studio are so underrated (or not considered) by the head-fiers community, I've tried a lot of headphone and I found the K141Studio to be very good soundings headphones, also very well constructed and durable. And cheap, I've bought them new in a normal store, but you can find these cans at very low prices. It's a 1974 design, but they are still actual, with a warm, natural, fascinating sound. Consider these headphones!
If the K240 shares the same sound signature of the K141 with more open soundstage and highs (and more comfort) I think they are wonderfull... one day I must listen to the K240...
The K141 Studio are promoted on my Reference Setup.
Bye
Andrea
Hi everyone!
There's a new entry in my headphone collection... I've bought a "legendary" Akg K141, the Studio version, which is 55 ohm version of the classic K141 Monitor. In the past I've read very good things about this cans in magazines, so I've bought them for curiosity and even because I needed an "easy" headphone to plug in the keyboard or directly in the cd player. It had to be cheap, well constructed, durable and good sounding (warm, natural but also precise).
I've found the K141 almost perfect for what I want!
[CONSTRUCTION & COMFORT]:
the K141 Studio are very well engineered and builded, soon out of the box I was satisfied about my bought, these are very satisfying headphones at first touch (and also at second, third and all the others too).
They are sturdy, very good black plastic all around and gold metal for the semi-open (or semi closed
[THE SOUND!]:
So cheap and well constructed... but how do they sound? Surprisingly good!!! The first impression (very important I think) soon out of the box was of a warm natural, yet detailed sound. They are not "perfectly" balanced, but they are very musical and involving. Probably the bass is the best thing, very deep, punchy, yet sufficiently "warm" and "rounded". A little bump around 100 Hz helps the warm sound, but that's good. Mids are sufficiently liquid and natural, there's a warm tonality in all the sound which helps to music to express out of the headphone in a very emotional way. The mid-highs and highs can be a little recessed, but they are well extended and linear, so they are still musical and reavaling. Cymbals sounds very natural, so triangles. I've found the transients of string instruments (like harp and classic guitar) to be very well reproduced and analyzed by these legendary headphones. These are both warm, natural and detailed in a good way. The harmonic reconstruction is also good, the timbre of the acoustic instruments is very natural and pleasing. They sounds good with rock and similar, but it seems to me that they feel better when claimed to reproduce classical music: the orchestra is full and powerfull.
Ok, they are not the Sennheiser HD650, which are overall better (obviously?) but I feel the sound signature of the K141 to be very good for my tastes. I'm wondering what a K240 can do if properly amped and driven: I'm saying this because I've found that the K141 seems quite happy to sound directly from a simple headphone out, but when you can drive them with a good amplifier... it's another story, they are very sensible to amplification. My Rudistor Rp3 fits perfectly the sound of the K141: it's quick and compact in the bass region, and very clear and extended in the mid-highs and highs, so it make a very good combo with the K141. The Joe Average sound engineer has to try his over-used K141 with this amp...
The soundstage of the K141 are quite good, it' not very out of head, but seems big and natural, with a sufficient sense of depth, where all the instruments are well delineated on a black-brown background.
The sound is very satisfying but there's a quite clear defect (comparing them in absolute way to top-end cans), sometimes the sound does not "open" enough and remains somewhat compressed, yet natural and pleasing, but you feel you want more room for the air to vibrate.
Not a very defect for the price.
[CONCLUSIONS]:
I can not understand why the AKG K141Studio are so underrated (or not considered) by the head-fiers community, I've tried a lot of headphone and I found the K141Studio to be very good soundings headphones, also very well constructed and durable. And cheap, I've bought them new in a normal store, but you can find these cans at very low prices. It's a 1974 design, but they are still actual, with a warm, natural, fascinating sound. Consider these headphones!
If the K240 shares the same sound signature of the K141 with more open soundstage and highs (and more comfort) I think they are wonderfull... one day I must listen to the K240...
The K141 Studio are promoted on my Reference Setup.
Bye
Andrea
