Hi from France and Thanks for your job review on all this different Headphones. I have actually the AKG 702 since 5 years - really comfortable and sound good for mix and master but a little too neutral and no much bass . I 'm looking for an ''associate headphone'' for complete my mix and why not , just for listening pleasure (in option) ;) Since 2 weeks, i shake again and again some reviews for make a choice between DT 770 Pro 80 / AKG K361 (not the K371) . and the Sennheiser HD 25 (yeah the hd 25 never die ;) ) but i have really not the possibility to test them IRL . I know the HD25 have a really percusif good good sound but comfort looks not really good sadly ( strong pressure and i have glasses :) The DT770 pro 80 ( I saw your really nice review too , thanks ) is a big standard but , yeah i am not really convinced about his (no)neutral way for the bass and High frequency . Comfort yess but ... and this beautiful AKG 361 The sound of K371 seems have a colour sound to much present and The K361 Yess really not expensive but , this one seems have a good neutral and look objective for mixing and just hi-fi pleasure no ? minimum good comfort too and bass quiet good present . Just right . I really don't know make a choice. Perhaps you have some more backup and advice for my case please ;) Sorry it's long Thank you Very much Dude
Thanks and glad to help out! Headphones are a tough decision when you can't always try them out. Hopefully my approach provides some idea of what tone and performance you might expect.
@@askdrtk Actually, I just ordered a pair of these after watching your review. I couldn't try them in person but you have helped tremediously. I'll use them for recording and mixing for my own bands, casual listening to music at home, watching movies and for some gaming, as it really seems like a swiss army knife for all sorts of audio related stuff.
Great choice as an all around set!. The K361 offers great value in performance vs price. Hope you enjoy your new headphones and best of luck with your bands!
Definitely I great idea! I was thinking of doing a few comparisons of popular headphones, but I like the idea of a place to goto for comparisons - added this to my list...
Really accurate and comprehensive review, it´s nice to see this level of quality with no overreactions nor paid publicity, thank you for your dedicated job. I curretly do have these headphones but when using them for extended periods of time got trouble on my upper head, could this be because i don´t adjust them properly or would the AKG K240 MKII more comfortable? thanks beforehand
Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed my review. Fit and comfort are a challenge since it is a combination of headphone weight, clamping force, travel, space, padding, and of course our own ear, head size, and sensitivity to pressure. I will say that lightweight designs like the K240 often have an advantage, but some find the lack of padding on their canopy design puts pressure on the top of the head after a few hours of listening. Headphones with more clamping force will often reduce pressure on top of the head but can be an issue if the user is sensitive to pressure on the sides, particularly for those wearing glasses. You could try positioning the headband further back on head as many users are often more sensitive to pressure placed in a more forward position atop the head. I know this isn't one specific answer, but I hope it helps out!
@@askdrtk Thank you very much wfor your thorough answer, will first try then adjusting the headband . I do indeed have a big head hahaha. Nonetheless, would you please recommend me 3 headphones for less than 200 usd that you think are the most comfortable?( or if any a little higher has some spectacular comfort) . Wishing you a great day and a happy Friday!
@@askdrtk I can see by your analysis here that they will be less fun. But they will serve the purpose way better if paired with a more standard set of headphones to check the final mix on regular gear. I think these would provide to be a lot more useful to people mixing vocals and especially mixing vocals into music. With the Rode headphones i found that my voice was getting pretty lost on the mix when i was testing what i would sound like if i had game sound or music playing in the background.
That's what I found and I'm glad it translated in the reviews. It's always better if each track, vocals, music, and game audio are well represented in your headphones while mixing to optimize translation and it makes setting up ducking far more accurate as well. For me it's always interesting to think about how audio will be heard so differently across the various gear viewers / listeners are using whether it be livestream / YT audio or music streaming services.
@@askdrtk Yes exactly. I guess thats why its good to test a final mix on many different sources. Even crappy ones. So the AKGs arrived today. Not exciting. No shouting at me that they are on my head. Just a very plain sounding headphone. Just what i needed :D. I did a slight EQ to bring down 2k a tiny bit and boosted the lower bass ever so slightly and now they are sounding very natural.
One thing i noticed about your testing tho is that its primarily showing the frequencies above 1k in detail? Reading the Hz numbers at the bottom. Or is that to be ignored?
Hai thanks for this awesome review, I would like to ask your opinion for my first headphone which would you prefer with this same price? i have some of the options like, AKG K361, Shure SRH440a, Sony MDR-7506, and Audio Technica M50x or (if you have any other recommendation please help me out), what do you think is the best for video editing, dialog editing, or even a mixing so what do you think?
Just got mine. Planning to return them. I have a relatively small head and the sound leak really makes the aydio sound awful. Anyway, nice review! Most objective headphone review I’ve seen. Hope more people find your channel, man. Cheers!
Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed my review. I find headphones to be one of the most difficult purchases to make without trying them first, so my goal is to provide as much of a reference point as I can. I have to say, for all the hype there has been around these headphones, I hear a lot of feedback about them being “underwhelming.”
@@askdrtkperhaps another reason why I’m unsatisfied is that I’m comparing them with my Fidelio X2HR, which has a V-shaped signature. I just want to buy closed-back headphones that i can use in the office. Could you recommend any closed-backs that have good bass but still have good clarity and sound stage? I’m thinking about getting a pair of sivga robins
The sigvas are a great choice as they provide some of the best imaging / soundstage in a closed back design without spending a lot more. A couple of less expensive options include the m50x and dt 770 pro 80ohm (not 32 or 250 ohm). Both will provide a v-shaped sound profile without completely burying the mids, but neither has the imaging / soundstage performance of the sigvas.
I agree. I found AKG spent all the money on sound with the 361s and not much on durability. That may not be so bad for listeners learning their first set of studio headphones, but for heavy use I believe an upgrade would be needed soon.
Very nice review! I would like to ask your opinion if you think the K361 is better than the M40X sound-wise , which would you prefer in that category? If you have any favorite headphone right around the same price which would you recommend the most? I own the M40X myself for music production and was hoping to buy a 2nd headphone for monitoring/referencing. I also heard about the DT770 Pro (80 Ohm) is pretty nice but what do you think?
For me, the m40x are superior to the K361. Among other headphones (and monitors), once complete, I check all my mixes with the m40x as a find mixes that sound balanced on them translate well to a broad range of playback devices. The K361s have something just not quite right going on in the lower mids to my ears (of course the physics of our ears dictate that everyone will hear them somewhat differently). DT 770 Pro remains a solid choice (I have the 32 and 250 ohm models) and I have heard good things about the 80 ohm version. Another option to consider for monitoring/referencing are the MDR-7506. They have good sound isolation and are not forgiving when something is off in a mix. They are not "pleasing" to listen to imo, but that is the point. If you can get things right with the 7506, it will translate well. Spending a bit more, the Shure SRH1540 are an outstanding option imo (I recently reviewed the 1840 open-back model and will be posting a review of the 1540 soon). Clear and detailed across a wide frequency range, superior imaging and soundstage that rivals many open-back designs, very comfortable, and great build quality, are a few reasons to consider stepping up to the srh-1540. I hope this helps out!
What a nice review! Thank you for your review. I have a question. I would like to get these headphones as a normal user. So I will not do mixing, mastering etc. I just want to listen to better quality music than the bass-choked headphones on the market. I have tried Sony XM3 and XB900 before. I returned it because it had excessive bass sounds. (It's like a one-note bass. There was also no decoupling between bases.) But I want also use them (K361) outside the home (such as library). So I don't have a dac. Is the mobile phone or laptop enough to power these headphones? Do you think it's a reasonable choice? (My ability to hear English is not very good. So if you mentioned these questions in the video and I didn't understand them, I'm so sorry)
Thanks! The K361 headphones do not have that bass-choked sound and will provide a more natural reproduction of your music / spoken word. Another great choice for natural sounding headphones in this price range is the Audio Technica m40x. Both will work fine with a phone or laptop and fold up for travel. If you listen for extended periods of time, you may find the K361 ear pads to be more comfortable as they provide more space for your ears. Hope this helps out.
I enjoyed my Sony MDR-XB700 very much for music and general listening. Much bass, of course, but, to me, so pleasing sound, including the bass. And wearing comfort was unbelievable. Unfortunately their earpads started peeling off after the years and replacements don't exist. I switched to DT770 Pro 80 Ohm and I can't say I find their sound better, I'd say a notch less satisfying, but after long accustoming to, it's ok.
My pleasure. For mixing, of those two options I would choose the M40x as they are one of the most honest accurate headphones in this price range. I generally mix on my Genelec 8040B monitors and use HD600, DT1990, M40x (+ M50x for bass heavy content), and a couple of other stereos to check the mix. I've also been experimenting with Waves Nx Germano and M50x - really interesting for comparison. I try not to master my own mixes, but when I occasionally need to or am mastering for someone else, I again use my Genelecs and mainly HD600s (and then test on a number of speakers / headphones), but that said, the M40x offer outstanding accuracy at the price range. You absolutely can produce very good mixes and masters with the M40x - great value that doesn't get enough attention imo. Hope this helps out!
@@askdrtk thank you for answering my question and giving your recommendations and details, it really means a lot. unfortunately the m40x are double the price of k361 in my country, so I had to buy the k361 (I was considering m30x as an option, but some reviews made me chose k361) I'm not very good with audio and I was using a Superlux HD681 EVO, so I hope the k361 can be an improvement when I'm mixing. Again, thanks for your video and message!
