[Gossling]

Hello, I'm thinking about purchasing a K240DF, but I don't know if I can afford an amp to back it up. I've read they're more sensitive than their 88dB @ 1mW efficiency would have us believe. The only amplifier in this price range that I've found that seems to have what it takes is the Little Dot MKII, and even that may be pushing it. Any recommendations? Also, I'm willing to build my own, as long as it's relatively easy (it would be my first time), so maybe the Millet SSH would do? Although I'm a little worried about the reports of the SSH killing DACs...

Thanks

p.s. do you think this could drive these phones? It says its headphone jack accommodates headphones up to 600ohm, but I'm not sure if I should believe this informal specification.

 

[Kevin Sinnott]

QED MB45. I paid around $100 for mine and it has 2 watts of power. It does a great job with any of my AKG phones. Although I don't own the k240DF's, I have several other 600 ohm AKG's.

 

[scompton]

They're not really that hard to drive. They sound fine out of my Practical Devices X4 as long as it's running with a 12V wall wart. They also sound fine out of the headphone amp in my EMU 0404 USB. And, of course, they sound good out of my MHSS. I've not read that they kill DACs and mine hasn't.

 

[Number9]

Sounding fine and sounding great are two different things.

I used to own a pair, and they tended to sound best via integrated amps (that tend to drive their headphone jack via the speaker output) believe it or not.

They need that extra power to make them sound alive and dynamic IMO Otherwise, they sound recessed, boring and too laid back unfortunately. Which is why they are probably not more popular. Sure, they can get loud using a low-powered dedicated headphone amp, but they would really wake up when there was a lot of spare juice to drive that 600 Ohm impedance.

If figures, they were originally designed for professional use in a day and age when recording studios had headphone amps with juice to spare, and 600 Ohms was the standard.

BTW, this is an under-appreciated headphone, power it right, you will be happy. Matching it up is the trick. Its also a headphone you can listen for a long time and not get fatigued.

 

[scompton]

It's a subtle difference in the sound when driven from all of my amps, as long as it's at the same listening level. I've driven them from the X4, EMU 0404 USB, MHSS, an NAD 3155 integrated amp, a Realistic STA-2200 mosfet monster receiver, and a Hitachi HA-MA Mk II amp. No one can accuse the MHSS and my vintage amps of being underpowered. The X4 and EMU stand up well against them. There's no distortion or clipping and the bass is as tight as with any of the more powerful amps.