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Topic: AKG K271 MKII (Read 5633 times) previous topic - next topic
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AKG K271 MKII

Hi
Ok this is a real thicko question to you audiophiles I'm sure. But I'm about to receive a pair of AKG K271 MKII's. My first decent headphones ever. I'm currently using AKG K514's. How much of a difference will they make to an untrained set of ears like mine, compared with the AKG K514's.  Will it be a massive thing or will I not notice that much? I'm using them with my PC with the onboard sound on an Asus P5Q-E and The Windows 7 drivers(if that makes a difference). If I had a sub £50 sound card or one of those dac things or headphone amps would it make a big difference in this set up?

Also how easy is it to disable the automute permanently? Anyone done it?


AKG K514 Specs
http://www.akg.com/personal/K_514,pcatid,4...show,specs.html

AKG K271 MKII Specs
http://www.akg.com/site/products/powerslav...view,specs.html

Thanks very much

AKG K271 MKII

Reply #1 –
It's difficult to answer your question since I haven't heard the K514, but the K271 has a pleasing sound.  I'll assume the sound signature is different from the K514 so you should hear a difference.  As for if you're going to feel it's "a step up" or anything of the sort, that depends on you.  Remember that many times report that a headphone is "on a different level" or something along those lines is more induced by placebo than any technical capabilities of the headphone.  If a manufacturer took a $100 headphone, changed the wire, and headphone color and charged $300 for it, a number of people would say the $300 headphone is more technically competent than the $100 one.

Give yourself a few weeks to adjust to the new sound before making any final judgments on it.  You can compare the K514 and K271, but give yourself a good amount of time where you only listen to the K271 so you can get used to it.

Before you think about a DAC or amp I recommend you just plug it into your computer and listen for a while (weeks).  Do you hear distortion?  Are you able to get sufficient volume without maxing out the volume sliders?  If you do not hear distortion and the volume reaches loud volumes (to you) then I'd say no more purchases are necessary - unless you want to spend more on a headphone

AKG K271 MKII

Reply #2 –
Thanks for taking the time to reply. It is appreciated.

AKG K271 MKII

Reply #3 –
In my anecdotal experience, it's generally not massive unless going from something like a cheap laptop's built-in speakers or a bad car stereo to a pair of good headphones.  If you know what it is that you want, however, your money will be well spent.

The K 514's frequency response looks pretty good to me, according to this site: http://www.geocities.jp/ryumatsuba/k514_f.gif

As for the automute, you'd have to elaborate a bit.

AKG K271 MKII

Reply #4 –
Steep roll-off, little bass quantity and many resonances, that doesn't look good to me.

AKG K271 MKII

Reply #5 –
Quote from: yogaflame on
In my anecdotal experience, it's generally not massive unless going from something like a cheap laptop's built-in speakers or a bad car stereo to a pair of good headphones.  If you know what it is that you want, however, your money will be well spent.

The K 514's frequency response looks pretty good to me, according to this site: http://www.geocities.jp/ryumatsuba/k514_f.gif

As for the automute, you'd have to elaborate a bit.

Thanks I'm starting to like the automute a bit actually, well sort of.

I couldn't tell the difference between the old and new headphones which was a worry considering they are both AKG's and there is 100€ difference between them.  It still sounded rubbish.

So I threw caution to the wind and read everything I could about the lower end sound cards (they are sooooo expensive). Anyway the Asus Xonar DX 7.1 had consistently got rave reviews and was at the upper end of my budget (yes I know it's still a low end card). 
The difference is absolutely phenomenal! And I can now here the difference in the headphones weirdly.

Quote from: Eliteforce on
Steep roll-off, little bass quantity and many resonances, that doesn't look good to me.

AKG's are Austrian. Shame on you, hand your Reisepass back in you traitor! 

Anyway my options are limited because I have an allergy to plasticy headphones (I break them). I looked at Sennheisers and Beyerdynamics but they would have fallen apart after a week. If there is a way to kill headphones I will find it. If I want to upgrade again I'm stuffed because these are the top circumaural/closed back ones AKG do. Unless anyone has any suggestions?