AKG K371  Headphones Review

The AKG K371's sound profile is somewhat warm and bassy, with a clear treble. Low-end is boomy and rumbly, and the mids are very balanced, which somewhat mimics the Harman IEM target. The top-end is a bit more emphasized than the Harman IEM and our target.

The frequency response consistency is mediocre. Unfortunately, the ear cups don't provide a very tight seal, which results in different people experiencing their sound profile differently. They're prone to gaps between the ear cups and the head, and people with glasses or long hair will likely experience notable variations in the bass range.

The bass profile target compliance is excellent. It's boosted more than our target, providing ample thump and boom on bass and kicks on songs like You Make Me Feel by Sylvester. There's a L/R stereo mismatch that skews the bass more to one side or the other, depending on the pitch. Careful listeners are more likely to notice this. In addition, bass delivery varies because these cans are sensitive to the over-ear fit, seal, and whether you wear glasses.

The AKG K371 comply remarkably well with our target in the mid-range. They follow the target curve almost perfectly with almost no deviations, providing present and accurate leads and vocals.

The treble profile compliance of the AKG K371 is superb. Overall, it produces clear transients such as vocal and cymbal harmonics and approximates our target. It's a bit uneven, with peaks and dips between the low-treble's slight over-emphasis that adds extra presence and narrow valleys that can dull articulation a little. Meanwhile, most of the mid-treble is excited and can sound a little piercing on tracks with prominent cymbals in the mix.

The peaks and dips performance of the AKG K371 is very good. The sound profile is smooth without many narrow valleys or frequencies poking out. The L/R stereo mismatch accounts for the majority of the peaks and dips in the bass through the mid-range. In the upper frequencies, narrow peaks and valleys can cause voices to sound a bit uneven with narrow bands of harshness followed by dips that dull details, and then piercing or sharp emphasis in the mid-treble.

These have satisfactory stereo mismatch results. While the weighted amplitude tightly matches, there's a frequency response mismatch in the L/R drivers. Along with the weighted phase response mismatch, careful listeners may notice a somewhat shifted stereo image with notches in the bass and mid-range frequencies, which can tilt the audio to the right side. Your results may vary, as our measurements are valid only for our unit.

The headphones' group delay is sub-par. Bass frequencies arrive on a delay with uneven timing that causes kicks and bass instruments to sound undefined. However, the mids and treble play back sounding transparent.

Like most closed-back headphones, the AKG K371 have a sub-par soundstage. Although there’s a lot of pinna interaction, it isn’t really accurate. While this results in a relatively large soundstage, it feels unnatural and inside the listener’s head.

These headphones have fantastic harmonic distortion performance. At 94 and 104 dB/SPL, all frequencies tested are clean and free of notable distortions in the signal.

These headphones don't need an amp to drive them to usable volumes.

These are the settings used to test these headphones. Our results are only valid when used in this configuration.

The AKG K371 are wired over-ear headphones with a fairly retro look with some modern elements. They have a similar look to the Sennheiser Momentum 3, except with more plastic and less metal. The headphones are all matte-black, with a faux-lather finish on the headband and synthetic leather padding on the ear cups.

The AKG K371 are comfortable over-ear headphones. They have plush ear cups with thick, soft padding and they don't squeeze too tightly on your head, so you're able to wear them for long listening sessions without feeling too fatigued. That said, if you have large ears, they can touch the drivers inside the ear cups, and become uncomfortable over time. If you're looking for more comfortable audiophile headphones at the budget level, it's worth considering the HiFiMan HE400se. Even though they have an open-back design, compared to the AKG's closed-back design, they don't clamp as tightly on your head.

These headphones have no controls on them so you'll have to use your device to control your media.

While these headphones do fold up, unfortunately they're still quite bulky and may not be the most portable option. On the upside, they come with a decent pouch to protect them from scratches when in a backpack or purse.

The included pouch with these headphones is decent. While not as good as a hard case, the pouch itself feels quite well-made and has a cinch top to keep things from getting inside. It should protect your headphones from some minor water exposure and scratches.

The build quality of the AKG K371 is decent. While they're mainly made of plastic, there are some touches of metal and synthetic leather that make them feel a bit more premium. The wire going from the ear cups to the headband is purposely exposed, and stretches to its limit when the headband is extended, which is concerning. If you're looking for better-built AKG headphones, consider the AKG N700NC M2 Wireless.

The stability is passable. These headphones have a decent clamping force, so they'll stay on your head if you sway with your music or nod to the beat, but they won't handle high-intensity movements well. They'll likely fall off your head if you're running to catch a bus or taking them on a stationary bike. The AKG K371 are also wired headphones; their cable can snag on corners and doorknobs, pulling the headphones from your head.

• AKG K371 Headphones
• Pouch
• 10 foot straight audio cable
• 4 foot straight audio cable
• Coiled audio cable
• 1/8" to 1/4" Adapter
• Manual

These headphones don't have active noise cancelling (ANC) and do a poor job at blocking out background noise passively, especially in the bass range. As a result, these headphones won't do anything to block out the low engine rumble of buses and planes, though they're passable at blocking out high-pitched sounds like clinking dishes.

In common scenarios, these have poor noise isolation. They'll muffle bright environmental sounds like squeaky door hinges, and slightly muffle chit-chat, but won't completely block them out.

The AKG A371 leak very little audio, and most of the audio leaked will be thin-sounding. While you should be able to turn your music up fairly loud in most environments without bothering people around you, you still shouldn't blast your music in very quiet situations, like a library.

These headphones have three detachable audio cables: a 4-foot straight cable, a 10-foot straight cable, and a coiled cable. The input on the headphones is a Mini XLR, but the included cables all adapt to a standard 1/8" plug on the other end.

You can connect these to your PC's headphone output jack for full audio support.

The AKG K371 can plug into your PlayStation controller's headphone out. There's no mic, though.

The AKG K371 can be plugged into the controller of an Xbox One to be used for audio, but they don't have a microphone.