Interesting, I liked them better than the AKG K371 in pretty much every aspect except subbass quantity.
However, itās 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 & canāt 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 Iām 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.
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 didnāt 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 Iād actually say the sub-bass sounds similar to the K371s. Since Iām 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.
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Has anyone tried closed backs from Focal that could compare to the K371s? Theyāre considerably more expensive, I feel like diminishing returns would hit pretty hard at that point.
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 saltā¦ we might have very different taste.
You didnāt 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.
I also read about the Fostex, but theyāre not easy to find in Germany. However, I read somewhere that the Creative Aurvana (SE) had the same driver technology, and I wasnāt 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 donāt want to go all the way to something like a Focal Celestee if half the price gets me 80% there.
You can get the Denons on Amazon germany for ~380ā¬ (warehouse deal).
Thatās 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, wasnāt happy.
Still burning them in and comparing to Sivga Phoenixā¦ so far Iām not impressed.
The Creative Aurvana might be worth a shot, however I would personally not expect too much from headphones <100ā¬ in terms of detail, soundstage and so on.
The Elegia you can sometimes find on the used market for 450 - 500ā¬ if lucky.
I keep hearing very good things about the iBasso SR2,
those are semi-open and around 500ā¬.
Thanks for the additional recommendations, Iāll 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.
Hey M0N, youāve 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
Hmmmm, before I say anything, what specifically are you looking for in another headphone?
Iām looking for a portable closed back headphones for commuting. Iām very sensitive to sibilance, prefer warmer sound and full rich vocals. I mainly listen to pop music.
Hmmmm. I probably wouldnāt suggest the 371 then imo, as it can emphasize sibilance and isnāt very full sounding for some vocals. It does do well with pop but I donāt know if itās what you would be looking for tbh
Any other suggestion then? Personally I like the sound of Dt177x but itās way too bulky to be portable
Used campfire cascade? To be honest I canāt think of many headphones in this range that I would really call all that portable that would fit this use case, but Iām somewhat out of touch with the more portable headphones at this point
Thanks for the recommendation, but unfortunately itās out of my budget. Donāt intend to spend so much on portable headphones for commute. Thanks anyway!
Actually would a focal listen pro be in budget? That might be a reasonable option
Yes but itās hard to get my hands on them to where I am, in Singapore. Let me go find out more! Really appreciate your sharing!
@Kate_Ang You can find used or refurbished Nad HP50s for ~100$ (full price might be 300$). Really smooth sound and full, natural-sounding mids. Nad is from Canada though, but even for 100$ + 50$ shipping you would not regret it (Iām very treble-sensitive too).
If you change the square-ish pads to standard pads, they also make excellent winter earmuffs 
(yeah, greetings from Canada lol).
Will go check this out too! Thanks for the recommendation!
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I actually personally prefer the K371 to the Elegia when I compared them. In terms of technical performance, Elegia is obviously better because of Focals driver design, but I prefer the tone of the K371. I just did not like sound signature that much on the Elegias, even with EQ. The K371 also isolates better and leaks sound less. Now I have yet to try the new Celestee, Iām hoping they did a better job with the tonality on that one and hopefully better isolation with the different pads.
Just sold my Tygr 300r for 200$(great for gaming suck for music IMO)
Bought the K371(90$)=for gaming,movies
Bought the 58X(130$)=For Music,i prefer these than my old 650 fite me lol
In some cases i prefer the 371 for music
Well for Edm, Hip hop,they still canāt replace my TR Ebony
Overall a very SOLID headphone that K371 for sure