[SIRKRA]

I am comparing the sound out of the K240 Monitor right now between my O2/ODAC and my portable sources. In any case, it is amazing that I can get a full output with no noticeable faults not even at 100% volume from my portable sources. It goes against most of the information I read that goes something like: "These headphones are vintage 600 ohm beasts with low sensitivy, you simply need a headphone amplifier for them. And not just any amp, but something beefy enough to drive them. If you try to drive them from a portable source they will sound like crap."

I will follow up with some impressions. I think the amp is driving the bass better, but still.

I'm sure when they say something like this it is intended for microdynamics talking and not macro, it is like adding that 10% of refine

 

[thee mutz]

It goes against most of the information I read that goes something like: "These headphones are vintage 600 ohm beasts with low sensitivy, you simply need a headphone amplifier for them. And not just any amp, but something beefy enough to drive them. If you try to drive them from a portable source they will sound like crap."

Yes, i have read that too, so i tried a few amps and was waiting for the beast to awaken, the sonic miracle to happen.
Well…. it ended with me sending the amps back.

 

[Starbound]

I'm sure when they say something like this it is intended for microdynamics talking and not macro, it is like adding that 10% of refine

Yeah, I am guessing I don't have golden ears, or perhaps I'm just being realistic (If I want to play Devil's advocate). I am obviously not deaf, as I can distinguish the differences between my HD540 Ref II and the K240 Monitor (HD540 Ref II seems to be more detailed, better extension on both bass and treble, and better soundstage, and also it seems a faster headphone, which probably leads to the better definition) even if they are relatively similar headphones. But I can't discern between the K240M being driven from my O2/ODAC (which folks agree is a very transparent system), or from a 17 year old MP3 player being driven from an AAA battery.

Think about this, it is utterly insane. I think I am going insane. I know I am not deaf either.

There is a Youtube video by the famous Zeos who claims that he needed almost a nuclear reactor to power his K240M (the same one I have, Austria made, 600 ohm). Well, I say I am either deaf or he is full of crap.

And I know I am not deaf.

Here is the video I am talking about:

 

[Starbound]

Yes, i have read that too, so i tried a few amps and was waiting for the beast to awaken, the sonic miracle to happen.
Well…. it ended with me sending the amps back.

Yes, but it is insanity. I repeat: It is sheer insanity I can drive one of the headphones which on paper are more difficult to drive (K240M, 600 ohm) from an mp3 player that runs on an AAA battery, with no discernable faults. It seems to me that a proper headphone is far more important than an amp, because if this beast of a headphone can be driven by a little AAA battery (a rechargeable one, none the less), then pretty much any other headphone (except electrostatic cans) doesn't really need an amp.

Is this why so many people are averse to A/B blind tests? Hopefully I don't get banned soon HEHE.

I get the same volume out of the mp3 player at 95% volume setting as I get from my O2/ODAC at 10:00 in low gain, which is about as loud as I want to go, and normally I prefer a little lower.

 

[jazzaj]

i tried the sextets and some other headphones with a Fiio K5 pro and a musical fidelity v-can amplifier and could not hear any difference in soundquality compared to when connected directly to my ipad or smartphone. I just could turn up the volume more than is comfortable with me. But there are lots of people who say that their headphones sound a lot better when using a “proper” headphone amp. Maybe a specific amp ( like an amp with tubes ) adds something to the mix that appeals to someone, and for this person the sound quality will be better.

Neither your iPad or V-can has power enough to drive the 600 Ohm K240 sextett.

 

[Starbound]

Neither your iPad or V-can has power enough to drive the 600 Ohm K240 sextett.

What is the sensitivity of the Sextetts? Since there were quite a few versions maybe there are versions with different sensitivity? My K240 Monitors 600 ohm are really not that hard to drive, no amp needed. The sensitivity actually appears to be around 94dB/mW. I think the sensitivity I quoted of 88dB/mW earlier is for the K240DF.

 

[jazzaj]

The sextett is 88db sensitivity. The Monitor is around 91-94db that is not so easy too drive.

 

[SIRKRA]

Sextett is 94

 

[Hark01]

Yup, this is one of the most common misinformation with the Sextett. It is in fact, fairly easy to drive. I find e.g. my DT770 250 Ohm much harder to drive.

