[003]

Oh the pads make that much difference? I can't wait until I get my new ones then! About how long does it take to get pads from AKG? I ordered from Frank.

 

[Fitz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 003 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Oh the pads make that much difference? I can't wait until I get my new ones then! About how long does it take to get pads from AKG? I ordered from Frank.

I was surprised by it too, but the difference is clear. Not so much as to call it night and day, more like going from "good" to "great". K240 pads seem to take a while to get though, as I ordered 20 more of them a few weeks ago and am still waiting on them.

 

[003]

Aw crap... They are the same as the K240S pads? You would think AKG would keep a better stock of things like that ... :/

 

[Fitz]

Yeah, it is the same pads as the K240S, and also the K240M, K240DF, K241, K242, K250, K260, K270, K271, K280, K290, K340, and maybe more I can't remember offhand. I would've expected them to be well stocked too, like the elastics are (I ordered 30 and they showed up like 3 days later).

 

[ericj]

That's odd. I ordered one pair of pads for my K260 and they showed up right away. Maybe your bulk order is still in the 'in' box of the 80-year-old austrian tailor who apparantly hand-sews each pad. Or something.

Reminds me, I need to ask Frank where my backordered parts are again. The guy never gets back to me when he tells me he's going to ask purchasing where they are.

 

[swt61]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fitz /img/forum/go_quote.gif I was surprised by it too, but the difference is clear. Not so much as to call it night and day, more like going from "good" to "great". K240 pads seem to take a while to get though, as I ordered 20 more of them a few weeks ago and am still waiting on them.

I've noticed huge differences with differing pads on other headphones. It's no surprize to me that a newer, fully inflated (if you will) pad can make a noticable difference. That's one reason I'd like to see memory foam used in pads.

 

[NiceCans]

I am lovin' this thread!
When I first came to Head-Fi I almost made the mistake of selling mine!
Fortuntely for me nobody here felt they were worth the $35 I wanted

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon L /img/forum/go_quote.gif The one thing I can see doing is recabling the puny cable, but then again, who's to guarantee the current "magic" won't be lost?

Actually after 30+ years my stock cable had numerous cracks in the insulation so I replaced it with an HD650 cable. Seems to me a nice improvement.

 

[Jon L]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NiceCans /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am lovin' this thread! When I first came to Head-Fi I almost made the mistake of selling mine! Fortuntely for me nobody here felt they were worth the $35 I wanted Actually after 30+ years my stock cable had numerous cracks in the insulation so I replaced it with an HD650 cable. Seems to me a nice improvement.

AKG-Senn Hybrid bast** 'phone! I'll give you your $35

I'm listening to Prodigy's "breathe" right now with Sextetts powered by my EL84 amp and have decided the Sextetts will be my preferred 'phones for rock, metal, progressive, whatever.

Perhaps due to the aged pads, the balance between mids/low-midrange and upper bass/mid bass is just perfect. The famous basslines of this song is just fantasmically taught, rhythmic, defined, and impactful. Love it!

I had a non-audiophile friend come over the other day, and for some reason, he wanted to listen to my K1000, K240 Sextett, and (recabled) K701. He does have Grado SR60, which he bought on my advice for his budget and portability.

After he listened to them all from the same amp (Almarro), he said essentially:

K1000 are the favorites, "special" sounding with very "clear" sound.

K701 sounds very good, but he could not point to anything specific.

K240 Sextett sounded too much like his Grado's, so he won't be looking to buy one

 

[Fitz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericj /img/forum/go_quote.gif That's odd. I ordered one pair of pads for my K260 and they showed up right away. Maybe your bulk order is still in the 'in' box of the 80-year-old austrian tailor who apparantly hand-sews each pad. Or something.

I'll have to ask some of my Austrian friends to check on old man AKG to see how he's doing then. I do hope he hasn't taken ill, it would spell disaster for the parts supply (he also carves and polishes the plastic bits by hand).



