AKGProfessional Audio Bluetooth Headphone, Black

Update: 17th June 2020 (I am returning these disappointments)I received a defective unit in replacement and was told to communicate with the Harman Customer Support for replacement and repair. They totally ignored the loose hinge issue (video attached and mind you, it's within a week of use of the headphones) and termed the disconnection of headphones as a feature (I mean don't become a Software Engineer here).I will start with the cons, as there's no pros.0. The most important thing, the sound. From the brief period of me owning them I had following things noticed:The frequency response as advertised from 5Hz to 22KHz+ is deceptive. They sound pretty avg from 20Hz to 30Hz, the bass from 30Hz - 70Hz is very heavy, but still good for casual listening. The most common range of around 8kHz is where the things start to get pretty messy. Some amount of Shrill is heard at this range and can become harsh sounding in extended use case. The Highs on these headphones are painfully spiked and might cause fatigue in prolonged use.But yeah, for some songs, they sound excellent, eg being most of the songs of 20syl's new album 36 (give it a listen, nice set of music there). Again, as I said in title, it's a hit or miss.Conclusion: They are NOT Studio Headphones and should not be used for referencing or mixing. They are just good for vocals and some casual listening. Some people who bought won't even notice the difference, but for audiophiles, they are a big let down.Now some more shortcomings of these headphones. I may sound like I am nitpicking them, but once you start to face issues and start getting technically bad explanation for them, yes, they need to be considered:1. The device will disconnect if it is paired and kept idle for more than 10 minutes. You have to switch OFF and ON again to pair the device again (this is what I received as a communication from the company's senior technical person). Bluetooth 5+, this was the major upgrade to the BT devices, as it switched from legacy Bluetooth Radio to Bluetooth Low Energy even for the audio devices. Explained in layman terms: it is far more efficient in terms of battery for the continuously paired device. To be honest, I have not seen any device, even using the BT4.2 BLE turn off when not played for a certain interval of time. Some devices handle it by making the device go into standby mode, by keeping it paired and awakening the device with some gesture or invoke if the sounds start playing. Being price originally at Rs. 23,999/- at the time of writing this (though selling it for 10,500/-) is just a gimmick for this sole reason as many other brands offer much better at Rs. 23,000/- and more (Sony WH1000XM3, Bose QC 3.0 to name a few which obviously offer the above bluetooth behavior).2. One more major caveat of this device is: it is marketed as "Professional Studio Headphones/ Monitors" and still uses the bluetooth codec "AAC" and "SBC", when a more advanced and efficient "APT-X" and "APTX-HD" exist and are even more prominent for the people who use "Hi-Fi" or Lossless Audios. Though AAC gets the job done, it is not available for all the devices in the market and can be useless on such devices for HiFi listening.3. You cannot pair these device to 2 devices at once. Bluetooth 4.1 BLE and above (including 5.0 and 5.1) support being connected to 2 devices simultaneously and can switch the audio source according to the priority, like incoming or outgoing call will redirect the sound through headphones, while simultaneously being connected to the other device (native feature). Also, most devices don't go on standby/ or get disconnected even if it is inactive because of the sound being played on the other device.4. The Bluetooth headphone comes with the mic, which works only when the device is connected in wireless mode, not wired mode. Reason: funny enough, though the device has 4-Pin Mini XLR port, all the 3 cables provided in the box are having "3.5mm TRS" instead