🔷 AKG K371

[Sun]

Uh I think so that’s why I came here I might find something

[LeDechaine]

Sennheiser HD280 Pros (100$?): The new version of these apparently got decent soundstage (warning: the old version doesn’t – no soundstage at all).

Fostex T50RPs (160$?) got decent soundstage too. If you don’t like treble, you’ll need to mod em. Shure 840 pads (10-15$) are mandatory for these, imo. Everyone mods these.

Nad HP50s (100$). Nad will talk about their “room feel” technology but if you really want soundstage, these pads will really help. Yes, HP50s are 300$+ MSRP. They’re also very detailed. They’re also often available for 100$, which is a steal, really.

And, yeah, pads. Most of the time, adding big thicc pads to your headphones, angled or not, will add soundstage. Sometimes 10$ earpads are all you need.

[oso]

Hi everyone, I’d like to see if I can get some opinions from people who have heard these AKGs. While I can’t describe sound signatures very well, this is how I “feel” about the headphones I own:

• AKG K371: kind of refreshing, like having a mint, sort of cold but crystalline. Tasty sub-bass rumble and nice vocals. More narrow soundstage. I wanna say good layering.
• Beyerdynamic TYGR: more relaxed, good bass extension but somewhat muddy, specially with some types of electric guitar effects. Wider. Good overall, if a bit uninteresting at times.
• Hifiman Sundara: very natural, makes me feel certain tones are very sweet and smooth. Ok bass. I’d say balanced.

(I also owned the Fidelio X2HRs but found them to be too bassy)

I just got the Sundara a few days ago because I wanted to listen to a planar headphone, and while I do like them, I feel like I may be better off with something else, mainly because of sub-bass. The K371s have a very tasty sub-bass response, in my opinion. I like the K371’s sound signature in general, although not all the time, but the sub-bass in particular is really good. I would like something with a bit more soundstage, which is why I was looking at open back headphones, but I suspect I won’t be able to get that sub-bass rumble in an open back.

Is there something like the K371s but a bit more natural/laid back and wider (closed or open)? Again, I’d be particularly interested in sub-bass, which I’d say is not the same as emphasized bass. I wouldn’t mind keeping the nice vocals. I’m in Europe and I’d prefer staying under 500 EUR or around that ballpark.

[schmu]

@oso

Is there something like the K371s but a bit more natural/laid back and wider? Again, I’d be particularly interested in sub-bass, which I’d say is not the same as emphasized bass. I wouldn’t mind keeping the nice vocals. I’m in Europe and I’d prefer staying under 500 EUR or around that ballpark.

I was in a very very similar position. Loved the K371, but they felt a tiny bit “metallic” at times.
X2HR was a bit muddy and the highs are fatiguing to me.

Sivga Phoenix was my answer to that. Found them used for 180€, which is pretty good.
A bit more soundstage, less aggressive, still detailed, still fast, good subbass, good imaging, not muddy, not fatiguing. I’d say they are balanced & chill in tonality.
It’s semi-open back with surprisingly good amount of impact.
They are not suited for people with big heads tho - for me they are perfect.
However, there’s a specific almost physical subbass pressure that feels quite unique to the AKG K371.
And I doubt that open/semi-open headphones can produce this as good.
It’s a bit of a compromise in the end. I did sell my K371, X2HR & others after listening to the Phoenix tho.

If you want to spend more money to get a more refined headphone, the iBasso SR2 could be your thing.
Probably a bit less bass emphasis, but as far as reviews go - better in most aspects.

edit: what amp do you use for the Sundaras?

[oso]

Thanks, I’ll have a look. I also feel I should try closed back. I do like the Sundaras, and maybe the Sivga Phoenix is similar, but I feel there may be something I like more.

I have a Topping E30 and a JDS Labs Atom.

[schmu]

@oso

but I feel there may be something I like more.

maybe… probably… hard to tell on forums
I leave a review for the Phoenix, just in case.

Sivga Phoenix

Just for the sake of it, I’ll post my full review here too: [image] Sivga is no stranger to make good headphones at a great value, and they did not break that tradition with the brand new Phoenix. With the more-mainstream success of their planar-magnetic P-II, Sivga is surely building a name for themselves. I am really hoping to see this company enter the mainstream market. Being a company that is dedicated to details and high quality products (no matter the budget), it was nice to see that t…

[oso]

Interesting, I can certainly give them a try and return the Sundaras if I like them better. Thanks.

