AKGPro Audio K371 Wired Over-Ear, Closed-Back, Foldable Professional Recording Studio Headphones, Studio Monitor Mixing, Podcast, DJ Stereo Headsets, Black

Judging by the majority of audiophile reviews of these on YouTube, these are well tuned, reasonably "detailed" with very average for the price "technicalities", mediocre build pair of headphones.I disagree. First, materials are awesome - great plastics, great headband, very hygienic, 7/10 comfortable.Pads are almost great - they lack like maybe a couple of millimeters of depth for my ears, though they're sewed smartly, and plush, and easy to clean.The adjustment and folding mechanism looks junky on videos, while in the real life it's sturdy, clicks are very precise, controllable, the joint seems sturdy.And these are very, very compact when folded - I carry them in my fanny pack, this is ridiculously convenient for a full size headphones.Cables suck, all three of them, they're like kings of microphonic effect, you need a replacement. Btw, choose Hart Audio cables, they're awesome.If it's hot, you need an AC in the room, since in 2-3 hours K371 will become hot and sweaty. Plus, since they slightly touch my pinna, I can wear them like 4 hours tops.And no amp is needed, you can drive them out your finger probably.Sound isolation is mediocre - I found it worse compared to Elegia and DT770.Ok, now sound.Out of the box AKG K371 sucks. Like a lot. It's like really bad. It's dry. It's low bass. It's shouty. It doesn't make any sense at all.But give them time. I don't know if that's pads burn-in, your brain's burn-in or driver burn-in and it doesn't matter actually. The fact it - that you need to run them on your head for quite a while to get to the point when they start to sound good.And OMG they change. I do have DCA AEON Open Flow RT, DT770 250Om and Focal Elegia, plus I have experience with many other cans and iems in very different pricing brackets.AKG K371 shocked me. I couldn't believe my ears.They're very balanced overall, mids are tight, natural, vocals are distinct, natural and well placed - not too far, not too "intimate".Brass instruments and electric guitars got some very pleasant bite.Bass is just how I like it - it's neutral. And yes, there is a very, very notable rise in sub-bass, but that's really much closer to how speakers sound in real life.Highs do not attract much of my attention, they're balanced. You can hear hits on hi-hats, you can hear a pretty ok decay on cymbals, there is nothing bothering me at any volume level (I'm looking at you, almost every other headphone I've heard).They're reasonably wide, way outside your head and there is a perceived soundstage depth, not to Elegia's level, but K371 is not flat at all in this department. Just place them kind of slightly forward on your ear and you're fine.Regarding the detail - I don't know, really. I don't feel that my planars or Elegia, both EQed to Harman and non EQed, are like more or less "detailed". I'd say I stopped listening my DCA AFO RT, that's for sure and I LOVED that headphone. Now AKG spoiled them for me and just can't.Elegia is still a thing of it's own and makes a lot of sense compared to AKG still. Elegia is the punchiest headphone I heard ever, it's textured and "physical" and no one else is close (I never auditioned 900MK2 or first gen HE-6). K371 is not flat, they're also reasonably textured, and that bite on brass is not available on Elegia, not to speak of light weight and portability of AKG. And the price.AKG K371 is better that Beyerdynamic DT770 250OM in almost every aspect. DT770 still got a ton of spare parts, a bigger comfy earcup and the stock cable is significantly better.I apply Oratory 1990 EQ to K371, but only up from 1KHz, changes are minor, but improvement is noticeable.With no EQ they actually do not sound "close" and with Oratory's EQ up from 1KHz they disappear slightly more. I know, right? No one was telling me that in any review.To sum it up. AKG K371 broke my 15+ years of audiophile experience. I'm puzzled, pleasantly surprised and don't know what to think.It looks as neutral FR is almost everything, with some place for speculation in punchiness and soundstage topics.I don't know. Like, buy these, try them out, give them time, be open minded, don't listen to overs, don't look at the price, be ready to change your opinion and accept that your previous experiences, opinions and spending stopped making any sense.I had a dream, that a perfect sound will become available to anyone sometime far in the future, but apparently that future is now.

Where do I even start with the AKG K371. When you listen to these, it's like everything disappears, leaving nothing between you and the music. It's arguably the best closed back headphone that you can easily drive with mobile devices, like cell phones. The only closed-backs (headphones that don't leak sound everywhere) that are a significant improvement start at around 900 dollars, and you can only get the most out of them with a bulky amp, which cost a few hundred. For most people, this is as good as you'll ever need. And once you consider the price of around 150 dollars, it's arguably the best overall.Now the sound. Oh lord the sound. These are quite frankly, beyond words to describe. If you're going from crappy earbuds or even mid tier headphones like the ATH-M50, it feels like listening to your songs for the first time all over again. It feels like there's nothing between you and the music. As for the actual sound signature, it's one of the best tuned headphones period. The slight bump in the sub-bass adds a subtle but fun kick. The bass is impressively detailed and controlled. The mids are well balanced without being reduced into the shadow realm. And finally, the treble is detailed and fun but without being too bright. Overall, it's very detailed and the tuning is to die for. Soundstage is rather impressive, and although it's not quite the best in that regard, it's nonetheless great. Noise isolation is okay, not great but "good enough". Imaging (left-right differentiation) is very solid.These headphones excel at pretty much whatever you throw at them. I listened to a mix of Pop, Hip-hop, classic rock, metal, classical, electronic, jazz, synth, you name it. It's not just a jack of all trades, it masters then all. Gaming with these is also pleasant. I played Minecraft and Team Fortress 2 with these, and you have a pretty easy time discerning the direction of in-game sounds.Finally we get to the overall physical build of the headphones. This is where the only real flaws show up. Some people online reported QC issues, but they seem to be resolved at this point, and indeed my pair is fine. The top of the headband has some soft plastic imitating leather. This is actually a good thing, since it feels like it probably won't start flaking off in a few years. The inside of the headband is some sort of padded silicone material, which should make it real easy to clean. The headband adjustment mechanism is odd. It combines the function of adjusting the headband and letting the earcups rotate inward for storage. It's a little more loose that I'd like, making it hard to get an exact position while holding it, but it holds in place flawlessly once on your head. Fortunately, there's an easily accessible screw once you remove a soft pad on the inside of the pivot, so tightening the whole thing is no problem. the bottom part of this mechanism is made of metal. The earcups are hit and miss. They're comfy leather, but can have trouble sealing, especially with glasses. Furthermore, AKG does not seem to offer replacements on their website. I've found that Shure SRH1540 earpads function as a suitable replacement, albeit an expensive one. But I could not perceive any difference in sound between different earpads, other than an improved seal using the Shure earpads. The included accessories are nice, including the drawstring carrying bag. The cable is slightly microphonic (noise gets transmitted through the cable when you touch it), but you don't notice it at all with music. The cables themselves though (you get three, none with mic, just a 1m, 3m, and coiled cable, with a screw-on 3.5mm to 1/4in adapter. Having detachable cables is a very nice touch.So despite all the minor issues with the build, you might wonder why I'm still rating it 5 stars. Well, it's because they just sound that good. I couldn't recommend these enough. And for 150 dollars, it's a no-brainer.