Despite being simple to use, the AKG K271 doesn’t suffer as a result. The headband is made of imitation leather and is supported by two metal hangers, while both sides are made of plastic and reinforced with a metal ring at the edge. The ear cups completely envelop the ears and provide enough horizontal and vertical flexibility for the headphones to comfortably fit on the head. The AKG K 271 MKII doesn’t appear very distinctive at first appearance, but it has a few surprises concealed inside.
For instance, the left earpiece includes an AKG standard small XLR connector for the two supplied cables in place of a conventional jack plug, making them interchangeable. Since the AKG K271 MKIIs are sealed over-ear headphones, size is to be expected. The fact that they cannot be folded, which you will notice right away due to the headband shape, adds to this. The headband has spring wires on top of a freeform headband. Despite its drawbacks, chiefly the inability of the headband to fold.
[content-egg-block template=offers_logo hide=price]Simply put, it will adjust to the shape of any skull, which, as you might expect, makes them a little twisting and improves the fit in terms of comfort for any wearer. This is made possible by a sophisticated spring-loaded system on either side, which also eliminates the need to manually adjust the earpads’ fit for each ear.
Once you look past the clutter that typically comes with over-ear designs, the headphones actually have a nice aesthetic. AKG makes an effort to avoid overwhelming the senses for those who like a minimalistic design, which they would in any other colour given the congestion generated by the almost enormous quantity of mechanics. They ship in all-black with silver trims and a few blue accents.
Even though they are mostly used as monitor headphones, I must point out that they can also be used as regular headphones. You must keep in mind that some of the standard sources will require a portable amp in addition to them due to their impedance of 55 ohms.
The MKIIs don’t have much of a seal because they don’t always clasp the wearer’s head, and as a result, isolation is also quite low. You can pretty much hear your surroundings practically normally when there isn’t any music playing. The benefits of burn-in are still hotly contested. The bass was noticeably below par, even for monitor headphones, and the mids and highs were thin and muddy at first listen. It would be an understatement to say that the results were significantly improved after letting them a few hours to burn in.