of "3.5mm TRRS", rendering the mic useless on most of the mobile devices including Cellphones and Laptops. Please let me know if there are any cables to solve this, though I don't see any point in buying the cable after investing a substantial amount of budget in headphones.5. Coming to the build, from my initial impression of these headphones, which was limited to less than 5 days in total due to defective pieces, the cushion on these pairs is really shallow, such that the ear touches the driver's plastic, making it unbearable to wear after an hour long use.6. The clamping force for the headphones is more on the top, making the seal loose from the bottom side of the ear-cups. You can literally feel the difference in the sound if you press a bit on the bottom while using them. Changing of pads is recommended if you are still willing to and live with these headphones (Brainwavz has perforated Ear Pads for AudioTechnica Ovals, these will be a good replacement).7. Also, it is way too backward to be still using MicroUSB when the world is moving towards USB Type C & wireless. The headphone doesn't have NFC Pairing and nor any app to manage the equalizer on this headphones.Also, you cannot use these headphones in wired mode while charging them.Well, to be honest, I knew only a couple of issues - MicroUSB and inability to Pair to 2 devices at a same time, before buying because these were the only ones which are available easily on the product listing and Spec Sheet available on AKG International website. And these were fine for me, because I had some other priorities to look for, and no product is perfect for any given price range.But to be honest, I was not satisfied with any of the claims made by the brand and chose to return them for good as the price I paid not even justifies half of the things. The customer service is also very orthodox and feel disrespected when raised concerns with the product.Better options are available for headphones within this range, go for Sony or AT as they are much better in terms of quality. Bluetooth is just an added thing, not worth the money to be spent on if you are an audiophile. For general and casual listening, they might suit you.Not at all worth the Studio Monitors, nor do use them for Studio Monitoring.Review (10 June 2020, post replacement, again faulty, contacted the Harman for resolution)To my utter disappointment, these pairs also had Quality Issue: 1. The left hinge is pretty loose and doesn't stay stiff enough to be even held on head. 2. The bluetooth connectivity is terrible: the headphones keep disconnecting automatically, the mic doesn't capture the sound and needs restart of the headphones to make it work (sometimes, not always), and the side gesture control is not responsive at times.Being a mid-high range headphones, being marketed as Studio Quality Headphones, I didn't expect this from AKG. At first I though that it must be a batch issue, but seems like even the predecessor non Bluetooth K371 had these issues and were addressed 4 months after the release. I actually think that they are not worth the money to be spent on just due to the terrible quality control issues.The comfort is okay, though the pads feel bit shallow and my ears can feel the touch of the plastic panel at the back of earcups. They sound good for mid ranges, but the sound goes muddy for lower frequencies and some terrible peaks in the high frequency ranges (not that noticeable, unless you listen to some flac audios)I have written to the AKG Harman India for the issue and will write a followup review once I get my resolution.Review (6th June 2020, replacing them as they are faulty units)To my disappointment, the pair I received had couple of major issue: 1. The right ear had rattling noise while listening to any kind of music,especially in the range of 25Hz to 65Hz. 2. The hinge mechanism looked damaged and was quite shaky.

