[JAnonymous5150]

-------How do we know that we reach our audio endgame ?



We cannot know in fact, how could we?

Objectively, some new amplifier or some new dac could improve the system and even my beloved K340 can be replaced for the better by some Unknown TOTL...

No we cannot know what our endgame will be and we cannot know how far we are from a relative acoustic perfection or from a flawless real end game system....

The bad news is we dont know and cannot know.... Too much components to test..... Anyway....



But the good news is we can feel it, we can feel if we are in acoustic heaven or not....

Our unconcious know more than us, and our unconscious communicate with our conscious with emotions ....

When the day is arrived and we feel only ectasy and immersive swimming in music without paying no more attention to the components limitations because we dont feel them as such now by virtue of some synergy between components; when dynamic, transparency, transients, timbre, bass impact and extension, and higher frequencies spell and hypnotic charge engulf us in the music , when our emotions are so intense than sound exist no more, only the music we "see" in front of us, then our consciousness is filled with emotions, no thinking anymore, and we live in acoustic paradise....

For sure i could change tomorrow my amplifier or my dac or even my K340 for the better ,yes, but it will be less an upgrade because of the high level where i am already right now, it will be a regression toward foolishness and marketing consumerism possibly filled by regrets... The day come when music win over the sound itself, if we have select rightfully our components and if we learned how to rightfully embed them together in the three working dimensions: mechanical,electrical and acoustical....

The day music overcome sound come because all acoustic paramaters had reach already some optimal level in the scale S.Q./price ratio.... And even if your conscious reason say to us that our system is not the best possible, our unconscious say otherwise...And know better because perception is conditioned by our unconscious way more than by our conscious biases......But many people listen less themselves and their grounding emotion than the market conditioned biases to throw away money in useless expanse... It is better to buy a book about acoustic here than to upgrade a component influenced by reviewers who sells more than inform us anyway...

Anyway, i know for sure consciously which dac and new amp brand name can improve over my actual dac and amp, for sure, but it will be too marginal improvement for me to think seriously about going from the few hundred bucks marvellous system i own now to a many thousand one (10,000 dollars are necessary to improve it significantly i know it why and how by my studies) ... But my unconcious command me to listen with my usual ectasy my music and forgot about consumerism conditioning...

The greater improvement would be a new headphone,yes, but i have no idea at all which headphone can trash my K340 like my K340 trash all my other 8 headphones ... I am curious though even if i am now completely satisfied and will not change probably anything.... If someone know please name the headphone brand model .... I will read all about this contender if i dont know it.... i like to read and study anyway.... in the meantime i will feel a great satisfaction to enjoy the best S.Q./price ratio ever possible with my actual gear, that i know for sure.... My gear cost around 600 bucks

The problem with finding a headphone to replace your K340s is twofold. First, the K340s have a pretty unique presentation and I, personally, haven't heard another headphone that presents music in the same way so I think you'd have a tough time finding something similar and better in that regard. Second, with how much you dig your K340s and with how your mods have really customized them to an extent for your listening I think you'd need to spend a lot more and you'd probably need to audition/demo headphones so you can see how they stack up. It would be hard for others to recommend given how your headphones are modded.

Also, I totally understand the curiosity, but ti have found an affordabke headphone that you dig as much as the K340s and that suits you as well seems like an incredibly rare thing so maybe being satisfied and not worrying about an upgrade is the answer. That said, if you really want suggestions, maybe make a post that lists what you love about the K340s and what you'd like your upgrade headphones to improve upon and include what musical styles and genres you listen to along with what amp, DAC, etc you use in your chain. That's all info that woukd make potential suggestions easier for people.

 

[richard51]

Thanks

JAnonymous5150​

for your toughtful remarks....

I dont seriously thought i will replace any components now, perhaps the dac with a bigger micro card memory ( 1 terabyte instead of my actual under 500 gigabyte would be great, my music bank is now integrated in my dac) but i certainly will not replace the K340, i am not even sure that the Stax Omega with a specialized amplifier (10,000 bucks) would completely fill the task because of the unique realistic bass body impact and the 3-d holography of the K340....

By the way i will not paid a fortune for more "details" or a new timbre "color".... The main important thing for me is timbre realism and the acoustic translation of recording in a 3-d "visible" event....And i ask for bass impactful effect on my body... Then which is the contender and at which price?

Then my post is only motivated by curiosity toward some people who loved their TOTL headphone much as i love mine and enough to suggest it to me for many reasons in some future post i am curious to read and meditate....I will appreciate all suggestions...

By the way i listen all music styles ....But especially jazz and classic....

My best to you .....

 

[Majoox]

The biggest competition for the K340 comes from AKG itself - a good example of a K240 Sextett is on a par with the K340 and I am curious about @Davidzak64 impressions.

