We haven't come as far in 30 years as we should have: my experience with a NOS pair of AKG K340's - Page 7

Graphicism, I doubt you could tell how well headphones do subsonic frequencies considering we can only feel it not hear it and how commonly it is cut off in recording and reproduction hardware and software. But maybe you're right that the 3hz is not real at all, but unless someone tests it so I will presume headphones today have better FR specs than 30 years ago (not that it means much to me, just my response to someone claiming FR hasn't changed much over time).

i still use these 600ohm monsters from the 80s. still sound fantastic as well

is there some sort of group or club on head fi for oldschool headphone owners?

Quote:

Originally Posted by thebigcanman 

is there some sort of group or club on head fi for oldschool headphone owners?

I believe all the groups were banned along with friends and birthday wishes. Nice looking vintage headphones, have you had a chance to compare them to todays Sennhesier HD580/600?

#1286506

Make your own. The new site allows for this.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by thebigcanman 

i still use these 600ohm monsters from the 80s. still sound fantastic as well

 

 

is there some sort of group or club on head fi for oldschool headphone owners?

Quote:

Originally Posted by kool bubba ice 

Make your own. The new site allows for this.
 

How do you do that?

That's a lovely pic Skylab; a untainted pair of K340s. I'm amazed one was floating around somewhere. I'd love to hear the story of how you obtained such a priceless treasure :) I'm sure it's just as exciting as the headphone its self.

I agree, technology regarding fine audio reproduction really hasn't come very far. It's painfully obvious when people prefer tube circuit designs from the mid 1900s to the best that 2010 has to offer.

You mean you didn't find them tucked away and in an unusual pawnshop for $25, or a long-lost relative found them under a pile of dust in the attic? :) Well it is pretty cool that Larry was holding onto a few and released them into the wild.

I keep putting these on to see where I had been until recently...

Decades old.

Big difference... but not light-years.

No regrets.

shane

with a bit of luck I'll get my first K340 this week :) hope they will be worth selling some cans from my collection. as for now I'm sure I'll keep these sweet sounding babies:

I also enjoyed mine K260 Pro - nice, balanced sound - very similar to first K240M.

I currently have a modded K340, and I should be receiving a stock one soon (USPS is taking forever to ship across the border). I'll have to remember to post my impressions and compare the two.

Sounds like a great comparison I'll let you know if you forget to do it

Audio has made very little gain in 30 yrs...My NAGRAs are just as good as any dynamic high end headphone out today that I heard/owned, IMO..

How much do you think it would cost to rebuild some of these older headphones? We should start our own retro headphones business and charge people out the wazoo just like the professionals at Sennheiser... thats marketing professionals btw.

Hmm, quick impressions of stock vs modded (cable, grill, earpad, damped)...

Stock: flatter frequency response (except for the warbles starting at 10kHz), better mids, more comfortable with Beyer pads

Modded: more obvious transition moving from stat to dynamic (at the 2kHz range I think?), a bit more punch due to U shaped frequency response, lesser warbles at high frequencies