AKG HSC 271 Studio Set

Very comfortable headset. My favorite features are:
1. Detachable spiral cable. As for me - this cable is great - sturdy (I have had another headset for over two years with a similar cable type - AKG K-712 Pro - no problems for everyday use for 4+ hours in a row so far). Easy to organize (spiral cables don't need to be untangled, while straight cables do). Finally, the length is just about right.
2. Velour cushions. There are two pairs of cushions in the box - the default ones (soft man-made leather) on the headset, and velour ones as a spare pair. Velour cushions are awesome! Having them is a great life-saver as the headset sits nice and soft on the head and it doesn't feel uncomfortable wearing the headset for a long time.

One thing, however, that makes the overall impression a little bit fuzzy is the headband. It's made of some sort of PVA material or something, and it does look a little bit strange (cheap? weak?) for a headset for everyday use, which costs almost €300. The headband of my AKG K-712 Pro would be a better choice in this particular case.

Bought these to use for monitoring and talkback on an X32. The sound quality and isolation is very good and they feel like they will last a long time. The cable is detachable with a micro XLR connector on the cans which is very handy when packing them away as it stops the cable getting all tangled around the headband. There’s also a novel feature in that the headphones mute themselves when you take them off which is quite neat. Condenser mic is pretty good too but my only criticism is that the XLR plug for the mic is quite big and heavy - most likely due to the 48v preamp being housed in there so the dynamic model should have a smaller plug.

I love the AKG HSC271 headset, it is perfect in each aspect except from one. The cable, which is constantly breaking to the point of getting entirely damaged. I use my headset on a stationary setup on my desk, I plug in my cable just once into my audio interface and it stays this way permanently until it is time to change out the cable again. Unfortunately after several months the new cable then starts developing a bad contact, and the only way to resolve this issue temporarily is to twist the cable until the sounds gets restored, then fixing it into place with some cable ties. At this point the cable will only last a few more months before it will completely give up. I use up about one cable each year with daily normal use sitting at my desk. It's an incredibly bad design for a very high cost (the replacement cable has a cost of 95 EUR), which needs to be factored in as a regular cost for keeping this headset in working condition.