 

[SIRKRA]

Yup, this is one of the most common misinformation with the Sextett. It is in fact, fairly easy to drive. I find e.g. my DT770 250 Ohm much harder to drive.

Yeah i don't find them so hard to driver either, what i find ( in my pair, MP) is that they need a good amount of volume for mids to level up with bass and highs.
if i keep them low volume, mids are recessed and mostly covered/merged in mid bass.
DON'T know if it' s my personal pair or.

 

[thee mutz]

Neither your iPad or V-can has power enough to drive the 600 Ohm K240 sextett.

Well, if you say so you must be right……..

 

[jazzaj]

Well, if you say so you must be right……..

Well this is mainly my personnal advise. I must admit I like listen to loud volume and for the past, the headphone amps I've had : Schiit magni3, topping l30, ... Didn't satisfy me. The problem is I have to listen to 12 to 1pm volume knob and it was very difficult to precisly adjust the volume, not enough or too much. The Schiit heresy was better and the valhalla 2 is perfect.

 

[Starbound]

Well this is mainly my personnal advise. I must admit I like listen to loud volume and for the past, the headphone amps I've had : Schiit magni3, topping l30, ... Didn't satisfy me. The problem is I have to listen to 12 to 1pm volume knob and it was very difficult to precisly adjust the volume, not enough or too much. The Schiit heresy was better and the valhalla 2 is perfect.

Be careful, it sounds like you might be screwing up your hearing. I can't even listen to my "monster" K240 Monitor 600 ohm, 93dB/mW on my AAA battery driven mp3 player at 100% volume, and sometimes 95% is uncomfortable also.

An Eneloop AAA battery has about 600mWh energy capacity, and the K240M needs approximately 5mW to run at 100 dB, which means I should be able to drive the headphones at that volume for 120 hours if all the energy got transferred from battery to headphone without losses, but I can only run it for around 7 hours, which means most of the energy is lost in the battery itself, the mp3 player operation, the cable, etc.

There is no need for an amp, I'm telling you. Not for these headphones. I recently got a K240DF that is rated at 88mW, and I am guessing that for that one I will actually need to use my O2/ODAC, but for anything like the K240M, Sextett, HD540, etc, an amp is overkill. Not to mention the HD600, HD650, etc, which are much more sensitive.

This whole thing is ridiculous.

 

[jazzaj]

It's a good headphone, but I prefer my Sennheisers.

 

[Starbound]

It's a good headphone, but I prefer my Sennheisers.

I think the HD540 is technically superior and more realistic, very musical. But I have been surprised by my K240 Monitor. Compared to the HD540 it is a much darker phone. This doesn't mean that K240 Monitor is dark, because the HD540 is sparkling bright (though never grating, which is one of its main virtues).

The K240 Monitor is less sparkly, but the treble doesn't feel unrealistic, just less transparent than the HD540. The mids are great, with a slightly tinge of darkness that gives voices a velvety timbre. The bass balance overall is more pronounced on the K240, but a tad less controlled than the HD540 (though still very good).

I am using my K240 Monitor without the dampening foam ring inside the cups that tends to disintegrate. I just removed it on my headphones and figured I would give the headphones a try for sound without it. I didn't have a chance to listen to the headphones with the foam, so I can't really compare. But my K240 Monitors right now have a lovely soundstage with a very real sense of space, not overpronounced. I think the HD540 has a better definition of depth and height, slightly better overall soundstage, but the K240 Monitors without the backing foam by themselves are great. I am guessing removing the foam might have improved soundstage a bit by making the headphones more open, but that is just a guess. The K240M sound never feels "inside your head", which is something I don't like in headphones. The 3D nature of some sounds is startling (for example, some bass notes on Fiona Apple's The Way Things Are always get me with the K240).

Detail in the K240M is not as accurate as the HD540, it is slightly blurred by comparison, but the HD540 is near HD800 level, and the K240M doesn't feel lacking in its own.

Overall I am very happy with my K240M, a great set of headphones. Mine have the ridged cable, BTW. Does this mean they are an early model?

BTW, I don't think removing the foam has many drawbacks mechanically speaking. Sometimes the inside swiveling mechanism which is made out of plastic can click a little bit, but only when you remove or put on the headphones, never with the headphones on. I think the foam ring probably prevented that before.