[burgunder]

When do you get the crackles? Is it with all types of recordings or only the older ones? There seem to be a lot of older jazz recordings that have some distortion and crackles in fact most remasters have such small artifacts they can be found on the Beatles Remasters for instance, all this noise is really easy to hear on the K340 so make sure it's not on the recording before you fault the headphones?

 

[rhythmdevils]

if it does wind up being the headphones, just pretend you're listening to vinyl

 

[joelpearce]

Quote:

 
I still get little crackles unfortunately. Does that mean they are sadly on their way out?

Is it in one ear or both ears?
 
Try wiggling the connection points and see if the crackling gets worse.  If you wiggle the cable and headphone jack and it crackles more, it just needs a retermination, which is dead easy and cheap.  If there's a break in the cable somewhere or at the ear side, it gets more complicated, but as long as it's not the driver, they should be fixable.
 
Edit: what are you using to drive them?  Or did I miss that part of the conversation?

 

[Prog Rock Man]

The crackling is with specific tracks and particular electronica noises. I am going through them again as burgunder has the explanation that makes most sense. Joel I have had the backs off the drivers and checked everything I can and all seems fine.

 

[joelpearce]

Interesting.  Could it be the drivers rattling with strong bass?

 

[Prog Rock Man]

Quote:

Interesting.  Could it be the drivers rattling with strong bass?

Definitely not as I have tried all genres including metal. It is most likely to happen with what I would describe as jangly guitar sounds. The more I listen the more I also think that these cans are the most unforgiving I have with badly recorded music.

 

[joelpearce]

Quote:

Definitely not as I have tried all genres including metal. It is most likely to happen with what I would describe as jangly guitar sounds. The more I listen the more I also think that these cans are the most unforgiving I have with badly recorded music.

That's the opposite impression I have with mine--I find them very forgiving on the most part.  Well, they do say there's a lot of variation in these cans.  If you're running out of a computer source, you should get sinegen and see if it's a certain frequency.  I wonder if it has something to do with the crossover frequency or the electret drivers.
 

 

[Prog Rock Man]

I have been listening to my most avantgarde, noise effect, weird post rock music and I am now sure it is the way the headphones are reproducing sharp background details. They are sharper and brighter than any other headphone. That may still be causing a slight buzzing at times.
 
I can really see why people refer to bass heavy and light versions. There is no way these can be listened to and described as bass heavy.

 

[Prog Rock Man]

Er, Joel confession time. It is the jack after all. I was getting some consistency with the problem and then went to try another pair and moved the jack and crackle. When I pushed it back in properly, nothing. It does not fit as tightly as the identical jacks on the K140 and K280, there is no final 'click' as you push them in.
 
Thanks for all of  the help

 

[joelpearce]

Cool, now you can get down to really enjoying these unique headphones.
 
Yeah, I definitely have the bass-heavy version--they really rock the low end when called upon to do so.

 

[Prog Rock Man]

I thought I would put on some solo Trey Gunn, the sometime bass player from King Crimson and others. It has some deep funky bass and sounds beautiful, deeper than the K702s, but not by much. Thankfully, that is how I like it.

 

[rhythmdevils]

I probably have the bass heavier version.  The bass is similar to the HD600 except with more impact and seems to go deeper.  I haven't tested that or anything though.  They seem to extend further in both directions than the HD600, and they manage to have both more clarity and a more lush sound than the HD600 at the same time.  That's quite a feat, even if these were released in 2010. 
 
I would go so far as to say that this is the ultimate quest of audio gear- the challenge all audio equipment yearns for- to achieve detail and clarity without loosing the richness that is inherent to real life.  It's a balancing act that most phones fail at IMO.  They go for detail and somewhere along the way they forget about natural, rich tone- the K701 is a great example of this.  Or they go for richness and can't manage to keep detail- the HD650 might be a good example, though a lot of power fixes that. 
 
The K340 finds a beautiful balance in this way.  I've said that before in this thread, but it's what I keep coming back to.  I do have other problems with them, but I think they are amp related.

 

[tdogzthmn]

^ Honestly I find my K400 has the best balance of detail/tone/richness/Impact of the cans I own.

 

[rhythmdevils]

Interesting.  My K400 was too light and airy for me, but maybe yours sounds different. 
 
Just to be clear, I wasn't trying to say that the K340 is the best headphone of all time or anything.  I think they are one of the best for sure and they do excel in that balancing act, which is probably the most important thing for me with headphones. 

 

[Prog Rock Man]

Now, for me it is a toss up between the K340 and K280, with the K702 now third as it I now properly hear the dry sound so many others criticise.