[SigmaOrionis]

suggesting that someone make a headphone purchase based on the size of the drivers is pretty silly IMO.

I've tried cheaper headphones with bigger drivers that sounded terrible and also more expensive headphones with bigger drivers that I also didnt like as much as the 240s.

Pick your headphone based on the sound.

 

[philodox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kramer5150 IMHO for $70 your only other options are HD-280, SR-60 and MDRV6, so you really cant be too picky at that price.

In my opinion, the K240S is much better than those three headphones... but it is a personal preference and I can see why some people don't like the K240S.

And as for the guy making the driver comments... just take a look at a set of Grado's. Don't even bother taking off the foam and looking at the drivers. Still have that reciept?

 

[Eagle_Driver]

TURBO,

Driver size (or lack thereof) has little to no bearing whatsoever on overall sound quality in an open or semi-open headphone. If anything, too large of a driver in too small of an earcup can muddy the sound. In a closed-cup headphone, however, the driver size must be perfectly matched to the earcups without excessive empty air space, or else you'll get muddy or honky sound.

 

[TheMedic00]

For that price, I think you picked up a quality set of headphones. They have their flaws, but headphones in this and every price range do.

As for the driver size being correlated to audio quality, I think that was covered with the posts above mine.

 

[Nak Man]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TURBO The drivers are too small.

Thanks for pointing that one out, I always thought that varimotion drivers come in one size.

Anyway, like others said, they have little to do with sound quality. As an example, Philips 890 use huge drivers but can't really compete with smaller ones on 271s, in terms of natural sound reproduction.

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nak Man Thanks for pointing that one out, I always thought that varimotion drivers come in one size. Anyway, like others said, they have little to do with sound quality. As an example, Philips 890 use huge drivers but can't really compete with smaller ones on 271s, in terms of natural sound reproduction.

Also, perhaps TURBO prefers extremely unnatural, severely coloured audio reproduction?

 

[kramer5150]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TURBO The drivers are too small. Usually, headphones on that price range have bigger drivers to deliver better sound. Do yourself a favor, and take one pad off and you will see what I mean. Is like a big truck with a 4 cylinder motor. Return it or exchange it. It is not worth the money you paid. Sorry.

Wrong... IMHO size of the driver has little to do with what sounds they produce. By your logic all canalphones must sound terrible because of their small size.

Garrett

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kramer5150 Wrong... IMHO size of the driver has little to do with what sounds they produce. By your logic all canalphones must sound terrible because of their small size.

I agree with this statement. Also, larger drivers do deliver "more" bass, but too large of a driver for a given earcup size is overkill (to the point that the "bass" becomes muddy and one-noted and boomy without much low-end extension). The Sony MDR-V###DJ series (the higher-end models) come to mind on how too large of a driver can mess up the sound quality - and yet their lower-end models (which use smaller drivers) also suffer from poor design and poor driver-to-earcup matching.

 

[crazyfrenchman27]

*removes cover from his Grados and examines the comparatively diminutive driver size*

Yep, driver size has absolutely nothing to do with sound quality...or even bass quality.

I once had a headphone with a 53 mm driver...I no longer own that headphone.

 

[TURBO]

Guys, good design cans have the driver’s size in a direct proportion to the distance from them to the ear drum. That's why canal phones sound better (closer to the ear drum) and they use small drivers. If the drivers have quality, they are in a good design encase (close / open), and it's size is the correct one (size <-> distance from it to ear drum) then and only then, the cans are "GOOD". K240S drivers are not design for that big case. Period. I am not saying they are bad.

 

[Andrea]

Actually the various AKGs with varimotion drivers look like they all make use of basicly the same 'small' (3-3,5 cm) driver with arguably different degrees of inner sophistication, & diversely optimised 'acousically'. K501 included.

But -- a smaller driver size at worst would inherently result in lesser bass extension and 'slam' -- no direct influence on sound quality for the rest.

While 'smaller' can be better on the whole, particularly since we're having to do with moderately priced headphones.
So AKG's choice seems a wise one to me, keeping in mind that a smaller driver can be easier to optimise, so as to make it sound more 'natural' (thinking of the lesser hassle from diaphragm resonances / lack of stiffness).
Which in its turn is fundamental in a 'studio monitor' phone.

 

[Nak Man]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrea Actually the various AKGs with varimotion drivers look like they all make use of basicly the same 'small' (3-3,5 cm) driver with arguably different degrees of inner sophistication, & diversely optimised 'acousically'. K501 included.

You won't believe this - bassthin 501 use larger varimotion drivers ! While 271s and 506 drivers are smaller in diameter. No need for pictures, please

Turbo, at same distance to ear, larger drivers move more air but at the same time more difficult to control to achieve similar accuracy of smaller drivers, hence many good monitors are designed around small drivers as opposed to similarly priced 15" speaker system. Anyway, on a more practical side just look around and I'm sure you'll see some bad sounding large speakers as well as good small ones to acknowledge that SQ simply doesn't relate to size.

 

[Andrea]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nak Man You won't believe this - bassthin 501 use larger varimotion drivers ! While 271s and 506 drivers are smaller in diameter. No need for pictures, please

Oh, good to know...
Really, Nak Man, I wouldn't have expected so. I based my statement on pictures from magazines only, for K501, since that's one I was never able to even see - let alone to hear (sigh).

 

[Nak Man]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrea since that's one I was never able to even see - let alone to hear (sigh).

Once 'they' arrived =) I'm sure you won't miss much.

I almost replied similarly, as i recall they seem about similar in size. Upon closer inspection 271s inner diameter looks noticably smaller and have more tiny 'ridges'. But what I think interesting is that larger 501 drivers (despite being open backed) deliver less bass than 271s ... so maybe they were better suited for semi closed phones ala 240s ?

 

[Andrea]

And the K240S is said to be bassy as well... Bah, I give up.
It doesn't make sense, except, i.m.o., in the sense (

) that AKG must know how to infuse the sonic characteristic they will into 'phones.
So they must have happened to think K501 was ideally balanced 'as is'

.

The famous 595 not only hasn't arrived yet, but they even warned me that they don't have a clue when... as I understood it, it's a single person's fault, a Sennheiser agent.
So I've started to think of speakers again, since I dramaticly miss my music.
But then they have a pair of HD650 in that very shop.......

Then again I wouldn't have the dough (roughly 400 €) for them yet.
Another alternative is HD595 (bought elsewhere) + Mission m30i cheapie speakers = same dough as HD650 alone

.
I'll let you know the outcome.