[Omom]

I preferred DT880 600 to K340 with Zana (soundstage, transparency, comfort, maybe detail etc.)

 

[Faust2D]

If your K340 sounds similar to my old pair there is not much you can do to make it sound better. K340 are nice but nothing spacial and variation of sound make buying them a very risky gamble, who know what kind of pair you will get.

 

[joe_seattle]

Thanks to everyone who has responded. I'm pretty sure I have the bass-light version, though I can't be 100% certain since I don't have a second pair as reference.

Like musicman59, my K340 come from Alex and have been recabled and modded. Of course damage/change could have happened to the phones since they left him, but I doubt it.

I will have a chance to test the phones soon with a high powered amp thanks to a local head-fier with a sweet setup. I'm so curious what affect this will have, and I believe the issues definitely could be resolved. I do hear a marked improvement running the phones directly off of the speaker output of my receiver compared to the headphone out. There is greater clarity, a reduction in shrillness and less haziness/fuzziness. If a beefy amp can continue moving the phones up, they could become quite nice.

It's funny...my academic background is in biology, so I tend to approach challenges like my K340 in a deliberate, scientific way. I wonder, for instance, what affect my own expectations (which were high) have on my perception of the phones. I wish I could do more A-B comparisons with them and other phones, and other K340s. Still, at the end of the day, it's all about what sounds good, and good with sound is about as subjective as good with food.

I wonder if anyone can provide a brief explanation of how "power-hungry" works with headphones. I know very little about electrical-engineering, and while I'm sure I could pick up a textbook and figure out the basics, a summary would be even better! haha How, for example, would a headphone amp provide more power to the phones than the receiver I am using? The Technics receiver I have can power large speakers, and they get the volume on the K340 very high when turned-up only about 25%. What does a headphone amp do differently?

Thanks! -Joe

 

[ericj]

Quote:

Originally Posted by joe_seattle /img/forum/go_quote.gif I wonder if anyone can provide a brief explanation of how "power-hungry" works with headphones. I know very little about electrical-engineering, and while I'm sure I could pick up a textbook and figure out the basics, a summary would be even better! haha How, for example, would a headphone amp provide more power to the phones than the receiver I am using? The Technics receiver I have can power large speakers, and they get the volume on the K340 very high when turned-up only about 25%. What does a headphone amp do differently?

Basically, if you hear a popular/expensive headphone and it doesn't sound as good to you as people say it sounds, that means your amp doesn't have enough power.

Regardless of how powerful the amp is.

Unless you have the same amp as everyone else, in which case, your pair is defective.

 

[Fungi]

You forgot the scenario where your amp or headphones don't have the 2000 hours of burn-in they need.

joe, don't hesitate to start with a nice little HD600 system because it's a great package with a very reasonable price tag.
But also try and set up a meet with smeggy; he's got some wonderful treats around. I don't know if it's a good idea for the long run though, since a lot of them are probably modded and/or out of production

 

[facelvega]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericj /img/forum/go_quote.gif Basically, if you hear a popular/expensive headphone and it doesn't sound as good to you as people say it sounds, that means your amp doesn't have enough power. Regardless of how powerful the amp is. Unless you have the same amp as everyone else, in which case, your pair is defective.

Nice. You forgot that if opinions differ by groups instead of individuals, it means that there must be a good and a bad version of the headphone in question-- regardless of whether empirical evidence indicates that they all look alike or that there are at least five different versions.

For some reason we don't question, though, the people who do expensive mods never tell you whether yours is a "bass-light" or "bass-heavy" version. So, either the modders are unscrupulously modding even junk headphones, or the idea of versions is bunk. Or?

 

[smeggy]

Well I'm thinking that if my Hafler MOSFET amp can't run them well, all is lost

Anyway, I've been wanting to play with a 340 for ages, they might even benefit from some structural modding to improve the sound, I'll see when I hear them.

 

[ericj]

Quote:

Originally Posted by facelvega /img/forum/go_quote.gif Nice. You forgot that if opinions differ by groups instead of individuals, it means that there must be a good and a bad version of the headphone in question-- regardless of whether empirical evidence indicates that they all look alike or that there are at least five different versions.

That is a most interesting dynamic. AKG sure does love to change stuff, though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by facelvega /img/forum/go_quote.gif For some reason we don't question, though, the people who do expensive mods never tell you whether yours is a "bass-light" or "bass-heavy" version. So, either the modders are unscrupulously modding even junk headphones, or the idea of versions is bunk. Or?

You'd think that there would be different mods for bass-lite vs. bass-heavy, too.

Given the three distinct and easily recognizable versions of the k240 sextett, though, I'm willing to believe that there are different versions of the K340.

The "power" argument is extremely specious, though, as 99.999995% of the people making that argument have not even the most basic understanding of how their amplifiers really work, and will routinely argue that a $400 tube amp has "more power" than a $200 sand amp, even when it can be easily demonstrated that the sand amp pushes more current, swings more volts, and slews faster than the glass amp.

 

[jrosenth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you really want natural sounds, however, give a listen to the AKG K-501 and the Beyerdynamic DT48. The DT48 is more forward and has less soundstage, but makes up for it with exceptional pianos, vocals and revelation of the tiniest details. Do not buy either expecting good amplified/electronic bass, however.

I have to agree here. I have the same musical sensibilities/priorities as you described and when Uncle Erik fist mentioned this and I picked one up.