Ich habe den AKG Kopfhörer als Vergleichsgerät für einen Blogbeitrag über einige Zeit im Einsatz Einsatz gehabt.Vor einigen Wochen führte ich hierzu noch ein Gespräch mit einem befreundeten Studiotechniker, der behauptete, dass die heutigen Kopfhörer um vorne mitspielen zu können nicht mehr auf aptX und App-Steuerung verzichten können. AKG hat mit dem K371-BT diese These für mich persönlich Eindrucksvoll widerlegt!Fangen wir einmal mit der Übersicht an, welche den AKG K371-BT Bluetooth-Kopfhörer, von den meisten anderen aktuellen Modellen auf dem Markt unterscheidet!Der Kopfhörer verfügt über keine Appsteuerung zum "austarieren" der Headphones. Weiterhin sucht man vergeblich nach einem Qualcomm Standard nach Verbindung des Kopfhörers. Beim Thema Sprachassistent ist ebenso wie bei der TalkThru Funktion hier nichts zu machen! Schade, oder?Eben nicht! Der Kopfhörer schlägt hierfür eine von Werk aus harte und geradlinige Linke mit einfacher und sehr präziser Gestensteuerung und irreversiblem Bluetooth 5.0 . Eine "saubere" rechte im Hinblick auf Tragekomfort, Klang und Haptik.Hier mal ein paar Infos zum Kofhörer, den ich für einen Blogbeitrag seit gut 5 Wochen Probe gehört habe:Bauform Over-EarSystem GeschlossenImpedanz 32 OhmFrequenzgang 5 Hz – 40000 HzWandlerprinzip DynamischÜbertragungsart Bluetooth 5.0 + KabelMax. Betriebsdauer max. 40 StundenOptik und HaptikDer AKG K371-BT Bluetooth-Kopfhörer hat materiell genau das verbaut bekommen, was man für einen Kopfhörer im portablen und flexiblem Einsatz auch braucht. Hartplastikschale und weiches inneres! Im Klartext heißt dies, dass er eine aufgebürstete Kunststoffschale in Form der Lauscher Gehäuse verpasst bekommen hat. Die Seitengelenke sind stabil und lassen sich individuell einstellen. Die gilt insbesondere für Menschen die mit großem Kopf "gesegnet" wurden. Das Kopfband wurde mit weichem Memory Schaum "aufgefüttert" ohne dabei zu dick aufzutragen. Die Fütterung der Ohrpolster kommt auf knappe 2,0 cm, was tatsächlich für ein extrem weiches Tragegefühl steht. Der Innendurchmesser der Lauscher beträgt etwa 3,5 cm x 6,5 cm. Meine Ohren versinken hierin ein Stück weit, was mir gut gefällt. Die Gestensteuerung am linken Lauscher Gehäuse reagiert bei Betätigung und nicht dann, wenn sie Lust darauf hat. Der Klinkenanschluss befindet sich ebenfalls am linken Lauscher.Bedienung des AKG K371-BT Bluetooth-KopfhörerDer Kopfhörer hat wie bereits angedeutet einen großen Vorteil. Er konzentriert sich auf das wesentliche. Die Steuerung erfolgt über den Taster am linken Lauscher Gehäuse. Dieser reagiert schnell und komplikationslos, so wie sich das auch gehört. Die Gestensteuerung hat allerdings Probleme, wenn man Handschuhe trägt. Hier ließ sich der Kopfhörer auch bei einfachen Latexhandschuhen nicht dazu bewegen den Sound zu regulieren oder zu „skippen“.TragekomfortDurch die wirklich sehr gelungene Mischung von Proteinleder bei den Lauschern und der Befüllung mit fast 2,0 cm an Memoryschaum wird auf die Ohren so gut wie kein Druck ausgeübt. Die Polster sind bei Bedarf tauschbar.Auch für Brillenträger dürfte hier genugend Platz sein, ohne anschliessend mit "Dickem Schädel" durch die Gegend zu stolzieren.Das Kopfband liegt leicht und weich auf, was nicht nur ein angenehmes Tragegfühl sondern mit der Zeit auch ein sehr natürliches Gefühl vermittelt. Gefällt mir persönlich sehr gut! Der Kopfhörer wiegt ca. 248 Gramm und ist damit sowohl im oberen Mittelfeld für portable Kopfhörer aber auch für die Einsteigerklasse an Studiokopfhörern im Spiel.Klangcheck des AKG K371-BT Bluetooth-KopfhörerDer Kopfhörer bietet für meine Lieblingsgenres, welche aus Rock, Hardrock, Metall und Ska bestehen genau das, was ich haben möchte.5 - 40000 Hz sind Stand der Dinge. Präzise und dezidierte Mitten, die manchmal etwas hart klingen aber so nach meiner persönlichen Wahrnehmung ehrlich und unverfälscht klingen. Die Höhen werden recht Klar wiedergegeben, zumindest so lange man den Kopfhörer nicht bis zum Anschlag aufdreht. Hier klingt es dann doch zu "klirrend" für meinen Geschmack. Der Aspekt entfällt bei Nutzung eines Kopfhörerverstärkers und