[Shoewreck]

My wife uses K 240 Monitor headphones as her home gaming/music/movie headphones. She likes both comfort and sound, volume is adequate directly from the PC. 600 Ohm headphones are generally considered to be hard to drive, but if only moderate volume is needed they actually present an easier load, so higher impedance is preferred.
The trouble is: it's falling apart. I managed to turn them back to working order last time, but it's getting harder each time.
So, I'm looking for a replacement. It's going to be an open or semi-open headphone with similar comfort and tone. I'm still biased to judge headphones by my ear, even though this particular pair isn't going to receive much listening time from me. I usually do some modding, but this time I'd prefer a unit that is at it's best in stock condition.

AKG K 240 Studio seems to be the most obvious candidate. It's affordable, it shares a similar construction and probably sounds similarly. What retracts me: 50 Ohm impedance is rather low (please keep in mind that there is no external amp and no external volume control to tame much higher output) and the graphs show rather weird sound signature, with an elevated bottom and a treble spike. Bass response is rather easy to tame, but I'd beter not bother.

AKG K 601 (K 612) seems to be a bass-boosted successor of K 501. I know (have owned for a long time) the latter for their great comfort and soundstage and somewhat colored tonality (I personally find K 240 less colored). AFAIK the K 601 don't add much to their predcessor and still has some treble glare issues. Not much to mod here, that is actually good.

Sennheiser HD 558 seems to be a good overall headphone with good tonality, headstage and comfort. I'm not familiar with Sennheiser house sound and that makes me more interested. Foam removal mod is highly considered and impedance is on a lower side.

Sennheiser HD 600/650 are out of my budget, but not completely out of consideration.

Fostex T 50 RP - another headphone that I'm familiar with. Not the best one in terms of comfort and requres effort to sound good. Still low impedance, but sensitivity is low as well.

 

[Shoewreck]

I feel like I'm biased pro and against AKG at the same time. Please excuse me bumping my thread and let me paraphrase my questons:
Won't AKG K240 Studio be a downgrade compared to the classic K 240 Monitor?
Won't K601/612 sound thin and harsh compared to K 240? I believe that it still would be a clear upgrade in terms of comfort and headstage.
How do HD 558 compare to AKG's in terms of sonic signature and comfort?

I guess it's better to mention music as well: dark wave, rock, metal, punk, folk. Vocals are important.

 

[buke9]

I just picked up a pair of K240 Monitors 600 ohms because they were $40. I also have a pair of K 240 Sextetts. What were you running them from? My Mojo is up pretty high to get them to rock. I have other amps that will also run them just haven't had the time.

 

[Shoewreck]

I just picked up a pair of K240 Monitors 600 ohms because they were $40. I also have a pair of K 240 Sextetts. What were you running them from? My Mojo is up pretty high to get them to rock. I have other amps that will also run them just haven't had the time.

How do you acquire spare parts? I did manage to find PNs, but had no luck with local dealers.
Monitors are great, but they have been out of production for a long time. I don't want to hassle with used pairs 'cause I don't have enough supply to refurbish them.

Just reread your question: we're running headphones directly from PC (Lenovo SL500 in particular case). Volume is adequate, not even always maxed up.

 

[Shoewreck]

I've finally turned the K240 Monitor back to a solid working state and tuned it's sonic properties towards my preferences (close, but still not identical to DF). Having also retuned my K501 and T20 I have to state that K240 can't compete in terms of clarity, resolution, cleanlines and extension. Fostex comfort is a bit questionable, so finally "a better K501" wins. A pair of K612 is due to arrive tomorrow.