[sixorfour]

Agreed! I grabbed some Aliexpress pads someone posted here and it made a MASSIVE improvement as stated. The original pads were still present and seemed fine, but you can't argue when it sounds that much better. That doesn't even begin to touch on the comfort factor.

Does anybody have a link for the appropriate size elastics? I thought I found it on this thread before but I can't find it now. I also highly suggest the 180 degree swap for a proper stereo image. I went ahead and printed those alternate grills as well. The only thing I don't have is a cost effective way of driving these things!

 

[Spidey89]

Agreed! I grabbed some Aliexpress pads someone posted here and it made a MASSIVE improvement as stated. The original pads were still present and seemed fine, but you can't argue when it sounds that much better. That doesn't even begin to touch on the comfort factor.

Does anybody have a link for the appropriate size elastics? I thought I found it on this thread before but I can't find it now. I also highly suggest the 180 degree swap for a proper stereo image. I went ahead and printed those alternate grills as well. The only thing I don't have is a cost effective way of driving these things!

Are elastics still made? I just used good ol' American rubberbands that I bought as a pack from Amazon on my AKG K340 and K240 Sextetts

 

[Mellowship]

Yesterday I put on what are literally just a $7 set of pads from AliExpress...

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256801104525378.html

...the 110mm version. What happened to the sound of my K340 can only be described as transformative.



I'm surprised how many people here are still using the aging stock pads. If you own this headphone you OWE it to yourself to play around with some pad rolling.

This is literally the ONLY thing I changed about this headphone. I haven't done any of the internal mods. And just with different pads, not even expensive ones, they seal better, are more comfortable, and the bass on these "bass-light" K340s hits harder, goes deeper, and the soundstage widens due to the depth of the pads. The thin cloth on the back of the pads actually helps control the treble, which can be pretty fatiguing otherwise (particularly the upper treble).

Everything is evened out, and I don't get the midrange shoutiness I used to. Their performance overall has just been greatly elevated, and as hard as it is for me to admit, there's some music I'm hearing on these right now that sounds shoulder-to-shoulder with the two other kilobuck headphones I have sitting on the desk here.

Are you comparing the new pads with the original 40 years old dried out flattened out pads? Been there, done that, and what a surprise! It really gets the sound to another level.
But there's a caveat: suddenly the K340 become just another pair of headphones not very different from other modern headphones that we are used to. Some of the magic disappears. The soundstage and imaging get fuzzy, the attack gets sloppy, the bass starts, little by little, to feel overwhelming.
Please, please, give a chance to the normal, brand new OEM pleather chi no name pads for AKG-type headphones that you can get from AliExpress for 3 USD or so for the modern K240 and sort. They are much better than the original ones, they isolate much better, are much more comfortable, create a more livelier and accurate acoustic chamber and preserve the magical sound of the K340.

 

[Mellowship]

Are elastics still made? I just used good ol' American rubberbands that I bought as a pack from Amazon on my AKG K340 and K240 Sextetts

And you have the right ones, I guess. If they work well, they are appropriate. As far as I know, there are no original elastics available, and if they were, AKG would charge a fortune for them.

 

[Spidey89]

And you have the right ones, I guess. If they work well, they are appropriate. As far as I know, there are no original elastics available, and if they were, AKG would charge a fortune for them.

What do you mean by right ones? They're just normal everyday rubber bands. So instead of the original piece with plastic parts, I just kinda anchor it to one point and another, then like "fold it in half" and redo it to get more tension, and it's been working for me so far. The only other headphones I had to do extensive works to is my pair of Drop Hifiman HE4xx where I bought broken pairs and replaced the head bands and repainted the whole thing blue with white rings

 

[Mellowship]

What do you mean by right ones? They're just normal everyday rubber bands. So instead of the original piece with plastic parts, I just kinda anchor it to one point and another, then like "fold it in half" and redo it to get more tension, and it's been working for me so far. The only other headphones I had to do extensive works to is my pair of Drop Hifiman HE4xx where I bought broken pairs and replaced the head bands and repainted the whole thing blue with white rings

If they work they are the right ones, i.e. appropriate, proper, suitable, apt, fitting ones.