Quote:

Originally Posted by swt61 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've noticed huge differences with differing pads on other headphones. It's no surprize to me that a newer, fully inflated (if you will) pad can make a noticable difference. That's one reason I'd like to see memory foam used in pads.

Well I thought they were pretty well "inflated". I think it has more to do with the condition of the surface on them, as it's definitely much stiffer and even looks slightly different, and since it still gave measurable differences when the seal was completely broken. Perhaps how the sound reflects off them is what was changing the sound. It was interesting to see how dependant on seal the K240 is for proper sound. With some phones I can break the seal and it'll lose a lot of bass, but still show up on measurements at a lower level. The K240's bass and lower midrange however dropped past the noise floor of my measuring equipment when the seal was broken, essentially not existing.



Quote:

Originally Posted by NiceCans /img/forum/go_quote.gif Actually after 30+ years my stock cable had numerous cracks in the insulation so I replaced it with an HD650 cable. Seems to me a nice improvement.

The cable on my K242 had several nicks in the insulation, and as a result the copper was corroded almost the entire way through and was breaking in several places (sound would cut out if you moved the cable). I replaced it with another old-style cable I had on hand that has a lot of twists and kinks in it, but the copper is still perfect, and it sounds great again. But now I'm completely out of spares for that style cable.

 

[Fitz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon L /img/forum/go_quote.gif K240 Sextett sounded too much like his Grado's, so he won't be looking to buy one

Good, more for me.

 

[JadeEast]

The AKG 240s were the first headphones that I loved.
My dad had always liked the AKG sound but the giant
ones with the soundstage knobs on the ear cups were
too big for my head.

I spent allot of time listening to the 240s when he got them,
to replace the big cans. They must have been late
seventies/early eighties vintage not totally sure.

I always thought they were great sounding but assumed that it
was just a fond memory of my youth. The headband broke
on them and they probably ended up in the trash.

 

[fierce_freak]

I'll be able to hear a pair next weekend at a meet...one of the things I'm most looking forward to. I almost hope I don't like them, so I won't have to search for a pair.

 

[Fitz]

Time for me to add some more confusion to the K240 versioning as I investigate more samples.

I think there may be two different changes in the period of going from the middle production to late production versions, that didn't necessarily occur at the same time. I'm going to have to expand the variations to include three baffle plates. So we have Driver A and B, and Disc A, B, and C. The driver difference is still the same as it was before, with only two different drivers that I'm aware of. The difference in the baffle plate may be as or more responsible for the sound difference in later versions than the driver change was. To elaborate on the current findings:

Disc A: Orange radiators with orange backing.

Disc B: White radiators with orange backing.

Disc C: White radiators with grey or black backing, plus four pinholes in the baffle.

These four small holes let some sound pass through, bypassing the radiators, which would likely account for the sound being slightly tilted away from the bass and towards the treble. I'll try to see if there is a noticable difference in sound between the early and later driver while using the third baffle plate with both. If there is, then that'll bump the sonically different versions up to four. If the difference is small to insignificant, then it'll remain at three sonic versions, but four that vary in construction.

 

[003]

Hmm... thats interesting. Fitz I had given you pictures of the front and back of the drivers on my sextett and you said they were mid production. I have the gray backing on my radiators, not sure what or where the pinholes are, could you tell me?

Here is the zip file with the pictures:
http://www.mediafire.com/?b3tlbstemcn

If there is a difference, could you try plugging up the pinholes?

 

[Fitz]

I originally thought the two baffle plates were identical with only the change in the plastic backing of the radiators (and some insignificant changes in the surface of the plastic on the baffle), but I just noticed the pinholes when I was inspecting a baffle I had loose. You seem to have this newly discovered "intermediate" version between the mid and late production, as I've highlighted the pinholes on yours in red:



Since it is using the early driver, you should be able to seal them up if desired to have something that sounds identical to what I was previously calling the middle production version. I haven't tried it myself so I cannot yet be sure if that is the only difference.