Glad to help! At half the price or the M40x, the K361 are an incredible value and are more accurate vs the M30x. I'm certain you will be happy with your choice - great upgrade from your EVOs!
This is probably a dumb question. But what is the meaning or difference between the Linear Analysis vs. the Log Analysis? I'm sure you have explained this before. If you have a link that explains it, I can reference that as well - instead of you re-writing an explanation. Either way...., great work with these videos.
Great question! Without getting into the weeds, the two scales present the frequency spectrum with differing emphasis on low/high frequencies. Log is used to provide a good approximation of the way we perceive sound while linear is useful for the expanded resolution to evaluate higher frequencies. Hope this helps out!
Hello and great question! Both the Bluetooth and standard versions use the same drivers, housing, and ear pads, however they will sound different since adding the Bluetooth components within the housing affects the tuning. I haven't done detailed tests on the Bluetooth model, however I suspect that as AKG created the optimal tuning profile for these headphones based upon the standard design, and so the tuning on the Bluetooth model may not be optimal. Again, I am speculating here as I haven't tested for a difference, but this has been the case with other headphones. The best analogy I can think of is placing the same speaker drivers in different cabinets, or even the same cabinet with different internal baffles/insulation, results in very different sound. I hope this helps out!
If you are looking for a set of headphones that are a good all-around choice for gaming, music, or podcasts, these would be a good choice. Especially if you take advantage of Atmos, DTX, or SteelSeries Sonar (free) for improved spatial awareness while gaming. The only downside is that they can become a bit warm around the ears if you like to game for 3+ hour sessions. Beyerdynamic DT770 pros (a bit more expensive) are also a good choice for a multi-purpose application and have the advantage of remaining cooler during long sessions imo. If you are looking for a gaming-only solution, the EPOS H3 (headset) is a great value. Hope this helps out!
Ok, I bought this ones and will come next week, this are gonna be my first "real" headphones after using $15 crappy headphones all my life. edit: omg they are fucking amazing lol, the only bad thing is the "locked" cable honestly
The M40x will deliver more detail which is very helpful for solos (rehearsal and recording). They also provide decent isolation which is nice if you like to do a lot of overdubs. The 361s tend to underemphasize some of the range guitars sit in which can have you guessing about your technique for no reason. Not saying the 361s aren't good cans, but for metal guitar, I'm comfortable recommending the M40x.
@@askdrtk I appreciate a lot sir! Watched all the videos. It was very helpful. I tried based on your suggestion but while m40x is great in terms of sound it is highly uncomfortable for me. I think it squeezes my head too much. I am unsure whether a pad replacement can fix that ? At the moment, I have K361 and M40X are lying in front of me in the music shop so thats why I was confused.
Another great option would be the Sennheiser HD280 Pro. Less clamping force and good detail for guitar. Some guitarists like the Sony MDR 7506, but for my ears they are too forward (over boosted) in the mids for metal guitar...fatiguing after a short time. Switch to velour pads on the 40x is another option and their are quite a number that have some memory foam.
Even with using EQ, the Q30 tend to sound scooped and have over emphasized bass. This is fine if you are using them for casual listening and like bass. The issue with bringing up the mids with EQ on them is a lack of clarity compared to the K361, whereas the K361 will not deliver the same performance for bass frequencies as the Q30 even with EQ. FOor casual listening, I recommend choosing headphones that sound as close to your tone preference as possible without EQ, that way you can "perfect" the tone to your liking vs using EQ to correct for a tone that doesn't suit your listening as performance, and in particular clarity and dynamic performance will generally be superior. For critical listening, the K361s are more accurate and it will be easier to produce mixes that translate well on other playback devices. Hope this helps out!
The K553 MKii are more accurate in the mids and their overall profile is closer to the Harman curve. I would say the 553 provide a superior reference for mixing and mastering.
Yes, the tone profile is suitable for general listening depending on preference, and while not the ultimate mixing headphone, they perform better and are reasonably accurate in this price range. I am glad the tone translated well on RU-vid.
For me personally, M50x. The AT's have a stronger build quality and have proven to be durable long-term in studio use. The sound profile of each is different, so that will come down to preference. I also have a review of the M50x up, so you can compare the sound profile if you are interested.
@AKG I bought the AKG #K371 headsets and they are garbage. I rarely used these headphones, and after about two years - the ear pads are falling off and the headband is shredding as if I've taken them to war. I have the Audio Technica R70 and those things are a beast. I have had them for at least 4 years and they still look brand new as a testament to how well I take care of my gear. Really disappointed #AKG
Durability is a big issue with 361/371... I really like the R70, I've had them in my testing rotation for about a year and will be posting my review soon. (mine also look brand new - very good build quality). Cheers!
