That's surprsing. AKG v iTrack Solo headphones

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Old-Bugga
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That's surprsing. AKG v iTrack Solo headphones

Post by Old-Bugga » Fri Dec 26, 2014 6:31 am

I bought the iTrack solo bundle for recording via my iPad. It came with a set of AKG lookalike headphones. Santa brought me a genuine set of AKG K240 MkII headphones. Just tried them side by side and to my tired half deaf old ears, the AKG's just sound quiet flat and lifeless (which I suspect is classed as "neutral sounding"). Tried it on various family members and pets and all agreed the bundled Focusrites sounded WAY better. So......AKG's are on their way back to Aamazon. Just sharing this experience in case it helps someone else. the iTrack solo bundle just seems like crazy good value.

Found it as low as £119 now for an interface, condenser mic with stand and headphones.

http://www.gak.co.uk/en/focusrite-itrac ... wgodU0sA2w

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Tourniquet
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Re: That's surprsing. AKG v iTrack Solo headphones

Post by Tourniquet » Fri Dec 26, 2014 10:45 am

Huh, that is intersting. I just bought a pair of Audio-Technica's ATH-M50x. I love the sound out of them, and I haven't even broke them in yet.

Jus
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Re: That's surprsing. AKG v iTrack Solo headphones

Post by Jus » Fri Dec 26, 2014 11:31 am

I'd keep them both old-bugga 8)
I've learnt to hold on for a few weeks to things before judging quality 8)
My ears had to adjust over a few days or so to come up to speed with diferent makes of musical equipment :D

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martygras
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Re: That's surprsing. AKG v iTrack Solo headphones

Post by martygras » Fri Dec 26, 2014 2:24 pm

Old-Bugga wrote:I bought the iTrack solo bundle for recording via my iPad. It came with a set of AKG lookalike headphones. Santa brought me a genuine set of AKG K240 MkII headphones. Just tried them side by side and to my tired half deaf old ears, the AKG's just sound quiet flat and lifeless (which I suspect is classed as "neutral sounding"). Tried it on various family members and pets and all agreed the bundled Focusrites sounded WAY better. So......AKG's are on their way back to Aamazon. Just sharing this experience in case it helps someone else. the iTrack solo bundle just seems like crazy good value.

Found it as low as £119 now for an interface, condenser mic with stand and headphones.

http://www.gak.co.uk/en/focusrite-itrac ... wgodU0sA2w

Although...The AKG are much better for mixing if you are one of those that do mix in cans.
Marty Schulte [I'm a drummer. So, there's that.]
iPad AIR(128), Akai EIE, Akai EWI USB, illudium q-36 explosive space modulator
Head First Audio (live sound for Southern Oregon, USA)

Trentsongs
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Re: That's surprsing. AKG v iTrack Solo headphones

Post by Trentsongs » Fri Dec 26, 2014 2:40 pm

I've used the 240s for decades. They're absolutely great for mixing and very neutral listening. instead of just feeling low frequencies, you can hear where the instrument generating them sits in the mix. Compensate when you check on another system. I find most modern cans are reaching to please producer mixing for "Beats" type headphones, which may not be a bad thing in itself. If you're recording or mixing vocals or acoustic instruments, the 240s are a reliable tool.

I recommend you try them for a while before returning.

mrufino1
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Re: That's surprsing. AKG v iTrack Solo headphones

Post by mrufino1 » Sat Dec 27, 2014 12:05 am

I just got rid of my 240mkii headphones. I just couldn't get used to them, even almost a year later. I know my 7506's are far from flat but I've had them since 2004 and know them too well. I had the original 240's for 1 weekend but returned them to get the 7506's, the 240 made me dizzy.

I'd like to check out the focal headphones someday, but too many other priorities right now.

TedBPhx
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Re: That's surprsing. AKG v iTrack Solo headphones

Post by TedBPhx » Sat Dec 27, 2014 8:42 am

I have a 15 year old set of AKG K240 DFs, 600 OHM, that I use for tracking and a newish pair of Sennheiser Amperions, 18 Ohms, for general listening. The Sennheisers sound better but I know the much flatter AKGs so well that they are better for dialing in a sound. I thought I'd read the newer, lower ohm, AKGs are not as flat? I use near fields to finalize.

This is with an iTrack Dock.

mkeymont
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Re: That's surprsing. AKG v iTrack Solo headphones

Post by mkeymont » Wed Dec 31, 2014 6:04 am

Hi all,

Full disclosure, I've worked in the headphone department at Bose for the past decade and have learned a lot about headphones. One thing that a lot of people overlook is that the fit of the earcushions to your head and ears can have a big impact on the specific response that you get from a pair of headphones. We test on countless heads, multiple fits per test subject, when measuring headphone response for a variety of parameters. What sounds amazing to one person can be not so great to another. That is why we have put so much research into the comfort and fit aspects of headphones. Well, that and the fact that we have been making military communications headsets for decades and in the military environment, making the headsets perform consistently across many different head sizes is critical...

That said, I'm not here as a rep of the company, but as a hobbyist in the great audio playground. One cool aspect of my job is that I have access to TONS of different headphones and gear. They all have their own signature. What matters is that you can where them for long periods without fatigue and that they have a baseline decent frequency response. You really have to put in the time to get to know the sound of your phones if you're going to judge mixes with them. I primarily like to use phones for evaluating low bass, since the room can play so many games acoustically, good phones allow you to remove the room, ignoring imaging etc for a little while, and focus on the bass response. I actually prefer to use noise Cancelling sometimes because it removes a lot of whatever low end rumble may be present in your environment and gives you a fairly clean sonic pallet to work from.

So, that's my company pitch: try out a pair of QC25s for mixing. QC20, the in-ear noise Cancelling model, is great for tracking, especially when it's a singer and they turn on Aware Mode so they get a little direct feedback into the phones. The gag with the 20s is that since they cancel and are in the ear, you get almost no spillage from the phones into the mic !

Mike

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Tarekith
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Re: That's surprsing. AKG v iTrack Solo headphones

Post by Tarekith » Wed Dec 31, 2014 9:53 am

The amp you use to drive the headphones (or not) makes a big difference too, you might not be comparing headphones with similar impedance.

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