I myself use thin elastic hairbands.

 

[Spidey89]

If they work they are the right ones, i.e. appropriate, proper, suitable, apt, fitting ones.

I myself use thin elastic hairbands.

Oh, that kind of right ahhaah

 

[Reputator]

Are you comparing the new pads with the original 40 years old dried out flattened out pads? Been there, done that, and what a surprise! It really gets the sound to another level.
But there's a caveat: suddenly the K340 become just another pair of headphones not very different from other modern headphones that we are used to. Some of the magic disappears. The soundstage and imaging get fuzzy, the attack gets sloppy, the bass starts, little by little, to feel overwhelming.
Please, please, give a chance to the normal, brand new OEM pleather chi no name pads for AKG-type headphones that you can get from AliExpress for 3 USD or so for the modern K240 and sort. They are much better than the original ones, they isolate much better, are much more comfortable, create a more livelier and accurate acoustic chamber and preserve the magical sound of the K340.

We'll have to agree to disagree here. There's still definitely a uniqueness to the sound compared to my other headphones. Not getting any of the soundstage/imaging issues you speak of.

 

[Baycode]

Yesterday I put on what are literally just a $7 set of pads from AliExpress...

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256801104525378.html

...the 110mm version. What happened to the sound of my K340 can only be described as transformative.



I'm surprised how many people here are still using the aging stock pads. If you own this headphone you OWE it to yourself to play around with some pad rolling.

This is literally the ONLY thing I changed about this headphone. I haven't done any of the internal mods. And just with different pads, not even expensive ones, they seal better, are more comfortable, and the bass on these "bass-light" K340s hits harder, goes deeper, and the soundstage widens due to the depth of the pads. The thin cloth on the back of the pads actually helps control the treble, which can be pretty fatiguing otherwise (particularly the upper treble).

Everything is evened out, and I don't get the midrange shoutiness I used to. Their performance overall has just been greatly elevated, and as hard as it is for me to admit, there's some music I'm hearing on these right now that sounds shoulder-to-shoulder with the two other kilobuck headphones I have sitting on the desk here.

Which diameter did you purchase?

In 2020 I write in this thread and advised Brainwavz Hybrid Memoryfoam earpads (I have been using them on my bass heavy K340, first attached them in 2018 or 2019). It is good to see similar design but cheaper alternative earpads here...

I have tried many designs (I mean more than 15 different pairs till now) and none of them gave me the same satisfying sound that I got with the mentioned earpads.

You can check my vintage AKG comparison review here (which included K340 as well): https://www.head-fi.org/threads/vintage-akg-comparisons-including-k400-k340-k240-sextett.906832/

The mentioned earpad was this one:

 

[Reputator]

Which diameter did you purchase?

It's there in the post you quoted.

 

[JAnonymous5150]

For those who are interested these are my first impressions of the AKG K340s:

Over the last several days I have spent somewhere around 15 hours or so listening to the AKG K340s on various rigs, running all manner of musical genres through them. Let me just say that I'm not aware of a pair of headphones with this level of imaging and detail that can be had today for this kind of money (sub $250 is common market price, I got mine for $150).

Before I got ahold of these, I did some research that left me expecting a pair of headphones that had to be EQed to be listenable because of a fatiguing upper mid peak and an obvious and similarly fatiguing inconsistency between the performance of the dynamic unit and the electrostatic unit. Once I got to listening to the K340s I found that both issues, if you want to call them that, were highly overstated and that the suggested rememdies that I tried took away the unique character of these headphones that I really grew to like. With that in mind, all of these observations refer to the sound of the K340s without EQ.

The K340s do require a good, strong source of amplification, but, IME, most decent desktop headphone amplifiers should be able to cover their needs. For instance, my JDS Labs El Amp 2+, which is pretty standard desktop headphone amplifier fare, can drive the K340s with power to spare. I tried them on a few other more powerful amps and didn't find that they scaled to perform better so that's another area where I found myself disagreeing with some of the opinions I read before I acquired my pair. @Davidzak64 was kind enough to give me the tip to plug in the K340s when I first got them for a while before listening to make sure the electrostatic system was energized otherwise they can sound lifeless so I'll pass that on here to future owners.

