[lejaz]

I really love the K240DF, but compared to my RP21 and V6's the bass is really lacking. Also the treble seems just a bit too much...at least compared to other headphones I've tried...and even my studio monitors. I'm looking for headphones for mixing to give me a 'second opinion' to the DF's which are really close to perfect except for the low end...and maybe a bit too much treble. Considering the HD600(and HD580's if they're the same...anyone?), the mdr-7509HD(I like the v6's except for the hyped upper mids), beyer DT150. Any other suggestions are welcome as well.

 

[hvu]

You may want to looking in a amp to properly amp they AKG because they do require an amp to sound good and you may want to hold off on getting a HD600 or HD580 because they also require a lot of power to run properly.

PS Yes, the 580 and 600 are they same except for the quality of the frame I think some correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Uncle Erik]

The MDR-7509HD will give you a little more bass extension - I've been enjoying the pair I picked up a few months back. They use a different driver than the MDR-V6 (50mm as opposed to 40mm, IIRC) which gives it more extension and the highs seem a little tamer, too.

I'm not sure if you'd enjoy them, but you might want to read up on the Beyerdynamic DT48. I find them a little more musical than the K-240DF or the MDR-7509HD, but not everyone loves them.

 

[lejaz]

hvu: The emu 0404 is supposed to be a decent amp, FWIR(see my signature).

Uncle Erik: How do the Sony's sound compared to the DF? Are they warmer...thicker(one reviewer described the DF's as skim milk, compared to one of the Sennheisers, which was more like cream)...as detailed...how about the treble? Thanks

 

[odigg]

Forget an amp. Amped or not, the 240DF is "bass-lite."

I have no recommendations for you, but I can say the Denon D5000, D7000, and 2005 DT880 250 ohms will not be what you are looking for.

 

[lejaz]

Yes indeed...that's why I want a second set that's as good as the DF, but with better bass. The RP21's have good bass, but compared to the DF, where's the treble? It's just not there at all...relative to the DF. Yet, both are supposed to be studio monitor headphones.

 

[ourfpshero]

the 240df are 600 ohms and need a powerful amp.
the emu has output power of 20mw, you need 10 times that at least! at a 600 ohm rating!

 

[odigg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lejaz /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes indeed...that's why I want a second set that's as good as the DF, but with better bass. The RP21's have good bass, but compared to the DF, where's the treble? It's just not there at all...relative to the DF. Yet, both are supposed to be studio monitor headphones.

I think you are running into a basic reality of headphones. A change in one part of the frequency range is going to affect how your perceive other parts of the frequency range.

The least expensive way for you to find something is to go over to Guitar Center or Sam Ash and demo all their monitors. See if any Audio Technica stuff works for you. I've found my love of the AT midrange to vary greatly with the particular headphone I'm listening to.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ourfpshero /img/forum/go_quote.gif the 240df are 600 ohms and need a powerful amp. the emu has output power of 20mw, you need 10 times that at least! at a 600 ohm rating!

You do realize that the AKGs need voltage, not current. 20mw is quite a lot for a 600 ohm headphone. That's .24 watts!

**edit**

I think my brain shorted out when I read the 20mw spec. For whatever reason the 20mw changed to 20ma when it went from my eyes to my brain. So forget about what I said above.

 

[lejaz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ourfpshero /img/forum/go_quote.gif the 240df are 600 ohms and need a powerful amp. the emu has output power of 20mw, you need 10 times that at least! at a 600 ohm rating!

Hmmm can anyone else verify that? It runs counter to what a tech at emu told me when I asked him if the 0404 would be adequate with 600ohm cans. Sure, I have to crank the volume knob pretty high, but the DF's sound awesome with the 0404. My low impedance headphones can't compare to them. In fact the 600 ohm DF out performs the regular k240S which is only 55 ohms. The DF is like 'lifting a veil' off the drivers of my other headphones.

 

[lejaz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by odigg /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think you are running into a basic reality of headphones. A change in one part of the frequency range is going to affect how your perceive other parts of the frequency range. The least expensive way for you to find something is to go over to Guitar Center or Sam Ash and demo all their monitors. See if any Audio Technica stuff works for you. I've found my love of the AT midrange to vary greatly with the particular headphone I'm listening to. You do realize that the AKGs need voltage, not current. 20mw is quite a lot for a 600 ohm headphone. That's .24 watts!

\
It's not just relative. With the RP21 the treble is really not there at all compared to the DF. If I used an equalizer to cut the bass on the RP21 I might perceive a bit more treble, but not nearly what the DF's put out.

I don't have any way to test at a music store unfortunately. I don't live near any decent music shops.

 

[kukrisna]

if you're concerned about the DF's lack of bass then i would recommend against the DT48

while really neutral and detailed, the model i tried, the DT48E that is, had a rather significant bass roll-off starting around 100hz (at least that's what i perceived with my frequency generator) - there was nowhere near as much bass quantity as with the MDR7506 i used to own

i think it's important to keep in mind that the DT48E was built for field monitoring in conjunction with video equipment...not music monitoring or mixing though perhaps some of the other versions were - KBI would know better

i havent used the HD600 yet for mixing, though i imagine it can do all right as i recall reading how it gets some use in mastering studios

in either case, due to the peculiar nature of headphones, i would suggest you search for another Diffuse Field headphone to aid in the imaging disadvantage

the HD580/600/650 are all diffuse field (apparently) as are the DT770/880 if i recall correctly...

im sure there are more out there - ultrasone is frequently mentioned as well though, and while i have not heard them, they seem rather peculiar in generating polarized opinions...

also there are new headphones from Shure

and before i forget, have you tried the Audio Technica ATH-M50 yet? they've received many endorsements from the audio engineering industry, and many head-fiers have commented on them (seemingly for better more so than for worse) - i think they're relatively balanced, and from what i've read sufficiently satisfactory in the bass department...george massenberg gave it a seal of approval if 'celebrity' endorsements mean anything to you...

good luck with your search! would love to hear what you get to next

 

[Adda]

In my experience proper amping don't change the amount of bass the K240DF has all that much, only how deep it extends.
But you can get more bass out of the DF by using velour pads and foam discs from the K24x/27xmkII/HD's, this also dampens the highs a bit, and gets rid of sibilance for good.

If you are in to experimenting, you might find this thread interesting:
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/k-2...cation-416858/

The DF driver has some holes on the back side, some of witch are covered, Shoewrek's K240 Monitor mod shows that if these holes are covered on the monitor, it looses some bass and becomes more DF like.
So it would be reasonable to assume that if the foam covering holes on the DF driver is removed it would gain more bass.

 

[kool bubba ice]

More like 80hz according to a former DT48e owner... And drops off at around 42hz I believe. All DT48 models comply with the NAGRA standard. They are still highly regarded as studio monitoring headphones, but were made for field recordings and ENT from what I read.

 

[rhythmdevils]

ATH-M50 should be a great compliment for your DF's. Plenty of bass, completely closed, close to neutral, at least more so than most other headphones. People say that they have too much bass, I can't remember well enough to comment, but since your DF's are bass light this would probably be ok. And they definitley don't have that much bass, just maybe a bit over what is neutral...

Also, the AKG K271 (find an older one with silver, instead of the MKII) with velour earpads sounds very neutral.

 

[Acix]

You can try some used K-701, for the half price you have the M-50.