[lejaz]

If the sextett's are as good as many people say, I'm assuming that the 240M was a pretty big downgrade, because you almost never hear anyone praising those. Anyone want to comment on the M compared to the Sextett and/or the newer k240S and mkII/HD, etc, with the lower 55ohm impedance? 

 

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[roBernd]

Quote:

If the sextett's are as good as many people say, I'm assuming that the 240M was a pretty big downgrade, because you almost never hear anyone praising those. Anyone want to comment on the M compared to the Sextett and/or the newer k240S and mkII/HD, etc, with the lower 55ohm impedance? 

Owned all of them, kept the Sextetts MP.
 
K240M:
imagine a K701... with less detail and less soundstage. -> anemic bass (no... not neutral) and somewhat treble heavy.
 
 
 
K240 Sextetts MP:
less detail than modern Headphones, good soundstage, easy to listen for longer session. Easy HD650-ish treble. great mids and right amount of bass, but the bass doesn't extend very deep compared to high-end-cans. FR-response isn't flat but sound quite neutral to my ear. Mids are... great... just great.
 
 
 
K240s:
boomy bloated upper bass, great headphone overall and good soundstage. A fun headphone but not neutral at all. The upper treble is quite sharp but doesn't suffer from like the K701 (no lower treble-spike) like them more than the K701 and a great bang for a buck.
 
 
 
K242HD
basically the same headphone as the K240s but no mini-xlr cable-fun.
BUT -> Comes with velours-> tames the bass-> quite neutral headphone with a lot of details but still fun.
 
 
 
K240MKII
the same as the K240s and the K242HD
BUT- > comes with both, pleather and velours, so you can change the Sound Signature to your liking.
(the pads make quite a difference, velours also heave a less room to fit you ears inside, still okay though)
comes with 2 cords, spiral and straight.
 
 
 
haven't heard the DF's
 
sidenote:
velours on Sextetts or K240M kill too much bass to consider such a combination.
Cheers mates, hope this will help you guys.

 

[lejaz]

Thanks roBernd....very helpful information. Your take on the k240S is pretty much the same as mine. If the velours would tame the upper bass bloat, it would be well worth getting them though, because other than that, they're very good phones for the money. Unfortunately around 150-220hz there's a huge bass bump that makes them way too warm and bassy with some material. I may have to try to dig up some velour pads.  

 

[lejaz]

My DF sounds a lot like the graph Adda linked to....a bit bright because of the spike in the upper mids/treble, but otherwise very flat and smooth....with very good clarity...almost like taking a sock off the 240S... with none of the bass bloat. Mine sound a bit underpowered in the lows, comparable to the k70X..  
 
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The K 250 don't seem to have Sextett drivers, though; not according to the service doc, anyway.
 
Hard to tell what sort of standard equalization, if any, was aimed at with the 250 and 340 based on the graphs I measured...
 
There's a picture here comparing free field and diffuse field. I suppose you could see some evidence of the free field trace in what Tyll measured for rhythmdevils' pair of K 340.
 
The K 250 as I've measured it fits neither of those.
 
Here's the raw (i.e. un-diffuse field compensated) graphs for the K 250, K 340 and DT 990 (vintage) as I measured them:

 
If you look at the DT 990 graph (middle), then compare it to the diffuse field graph I linked to above, the similarity is pretty striking. (Though could be incidental, as my recording setup isn't pro.)
 
Adda linked a graph (here) comparing the 240 DF to the 240 M. The graphs are presumably compensated, but I don't know with what curve. My compensated curve for the K 250 isn't actually too far off the DF as it was measured by that person – the DF has a hump around 5 kHz as well. (But again, I've no idea what sort of a recording setup that person had.)
 
I haven't had a chance to test the K 250 with any other sources yet. And to be honest, I don't really have any.

 But I'll have a look at the bass department when I get around to my 250/340 thing.
 
I've never heard a 240 M, but I do own the Philips SBC 3178, which are a Made in Austria type of thing, and most people seem convinced that they're a rebadged K 260. The K 260, in turn, has been described as a better version of the 240 M. I don't know how close of a rebadge the Philips version is, but they don't sound as good as the 250 anyway. Not bad, but a bit honky.
 
I'll measure the Philipses tonight; gets us a bit more context.

 

 

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[lejaz]

Definitely bright treble in the DF....relative to the hd580 and a lot of other phones I've heard. A dip in the 3.5k area is definitely possible. I've never made a conscious effort to listen for it. I think I mentioned not noticing a peak there(which DeepFunk mentioned hearing with one of his phones)....not a dip. The 580 has a bump around 3k and it's definitely noticeable coming from the DF. Maybe a small dip there with the DF is what accounts for them sounding so smooth in spite of having plenty of treble. I gave them a good listen last night with some jazz vocalists and some old Beatles classics, and their midrange was very impressive

 

[Adda]

Awesome work on the graphs vid, really excellent work, what dedication!
 
It does indeed seem like the K250 and DF's are related, early DF's even seem to share the same baffle as the K250's (and K241 + early Monitors).
 
Maybe the design of the DF's where a long time coming and that the K241 and K250 where designed for the same purpose as the DF's, Diffuse Field Equalization?
 
Edit: Well ok not the exact same baffle as the K250, no screw holes, but same type of construction.

 

[Adda]

Early DF:
 

 

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[Adda]

Quote:

Also, the pattern on the 250 isn't symmetrical. The left baffle has a different one than the right one, and they don't match up. This isn't just on my pair – you can see it in all the 250 baffle pictures on the internet. How's the sound port placement on the DF – do they align so that when you bring the cups together, the white rings are against each other and same for the dark ones?

My DF's are of a later date, the DF's in the pic I showed are fairly rare, mine have a more K240 Studio like baffle, with paper material.
 
Here are the DF variations I have seen so far (apart form the K250/K241 style baffle)
 
Here is mine (where in K242HD frame at the time):

 
Here is one found in a thread on the head-philes forum:

 
And yet another variation, a fabric version:

 
It seems they all sound the same, but who knows, no one has compared them as far as I know.

 

[RexAeterna]

wait is the first one really the hd242 frame? my 240DF has the stitched cloth acoustic filters like that

 

[Adda]

Quote:

wait is the first one really the hd242 frame? my 240DF has the stitched cloth acoustic filters like that

Yes it is, the baffle and driver are DF parts though.

 

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