The Lowdown
The smallest and cheapest of three pairs of headphones in the AKG / Tïesto partnership, the K67s are nonetheless smart, good sounding and practical, only really let down by the fixed rather than detachable cable. Overall a decent performer for the price.
Video Review
First Impressions / Setting up
Package in consumer-style cardboard-with-a-window, the headphones come with no bag at all, which isn’t necessarily a big deal (those flimsy after-thought cloth bags you often get with headphones tend to get put by the wayside and offer no real protection anyway), but it does underline the “made to a budget” nature of them.
On unboxing, it’s clear that although they’re named “Tïesto”, you’d have to be told that to work it out – nowhere does his name appear on them, and there’s a small Jesus-pose bird logo on them that may or may not be something to do with his branding, but nothing at all cheesy or blatant. In fact, they look really rather nice; they’re understated in silver and black, with some dotted-pattern decal on the sides of the headband to offer a bit of relief from the black plastic, and “AKG” subtly in three places. A big “L”/”R” inside the earcups shows you instantly the right way to put them on.
The headband is lined with leatherette, and is in three parts, the middle piece being rubberised, the two side pieces plastic, with a slight amount of “give” where they join, to aid the fit. It’s impossible to work out how good the hinges are, without actually breaking the headphones, so no news on that – watch online for durability reports. The earcups adjust to the size of your head in a pretty standard way, a plastic/metal fitting pulling in and out of a sheath on either side.
The deep earcups are joined to the headband at the back of your head, with only one rather than two points of contact between each earcup and the headband, which nonetheless seems sturdy enough. However, unlike some models, there is little vertical “give” in their pivoting; they move horizontally through 100 degrees, but when you’re wearing them, vertically the earcups don’t move much at all, meaning they won’t naturally “tuck in” to your neck when dangling around it like some designs will.
The earcups themselves are chunky, quite heavy, and made of good quality black and silver plastic, with deep artificial leather padding and a bit of weight to them (presumably the 40mm drivers). They look and feel quite pleasing, only let down by the fact that the thin, straight cable is wired permanently into (one of) the ear cups; a detachable cable even at this price would definitely be preferable, not least because it would give the DJ the choice of replacing it with a coiled cable should he or she wish. Of course, the cable comes with the now-standard 1/8″ to 1/4″ adaptor.
Due to a pivoted join that lets you fold the earcups up into the headband, the K67s actually fold up very small, which means they should tuck easily enough into any nook or cranny (or your coat pocket) for easy enough transportation.
In Use
These are “on ear” rather than “over ear” headphones, meaning they sit on top of your whole ear, relying on pressure to isolate you from the outside world. Whether you prefer on ear to over ear is personal preference, but in this case, as in most cases, it means that they are quite tight, so they wouldn’t be perfect for long-term listening. That said, the thickness of the padding means they at least at first, they’re comfortable enough. Remember, they are meant for DJing, not extended classical music sessions on the sofa. In that classic “headphones round neck” in-between-mixes DJ position, they’re pretty comfortable, with nothing to dig into your chin, but as touched on above they would be more comfortable if the earcups could “fall away” rather than be locked rigid to the headband.
So to the all-important sound quality. I listened to a bit of rock and a bit of thumping house on them, and they sound pretty damned good. Bass is decent, mids and highs clear and natural, and soundstaging excellent, possibly due to the drivers being held a little further away from the ears than with some models. Volume-wise, they seem about the same as average for the driver size, that is to say plenty loud enough for most DJ gear and most DJing situations. If you’re half deaf and playing superclubs, you may want to look higher up the range!
Conclusion
These are a pretty high quality headphone for your money. They look good, fold up nice and small, sound convincing, and of course the combination of a superstar DJ and a well-known brand isn’t going to do them any harm in the marketplace either. Overall, isolation was only average, and some may bemoan the lack of a little slip case, or more importantly the lack of a detachable cable, but really, for the price they seem about right. They certainly don’t seem “cheap”, something added to by their decent weight – heavy enough to feel substantial, not so heavy as to be less comfortable than a lighter pair.
Barring any issues with durability around the pivot joint or the fixed cable, the AKG/Tïesto K67s get our recommendation.
