[Faust2D]

bump?

 

[daveDerek]

i haven't read most of this thread but responding to the original post/poll i don't really see it as much of a question. having owned several of each and having heard others at various times in some pretty impressive rigs i greatly prefer the stax over the k340s (and i am an akg fan. some day i'll redo my profile but i do own and have owned and enjoyed many of their products). this may raise a few eyebrows, but at a meet i attended a while back using an es-1 amp and a meridian g08 seedie player, with porcupine tree as the musical selection, it sounded better on the lambdas than on O2s or he90s!

 

[librarian]

I recently got myself a pair of Stax SR-Lambda (normal bias) and a pair of K340 (not sure which version, but not bass-heavy)
 
Driving the Lambda through the speaker output on a mini-stereo in the living room (with the SRD-6 adaptor). Driving the K340 through a Isabellina HPA (LFP-V Edition) with Mullard cv2493. I like both, but they are very different. I like the Lambdas best. For certain kinds of music (mostly reggae, rock music, pop) I like them equally (depending on mood). For most of my music listening (jazz, classical), no doubt: Lambda is the best. I will keep the K340, though. I find it's soundstage and overall presentation to be very weird/special. And sometimes it can get right, what no other headphone can get right. But as an all rounder, I think it's no-go.

 

[richard51]

Very old thread indeed....But i cannot resist to say my words...

I listen to the AKG K 340 for sometimes now,i heavily modify them, and my audio system is heavily modded also, and this headphone now sound so good that they are absolutely no comparison between it nude right out of the box or modified in a clean audio system... Defects that many people report are there no more,or way less evident, after cleaning the electrical grid of your audio system and modify the AKG (principally grid mods,and damping with sorbothane and stones) Their principal sound quality is holographic depth imaging like my speakers with a sound so natural that they kill my Stax lambda, Stax SR-5,AKG 701,hifiman he 400 and beyer DT-150,i listen no more to them and upgrading is for me a smiling foolishness now...But anybody who listen them nude ,in a non cleaned system, does not know them....This is the reason that they are sold often at 100 bucks,because people does not know how to modify and damp them,and almost all audio system are not cleaned and the k 340 are the most sensible to source and to the electrical grid there is ... They must also be drive by a SS amplifier with quality power or tube amp...I think that short of Stax omega or many thousand dollars headphones they cannot be beaten...I does not search headphones anymore ...i pay them 100 bucks...Must i say i steal them?

 

[richard51]

Update:

It is 4 years now.... I use them exclusively now because i lost my speakers/dedicated room...

I change the old pads, gives them a new dedicated big amplifier, the best of Sansui.... ( after taking off the plastic center grid and damping them against vibrations 4 years ago now) There is not even a comparison with my first enthusiastic post here 5 years ago and today .... Then simple matter..... No Stax can rival them probably save the Omega.... People who use them stock with old pad/ old big plastic grid/ with not the right amplification, no vibrations control and with the grid center, cannot pretend to know them.... I equalized them with a bit of dB level increased at 4KHZ their crossover point , only that for equalization.... All headphone i ever listen to, Two Stax included, sounded unnatural and bad compared to them .... On all counts....