Klinkenkabel im Übrigen. Der Bass ist entgegen anderer Meinungen für mich nicht zu dominant, sondern agiert gedeckt im Hintergrund und untermauert meiner Meinung nach den recht guten Gesamteindruck was die Klangperformance angeht.Um mich nicht zu Missverstehen, der Bass ist Top, hat allerdings für meinen Geschmack manchmal einen „ticken“ zu wenig Push-Effekt.Der Kopfhörer kommt für mich ohne aptX und Qualcomm Technologie gut bis sogar sehr gut aus. Er macht klanglich Spaß, wenngleich er auch von der Klangfülle nicht ganz an Mitkonkurrenten wie z. B. dem JBL CLUB 950NC mithalten kann. Dafür fehlt es dann doch ein wenig an Dynamik, die man andererseits aber bei Studioarbeiten auch nicht haben möchte.Vocals und Jazz beherrscht der Kopfhörer im übrigen recht gut. Wer allerdings auf Orchestrale Spektren oder Deep-Bass-Sound steht, sollte sich vielleicht noch einmal umorientieren. Der AKG K371 wird zwar auch als Studiokopfhörer beworben erfüllt für mich aber eher den Aspekt eines portablen Kopfhörers. Der „typisch“ Neutrale Sound wird zwar mit kleinen Abstrichen angeboten, allerdings greife ich persönlich hierzu eher zu stationären Kopfhörern, die meist gar keine Bluetooth Funktion anbieten.Schlagabtausch mit JBL und mein Fazit:Der AKG K371 steht in direkter Konkurrenz zu Club Serie von JBL und bietet gegenüber dem Kontrahenten ein Mehr an Nichts. Dies spielt auf die fehlenden Zusatzfeatures wie aptX und Co an. Die verbauten 40 mm mit Titan beschichtete Neodym Treiber gefallen mir im direkten Vergleich ohne technische Hilfsmittel besser als bei JBL und seinen Club Modellen. Nutzt man einen Kopfhörerverstärker schöpft man das gesamte Potenzial des Kopfhörers aus, was man in dieser Preisklasse erwarten darf/kann.Der Bluetoothstandard ist mit Version 5.0 sehr gut gewählt. Keine große hörbaren Klangverluste und eine lange Spielzeit drängen sich hier auf, genauso das ordentliche Zubehör, was in Form von 3,5 mm (1/8 Zoll) bis 6,5 mm (1/4 Zoll) Kabeln in unterschiedlicher Länge und Transporttasche daher kommt.Ich freue mich, dass es 2020 noch bezahlbare Kopfhörer gibt, die auf ein "ZUVIEL" an Software verzichten und mit klassischem "Handwerkszeug" gute Ergebnisse abliefern. An die ganz großen Kaliber kommt der AKG in dieser Serie nicht heran, dürfte aber sicherlich im Preissegment von 120 Euro -150 Euro Euro dauerhaft seinen Platz verdient gefunden haben!Würde mich freuen, wenn ich dem einen oder anderen etwas weiterhelfen konnte. Klang ist immer rein subjektiver Natur und nur du selber entscheidest darüber was dir persönlich gefällt oder eben nicht!In diesem Sinne Rock on!

Well frankly speaking i found these quite mediocre headphones.I am saying this because when i saw the frequency range these are offering is from 5Hz-40KHz, i was like absolutely thrilled because the same frequency is offered by Sony BT headphones too and they are phenomenal, so I was very much excited to own them.But on listening them I didn't really felt i am hearing something with that wide frequency range.I have Sennheiser Headphones which costs around 2400 and they have frequency range 20Hz-20KHz and they sound better than these.they offer great battery life which is a plus point but they are on a heavier side. In one of my image you can see i am holding it from one end and other side is hanging down due to its weight.But even after its heavy weight they dont bother you much after you put them on ears and they look good also.One more thing, they sound better when corded, that shud be other way around but unfortunately this is trueAnd right now they are selling them for 10K approx, which i think is their actual cost and it is just a marketing strategy to show that they are giving such heavy disount , just to pull usersand the biggest issue is they cannot be returned. so think twice before you buy them. I wanted to return these but i was told i can replace them but there is no option to return them.if you spend couple of thosands more you can get bose or apple also. so make wise decision.