It is truly unbelievable and makes the 880 & 501 sound like your listening through socks. It's also uber sensitive so you can run without an amp (would still recommend one though).

Just one word of warning, make sure you have a good/great source and recordings otherwise you'll hate the result.

 

[facelvega]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericj /img/forum/go_quote.gif That is a most interesting dynamic. AKG sure does love to change stuff, though. You'd think that there would be different mods for bass-lite vs. bass-heavy, too. Given the three distinct and easily recognizable versions of the k240 sextett, though, I'm willing to believe that there are different versions of the K340.

Oh yes, I believe in the five different versions argument for the K340, as I've seen the pictures, but I also believe that age and long-stored electrets account for most of the reported differences in the K340. I say this because the three pairs I had (one recabled) all sounded about the same once I'd run the electrets back in (one was "bass-light" until the electrets had had eight hours at high volume after years in a drawer) and made sure the damping was the same. The single biggest version difference I heard was between the pair with nearly no stock damping and the pair with way too much.

Quote:

The "power" argument is extremely specious, though, as 99.999995% of the people making that argument have not even the most basic understanding of how their amplifiers really work, and will routinely argue that a $400 tube amp has "more power" than a $200 sand amp, even when it can be easily demonstrated that the sand amp pushes more current, swings more volts, and slews faster than the glass amp.

Agreed, though this isn't to say that various amp options won't sound different from one another. But the simple power versus not-enough-power line is silly.

 

[Faust2D]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericj /img/forum/go_quote.gif Basically, if you hear a popular/expensive headphone and it doesn't sound as good to you as people say it sounds, that means your amp doesn't have enough power. Regardless of how powerful the amp is. Unless you have the same amp as everyone else, in which case, your pair is defective.

You forgot that they need to be heard balanced or you never heard them at the full potential.

 

[ericj]

Quote:

Originally Posted by facelvega /img/forum/go_quote.gif Oh yes, I believe in the five different versions argument for the K340, as I've seen the pictures, but I also believe that age and long-stored electrets account for most of the reported differences in the K340. I say this because the three pairs I had (one recabled) all sounded about the same once I'd run the electrets back in (one was "bass-light" until the electrets had had eight hours at high volume after years in a drawer) and made sure the damping was the same.

Certainly, if the treble is weak then the electret is very tired. It may need several hours to wake up. In extreme cases it may need someone to see if this is one of the versions with a resistor on the electret, and maybe reduce or even jumper it.

And sometimes, for reasons not well understood - some people say the film 'loses it's charge' (which scientifical type people tell me is impossible, short of exposure to fields as strong as what gave it it's charge - which would melt it), sony says that the transducer as a whole builds up a static charge - sometimes electrets just plain die.

And it's clear that AKG used a few different kinds of electret film. Even on the very-short-lived K145 we've seen more than one kind of electret.

Quote:

Originally Posted by facelvega /img/forum/go_quote.gif The single biggest version difference I heard was between the pair with nearly no stock damping and the pair with way too much.

I've always felt that my K340 lacks the clarity of tone of, well, any of my other headphones but especially of orthos and 'stats. So I've mostly ignored my K340. But I've never really been completely clear on what the right amount of damping in a K340 should be. Probably because I haven't cared enough to experiment with it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by facelvega /img/forum/go_quote.gif Agreed, though this isn't to say that various amp options won't sound different from one another. But the simple power versus not-enough-power line is silly.

Certainly, different amps are gonna sound different, and synergy can't be overlooked. But the amp that always sounded best with my K340 has less "power" than the average cmoy.

 

[mypasswordis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericj I've always felt that my K340 lacks the clarity of tone of, well, any of my other headphones but especially of orthos and 'stats. So I've mostly ignored my K340. But I've never really been completely clear on what the right amount of damping in a K340 should be. Probably because I haven't cared enough to experiment with it.

I've never had a problem with clarity of tone, even after becoming a member of Team Planar; in fact, I think it's one of its strong suits. However, the tone is slightly off, and there is sometimes a tubbiness to the sound that should be cured by damping the resonances. I've been meaning to experiment with cotton and felt (I currently have no cotton in there), but have been too lazy and busy

Edit:
Quote:

Certainly, different amps are gonna sound different, and synergy can't be overlooked. But the amp that always sounded best with my K340 has less "power" than the average cmoy.

And which amp would this be?

 

[ericj]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mypasswordis /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've never had a problem with clarity of tone, even after becoming a member of Team Planar; in fact, I think it's one of its strong suits. However, the tone is slightly off, and there is sometimes a tubbiness to the sound that should be cured by damping the resonances. I've been meaning to experiment with cotton and felt (I currently have no cotton in there), but have been too lazy and busy.

That's what i mean - there's too much weird resonance. And i think a lot of it comes from sticking a big electret in front of a little dynamic.

 

[Faust2D]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mypasswordis /img/forum/go_quote.gif However, the tone is slightly off, and there is sometimes a tubbiness to the sound that should be cured by damping the resonances.

This tubbiness is coloring the mids and upper bass frequencies that makes it seem a bit off and inaccurate, maybe thats not the right word for it, resulting in slight smudginess of special placement and timber details. It's especially evident with upright bass and fretless bass guitar with sharp tone. This killed these headphones for me, sadly as I like it a lot other than that, but for ~$250 that it's selling for I got a SR-Lambda and had money leftover.