Review: AKG K271 MKII Headphones - Not So Humble After All

All right folks, it's time to give this pair of small transducers some credit. After some second hand hifi trading I found myself owning a pair of AKG K271 MKII headphones. "Affordable 2nd hand price and hey it's AKG so it can't be all that bad" I remember thinking. In the past I briefly owned the smaller AKG K171 MKII - but since they were on-ear I couldn't wear them comfortably with glasses... or at all for that matter thanks to my big head and their strong clamping force. Plus their sound quality didn't raise any remarkably positive feelings, and after a while it was easy to part with them.

With the K271 MKIIs I immediately noticed that they were much more comfortable to wear, having with still quite strong or even stark clamping force. They go nicely over the ears and the velour pads (I believe you also get leather pads) do not draw much attention after a while. They are closed-back headphones so sure your ears can become somewhat warm after long sessions, and I find myself taking small breaks to "cool" my ear pinnae. But this happens only when I'm using the headphones for many like an hour straight. Which I do quite often since these are the ones I've been using at my office for some time now. AKG states them as "professional over-ear headphones for studio and live use" and " Universal genius for monitoring, mastering, studio and live sound mixing" - these are some demanding tasks.

On with the show.

Plug and Play. Picture AKG.com

I remember at first the K271 MKII did not surprise me, "another pair of boring flat sounding studio 'phones with no life". But still they were adequate in every aspect as one would expect, the sound quality was not disturbing but also not exiting. They were comfortable to wear and they blocked sound nicely from the outside world. So they found a place from my collection, even if they were highly underused for quite some time.

At some point I began to think if I should just sell them and be done with AKG's studio headphones. But before that I wondered if there was any way to mod them, or get more exciting sound out of them. Without much thinking I took pliers and pulled the inner foams that protect the drivers out because hey - it can't be there to improve the sound right?... and oh boy. "Are these even the same headphones?", the shock was instant and real. Suddenly the K271 MKIIs were much more dynamic, the bass was deep, fast and the general feel was something it was not before: fun, foot-tapping fun. The overall presentation was so much better and clearer, but most importantly to me, the music was now alive - an enjoyment through these headphones. Truly a veil had been lifted, or in this case pulled, while still maintaining the positive qualities of studio headphones. At that point I began to take them seriously.

My office rig surely is nothing special - trying to keep a low profile with FiiO E10 USB DAC connected to Firestone Audio's Cute Beyond headphone amplifier. The amp deserved a review of its own but let me just say that the sound it produces is far from "cute". It's super fast, snappy, aggressive from bottom to top and brings even the most boring and soft headphones to a whole new level. Brings them alive. A true bargain of a headphone amp. The combination is seriously good considering that all three, the cans, DAC and amp were together cheaper than the average pair of nice RCA interconnects.

Few words about sound quality of the K271 MKIIs on this rig. Yes they are fast, and slightly bass heavy so that music genres like electronic, metal and hip hop can be enjoyed easily. They do not make much of a 3D sound but more in the manner of in your face, or rather in your ears. Still the separation of instruments is decent but everything happens in a two dimensional field. They might lack the absolute resolution, refinement and delicacy of more expensive headphones but their strength lies in their versatility - everything sounds equally good and exciting. Certainly not a "Grado sound" that's for sure. Is this some kind of budget flat earth sound in the footsteps of Linn or Naim?  Maybe not, but then again maybe not too far from it either. I realize that this type of sound signature may not appeal to everyone but I find it somewhat of an achievement to end up with this kind of sound as opposed to what I remember hearing the first time I wore K271 MKIIs.

The K271 MKIIs are definitely not a new model but as of time of writing this, they are still widely available at a price of little over 100 euros. Sure there is a fierce competition at this price range and if I were looking for a new pair of phones I don't know how likely I would have chosen this model. I prefer them to the AKG's K550 but a top-of-mind competitor could be Audio-Technica's ATH-M50x. It was by chance that I got these in the first place and, well, as they say, everything happens for a reason. I have a feeling that the K271 MKIIs are not going away any time soon and considering the fact that these are indeed AKG's studio headphones, I have feeling that they won't be falling apart any time soon either.