Update (09-Jun-2020)Bluetooth mic does not work anymore!On one laptop mic and speaker worked only the first time. Next time onwards it did not work at all. Tried deleting and adding the bluetooth device again, reboot, update driver and what not, but nothing helped.On another laptop, mic and speaker worked the first time. After that deleting the bluetooth device and adding again worked for about 8 times. After that only speaker is working.I'm assuming this is a (hastily released) driver issue and once AKG updates their drivers, it should work properly.The headphone jack does not support mic. i.e. if you use the cable, then it acts like a speaker only and you have to use the phone's/laptop's mic.Both speaker and mic works without any issues with the phone. Tried 'forget' and 'add' about 10 times and it works nicely.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Original review (06-Jun-2020)First Impression: AwesomeWhats in the box:* Headphone* USB cable - for charging* 2 Audio cables - 1.2m and 3.0m* Pouch for storage* 1/4" adapterWhats so great:Sound quality is great!!Mic is great! It picks up all the sound in the room and not just close to it. May not be desirable in all situations.Earpads are very soft. My earlobes don't feel any pressure at all.Connecting via bluetooth to laptop and phone was a breeze. There was no break in the streaming eitherThe battery/bluetooth led is tiny and is hidden next to the power buttonSurprise features: Guesture Control !!You can do Volume up/down, Play/Pause, Play next/prev by moving a finger on the left earcup.The left earcup is not visible. So it took a couple of tries in front of a mirror and then I could do it easily without looking!Not so great: (actually I'm nit picking here)The battery was not charged even a bit when I got it. I thought I got a dud!A quick start guide is nice. But it took me a while to understand what the lights mean.TODO:Wear it for a longer continuous duration (about couple of hours) and see how it worksTest battery backup time. Is it really 28 hrs?I'll post an update after using it for a while...

I bought this headphone because I had a pretty good impression of other akg headphones. I'm a big fan of sound from akg n700nc and samsung galaxy buds+ (which is toned by akg), and when I saw these with 50mm huge drivers and excellent frequency range, a pretty high expectation was built in my heart.Build&Features:There isn't qc issues on my particular pair (which is good), but the headband design concerns me. There are only two little hinges connecting earcups to headband and I'm afraid they may break over long period of using. Battery life is amazing, it has a longer battery life than nearly every other headphones I have. There is a touch pad on the left earcup, but it's unresponsive and usually when I want to change the volume but end up skipping songs. On the other hand, I have nothing to complain about the bluetooth connectivity, it's fast and stable.Fitting:Unfortunately right out of box fitting is sub par, the earpads are not deep enough to prevent your ears from touching the driver, and they are not soft enough to provide good sealing either. One benefit of this design is they do have a fairly wide soundstage for a close back headphone and bass is kept away so it won't rumble around and disturb the overall track. If stock earpads won't please you there are also many other earpads to choose for k371bt, and most of them definitely improve fitting by a lot.Sound:When I received the headphone and put these on, my first feeling was not so impressive but overall good. On stock earpads they sound neutral, maybe a little bit on the warm side and lacks some excitement of clarity I was hoping for. However all these features would change after swapping earpads. In fact by swapping earpads sound changes so significantly that it almost feels like a different pair of headphone.Earpads Suggestion:I tried several different earpads, basically they all improve fitting and comfort but they all have some extend of interruption to the sound. I finally decided to stay with brainwavz perforated prostock earpads for m50x, after swapping fitting and sealing improves dramatically, original neutral sound is kept, but it's a touch brighter and instrument separation is greatly improved. Just have a try on these earpads and you may release the full potential of this headphone, before it sounds kinda boring for me but after swapping earpads it actually becomes one of my favourite sounding headphones.