My personal reference is the HD800. I don't like the sound of planar headphones, I prefer dynamic headphones after some time. Nevertheless, the K1000 and K240DF are tonally close to the HD800, without wanting to raise them to the same level. There are still differences in soundstage and details, but the price (12 times) does not justify them. Admittedly, if you need to boost the bass on a K340 (which drown me with bass), the K240DF is not for you at all.

The insidious thing about all vintage AKGs is that you have to buy several to narrow down the series variation. I have had to buy four 240DF and K240 Sextetts, after which I kept the best-sounding one - the reviews vary because of that in addition to the subjective taste of the listeners.

 

[richard51]

----- why the K340 timbre impression are so realistic and why the 3-D impression?

I will cited here from a review of the K240 sextett and the K340 a description by an AKG employee of the 5 or 6 passive resonators diffusers and absorbers....

«
Like in the recent version K240 Monitor a 32mm driver was used but it was surrounded by 6 passive radiators. Each radiator consisted of a membrane attached to a perforated disc covered with carefully selected acoustical friction material. Conventional circum-aural headphones often have a resonance peak in the upper bass region followed by a more or less significant bass roll off. The result: an unnaturally sounding boomy bass. The resonant frequency of the passive radiators in connection with the relatively high friction of the damping material behind these membranes effectively influences this irregularity in the frequency range.
In the region of the bass boost the membranes become transparent to sound waves and thus reduce the air pressure in the coupling cavity between capsule and ears. In that way the bass boost is leveled out. Below this boost-frequency the membranes block the sound waves and the roll-off is compensated. This acoustic principle was invented by Dr. Goerike, co-founder of AKG.»

https://www.stereophile.com/content...s-k240-sextett-and-k340-electrostatic-dynamic

Now i will remind you that Dr. Goerike , one of the two AKG founders and scientist, is a physicist, not only an engineer, and he was inspired by Helmholtz acoustic and psycho-acoustic to create these acoustic tools, which inspired many other companies to some extent....

These 5 resonators/diffusers/absorbers or 6 in the K240 sextett, are the magical components creating this dual acoustic chamber where by changing the sound pressure distribution in the shell/cup, as one can do in a room with an array of Helmholtz resonators, one change the timbre perception and not only the bass perception but also one can add a back or reflected wave perception which ,with the direct wavefront of the two drivers will create a realistic 3-d imaging, an imaging way more powerful than using just the driver direct wavefront.... Localizing sound need sound pressure level cues intensity, spectral cues and differential timing ....An empty shell with no acoustic tools and only one driver cannot be the best there is at all...Most headphones are only a business not refined acoustic marvel....

But the cost to implement these Helmholtz devices is so high that AKG abandoned it....And they even tried different tuning for their K340 or K240, because at these times, equalization processing was not easy nor cheap and so good they are the two drivers hybrid in particular need equalization to conform itself to each ears characteristics and win with it without loosing anything.... But it is today possible to have tone control and equalization of high quality at cheap price........Then today the conditions to serve the needs of the K340 are there more than in the past...

 

[Davidzak64]

The biggest competition for the K340 comes from AKG itself - a good example of a K240 Sextett is on a par with the K340 and I am curious about @Davidzak64 impressions.

My personal reference is the HD800. I don't like the sound of planar headphones, I prefer dynamic headphones after some time. Nevertheless, the K1000 and K240DF are tonally close to the HD800, without wanting to raise them to the same level. There are still differences in soundstage and details, but the price (12 times) does not justify them. Admittedly, if you need to boost the bass on a K340 (which drown me with bass), the K240DF is not for you at all.

The insidious thing about all vintage AKGs is that you have to buy several to narrow down the series variation. I have had to buy four 240DF and K240 Sextetts, after which I kept the best-sounding one - the reviews vary because of that in addition to the subjective taste of the listeners.

I am looking forward to listening to the Sextett lp. The seller states like new condition. I also spent a lot of time with the K1000'S. In the end I chose to keep the K340 because it's just a more well rounded HP that has very little faults to my ears. If the Sextett can even come close to giving me the enjoyment that the K340 do, I will be a very happy man. =
I'm not too big on planar either.
See my HP list. The K340 is at the top of some pretty good company.

 

[richard51]

The biggest competition for the K340 comes from AKG itself - a good example of a K240 Sextett is on a par with the K340 and I am curious about @Davidzak64 impressions.

My personal reference is the HD800. I don't like the sound of planar headphones, I prefer dynamic headphones after some time. Nevertheless, the K1000 and K240DF are tonally close to the HD800, without wanting to raise them to the same level. There are still differences in soundstage and details, but the price (12 times) does not justify them. Admittedly, if you need to boost the bass on a K340 (which drown me with bass), the K240DF is not for you at all.

