The original top model from AKG unfortunately weakens on many levels. A pair of headphones can be as great as you like, but if they don't fit properly to the head due to a lack of hinges for horizontal adjustment, or the ear pads are too thin and the ears touch the inner plastic grille, or the suspension headband is too weak, the sound can still be as good as you like - the headphones are put away after 10 minutes. This is exactly what is present with the K340. I have made some modifications to improve the wearing comfort, but I demand that from a manufacturer itself - in 1979 the heads were not different than today (in terms of shape).
I own the model with gray drivers, so it is a "bass heavy" version, while the others (red and black) are also often described as that, or at least as "neutral". The green version is referred as "bass light". My test combination can be seen in my signature.
And yes, the bass is good in quality and quantity, reaching below 40 Hz and producing a pressure that electrostatic drivers could never do on their own. And yes, the electrostatic drivers reproduce a great amount of detail, including fine detail. They are never intrusive, bright or metallic, instead the high frequencies are very pleasant to listen to. Combined together in the AKG K340's cabinet, it sounds like this: As if you actually put good speakers in a laundry room with tiles on the walls. Unlike other models from the time (explicit the K240 Sextett), the K340 are not brightly tuned, also the soundstage is extremly wide and large. However, this combination makes everything sound hollow, synthetic and washed out, as if there was a big veil over everything. Everything sounds wrong, out of phase, not homogeneous in itself, every driver playing separately for itself. After half an hour I had a headache because of this, the brain tries to permanently compensate the obviously audible delay between the electrostatic and dynamic driver.
So the K340 had to be modified. Rewired the entire headphone, the dynamic driver is thus directly connected, a cable from the dynamic driver then leads to the PCB, instead of first to the PCB and then to the dynamic driver. This solved the "out of phase" problems, the sound image is much more homogeneous. Other ear pads also immediately help the headphones in terms of sound as well as comfort. I also removed the inner grille, this made a big difference. For more details feel free to look at my posts.
Connected to a rather darkly tuned OTL tube amp, the slightly modded K340 suddenly becomes great fun. I admit, I was initially very disappointed with the headphones and didn't understand what they did better than a K240. But now I understand what people mean that these headphones can easily compete with today's models. I won't say it's better than the 500€ price range, but it attacks them with its very interesting unique presentation.
I own the model with gray drivers, so it is a "bass heavy" version, while the others (red and black) are also often described as that, or at least as "neutral". The green version is referred as "bass light". My test combination can be seen in my signature.
And yes, the bass is good in quality and quantity, reaching below 40 Hz and producing a pressure that electrostatic drivers could never do on their own. And yes, the electrostatic drivers reproduce a great amount of detail, including fine detail. They are never intrusive, bright or metallic, instead the high frequencies are very pleasant to listen to. Combined together in the AKG K340's cabinet, it sounds like this: As if you actually put good speakers in a laundry room with tiles on the walls. Unlike other models from the time (explicit the K240 Sextett), the K340 are not brightly tuned, also the soundstage is extremly wide and large. However, this combination makes everything sound hollow, synthetic and washed out, as if there was a big veil over everything. Everything sounds wrong, out of phase, not homogeneous in itself, every driver playing separately for itself. After half an hour I had a headache because of this, the brain tries to permanently compensate the obviously audible delay between the electrostatic and dynamic driver.
So the K340 had to be modified. Rewired the entire headphone, the dynamic driver is thus directly connected, a cable from the dynamic driver then leads to the PCB, instead of first to the PCB and then to the dynamic driver. This solved the "out of phase" problems, the sound image is much more homogeneous. Other ear pads also immediately help the headphones in terms of sound as well as comfort. I also removed the inner grille, this made a big difference. For more details feel free to look at my posts.
Connected to a rather darkly tuned OTL tube amp, the slightly modded K340 suddenly becomes great fun. I admit, I was initially very disappointed with the headphones and didn't understand what they did better than a K240. But now I understand what people mean that these headphones can easily compete with today's models. I won't say it's better than the 500€ price range, but it attacks them with its very interesting unique presentation.