[appar111]

Is there a definitive burn-in time with these headphones? I tried them this weekend with my Super Mini Moy, home cdp and pcdp (D-EJ925) against the Koss Sportapros and the Beyer DT770/80 Pro. The sound seemed sort of compressed, and not as defined as either of the other two.

I had heard these sound much better when amped, and I gotta say, I'm not hearing a huge difference amped vs. unamped so far, but i also have only logged about 12-15 hours on them at a decent volume with some good bassy music. Should I just give them a good burn-in time before passing final judgement? If so, how long? If there won't be a huge difference post burn-in vs. pre-burn-in, then I may return them, as I'm pretty durned happy with the Beyers and the Sportapros (the latter of which still sound best to me when first putting them on--- sorta disheartening knowing that a $24 pair of headphones can sound as good or better than a $150-200 pair of full-size cans..)

Anyone else had similar experiences with these headphones?

 

[ReDVsion]

Quote:

Originally Posted by appar111 Is there a definitive burn-in time with these headphones? I tried them this weekend with my Super Mini Moy, home cdp and pcdp (D-EJ925) against the Koss Sportapros and the Beyer DT770/80 Pro. The sound seemed sort of compressed, and not as defined as either of the other two. I had heard these sound much better when amped, and I gotta say, I'm not hearing a huge difference amped vs. unamped so far, but i also have only logged about 12-15 hours on them at a decent volume with some good bassy music. Should I just give them a good burn-in time before passing final judgement? If so, how long? If there won't be a huge difference post burn-in vs. pre-burn-in, then I may return them, as I'm pretty durned happy with the Beyers and the Sportapros (the latter of which still sound best to me when first putting them on--- sorta disheartening knowing that a $24 pair of headphones can sound as good or better than a $150-200 pair of full-size cans..) Anyone else had similar experiences with these headphones?

I can certainly see where you can find these headphones "compressed" sounding with poor amplification, but what I am very surprised to hear is that you aren't hearing much difference amped vs. unamped. That's crazy. Perhaps the SMMoy doesn't have the juice for the K240S, but I still can't believe there wouldn't be a significant difference.

Another thing: are you switching headphones a lot while listening? This is a big no-no. Listen to the K240S exclusively for a while (2-3 days), let your ears get accustomed to the sound. They don't have a very 'high-end' sound to them, and if you're comparing them to a phone that does (DT770) you're not going to appreciate them very much.

I noticed no difference between a 6-month old K240S and a brand new one. YMMV.

 

[450]

But he also compared them to the SportaPro. Which I'm sure is *supposed* to be inferior. But he found it superior.

 

[TheMedic00]

I'm sure you'll hate to hear this, but I have not noticed any burn-in effects on the headphones.

 

[cjc]

The bass on my AKG240s pair seemed a little "tighter" after several days of listening. The mids and highs didn't seem noticable after burn-in. Great cans for rock n' roll listening. Enjoy!!

 

[appar111]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReDVsion I can certainly see where you can find these headphones "compressed" sounding with poor amplification, but what I am very surprised to hear is that you aren't hearing much difference amped vs. unamped. That's crazy. Perhaps the SMMoy doesn't have the juice for the K240S, but I still can't believe there wouldn't be a significant difference. Another thing: are you switching headphones a lot while listening? This is a big no-no. Listen to the K240S exclusively for a while (2-3 days), let your ears get accustomed to the sound. They don't have a very 'high-end' sound to them, and if you're comparing them to a phone that does (DT770) you're not going to appreciate them very much. I noticed no difference between a 6-month old K240S and a brand new one. YMMV.

Yep, I admit that I have been going back and forth between the DT770 to the K240S. Perhaps that is my problem. I need to appreciate the phones for what they are, rather than compare them to another phone that has a very different sonic signature. The Super Mini Moy definitely has the juice.. I actually received another SMM from Drew that has slightly different jacks on it, and trying the K240S with them tonight, they sound different. I think the sound between the two SMM's are different-- the one I received today seems to be wider as far as soundstage, with a slightly brighter sound. Not a huge difference, but enough for my ears to notice. I think this newer one sounds different because it hasn't had as much use as the first one.

I guess I'll have to keep listening and see what happens. The last thing I want is to get rid of the K240S and wish I had kept them! (Been there and done that before!)

