[Topherocious]

For starters, this is my first post, so hi everyone! Been lurking here for I dunno how long, finally decided to register yesterday. Anyhow, here's my situation:
 
I recently picked up the AKG K240S, maybe 3 weeks ago. Gave them a solid week and a half, 2 weeks to burn in and I've been using them regularly for about a week. I've got a small head, and I've had issues with the fit from day one, but nothing I wasn't willing to put up with. Then the other day, I noticed that the skin between my ear and sideburn felt kind of raw after having them on for a few hours. This is right where the 240's huge ear cups sit. Then last night, I took them off after about 5-6 hours' use and noticed there was blood on the ear cup. And on the skin in front of my ear I've got this terribly irritated spot that's somewhere between a hickey and a rug burn. This is from the pleather rubbing against my skin. I'll spare you the pics. 

 
I know there are velour cups available for them, but given the issues I'm already having with them being too big, I don't feel like it's worth all the time, trouble and extra money just to have a semi-decent set of $100 cans that won't injure me. They sound great, but not so spectacular that I'm willing to continue fighting with them at this point. I realize this is probably more information than you need, but just so you know where I'm coming from here...
 
Anyway, long story short, I'm looking for a full-size, over-ear can whose overall sound is comparable to (or slightly better) than the K240S, but in a more compact package. I have a set of Senn HD280 Pros that I use for monitoring and podcast production, and they fit perfectly and are comfortable for extended sessions. But they sound kind of cold and anemic when it comes to music listening. I primarily listen to Japanese indie rock, but I do venture into classical, jazz, electronic,etc. The K240S covered all of this pretty satisfactorily for me, but as much as I love these cans they're just not working out physically.
 
So, bottom line: sound equal to/better than the K240S, but with a tighter headband and smaller/softer ear cups like the HD280. My budget at the moment is right around $150 US.
 
Any suggestions? 

 

[Acix]

Maybe you can go for bigger hps, try to get some used K701/2, around on the FS $180.

 

[Zombie_X]

Acix the K702 may have more detail and soundstage and IMO sound better, but he wants something that has a similar base sound signature to the K240S.
 
As for you OP, I am not sure which headphone you would like. Most headphones that I have that meet the description are bigger than the K240S.

 

[Topherocious]

Thanks for the replies. I stopped by Guitar Center on the way home today and spent some time with what they had to offer. I was happy with the fit of the Beyer DT770 Pro, as well as the bass response (wouldn't bother me at all to have something with a little more bass than the K240 did). They're slightly out of my price range at the moment, but they could be doable. 
 
I was also looking at the ATH A700, as I've heard good things about them from people whose tastes I trust and they're easily affordable for me. But they look kinda huge and I don't have anywhere to test drive them. If anyone has experience with both of these and could offer some insight as far as the actual ear cup size of the A700 vs the DT770 or the HD280, that would be immensely helpful.
 
Otherwise i might go with the DT770, but it's hard to get a good feel for their sound standing in a noisy guitar store listening to unfamiliar music. If anyone wouldn't mind drawing a comparison between these and the K240s, that would also be a huge help.
 
Again, thanks for any input!

 

[Acix]

Quote:

Acix the K702 may have more detail and soundstage and IMO sound better, but he wants something that has a similar base sound signature to the K240S.
 
As for you OP, I am not sure which headphone you would like. Most headphones that I have that meet the description are bigger than the K240S.

I just keep up with the original evolution... you see now we're talking about the DT770.

 

[JeckyllAndHyde]

Smaller version of K240S is.... K141S - they shares the same driver and sound very similar (with K141S having slightly better bass and smaller soundstage) - You can also put an eye on old versions K141 and K141M - they are better than K240S and K141S IMO (and cheaper too). Other, similar sounding alternative is Ultrasone HFI-15G - very small, very comfortable and light. they sound like twin brother of K240S to me.

 

[QuantumCarrot]

To the best of my knowledge the original K141 was essentially a K240 driver without the sextett baffles in a different housing. I'm not sure what the drivers in the modern versions of 240 and 141 are like but the original 141 might be a good choice as stated above.

 

[Topherocious]

Awesome, I'll look into the K141 and the 15G, those both sound like great options. Thanks for the help, everybody!

 

[mythe]

The ad700 is very large and sort of sits on your head.  The clamping force will be very low, especially if you have a small head.  Without the "wings" they'd probably just slide down your face.
The earcups are indeed huge and very comfortable, and very very squishy, sort of like a pillow.  I don't think headphone cups get much bigger than that, it's about as full-sized as they come.

 

[Acix]

Quote:

Smaller version of K240S is.... K141S - they shares the same driver and sound very similar (with K141S having slightly better bass and smaller soundstage) - You can also put an eye on old versions K141 and K141M - they are better than K240S and K141S IMO (and cheaper too). Other, similar sounding alternative is Ultrasone HFI-15G - very small, very comfortable and light. they sound like twin brother of K240S to me.

Do you mean to the silver K141?

 

[JeckyllAndHyde]

Quote:

Do you mean to the silver K141?

if You're asking about 15G - than no - they aren't alternative to silver K141 - they have similar sound sig. to both Studios.
 
I am very sorry that I sold mine K141M and silver K141 and definetely getting them again - imho they both are better than Sextetts - they definetely outperform them in terms of details, clarity and balance (I had got both MP and LP Sextetts)