In the world of professional audio, Harman’s AKG brand is well known for products such as its iconic C414 microphone, as well as several professional headphone products that have been studio mainstays for years.
Providing lifestyle audio enthusiasts, as well as pro and prosumer recording users with a new, cost-friendly headphone solution, AKG has announced its K371-BT headphones. The new AKG headphones can be used for entertainment purposes such as streaming media such as Netflix or Apple Music, as well has home recording and professional recording applications without a significant investment.
Sending me the headphones, I used the K371-BTs with my iPhone for entertainment activities; I used them wirelessly and wired, and I connected the headphones to a Universal Audio interface to hear the closed-back headphones with a recording setup.
The headphones come in a nice, solid box that contains the headphones, the carryon pouch and cabling. Summarizing the features of the reasonably priced AKG K371-BT headphones, the product incorporates 50mm drivers, along with a choice of wired, mini-XLR cabled connections or Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity. The headphones also include an adjustable headband that are marked with left and right indicators to show how to wear the K371-BTs, and padded ear cups that completely cover users’ ears.
After pulling the headphones out from the packaging I found the wireless Bluetooth on/off switch on the bottom of the left ear cup. Switching Bluetooth on I went to my iPhone and its Bluetooth settings and paired the headphones with my iPhone.
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CE Pro Features
Closed-back design.
The headphones utilize 50mm drivers.
AKG says the K371-BT provides up to 40 hours of battery life.
Wireless Bluetooth 5.0 and mini XLR cabled connection options.
Stated frequency response of 5Hz to 40kHz.
The headphones come with a carrying pouch and 9.8-foot cable.
Street price is $219.
It’s not surprising that I found the headphones to deliver a high level of sound quality. As a Harman brand AKG can leverage its parent company’s famous research & development (R&D) resources and the level of performance the K371-BTs provides showcase the engineering that went into the product.
I think the heritage of the company’s professional background shows with sound of the headphones. Listening to songs such as Stay (I Missed You) by Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories I found a warmth to the midrange and lower treble frequencies that deliver a realistic and involving listening experience.
The K371-BTs also provide high levels of details that allow me to use the headphones as a learning tool. Practicing for the CE Pro Band, which will play during the annual CEDIA Expo show, I’m learning the guitar parts for the classic 80s song 867-5309/Jenny. The headphones allow me to hear the two guitar parts to not only learn the chords and structure of the song, but also the tonal choices of the guitar players that sound like they are playing a Telecaster and Stratocaster with Stratocaster set in second position on pickup selector.
The bottom end reproduction of the headphones also sounds great with popular music. Listening to Break Stuff by Limp Bizkit along with No One Knows by Queens of the Stone Age the basslines of these songs complement the guitar parts nicely to add a nice level of depth to the content. The K371-BTs also provide small details such the ability to reproduce the kick drum pattern on the Limp Bizkit song, which is often lost due to the amount of content all sitting in adjacent frequencies with the bass, down-tuned guitars and drums filling the bottom end.
One more performance element I’d like to point out is the headphones deliver dynamics. Small dynamic details I could hear include the aforementioned Queens of the Stone Age song when they enter the song’s chorus. The guitar tone compresses due to what sounds like band engaging some type of overdrive or distortion pedals, which results in a slight volume drop from the guitars.
Fleetwood Mac’s Silver Springs provides a bigger showcase for the headphones’ dynamic capabilities. The bass sounds huge in this song while Stevie Nicks’ voice is lower dynamically and those dynamics come up during the chorus. The K371-BTs capture all of this.
Looking at some of the lifestyle elements of the headphones, I thought the headphones were comfortable to wear and the Bluetooth capabilities offer plenty of playtime. Bluetooth connectivity is also reliable in a range of environments.
Maybe the only thing that some users won’t care for is the mini-XLR cabling connections. These connections are somewhat unique where you won’t see mini XLR on a lot of headphone products. I did not find a lot of issues with the connections, but they are tight. The Mini-XLR connections are not as fluid as some other types of connections that are more commonly used with other headphones on the market.
I also think prosumer users/home recording enthusiasts will find the headphones satisfying for their use. The K371-BTs come with a ¼-inch adapter that support easy connections to devices such as recording interfaces. This versatility allows users to employ the headphones for entertainment and recording to get a high level of value from the product.
The AKG K371-BTs deliver value on so many levels, as an audiophile product the headphones deliver on that front, as a recording tool, they deliver on that front too—and as a lifestyle solution they deliver on that aspect of headphone ownership.
If someone is looking for a high-value, all-around set of headphones look no further than AKG’s K371-BT closed-back headphones.
CE Pro & Cons
Pros
The K371-BT headphones deliver a quality listening experience that’s highlighted by a warm and involving midrange.
The headphones are comfortable to wear for long periods of time.
The wireless connectivity offers plenty of battery life and those connections have been reliable over long distances.
Cons
The mini XLR connections can be challenging to disconnect.
For some people the headphones may be too big to fit into their carryon luggage.
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