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Author Topic: Opinion on AKG K171 Headphones  (Read 11659 times)

Blair Waterous

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Opinion on AKG K171 Headphones
« on: September 20, 2011, 01:13:48 PM »

I've been looking into getting a pair of good headphones I can use in both Broadcasting and Live music (I'm a TV Broadcasting student and Sound Tech at local clubs).

At first I was looking at the AKG K240s, and a Sound Engineer friend of mine said these are excellent headphones, except there open back headphone.

So I moved up the list on the AKG website when I saw something about the K171s. Now these are closed back headphones. They have a similar frequency response to the K240s (18 to 26,000 Hz) And there not much more than K240s.

So I was hoping someone has had experience with these headphones and could let me know if there worth the money to get.

Thanks

http://www.akg.com/site/products/powerslave,id,1062,pid,1062,nodeid,2,_language,EN.html
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Re: Opinion on AKG K171 Headphones
« Reply #1 on: September 20, 2011, 01:46:45 PM »

I've been looking into getting a pair of good headphones I can use in both Broadcasting and Live music (I'm a TV Broadcasting student and Sound Tech at local clubs).

At first I was looking at the AKG K240s, and a Sound Engineer friend of mine said these are excellent headphones, except there open back headphone.

So I moved up the list on the AKG website when I saw something about the K171s. Now these are closed back headphones. They have a similar frequency response to the K240s (18 to 26,000 Hz) And there not much more than K240s.

So I was hoping someone has had experience with these headphones and could let me know if there worth the money to get.

Thanks

http://www.akg.com/site/products/powerslave,id,1062,pid,1062,nodeid,2,_language,EN.html


http://www.gk-music.com/ultraphones.htm

I would never be without these for live broadcast.  Fidelity means nothing.....NADA.....without isolation.  These will let you work at a comfortable and SAFE level for extended periods.
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kristianjohnsen

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Re: Opinion on AKG K171 Headphones
« Reply #2 on: September 20, 2011, 02:25:56 PM »

I've been looking into getting a pair of good headphones I can use in both Broadcasting and Live music (I'm a TV Broadcasting student and Sound Tech at local clubs).

At first I was looking at the AKG K240s, and a Sound Engineer friend of mine said these are excellent headphones, except there open back headphone.

So I moved up the list on the AKG website when I saw something about the K171s. Now these are closed back headphones. They have a similar frequency response to the K240s (18 to 26,000 Hz) And there not much more than K240s.

So I was hoping someone has had experience with these headphones and could let me know if there worth the money to get.

Thanks

http://www.akg.com/site/products/powerslave,id,1062,pid,1062,nodeid,2,_language,EN.html


I like mine a lot.  They are comfy for a long time, sound good - and have decent isolation.

Big bonus point to AKG for including a spare cable (that can be changed without tools) and including two kinds of ear pad covers (fluffy and smooth).

Also, most parts on the whole headset can be changed while using normal tools like a screwdriver, no special plastic clips that just break, etc.

All in all, a very good purchase!
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Mark Chrysostom

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Re: Opinion on AKG K171 Headphones
« Reply #3 on: September 20, 2011, 04:23:13 PM »

+1 for user-replaceable parts on headphones.
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Dave Dermont

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Re: Opinion on AKG K171 Headphones
« Reply #4 on: September 20, 2011, 07:16:19 PM »

I own a pair of K240M 'phones, and I like them a lot.

I demo'd the K171 when they first came out, and thought they sounded great. I was a bit leery of how good the isolation would be in an on-the-ear headphone.

The K271 is an around-the-ear design with great fidelity and isolation, but costs twice as much as the K171 or the Sennheiser HD-280, which I ended up buying.

The Ultraphones are a shooter's hearing protector with Sony 7506 headphone elements inside. The 7506, although ubiquitous, is not know for its fidelity.

For about what you'd spend for the Ultraphones, you can have the K271s.

IMNSHO, it's a no-brainer.
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Dave Dermont

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Re: Opinion on AKG K171 Headphones
« Reply #5 on: September 20, 2011, 09:20:04 PM »


The Ultraphones are a shooter's hearing protector with Sony 7506 headphone elements inside. The 7506, although ubiquitous, is not know for its fidelity.