[oso]

In case it helps someone else, I did get the Sivga Phoenix to compare, but I won’t be keeping them. They definitely have a bass emphasis, but not so much sub-bass, and the bass sounds too bloated to me, it bleeds too much into the rest. They also felt shouty, like some notes would be very piercing. Even after a heavy EQ, the tonality just didn’t seem right to me, and I’m not sure they’d be much better than the TYGRs.

I think I’ll keep the Sundaras for now and sell the TYGRs. I’ll explore some other closed backs in the future.

[schmu]

Interesting, I liked them better than the AKG K371 in pretty much every aspect except subbass quantity.
However, it’s hard to beat a closed back with a semi open in terms of bass pressure.
Alot of people claim, that the Phoenix benefit from burn in, but I got them second hand & can’t confirm. How long did you try them?
We must have very different ears, since the AKG felt more shouty and harsh to me than the Phoenix.
Also never found the Phoenix to be piercing and I’m pretty sensitive to sibilance.
Well, hope you find something nice at some point.
Let us know if u do!
The Sundaras are a heavyweight for their price tho.

[oso]

I suppose it also depends on the kind of music one listens to, but without EQ, the Phoenix was just too imbalanced for me. I let them burn in for effectively 1-2 days (left them playing without actively listening), but I didn’t really perceive a noticeable difference afterwards.

As a side note, I found some EQ presets on reddit for the K371s and the Sundaras. I really like them both, although I further adjusted the latter a bit. The bass response of the Sundaras seems much more fun with it, to the point where I’d actually say the sub-bass sounds similar to the K371s. Since I’m not planning on taking open backs on the go, using EQ is fine by me. The K371s sound more natural/relaxed with the preset, although it takes away some of the crystalline sounds IMO, I might also try to tweak it a bit.

[oso]

Has anyone tried closed backs from Focal that could compare to the K371s? They’re considerably more expensive, I feel like diminishing returns would hit pretty hard at that point.

[schmu]

Pretty sure the Focal Elegia & Fostex cans like TH-X00, 610, Denons are a noticable step up coming from the K371. I think diminishing returns starts a bit later when you compare good 300$ headphones with 500-600$ models.

But take it with a grain of salt… we might have very different taste.
You didn’t like the Phoenix and I prefer them over the K371 any day.
Also prefer them over the Denon AH-D5200 so far and those are twice the price.

[oso]

I also read about the Fostex, but they’re not easy to find in Germany. However, I read somewhere that the Creative Aurvana (SE) had the same driver technology, and I wasn’t a fan of that model either.

Denons might be more readily available, might be worth a try, although I think the different models in the AH-D* line have considerably different tunings?

I just don’t want to go all the way to something like a Focal Celestee if half the price gets me 80% there.

[schmu]

You can get the Denons on Amazon germany for ~380€ (warehouse deal).
That’s what I did to make sure that I can easily return them.
The AH-D5200 is considered to have good tuning,
but in terms of technicalities the 7200 & 9200 are better.
Comfort tho I dunno, wasn’t happy.
Still burning them in and comparing to Sivga Phoenix… so far I’m not impressed.
The Creative Aurvana might be worth a shot, however I would personally not expect too much from headphones <100€ in terms of detail, soundstage and so on.
The Elegia you can sometimes find on the used market for 450 - 500€ if lucky.

I keep hearing very good things about the iBasso SR2,
those are semi-open and around 500€.

[oso]

Thanks for the additional recommendations, I’ll check them out. Though not perfect, this demo does make me less interested in the AH-D5200. The iBasso SR2 seems interesting, although harder to find (at that price) at the moment.

[Kate_Ang]

Hey M0N, you’ve tried the 1more triple driver over ear as well right? Do you mind doing a quick comparison of these with the triple driver over ear? I own the 1more, not sure if I want to pick up K371 too

[M0N]

Hmmmm, before I say anything, what specifically are you looking for in another headphone?

[Kate_Ang]

I’m looking for a portable closed back headphones for commuting. I’m very sensitive to sibilance, prefer warmer sound and full rich vocals. I mainly listen to pop music.

[M0N]

@Kate_Ang

I’m very sensitive to sibilance, prefer warmer sound and full rich vocals. I mainly listen to pop music.

Hmmmm. I probably wouldn’t suggest the 371 then imo, as it can emphasize sibilance and isn’t very full sounding for some vocals. It does do well with pop but I don’t know if it’s what you would be looking for tbh

[Kate_Ang]

Any other suggestion then? Personally I like the sound of Dt177x but it’s way too bulky to be portable