The insidious thing about all vintage AKGs is that you have to buy several to narrow down the series variation. I have had to buy four 240DF and K240 Sextetts, after which I kept the best-sounding one - the reviews vary because of that in addition to the subjective taste of the listeners.

Thanks....

I think you are right and to be frank i want to buy a sextett.... By the way i was not a basshead and i am not one today.... But the bass of my K340 is so good, in extension, and in realism, that i will not go back to any headphone which had not this realism so great that i feel deep bass with my body.... I am a light-head i listen much strings music and harpsichord, then non fatiguing high frequencies quality are mandatory more than bass if possible.... This is why the K340 is so great for me on all acoustic counts...

I am not sure about the K240 DF.... I am interested to test it though .... AKG seems to be my road of choice....

 

[JAnonymous5150]

The biggest competition for the K340 comes from AKG itself - a good example of a K240 Sextett is on a par with the K340

I have owned the K240 Sextett twice, once with white resonators and once with the orange resonators, and I currently own the K340 with the green drivers. Both the Sextetts and the K340s are very good headphones and both have a unique presentation and magic that I don't hear in other headphones. That said, they are also quite different headphones in the end. Different presentations, different strengths, but both amongst my favorite vintage headphones I have ever heard for sure.

 

[richard51]

I am looking forward to listening to the Sextett lp. The seller states like new condition. I also spent a lot of time with the K1000'S. In the end I chose to keep the K340 because it's just a more well rounded HP that has very little faults to my ears. If the Sextett can even come close to giving me the enjoyment that the K340 do, I will be a very happy man. =
I'm not too big on planar either.
See my HP list. The K340 is at the top of some pretty good company.

I cannot wait for your impressions so much i am excited....

 

[richard51]

I have owned the K240 Sextett twice, once with white resonators and once with the orange resonators, and I currently own the K340 with the green drivers. Both the Sextetts and the K340s are very good headphones and both have a unique presentation and magic that I don't hear in other headphones. That said, they are also quite different headphones in the end. Different presentations, different strengths, but both amongst my favorite vintage headphones I have ever heard for sure.

Thanks very much for your impressions and opinions... That means much to me.... I think that the magical secret behind the sextett as the K340 is Acoustic inspired Helmholtz science.... Dr. Goerike was a physicist not only an engineer... He created modern microphones among other things but also a new way to design headphones.... He was not a genius in marketing so much as a genius in acoustic.... This is why in the S.Q./ price ratio scale, nothing beat old AKG.... By the way i dont want a "beautiful" costly wooden headphone but an acoustically designed one....

My K340 is not "pretty" .... I added homemade material to support my head and i added anti vibrations materials inside it and outside.... Controlling vibrations of the shell is one way to help and tweak the K340... The other way is inaccessible to me: It would be going from a 20 KHZ to 35KHZ electro acoustic driver so much as to help transients perception.... Because music is also made of some sounds frequencies it seems we cannot even directly hear, this fact reflect the complexity of our hearing power....And anyway what we cannot consciouly hear at all, is the same that help our unconscious /brain working to create musical impressions....

 

[Davidzak64]

I have owned the K240 Sextett twice, once with white resonators and once with the orange resonators, and I currently own the K340 with the green drivers. Both the Sextetts and the K340s are very good headphones and both have a unique presentation and magic that I don't hear in other headphones. That said, they are also quite different headphones in the end. Different presentations, different strengths, but both amongst my favorite vintage headphones I have ever heard for sure.

Which HP would you say is technically better? Not preference. More Resolving? Best Timbre?

 

[Reputator]

See my HP list. The K340 is at the top of some pretty good company.

Heck, my K340 hangs with my >$1k headphones pretty well. Remarkable for a 1980 headphone.

 

[Davidzak64]

Heck, my K340 hangs with my >$1k headphones pretty well. Remarkable for a 1980 headphone.

Another Bass light (green driver) happy customer.
Not really bass light. Just bass correct.

 

[Reputator]

Another Bass light (green driver) happy customer.
Not really bass light. Just bass correct.

The bass light version really just needs the right pads. Perforated memory foam works really dang well.

 

[Davidzak64]

The bass light version really just needs the right pads. Perforated memory foam works really dang well.

I think proper placement is the key to really good bass on the K340. Stock pads with ears touching the back of the pads does wonders for them. Also proper headphone suspension. I haven't tried pad rolling because they sound so good that I'm afraid to mess with them.

 

[JAnonymous5150]

Which HP would you say is technically better? Not preference. More Resolving? Best Timbre?

K340 is more resolving. The Sextett has better timbre.