For tuning, the K340s are pretty typical AKG: Fast, articulate, non-emphasized/neutral bass that reaches deep and gives you exactly the levels of bass that are supposed to be present in detailed, high quality fashion. Mids that are open, very detailed, and very revealing, though somehow the K340s mids are more forgiving than those on the 700 and 800 series. Treble that's well extended, capable of resolving the smallest micro details with fast transients and plenty of air. There is an upper mid peak that I can see some finding fatiguing, but I found it well within my ears' range of tolerance and had no problem with it.

The stars of the show are the detailed reproduction qualities which are present in spades throughout the K340's sonic range and the precise imaging capabilities that are equally apparent. The low end is particularly impressive with how controlled and articulate it remains even on the most crowded and demanding tracks. It makes listening to some of the prog stuff I have been diggin' lately a joy. The K340's soundstage is maybe just a touch less wide than the x7xx AKGs I own, but with better depth and decent height as well. The truly spectacular thing is how the headphones are able to place and layer sources and sounds within that stage, putting plenty of air between them making it easy to "look inside" the music and analyze exactly what's going on with any given source. For headphones in this price range and for a lot more, I have never heard an equal to the K340s in this regard. Period.

The dynamic-electrostatic combo does create a unique timbre and presentation that isn't the most natural, but, to me at least, is enjoyable all the same. I'm not going to attempt to describe it here, it's just something you have to hear. I tried a few different folks' EQ settings for these heasphones and did my own experimenting, but at the end of the day they all took away from this unique quality and I'm not willing to give that up because it's a big part of the draw and the charm of the K340s.

Basically, if you're looking for a unique pair of headphones with incredible imaging and detail retrieval for $250 or less, the K340s are as good as it gets. I'm really glad that the K340s I saw on this thread reignited my semi-dormant desire to own a pair of these headphones. I plan to keep them in my collection for a long time to come. I've never heard anything like so they've created a space for themselves in my collection that can't really be filled by anything else I'm aware of so I guess the K340s have made themselves irreplaceable.

I also want to take the opportunity to thank @Davidzak64 for answering all my questions about the K340s, the different versions available, and for sharing his thoughts on various points and issues I have encountered in my introduction to these awesome phones. Just when I thought I was done with acquiring gear for a while the shop owner who put me in touch with the seller I purchased my K340s from has told me that he's got a line on a pair of K1000s in ridiculously good condition...

I hooe that people find this useful and helpful ir at least an interesting read.

P.S. Ignore any typos. Typed on my phone. I'll edit later at some point, but ran out of time at the moment and don't want to leave an anxious reading audience waiting on tenterhooks any longer.

P.P.S. I originally posted this on a thread about which heasphones you're listening to now because some users were interested in my opinions on the K340s. @Davidzak64 and @jonathan c also encourage me to post this here so more head-fiers and potential future buyers of the AKG K340s would be more likely to find it so thanks again guys.

 

[Davidzak64]

For those who are interested these are my first impressions of the AKG K340s:

Over the last several days I have spent somewhere around 15 hours or so listening to the AKG K340s on various rigs, running all manner of musical genres through them. Let me just say that I'm not aware of a pair of headphones with this level of imaging and detail that can be had today for this kind of money (sub $250 is common market price, I got mine for $150).

Before I got ahold of these, I did some research that left me expecting a pair of headphones that had to be EQed to be listenable because of a fatiguing upper mid peak and an obvious and similarly fatiguing inconsistency between the performance of the dynamic unit and the electrostatic unit. Once I got to listening to the K340s I found that both issues, if you want to call them that, were highly overstated and that the suggested rememdies that I tried took away the unique character of these headphones that I really grew to like. With that in mind, all of these observations refer to the sound of the K340s without EQ.