 

[lini]

appar111: My K240S developed a bit deeper and tighter bass and even a tad more smoothness in the midrange and treble area with burn-in. It didn't seem to make a huge difference, though - maybe a 2 % change... What makes much more difference with the K240S, however, is the choice of amp. For example, the ProJect HeadBox sure has enough power to drive the K240S - nevertheless, it sounds horrible with it. Whereas Jan's Corda amps all seem to do a wonderful job with the K240S.

Greetings from Hannover!

Manfred / lini

 

[cjc]

I agree that the proper amp makes a HUGE difference with the AKG 240s. I noticed it mostly in the bass area. The only 2 things that I don't care about these cans are the pleather ear pads and the lack of upper treble extension. Otherwise , GREAT cans.

 

[Murdoch]

The bass on my k240s is tighter than my sr125 w/flats. Could be the amp, could be that the sr125 is very burned in....

Just thought you would find this interesting

 

[ReDVsion]

I'm still concerned about the amp; you should notice an immediate and dramatic change in bass tightness comparing the K240S amped and unamped. Granted this was comparing a receiver to a Gilmore V1. But hell, I even noticed an appreciable difference switching receivers with these cans. You're not going to, but I'd recommend trying a Pimeta or Vibe with the K240S and see if that doesn't help matters.

 

[appar111]

ReDVsion-
I've been burning in the amp a little more, and things are improving quite a bit. I think that I was doing so much switching between the Beyers, the Sportapros and the AKG K240S through the Super Mini Moy, that I didn't bother switching from the amp back to receiver to see what the overall amped/unamped difference was... and I did this late last night. They sound MUCH tighter in the bass region than the Sony receiver I plugged into-- you were right! The Pioneer receiver sounded better to me this time around than the Sony did, but the amp provides a much more "cleared up" sound than either of the receivers. It's almost like I was listening with a different set of ears than I was this weekend.

I even tried plugging the K240S directly into the line out of my D-EJ925 last night without an amp in between, and again-- tighter bass, less "mud".

I was also having some slight head cold problems the end of last week with the change of weather in Ohio-- could that have aided in my "not much difference" opinion? I didn't think it would make that huge of a difference.

 

[ReDVsion]

Quote:

Originally Posted by appar111 I was also having some slight head cold problems the end of last week with the change of weather in Ohio-- could that have aided in my "not much difference" opinion? I didn't think it would make that huge of a difference.

Well, the K240S is a very dark, bassy can, so if your ears are muddling the sound, the AKGs certainly won't sound so good. Your Beyers will sound much better with a cold since the treble is much more prominent.

Anyway, just keep letting your ears burn-in to the sound of those AKGs and resist the urge to switcheroo. I find it's best when checking out headphones to listen to them for a while and remember how much enjoyment you got out of them, rather than what their sonic characteristics were.

 

[lini]

Quote:

Originally Posted by appar111 I was also having some slight head cold problems the end of last week with the change of weather in Ohio-- could that have aided in my "not much difference" opinion? I didn't think it would make that huge of a difference.

I can only speak for myself, but my hearing is rather screwed, when I have a cold - then I typically mostly miss bass, both depth- and impact-wise. Highs seem to get subdued, then - and everything sounds rather uninvolving.

Greetings from Hannover!

Manfred / lini

 

[BrokenEnglish]

lini - did you have a chance already to compare your "old" k240s to the new one? i'll await your impressions before ordering them on my own...

 

[lini]

Sorry, BE, but not yet: It only arrived some 23 hours ago - and I had a rather strange day, yesterday. Initially, I wanted to store the new stuff in the cellar, which would have been more convenient and quicker, because I wanted to head for the office as soon as possible after delivery. But, at that occasion, I had to notice that somebody has broken into my cellar. No real harm done, though - but it was quite a hassle to open the thoroughly bent and damaged padlock to find that out, and quite a sweat-job to carry all the new stuff upstairs as well. The new speakers proved to be fairly heavy...

Anyway, I might be able to give you some quick impressions, when I'm home from work this evening - but that depends a bit from whether the new girlfriend (whom I haven't seen for the last 15 days, now...) has time for me tonight...

So far, I've only checked the contents of the boxes - and at that occasion I've noticed that my new K501 shows some cosmetic differences compared to my old (mid 90s) one, btw: Headband and earpads are now clad in black instead of grey - and the cloth around the earpad material makes a more plasticky impression to me, as well. Looks like a nylon fabric, now...

Greetings from Hannover!

Manfred / lini