[interface95]

Here are some photos of my K340 with red drivers.

 
 

 
I have not seen red driver on any photos here before.
I also don't know if they are EP, MP or LP.

 

[Tom-s]

Any tips on recabling?
I'm playing with the thought of recabling my set to a balanced setup with connectors on the headphones themselves.
Anybody done this? Experiences? Pros and contras? What connectors would work for this?
Will use Mogami microphone cables with Neutrik connectors.
Best results for internal wirings seems connecting wires directly to the driver.
Then with silver wires from driver to electret.

 

[Burkebang]

Hi! I wanted to share my experiences with the K340 for my first post here on head-fi
 
Back in the mid `80s I bought my K340 for newspaper route money. I A-B tested a lot of higher end cans back then and the K340 outclassed everything else, so I saved up for quite a while to get them. I was ~15 years old and living with my parents, I could not play loud music on my speakers at night. I drove them of a (still) very good Onkyo Integra amp and loved the sound and enjoyed them a lot for many years. When I moved out, they where put away and didn't see much use until now. Roles have changed, I now have a 3 year old and can no longer play loud music at night because of him. So I dug out the K340. I love them as much now as I did when I was a youngster. I realized that my livingroom amp didn't do them much justice, so after a bit of research I ended up buying a Audio-GD NFB-15 that I feed digitally from my Squeezebox. The Audio-GD is fantastic with the K340, the slightly warmish and detailed sound of the Wolfson DAC suits the K340 very well and there is ample power to drive them well.
 
I have been an audiophile in recovery (mostly) most of my life. So now I got upgradeitis and wanted more. these cans are over 30 years old and I thought that certainly there should be MUCH better stuff available now. So I set out to listen to what I could find in B&M's. I have listend to AKG K550, Sennheiser Momentum, 650, 700 and 800. When the salesman plugged in the HD800 into an expensive Hegel DAC/headamp, he had a grin on his face, like he thought I was about to be floored. He looked funny when my expression was only meh I had high expectations for the HD800 and was totally underwhelmed. It's laidback mids don't do vocals any justice compared to the K340, there was also no musicality and joy of playing like the K340 has in such abundance. The HD 700 was much worse and even felt "dark" in comparison. I ended up buying the K550's as it does well with music that does not suit the K340's sound signature (sub optimal recordings) and I got it for half price. At 1/10th the price of a HD800, the K550 is great and can even be used streight from my Iphone when traveling.
 
I am a bit saddened that progress obviously peaked in the `80s, but very happy that my then rather large investment in the K340 still pays off  in such abundance after more than 30 years

 

[Tom-s]

Sharing your experiences. 
I bought a pair of HD650 because they pair the best with my BH Crack amplifier. Because these were my first mid-end not so cheap headphones i was very excited.
In the shop they didn't sound so awesome but figured i really should give them a try with the Crack. Indeed at home the new pair performed a great deal better on the crack.
But the crack couldn't get them to the level of the AKG K340. Compared to the AKG K340 the soundstage is cramped, instrument separation non-existent and it's all in your face.
I won't go comparing the FR of these because they are too different for that and it wouldn't be fair. Just have to mention the bass. It's way tighter on the HD650 but the AKG K340 hits fuller (more muddy?) and deeper. 

 

[Monsterzero]

Can anyone provide simple easy way to replace my elastic headband?

 

[Tom-s]

Unscrew the four screws holding the elastics in place.
Take or cut (depending on type of K340) the old elastics out ( i used a dremel tool for this).
Be sure to cut the slots in such a way that it's easy to put in new elastics and they have to stay put while maintaining enough rigidity in the structure holding it all. So give this a few seconds of thought before cutting.
Place new elastics, knot, and finish.
 
Put everything back in place and test for optimum tension on the new elastics (and readjust if necessary).

 

[tdogzthmn]

  Sharing your experiences. 
I bought a pair of HD650 because they pair the best with my BH Crack amplifier. Because these were my first mid-end not so cheap headphones i was very excited.
In the shop they didn't sound so awesome but figured i really should give them a try with the Crack. Indeed at home the new pair performed a great deal better on the crack.
But the crack couldn't get them to the level of the AKG K340. Compared to the AKG K340 the soundstage is cramped, instrument separation non-existent and it's all in your face.
I won't go comparing the FR of these because they are too different for that and it wouldn't be fair. Just have to mention the bass. It's way tighter on the HD650 but the AKG K340 hits fuller (more muddy?) and deeper. 

I too had a Crack with speedball plus a K340.  I sold the K340 awhile back because I preferred the sound of the K400 more but there were certainly some things the K340 did exceptionally well.  It's still a great headphone and able to compete with current headphones on the market.  I felt its weakness was bass, which wasn't as tight as newer headphones.
 
Now I mostly use the AKG K240DF which is a great all around performer and very revealing of a mix.

 

[Monsterzero]

  Unscrew the four screws holding the elastics in place.
Take or cut (depending on type of K340) the old elastics out ( i used a dremel tool for this).
Be sure to cut the slots in such a way that it's easy to put in new elastics and they have to stay put while maintaining enough rigidity in the structure holding it all. So give this a few seconds of thought before cutting.
Place new elastics, knot, and finish.
 
Put everything back in place and test for optimum tension on the new elastics (and readjust if necessary).

Is there a specific elastic part that works better than the other?

 

[richard51]

I bought for less than 2 hundred bucks the AKG k 340.... When i listen to them stock form i was very attentive to their potential, but i detect some boomy resonance then i immediately damp them with some Fo.Q tape , around the cups and on the cable....the effect was more clarity, less boomy...But it was not enough, the sound lack natural,You must also damp them with self-gluing pieces of sorbothane duro 70, tighten with electrical tape around each 2 pieces, put around each plastic square on top of the cups, the change for the better is amazing....I drill a hole in the plastic grids and glued some piece of feminine silk socks on them. I put off all the old wool inside the cups....After that i plug them in my Sansui AU-7700....

Wow! they trouce in sheer relaxing musicality all my other headphones,and are on par with my Stax Sr-5, and beyer dt150, ...They have good bass, vocal perfect reproduction(not for basshead tough)but more than that they are the more relaxing sounding headphone i have heard....I dont want to buy more than 1000 dollars headphone.... I thought that i almost have one now...If not, nevermind! why more expansive one if you have true music finally....

 

[FastAndClean]

why more expansive one if you have true music finally....

Because it sound good

 

[richard51]

Because it sound good

Your remark precisely illustrate the popular confusion betweem "sound" and musicality....

When at the end someone headphone touch real natural musicality, improvement of the "sound" modulo a big amount of money is less a temptation to say the least, it is called " law of diminishing returns"....

 

[FastAndClean]

i hade modded akg k4, i know what musicality is

 

[richard51]

I must admit that i dont know this one.....Can you elaborate in the difference between the akg k 340 and the akg k 4....

 

[FastAndClean]

i never heard the k340 sorry

 

[richard51]

and do you prefer the akg k4 to your Hi-500?

i never heard the k340 sorry