The K340s do require a good, strong source of amplification, but, IME, most decent desktop headphone amplifiers should be able to cover their needs. For instance, my JDS Labs El Amp 2+, which is pretty standard desktop headphone amplifier fare, can drive the K340s with power to spare. I tried them on a few other more powerful amps and didn't find that they scaled to perform better so that's another area where I found myself disagreeing with some of the opinions I read before I acquired my pair. @Davidzak64 was kind enough to give me the tip to plug in the K340s when I first got them for a while before listening to make sure the electrostatic system was energized otherwise they can sound lifeless so I'll pass that on here to future owners.

For tuning, the K340s are pretty typical AKG: Fast, articulate, non-emphasized/neutral bass that reaches deep and gives you exactly the levels of bass that are supposed to be present in detailed, high quality fashion. Mids that are open, very detailed, and very revealing, though somehow the K340s mids are more forgiving than those on the 700 and 800 series. Treble that's well extended, capable of resolving the smallest micro details with fast transients and plenty of air. There is an upper mid peak that I can see some finding fatiguing, but I found it well within my ears' range of tolerance and had no problem with it.

The stars of the show are the detailed reproduction qualities which are present in spades throughout the K340's sonic range and the precise imaging capabilities that are equally apparent. The low end is particularly impressive with how controlled and articulate it remains even on the most crowded and demanding tracks. It makes listening to some of the prog stuff I have been diggin' lately a joy. The K340's soundstage is maybe just a touch less wide than the x7xx AKGs I own, but with better depth and decent height as well. The truly spectacular thing is how the headphones are able to place and layer sources and sounds within that stage, putting plenty of air between them making it easy to "look inside" the music and analyze exactly what's going on with any given source. For headphones in this price range and for a lot more, I have never heard an equal to the K340s in this regard. Period.

The dynamic-electrostatic combo does create a unique timbre and presentation that isn't the most natural, but, to me at least, is enjoyable all the same. I'm not going to attempt to describe it here, it's just something you have to hear. I tried a few different folks' EQ settings for these heasphones and did my own experimenting, but at the end of the day they all took away from this unique quality and I'm not willing to give that up because it's a big part of the draw and the charm of the K340s.

Basically, if you're looking for a unique pair of headphones with incredible imaging and detail retrieval for $250 or less, the K340s are as good as it gets. I'm really glad that the K340s I saw on this thread reignited my semi-dormant desire to own a pair of these headphones. I plan to keep them in my collection for a long time to come. I've never heard anything like so they've created a space for themselves in my collection that can't really be filled by anything else I'm aware of so I guess the K340s have made themselves irreplaceable.

I also want to take the opportunity to thank @Davidzak64 for answering all my questions about the K340s, the different versions available, and for sharing his thoughts on various points and issues I have encountered in my introduction to these awesome phones. Just when I thought I was done with acquiring gear for a while the shop owner who put me in touch with the seller I purchased my K340s from has told me that he's got a line on a pair of K1000s in ridiculously good condition...

I hooe that people find this useful and helpful ir at least an interesting read.

P.S. Ignore any typos. Typed on my phone. I'll edit later at some point, but ran out of time at the moment and don't want to leave an anxious reading audience waiting on tenterhooks any longer.

P.P.S. I originally posted this on a thread about which heasphones you're listening to now because some users were interested in my opinions on the K340s. @Davidzak64 and @jonathan c also encourage me to post this here so more head-fiers and potential future buyers of the AKG K340s would be more likely to find it so thanks again guys.

Spoken like a true scholar. This is a very detailed review that gives the K340 the respect it deserves. Thank you for sharing your experience with us.

 

[Majoox]

I have a love-hate relationship with the K340 - I've had a lot of them and many of them disappointed me, and I would have wished all the technology inside to sound really good. Even my modified K340s were dark, veiled, undefined in direct comparison against other headphones, but I only noticed this when I had the comparison. Otherwise, the ear gets used to the sound far too quickly. I sold them all and didn't own any for about a year.

My opinion actually changed when I was able to buy two NOS pairs from an estate as an impulse buy a week ago, which had been in the original box for decades. These K340s sound outstanding!

