# Akg k240 vs k271 vs k701?



## jc5 (Oct 4, 2007)

Probably asking a great deal.. but anyone have comparative experience of the three headphone models by AKG - K240, K271, and K701?

My old Sennheisers have developped an annoying buzzing in the left side, especially on bass frequencies, so the time has sadly come to move on..

What I've really had my eye on is an Ultrasone Proline 750... but this exceeds present budgetary concerns...

I've been thinking of an AKG set - the K240 is something I wouldn't mind having around seeing as its such a standard - it can't hurt to have a pair to hear things as so many others do. This and the fact that these are pro phones that can be had for pretty reasonable prices these days (also applies to the K271) make them a prime contender.

Then the K271 came to my attention... unlike my old Senns and the K240, this is a closed set - considering I have to deal with computer noises around me the extra isolation could be a welcome bonus. They are also highly rated - I wonder how different in sound they are from the 240 apart from being closed phones?

The final contender... is really pushing the budget boundary.. and kind of casts to the wind my idea of having a reference set of 240s in the studio..  but I've heard such good things about them that I can't help but throw them into the balance for discussion's sake. The much vaunted K701.. in the end I want the best set of phones, not just some studio 'trophy' so the pondering continues..

The uses the phones will be used for - just about everything.. monitoring while composing, but also mixing and mastering (yes.. I know... horrendous room accoustics though, and my strange work hours don't help either.. heh). Mostly orchestral music, mostly sampled, some recorded stuff.

All opinions valued and appreciated.


----------



## Synesthesia (Oct 5, 2007)

jc5 @ Fri Oct 05 said:


> but I've heard such good things about them that I can't help but throw them into the balance for discussion's sake. The much vaunted K701.. in the end I want the best set of phones, not just some studio 'trophy' so the pondering continues..
> 
> The uses the phones will be used for - just about everything.. monitoring while composing, but also mixing and mastering (yes.. I know... horrendous room accoustics though, and my strange work hours don't help either.. heh). Mostly orchestral music, mostly sampled, some recorded stuff.
> 
> All opinions valued and appreciated.



I have the 701s, but I dont have comparitive experience with the others. They were my choice as they are far more comfortable than any other cans I tried, they compare well in terms of tonal balance to my monitors (Genelec 1031a) and they have nice high end, not too harsh, nice and open sound.

If I had one tiny criticism it would be that they sound *too* nice - I always have to check my mixes on some worse cans to make sure they aren't too flattered..

But, if I could only pick one pair, I'd have the 701s every time.

Hope that helps,

Cheers

Paul


----------



## José Herring (Oct 5, 2007)

I have the K240's. I agree with Synthetic. You have to be really careful about mixing on them. It works on low levels but higher levels are very inaccurate. 

Jose


----------



## Frederick Russ (Oct 6, 2007)

701s here. I love these things - they're great, sound great and to me, are suitable for some mixing when it gets too late - although I always check those mixes with a good pair of monitors later. Also, the K701s are very comfortable. At moderate volumes they're surprisingly accurate against what I'm hearing with my monitors. 

Acid test: I tried mixing exclusively with the 701s once to really see how accurate they are and the mix ended up translating well in my car. Not something I would do all the time but it was an interesting experiment which to my delight surprised me with decent results. 

The 701s are also fantastic for wave and sample editing work as well as sound design. There is an open-ness to the sound dimensionally and when the bass thumps for example, you almost feel it like the real deal. Audiophile listening is a treat too - symphonic pieces open up and you can hear a lot of spatial detail and instrument placement other headphones seem to miss. (This one trait is extremely important when placing symphonic instruments in your mix using panning and convolution early/loose/late reflections - if the instruments are not placed well you'll hear it. This particular trait is what sold me on the K701s.) They're excellent on the small details and are also quite good at letting you know when things are too harsh (EQ, Compression, Exciting, Reverbs, etc) - they're forgiving to a point but for headphones these things are fantastic and I would not hesitate to recommend them.

edit: you won't be able to record miked instruments with these on because of the mic bleed. You'll need a closed design for that.


