AKG K371 Studio Headphone Review

While there are a few metal parts, most of the build is plastic, but solid, reassuring plastic. The materials used in most recent over and on-ear studio headphones, including K371, are way nicer to touch and more premium-feeling than say Audio-Technica ATH-M50x or Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro, which seem to be more concerned by function alone. The padding-less silicone headband cushion is another trend that’s on the rise with newer models. The outside of the headband is wrapped in really nice faux leather. That paired with the gentle and soft ear pads gives some weight to the “Luxurious feel and AKG performance” slogan. For this price segment, they do feel luxurious.

With the cable detached, K371 can be neatly folded to save some space in your backpack. A waterproof carrying pouch is also included. They’re very portable for their size.

A short segment of the wire that connects both ear cups is exposed which is not ideal as it makes it vulnerable, however, of all the headphone designs that opt for the external wire routing, K371 provides perhaps the most protection for the wire by routing it in between the metal ear cup holders.

K371 manages to keep the mid-range neutral in vast bandwidth of about 100 Hz up to about 1 kHz beating even the Shure SRH1540 in this regard. However, the higher frequencies get a boost, not to a point that makes cymbals and high hats ear-piercing but definitely makes the sound bright. For recreational listening many will find this coloration pleasant, but this is something to keep in mind while working on audio. The bass response is elevated for most of the measured pairs, somewhat like this particular one shown on the graph, but most pairs are lacking sub bass extension. Either way, even for the pairs with increased bass, the boost is conservative and is not overbearing.

Sadly, channel balance isn’t great. On two of the four pairs measured, there were either left to right deviations of about +/- 4 dB throughout the spectrum, or about 3 dB bass response disbalance. It’s not that this issue will destroy the stereo perception for the listener, but if you’re unlucky and get one of the worse pairs, dialing in the stereo field might get confusing, especially if you’re cross-referencing against speakers. The remaining two pairs were with more minor issues in this regard. Of course, we’ll never be able to measure all of the headphones out there and with the limited sample pool it’s impossible to tell how common this disbalance is, but if you’re working with K371 and struggle with your stereo decisions translating well to other systems, it’s possible your headphones are misleading you.

Comfort is K371 forte. The silicone headband is great at balancing out the pressure and ear pads are nice and soft. The closed-back design paired with the pleather-wrapped ear pads inevitably lead to heat build-up inside which after some time wearing them most probably will lead to sweaty ears, but other than that, no issues came up among our testers. Overall, these are some of the most comfortable options on the market today, in their respective price bracket.

AKG manages to pack in considerable value for a relatively affordable price with the K371. They’re well put together, can be worn for an extended period of time and feel nice in your hands. And you get 3 different cables! Other than Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro’s or Beyerdynamic Custom series, there aren’t really other closed-back headphones in this price category that can challenge K371 comfort.