In terms of sound: Very musical and engaging, the phase problems are not noticeable, the peak around 2,5 kHz is there, but "smooth" and not annoying - it's incredibly fun to listen to music with it, even if the music is presented unusually. The detail resolution can keep up with a K1000, no trace of a "veil". It still doesn't sound incredibly natural or spatial, but I have other headphones for that. If I can listen to all kinds of albums with one pair of headphones and don't want to stop, they've already won a lot.

I wanted to use this as an opportunity to compare a stock and a modified pair. I decided to leave one K340 in its original condition and modify the other, but in such a way that it can be taken back at any time. Modification was direct wiring from the dynamic driver, removing the grille, a different cable (in my case from a K240). Result is that the modifications have a minor effect, the modified one sounds slightly brighter. It's a nice icing on the cake, but I have problems to seriously distinguish these pairs. Instead, I noticed something different - Amping has more influence than all modifications.

I would not have thought that headphones could be so amplifier picky. It's not just about pure volume, but about tonal influences - from lifeless, empty, thin (audio interfaces, weaker DACs) to dark and bloated (my OTL tube amplifiers) to neutral (my preference). The best results were directly on amplifier outputs (tested SAE Mark IV DM, Sony TA-1120A, Crown DC-300A) but surprisingly it's also amazing on the SAC KH1000 amplifier I use for my AKG K1000. The "clinical" and "dry" sound of the Crown and SAE elicited quite a lot of detail from the K340. The Sony was on the "warmer" side and showed more bass. The SAC is a combination of both. As a rule I recommend low output impedances, even neutral tubes have not convinced me for the K340.

 

[Davidzak64]

I have a love-hate relationship with the K340 - I've had a lot of them and many of them disappointed me, and I would have wished all the technology inside to sound really good. Even my modified K340s were dark, veiled, undefined in direct comparison against other headphones, but I only noticed this when I had the comparison. Otherwise, the ear gets used to the sound far too quickly.

My opinion actually changed when I was able to buy two NOS pairs from an estate as an impulse buy a week ago, which had been in the original box for decades. These K340s sound outstanding!

In terms of sound: "Musically", the phase problems are not noticeable at all, the peak at 2,5 kHz is there, but not annoying - it's incredibly fun to listen to music with it, even if the music is presented unusually. The detail resolution can keep up with a K1000, no trace of a "veil". It still doesn't sound incredibly natural or spatial, but I have other headphones for that. If I can listen to all kinds of albums with one pair of headphones and don't want to stop, they've already won a lot.

I wanted to use this as an opportunity to compare a stock and a modified pair.

What influence do modifications have?
I decided to leave one K340 in its original condition and modify the other, but in such a way that it can be taken back at any time. Modification was direct wiring from the dynamic driver, removing the grille, a different cable (in my case from a K240). Result is that the modifications have a minor effect, the modified one sounds slightly brighter. It's a nice icing on the cake. Instead, I noticed something completely different, which was my mistake with former K340.

I would not have thought that headphones could be so amplifier picky. It's not just about volume, but about tonal influences - from lifeless, empty, unnatural and dark to neutral. The best results were directly on amplifier outputs (tested SAE Mark IV DM, Sony TA-1120A, Crown DC-300A) but surprisingly amazing on the SAC KH1000 amplifier I use for my AKG K1000. The "clinical" and "bright" sound of the DC-300A elicited quite a lot of detail from the K340. The Sony was on the "warmer" side and showed more bass. The SAC is a combination of both - neutral. As a rule I recommend low output impedances, even neutral tubes have not convinced me for the K340.

Which version, are these the Bass light (green driver)?

 

[Majoox]

It's the green ones, but I must honestly say that the difference is limited. The green version has enough bass with decent amping and good ear pads. Here's what I noticed during my various K340: The green drivers are identical in construction to the red ones from the K240 Sextett, but with mechanical rolloff at 4 kHz. The grey drivers are from a K240 Monitor, which run up to 20 kHz and therefore have no rolloff. The voltage regulators are also different and I found the green version to be better in the treble, what I would like to check again. At that time, as I had a deep notch exactly at 4 kHz with all the grey ones.