AKG K340 Electrostatic Phones

[DefectiveAudioComponent]

Quote:

Originally Posted by craiglester /img/forum/go_quote.gif ( I think the seal the pads affords is crucial , lifting the pads just enough to lose the seal gives a dramatic drop in bass)

I suspect that pads are to blame for a lot of bass light / bass heavy variations of headphones. (I don't really have any evidence for it though, except that I've done a lot of experimentation with different pads on my vintage cans.)

 

[Skylab]

This is a matter of quite some debate. Some pretty knowledgeable people insist there are not different versions. And yet, I once borrowed a pair that had awesome bass, and then every pair I have ever bought (and then sold) did not have what I would consider enough bass.

 

[craiglester]

I never got good bass with the stock pads, nor from reasonably new K240 Pads. KT88's pads woke up the Bass monster in my headphones. In fact prior to getting those pads I'd thought about selling these headphones more than once. Now? Not a chance.

I'm a big advocate that a good seal is essential with any closed type headphone or IEM. These I'd class as Semi closed, and very dependant on the seal. Maybe I'm lucky and my ears/head shape are just right for these pads?

 

[Skylab]

I am sure you're right - there probably are some pad configuration issues involved.

 

[wht]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jp11801 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I recommend a decent quality 20 watts or greater speaker amp. The 340s sounded their best out of my RWA sig 30 or my Fisher kx100 integrated tube amp.

Just to be clear, do you mean that your 340 is connected directly to the speaker-out terminals of the amplifier?

If yes, did you connect the positive-outs of the left and and right channels of the amplifier to a headphone jack via two separate wires soldered to the respective left and right plates of the jack while the negative-outs of both channels are connected to the jack via two separate wires soldered to the "common" negative of the jack?

Thanks.

 

[lecky]

I just bought some k340s and they should arrive next week... This is an encouraging thread...

 

[pistolsnipe]

there are definately at least 2 different versions (i have them) one has the gray passive radiators (same as the lp sextett) and some have the red passive radiators (same as the mp sextett) the one with red radiators has red drivers and i think the one with gray radiators has green drivers (not sure on that as my drivers arent stock anymore)

 

[lecky]

pistolsnipe, do the two versions you have have differences in sound - if so what would you say they are?

 

[lecky]

Aaaaahhhh... They just arrived, I don't have a decent amp here (probably getting a canamp tomorrow if it auditions well enough and is in stock), but even hopelessly underpowered by my portable amp they sound deliciously smooth and grown up and I have a little sense of how great they can be...
I got them for £33 from ebay and didn't expect much as there was no description of condition and the picture was poor, but they're in absolutely perfect condition. I'm so happy. Goes to show that there are bargains to be had still.
My great thanks to those on this and other k340 threads for the useful information.

 

[Zorander]

I heard the K340 out of a Canamp before and I found the amp powerful enough to drive the phone. The sound is on the warm, rather syrupy side but certainly adequately powered. It should be an enjoyable experience. And I trust it won't be long before you consider modding them.

Cheers!

 

[lecky]

Ha ha, we'll see about modding them, I'll get used to them first anyway, I'll probably try most of the mods at least eventually.
By the way the pair that I have are don't seem bass shy, even poorly amped.

 

[pistolsnipe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lecky /img/forum/go_quote.gif pistolsnipe, do the two versions you have have differences in sound - if so what would you say they are?

i dont have identical setups on each so i cannot give a valuable answer to this, but the red baffles are the same as mp sextett baffles and the gray baffles are the same as lp sextett baffles, also there are 2 versions of the electret driver, one with a gold inner panel and one with a silver inner panel, i can try to snap some pics when i get home if anyone is interested. the mp and lp versions are the ones that would be of intest

my thread here shows the pics of the sextetts (the green driver came with my k340s but i have no idea if that is stock or not)

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/k24...onitor-442491/

 

[lecky]

Thanks pistolsnipe, I'll try to take and post pictures of mine to compare whenever I get around to opening them up.

 

[lecky]

These sound pretty nice from a canamp, that said I'm not experienced with good amps.

Already I put more stuffing in the back of the pads and took out the grill, but I'll modify the grill - cut out and replace weth cloth. It does seem to help the sound but the extra comfort is a big plus.

 

[Antistase]

Did anybody tried the K340 with a bijou amp? I like this amps' design a lot but I want to make sure it can drive the K340 at full throttle.

Or these cans only give the best plugged to a speaker amp? Did anybody tried with a valve (e.g. 45 or 2A3) speraker push-pull amplifier?

Cheers