AKG K371
The K371 (and its cheaper brother, the K361) is a new offering from Harman / AKG released a few weeks ago, replacing the K550/553. It’s a closed over-ear, pretty light, easy to drive, foldable, and with decent isolation.
Comfort is not that great – pads are a bit shallow so big ears will touch the drivers mounting plate. Headband lacks some padding and wont fit every skull shape.
○ Release : 2019
○ Current status : In production
○ Type : Over-ear / Closed-back
○ Measured weight : 230g
○ Impedance : 32 Ohms
○ Sensitivity : 114dB/mW
○ Average used price : $120-130
Sound Impression
The K371 shares some sound similarities with the K550/553 serie. Overall pretty balanced with some minor points to nitpick.
Bass is rather subbass emphasized than midbass focused. I hear a pretty noticeable boost around 30-60hz that gives lot of rumble, but the midbass remain neutral and won’t bleed into the lower-mids. A lot of closed headphones have a dip around 100-500hz that detach the bass from midrange (backwave cancellation). Some of them, like the Soundmagic HP150 or Sennheiser HD250 Linear II, sound quite thin the mids because of a severe upper-bass/low-mids dip.
The K371 has a slight dip around 150hz but it doesnt affect the midrange tone that much. Midrange is overall pretty good, albeit a bit “cold” and not as natural as an HD6x0 serie model. 1-2khz is slightly bumped, but 3-4khz region is a bit smoother than an HD600/650.
The treble is really smooth, nothing sounds too sharp or sibilant. I would actually like a bit more treble presence around 10-15khz to give a better sense of sparkle to the presentation. The K371 is never harsh or bright sounding. Less so than the K550/553.
Staging isnt very wide, and detail resolution on the same ballpark as the K550 : good but nothing outstanding. Tonality is pretty good and “neutral” but timbre and instruments dont sound as natural and realistic as some other headphones.
The K371 is a solid value for the price. One of the best compromise you can get in the closed market under $500. The K361 is cheaper and apparently a bit brighter – that could be an alternative for people wanting a brighter alternative with less (sub)bass.
Measurements & Resources