----------



## jc5 (Oct 6, 2007)

Thanks for chiming in everyone.  

Seems like I'll shelve the k240 plan seeing as they aren't ideal for mixing.

The K271s continue to appeal to me with their isolation and flatter response..

Though the K701s get such raves... and all the things Frederick has listed above are very appealing characteristics indeed, that are right up my alley in terms of what I'm looking for.

Can anyone comment on how well the k271s do in terms of spatial depth and stereo placement? Particularly compared to the 701s?
Good detailing is important.. and could outweigh isolation.. though isolation isn't something I want to sacrifice either... hmmm... so many options


----------



## Frederick Russ (Oct 7, 2007)

For sealed headphones, here's a pretty fair and candid review of the K271:

http://www.dansdata.com/k271.htm

Be sure to check out his review of the Beyerdynamic DT-250:

http://www.dansdata.com/dt250.htm

Happy hunting.


----------



## PolarBear (Oct 7, 2007)

jc5 @ Fri Oct 05 said:


> My old Sennheisers have developped an annoying buzzing in the left side, especially on bass frequencies, so the time has sadly come to move on..



I know that, it sounds like your connector cable for the Senn's is broken. You might try to switch left and right at the headphone plugs. Do this by plugging the right side R (red cable connector?) into the L marked side of the headphones or vice versa, don't remember the color codes. If the buzzing goes to the right side it's not the headphones but only the cables. It's annoying as hell nevertheless, because they sell the piece of cable per 21,90 Euro, which is a ripoff IMHO. But they make all their models with proprietary connectors... It already happened twice to me and my HD580s, one time because I accidently stepped on the cable before once. Still love 'em tho the wornout ear-pads are going to be another investment this year, hehe.

Anyway, just wanted to let you know this, can't help you much about AKG tho... yet another tip: www.head-fi.org those guys are nuts about headphones and if you don't find your answer there you won't find it elsewhere, too 

All the best,
PolarBear


----------



## jc5 (Nov 6, 2007)

Just dropping a concluding note to this thread (albeit nearly a month later.. how time flies  ), to share my own experience with others who might be in the market.

I ended up opting for the K271, and after having them for a bit more than a week can say that I am very pleased with them. The isolation really is quite impressive - it still amazes me each time. With three computers running within arms reach of me, slipping these on feels like I just walked down the hall - it just cuts the noise down that much. Detailed and accurate sound throughout the range, with a very tight bass response and clean and silky mids and highs. The fact that these can double as studio recording phones is a big bonus as well. They have been remarkably revealing for balance and mix issues as well.

The Beyer and AKG 701s were also very tempting.. and I may opt for the latter at some point for 'pleasure' listening (or work in a quieter environment - if that ever happens, heh), but I dare say I'll be using my K271s for a long time to come.

PS.
Polarbear - thanks for chiming in regarding the cable problem. I haven't looked into it yet, but I'll give it a shot as my old Senns would still be worth keeping around if they could be salvaged.


----------



## synergy543 (Nov 7, 2007)

deleted


----------



## Nick Batzdorf (Nov 7, 2007)

Hang on...the K240s are open-ear? The ones I have are definitely over-the-ear "cans," the ones used in all studios since the '70s.

I'm not in love with them, but one thing they're good for is checking bass if you're mixing on NFMs that don't go much below 60Hz. Piano hammer thuds, vocal pops, etc. are at 55Hz or so, and a lot of little speakers miss those.

Just be sure you have a hefty headphone amp, because they're 600 Ohm.

Note that I'm talking about the AKG K240m to be exact - what they're selling now may be different. I got my two pairs 15 years ago.


----------



## nomogo (Nov 7, 2007)

Hi Nick and everyone else,

Do you have any recommendations for a headphone amp? Seems like the Grace is pretty standard but a bit pricey for me, anything else out there worth looking at? I'm using Sennheiser HD-580's and my 2408 is a little low through the heaphone output. Thanks!

-JK


----------



## Nick Batzdorf (Nov 8, 2007)

Ah, got it.


----------

