Review: AKG K72 Studio Monitor Headphones

Sound Quality

These headphones sound decent for their price but the characteristics of the sound could be a negative for people that prefer good mid range presence.

My experience with these headphones is pretty similar to what’s shown in the frequency analysis.

The highs have a good presence and clarity. I liked how the high end sounded, especially after they had gone through some burn in time. The high end was smooth and didn’t get harsh when turning up the volume.

The mids sound subdued. Sounds in the mid range felt like they were taking a back seat to the high and low end. Vocals especially sounded less present, as well as other instruments that sit mostly in the mid range. The mids also sounded a little muddy and less clear as a result of their subdued nature.

The lows are present and balanced, but not overly powerful. You can hear sub bass but you don’t really feel it. The clarity is good enough in the low end for mixing.

The spaciousness is sufficient. I found the left to right sound stage to be sufficient and it’s easy to place sound from left to right when listening. The spaciousness isn’t overly strong, but it’s pretty good for a cheap pair of closed back headphones.

Clarity is decent but not great. It felt like most of the clarity and crispness in the sound was coming from the high end. The mids are a net negative for the clarity of the sound with their less present nature. The lows are clear enough for mixing purposes.

Overall the sound is decent considering the price of these headphones. They sound almost identical to the K92 headphones when I test them side by side. I prefer more mid range presence so I wasn’t a huge fan of the sound on these, but I could see some people liking the sound depending on preference. Personally, I wouldn’t use these for mixing but I wouldn’t have any problem having them around the studio to use for tracking headphones.

Closed Back Design

The closed back design of these headphones provides some minimal to average noise attenuation, with how they fit on your head helping to decide how much noise isolation you’ll experience. While they are only passive in regards to noise cancelling, they can do a decent job of cutting out room noise and other people talking depending on if you can get a good seal with the ear cups. Personally, I struggled to get a good seal from the ear cups so I didn’t experience very good noise isolation.

Comfort

Comfort is another one of the strong points of these headphones. They are the type of headphones that you can wear for longer sessions. They are lightweight and comfortable in the right spots.

They have a self-adjusting headband that is mounted independently of the metal band, which makes the headband extremely comfortable.

The ear cups are large and soft, and they can work well for people who wear glasses. The ear cups aren’t super deep, so if you have wide ears they may put a little pressure on your ears.

The ear cups can get a little warm over longer sessions, since they are closed and don’t allow much airflow.

Build Quality

The quality is decent for the price but these headphones use a lot of plastic in their construction. They feel very similar to the K92 headphones with the biggest difference being the color.

The headband is the only major metal part, and there’s a lot of plastic for the rest. The plastic has a really nice finish to it though, and it doesn’t look like a cheap plastic build. Once you hold them in hand you realize how light they are. These feel like if you sat on them the thin headband would be destroyed, so it’s probably best to avoid crushing these.

The Cable

These headphones come with a 3 meter straight cable. The cable has a 3.5mm plug and a 1/4″ adapter. The cable is non-removable.

I noticed that you can hear bumps and scraping on the cable pretty easily when you have these on your head. It’s not overly annoying but if that kind of stuff bothers you it’s good to be aware.

Are These Headphones Good For Electronic Drumming?

These can be a decent pick for electronic drummers if you like their sound. I tried these along with the K92 and K52 headphones on my drum kit and they felt about the same.

The subdued mids weren’t as noticeable when hooked up directly to my drum module but it did take a little edge off of the snare sounds. Hi-hats sounded great on these. They were plenty comfortable. Noise isolation struggled since the ear cups are large and didn’t form a good seal around my ears. The long cable was welcome. The cable transfers some noise when bumped, so that can be a little annoying but it wasn’t very noticeable while playing.

How Do These Compare to the AKG K52 and K92 Headphones?

AKG has some very similar headphones in the AKG K92, K72 and K52 models. Check out our comparison of these AKG headphones where we get into some of the details as far as what makes them different from each other.

Technical Specifications

The Verdict

The AKG K72 headphones are very similar to the K92 headphones but a little bit cheaper. They offer a decent sound and comfortable fit. I’d pick these over the K92’s and save ten bucks if you find them for a cheaper price.

The mid range response is weak and that could be an issue if you don’t like subdued mids. These offer good comfort and a solid sound for tracking, gaming and electronic drumming. The closed-back design does a decent job of providing passive noise isolation. They are a good pick for budget users who want good sounding headphones that are comfortable.