The AKG K7XX's are very popular in this community, and while I can see why, I'm personally not a fan. (Pls no haterinos, it's just a personal opinion)
Packaging: eh/10
As the K7XX's are a Massdrop exclusive, designed to be sold at a lower price, the packaging was nothing special. The headphones came in a simple "presentation" box with one cable. No other accessories were included, again understandable, but still a bit troublesome. A shorter cable would have been greatly appreciated, as the one included with the headphones is around 8 feet long (and a proprietary plug, GDI AKG).
Comfort: 9/10
To me, one of the strongest parts of these headphones lies in its comfortableness. It's very light, there's just the right amount of pressure to keep the headphones in place yet avoid squishing your brain, and the adjustment will work for all but the most extreme head shapes and sizes. The ear pads are a kind of memory foam, velour covered type thing, which are a bit thin, but no big deal.
The covering on the inside of the ear cups (driver covers?) are made of a rougher woven polyester type thing; the tips of your ears will almost certainly be resting against this. Again, less comfortable than it could be, but not a big deal, and won't be a problem unless you're constantly shifting the headphones and rubbing against it. It would have been nice to have spare ear pads, but again, it's not to be expected.
As the K7XX is open backed, your ears more than likely won't get sweaty as they would with closed back headphones, again enabling hours of use at a time.
The build quality isn't bad, but it does look a little bit fragile. Mine have yet to break, but I'd certainly try to avoid sitting on them or placing things on top. Those two guide rails on top look problematically thin if you were to place something on top by accident.
Sound: 5/10
In my opinion, this is where the K7XXs really struggle, or at least differ from my own tastes. And no matter your taste in headphone sounds, these are definitely not "Reference Headphones" like they're marked. Apologies ahead of time for my lack of terminology.
Bass on these headphones is honestly most of the problem for me. While they're strong and clearly emphasized, they seem to be boosted in the wrong way. Individual bass beats are muddy and lack the punchiness that I look for.
Mids seem almost recessed, like if the singer were standing behind all the instruments, creating the illusion of a V shaped curve. Additionally, parts of the bass leak into the mid section, making the whole thing sound rather "muddy", and taking away from the clarity that would otherwise be exceptional for a $200 pair of cans. Guitar and other string instruments tend to sound recessed as well. Male voices sound much stronger than female voices, which I suspect is a result of the V shape sound curve (? is that even the right term?)
Treble is like the bass, almost artificially enhanced. It can be too piercing at times and makes long term listening tiresome, despite the headphone's exceptional comfort. What really annoys me, however, is how drastic and obvious this change is. You can distinctly hear the change from when a singer, especially female, goes from a lower note to a higher one. On a good note however, the highs are very detailed.
Overall, the very drastic way that the sound was boosted on the low and high ends creates this overwhelming sensation of unevenness in the music. These should not be used as
Miscellaneous thoughts:
These are actually great for gaming. The soundstage, while not exceptional, does offer very pretty good separation. Forward highs will make gunshots and other sound effects stand out while the slightly muffled bass will make explosions sound slightly less piercing. You might have a bit more trouble hearing gunshots due to recessed mids, but at least these headphones are detailed. No microphone on the cable or headphones means you have to figure that out yourself though.
Massdrop shipping times are annoying AF, but maybe I've just been spoiled by Amazon Prime. Their no returns policy is especially bad though.
Being open-backed provides these headphones major advantages in comfort (and some say soundstage, though I personally don't hear it). However, it also means that sound isolation will be abysmal. The K7XXs are for use in a quiet room or at home alone. You will hear everything happening around you unless you turn the volume way up, but then the people around you will hear everything you're listening to.
In my opinion, for $200, there are better options out there, unless you're specifically looking for open backed headphones, or if this V shaped sound signature particularly appeals to you. I'd personally pay no more than $150 for these. Remember to do your research beforehand no matter what you decide to buy, and if possible, try out a pair first!