As I said in my first post here, fidelity without isolation is not what I would choose.  I own many sets of headphones which I prefer to use for listening to music for pleasure, among these the 280's and some great old Beyer open-back cans.  But for critical listening in high SPL or rich ambient situations I'll take the 7506 drivers in the shooters ear protectors.  The ability to have 30 db attenuation means that I don't have to turn the volume up on the "hi-fi" cans to be able to distinguish the sound in the cans from the sound outside the cans.  Yes, there are better drivers in better settings.  Does that make them more usable for mixing for live broadcast, live recording or other critical tasks?  I think not. 

The bottom line for me is being able to work "in the cans" at a sensible volume level and not have to crank it 10 db over ambient sound just to be able to hear.

YMMV
 
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Dave Dermont

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Re: Opinion on AKG K171 Headphones
« Reply #6 on: September 20, 2011, 09:38:02 PM »

As I said in my first post here, fidelity without isolation is not what I would choose.  I own many sets of headphones which I prefer to use for listening to music for pleasure, among these the 280's and some great old Beyer open-back cans.  But for critical listening in high SPL or rich ambient situations I'll take the 7506 drivers in the shooters ear protectors.  The ability to have 30 db attenuation means that I don't have to turn the volume up on the "hi-fi" cans to be able to distinguish the sound in the cans from the sound outside the cans.  Yes, there are better drivers in better settings.  Does that make them more usable for mixing for live broadcast, live recording or other critical tasks?  I think not. 

The bottom line for me is being able to work "in the cans" at a sensible volume level and not have to crank it 10 db over ambient sound just to be able to hear.

YMMV

I did not mean to call anybody's baby ugly.

I can't find an ambient attenuation figure for the current K271 MKII, but for the original K271 it was pretty high. Within a few dB of the Ultraphones, as I recall.

I'm sorry, I just have a hard time with "critical listening" and "7506" appearing in the same sentence.
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Dave Dermont

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Re: Opinion on AKG K171 Headphones
« Reply #7 on: September 20, 2011, 09:51:44 PM »

I did not mean to call anybody's baby ugly.

I can't find an ambient attenuation figure for the current K271 MKII, but for the original K271 it was pretty high. Within a few dB of the Ultraphones, as I recall.

I'm sorry, I just have a hard time with "critical listening" and "7506" appearing in the same sentence.

Dave....

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No, from my personal point of view, get an ugly girl to marry you....."

In my search for a workable set of cans for high SPL environments I could not find anything that came within 10 db of the Ultra-phones documented 29 db attenuation level.  Most manufacturers claim some degree of attenuation, but anything short of some kind of hearing protection shells or heavy, oil filled over-ear units was not giving more than 20 or 21 db of attenuation.  And where in the frequency spectrum that measurement is taken is also good to know.

And I believe I said "critical tasks", not "critical listening". 
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kristianjohnsen

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Re: Opinion on AKG K171 Headphones
« Reply #8 on: September 21, 2011, 07:21:32 AM »

I own a pair of K240M 'phones, and I like them a lot.

I demo'd the K171 when they first came out, and thought they sounded great. I was a bit leery of how good the isolation would be in an on-the-ear headphone.

The K271 is an around-the-ear design with great fidelity and isolation, but costs twice as much as the K171 or the Sennheiser HD-280, which I ended up buying.

The Ultraphones are a shooter's hearing protector with Sony 7506 headphone elements inside. The 7506, although ubiquitous, is not know for its fidelity.

For about what you'd spend for the Ultraphones, you can have the K271s.

IMNSHO, it's a no-brainer.

I have the K271 also.

Very high fidelity, but the impedance seems to make them more quiet than the K171 on the same outputs at the same settings.

The size of the cans make them uncomfortable to wear around you neck (my neck, at least).

They have a switch built in that mutes the cans when they are taken off the head.  This is to avoid feedback in studios.  I guess, for some users, it could be a problem that they mute while listening to one can only.

The construction and build type is the same as K171 as far as I can tell.

Overall, great cans for my very limited editing work, etc, or for just listening to music in a quiet house - but the K171 is a better giggin' headset - IMO.
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Dave Dermont

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Re: Opinion on AKG K171 Headphones
« Reply #9 on: September 21, 2011, 08:44:26 AM »

And I believe I said "critical tasks", not "critical listening".

What other tasks do you use your headphones for?  ;)
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Dave Dermont

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Re: Opinion on AKG K171 Headphones
« Reply #9 on: September 21, 2011, 08:44:26 AM »


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