So there you have it. I don't know whether this article was a weird review, a poor mod guide or just idle mindflow but I hope that you got something out of it, and remember it the next time you bump into AKG's K271 MKII. I have been bumping into one daily and I really don't mind if it remains that way!

Review: Philips Fidelio X2 - Fun, Dynamic and Here to Stay

I have been meaning to do this review for ages and finally I think I found a decent time slot for it.
Fidelio X2 is a new-ish headphone from a long time consumer electronics brand Philips. In my mind Philips has not been a big HiFi player for a very long time but I managed to get a listen at their Fidelio L1 some time ago. That made me wonder - is there a new serious player in the market?

I made leap of faith in to the unknown and bought the Fidelio X2 based on positive reaction the X1 and L2 received earlier. And boy I am glad I did.

The X2 is a large open headphone that at the time of writing resides at the very competitive 300€ class. The velvet pads are indeed comfortable but the clamping force is a bit on the strong side for my big head - although nothing a bit of stretching can not fix I'm sure. The fabric headband is self adjusting AKG-style and nicely soft. In overall the physical being of X2 leaves an excellent and stylish impression and with it's 35 Ohm impedance it should be easy to drive as well.

X2 is plugged to my PC using Foobar2000's WASAPI output, followed by a Belkin's Signature Series USB-cable to my DAC-HP-amplifier, the Burson HA-160D. The Burson might sound like an overkill for such an easy to drive pair of headphones - but I leave nothing to chance. I've had the X2 now for several months and I am pretty convinced that they've had enough listening time to be "broken in".

Listening

Hitting play button on Diana Krall's Stepping Out album ripped in FLAC format gives an instant impression - this is good. The initial impression is the warmth of the playback - the bass is outstanding, and we are talking about an open headphone here. At the same time the piano and drums are as clear and snappy as they need to be - I notice that my foot is tapping. Damn these 'phones are fun! Diana's voice does not pop out too much in-our-face style - "must be because of the recording" I convince myself. The X2 & Burson combination creates very jazz club like atmosphere for this album. A bit smoky and warm - I might need to bring the cubans and malts next time with me.

Moving on to KOOP's Koop Island Blues gives the same impression. This time the vocals come out more as I'm sure they are intended. The bass still stands strong in both quality and quantity. Instrument separation is top notch and there is nicely air in the playback - not maybe AKG 700-series style air but still nicely. Neither the vocals nor drums sound too harsh, overall impression is very balanced but with some juicy extra quality bass. The dynamics both macro and micro really bring the music alive and keeps the foot tapping on Queens Propeth's Song. Here the bass somewhat overwhelms Freddy's voice but the song keeps happily marching forward like a parade.

The X2 feels like opposite of Grado's phones which I've owned several during the years. They are all great and snappy as most of you know. But while being snappy and bright they lack the ultimate bass reproduction which the X2 delivers - making music fun and easy to listen.

Lastly I choose Shpongle's album Nothing Lasts...But Nothing Is Lost. This quality piece of music through the X2 really leaves nothing to desire. The dynamics, absolute resolution and overall balance really fits and tingles senses in a good way.

Philips Fidelio X2 & Burson HA-160D

Conclusion

I've listened the X2 for a while now with every music genre out there and they shine of every one of them be it pop, trance, metal, classical, acoustics, jazz or African folk music. They are easily driven from a modern smartphone but in my opinion the Burson takes them to another level - but I imagine that even cheaper DAC+amp product will be enough. Matters of taste and commitment. For reference I've owned Grado RS1 and use AKG 712 as office 'phones - the X2 tops both of them in the fun factor and in my opinion does not fall behind overall. Matters of taste once more as these three headphones are very different from each other. The X2 is most of all fun and dynamic and I'm sure it offers enough resolution and overall sound quality to impress people both new and old to the world of HiFi sound. I have no intention to part with these any time soon.