[pearlfact]

I looked all over the place for a mention of these two cans together side by side in a single thread but i found nothin. They're in the same price range, both have fantastic sound qualities, and except for the fact the K242 HD's are over-ear compared to ESW9A on-ear classification they seem pretty head-to-head.. So am I the only one that's having trouble deciding between these two? (wouldn't be surprised.. since I just joined)

 

[tdockweiler]

Both of these are completely different from each other when it comes to the sound signatures. Kind of like comparing the SRH-750DJ to the AKG K701.
 
The K242 shouldn't be anywhere near the price of the ESW9a, but I guess it could be. The pricing of AKG stuff seems to be really screwed up and just plain bad in the USA at times. I'm not sure if you're in the USA or not. The k242 is basically almost the same as the k240 which is $99. Same drivers.
 
The K242 is a very neutral headphone, useful for studio monitoring I'd say. It won't do too much of anything and will have a very balanced sound. I've found my k240 to have a little extra bass though.
 
The ESW9a is headphone with just one of those "fun" sound signatures. I've found them way more bass heavy then I expected. Too bass heavy for me in fact. I also found the vocals were difficult to hear. The bass seemed to drown out the mids to my ears on some songs. It's totally not my sound signature, but some people seem to love it. They have gotten some good reviews in the portable forum. To me it's a headphone that doesn't sound as good as it looks. Sounded only as good as a $100 headphone to me.
 
It's funny I actually went from the M50 to the HFI-580 and then to the ESW9a. They kept getting worse and worse. None of them truly that terrible. I ended up with the k240, which I love.
Quote:

I looked all over the place for a mention of these two cans together side by side in a single thread but i found nothin. They're in the same price range, both have fantastic sound qualities, and except for the fact the K242 HD's are over-ear compared to ESW9A on-ear classification they seem pretty head-to-head.. So am I the only one that's having trouble deciding between these two? (wouldn't be surprised.. since I just joined)

 

[pearlfact]

Wow thank you for such a clean, detailed and heart-full feedback.. I based the prices found on Amazon, it seems that ESW9A's are very under-priced and the K242 HD's are very over-priced according to what you've said,, shows how bad of a shopper i am haha