AKG K-271 MKII

I have to be honest... I'm an AKG guy. I love their headphones since a decade or so. I did try Sennheiser, Audio Technica and other "classic" but always came back to AKG. It might be ear-dependent : I spent a lot of time listening to various style and mixing with the MKII series. Maybe my ears have got used to ? Plus, as a bass player, I don't expect bass / sub frequencies to be super pumped but "at the right place" and those headphones don't fail to kick them in the mix where they belong. It's all about BALANCE. Take that Bose and Beats.

The only reason I bought a new one is because of the the previous generation of "headset" (or headband, whatever you call it) : it used to be stiffer so it cracked here and there before splitting in two after 5 years of intensive use. The new headset is softer and looked like it'll last longer.

The only downfall : the output impedance doesn't match the industry standard. That's where Sennheiser models shine brighter. It's a bit frustrating because it sounds like AKG headphones fail to show their full potential.

So turn the knobs up to 11 and don't forget those precious Lemmy's words of wisdom : if it's too loud, you're too old !

For judging my sound on location, I use this headphone in addition to Beyerdynamic DT770. The AKG K-271 MKII does not sound "pleasant" but it will give you the tiniest details of what your microphones hear, especially transient information.

The transient detail density also makes it very useful for narrators and voice-overs, as they will immediately hear their own lip smacks and saliva noises, resulting in a much better behaviour of the mouth.

I love the automatic switch in the headband mechanism. Some artists have the tendency to take off their headphones near a microphone and the switch will avoid feedback ruining anything in the chain. The only problem is with hipsters who want to hold the headphone in their hand with one speaker to an ear. Or when they want to protect their valuable hair dress and keep the headband in their neck. In these cases no sound will come out of it. Much to my enjoyment, as I despise behaviour with an "attitude". Let's just get the work done and put it on your head properly! This headphone is very good for that.

In comparison to the Beyerdynamic DT770, I should say that the 770 has a much more easy to listen to sound with fewer detail accentuation. So in case I need to reassure an uncertain musician when they want to hear back their playing (violinists especially), I prefer to hand them the DT770. The AKG K-271 MKII would be a bit too honest in such a situation. Also: the DT770 is better suitable to judge low frequency rumbling when you do a location recording. It's overblowing the lows, but that can be helpful if you want to find a good setting for your HPF.

All in all I think the AKG K-271 MKII and the Beyerdynamic DT770 make a very good addition to each other, in both studio and location recording.

In these you can play LOUD without them cracking up. Off course depending on the power of your headphone amp. A very nice feature is the way they cut out the sound when they're not on your head since then there won't be any phones lying around at full blast leaking into overdubs etc.
Soundwise they are a bit on the honky side for vocal recording but for drums they are perfect because of the serious isolation.
Not really to use for recording vocals because of a slight lack of high frequencies compared to the AKG 240's , for example but when you need volume they's da shiit. ;-)

I am a drummer and i bought these to use as monitor headphones when recording in studio and use them for mixing especially for the effects (reverb etc). Right out of the box, the plastic material and ear pads look a bit poor quality at first, but the extra telephone type cable and the golden plated screw-head jack extension is pretty cool. It doesn't fit tight on the head, it's pretty loose, so it's a bit uncomfortable when playing drums; but it won't be a problem for a guitar player, a pianist or a singer. It's also very poor at sound isolation. This becomes a trouble for especially drummers, you hear all the acoustic sound when playing. Again, i don't think it will be a problem for other musicians. The sound quality is very good. Very detailed, clear and crisp highs & mids, and stunning performance at lower frequencies. These babies give you lowest end your ears are able to hear, without distortion... The impedance is so low that it blows your head with the volume and still no (or very little) distortion. Very good choice for vocals, wind instruments, guitars, keyboards etc; drummers better look somewhere else though...