AKG K371-BT Professional Closed-Back Bluetooth Studio Headphones

Believe the hype, the YouTube reviews are correct. Best closed backs you can get for $100. Tried the K371 first because they were on sale, but the K361 is sooo much better that it isn't even a fair contest. Not sure why there is such a gap in sound quality between the two, but for whatever reason, it exists.

Great sound!

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.

These have an excellent sound for a closed back. Expect closed-back headphone things like a compressed/absent soundstage. Otherwise they are wonderful. Build quality is excellent. I enjoy just touching the things... They feel so nice. They're comfortable. Bass is nice. Overall very enjoyable headphone to listen to.

The quality is fantastic, and even with the abuse they suffer with me they hold up very very well. At the price point however, I still consider this an investment for audio quality if you like having that.

So far the K361 are my favorite headphones.I used them every day at my computer since July, 2021.They broke on me twice but customer care has been fantastic so far.The first time the wire became frayed and eventually failed after around 6 months of use.I called support and they sent me a new cord for free because it was under warranty.Around the 11 month mark the plastic on the ears started to wear off and eventually the foam ear fell off making them unusable.I sent them in for repair and I'm still waiting for them to be returned.The support team has been in contact with me and is sending me a new set.I will update when the replacement arrives but the customer service I have received so far has convinced me that the new headphones are going to be great.I would highly recommend the K361.Comfortable, great sound, folds easily, the only downside is that the 3.5mm cable is not interchangeable, it has a special plastic clip that keeps it in the phone so you can't just use any 3.5mm cable if it frays.Have to buy the special one only they sell.