[gab3739]

New member here (but I have read and researched a lot on this forum).

Anyway, I've been using my 240M's for about a year now as referencing/mixing headphones. I don't have any room treatment, but I don't just rely on headphones. I still use semi-decent consumer PC speakers with a sub as another reference, but the majority of the time I'm using the 240M's.

I don't have a headphone amp for them and I know that it's recommended or literally required to have an amp for properly driving them since they're 600ohms. I didn't know this at first and have put off buying a headphone amp. Right now I'm just plugging it into the headphone jack of my Digidesign Mbox or (this is a little ghetto, but it was worth trying) having the line outs of the Mbox go to an OLD Onkyo quartz synthesized tuner amp from the late 80's and plugging my AKG's into the 1/4" headphone jack of that. It's hard to tell if it drives it any better, but it's certainly not powerful as I would like.

I read a post on here about the Vividaudiotech V1 being able to drive the 240M's somewhat, but giving them a bit of a bright edge. I don't know if the synergy between the two is aimed more for listening to music, mixing, or both. My budget is like $200-$250 and I see that the V1 is $100. I'm wondering if it's worth buying the V1; would it drive any better than my Mbox? Another option I've been thinking is to use that money into headphones that don't necessarily need an amp to drive or perhaps a pair of heads + the V1 altogether.

I've been looking at ATH-M50 and the Beyerdynamic DT770 80ohms a lot lately, but I'm not sure which option is the best here -- sticking with 240M's while getting a portable amp (for now) or getting a new pair of headphones altogether (and maybe a portable amp anyway).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[JeckyllAndHyde]

Maybe You should buy M50 AND portable amp for K240. 2 headphones are always better than 1.

 

[gab3739]

Thanks, I might go ahead and do that.

 

[ourfpshero]

no portable amp will drive the 240m worth a darn. it needs power, and sounds fantastic with a lot of power.

the best option- a powerful tube amp
economical option- older pro audio amp. i like a samson q5. it drives 600 ohm cans decently. some of the older fostex amps are supposed to be good as well

 

[scompton]

Vintage amps can be hit or miss on how good they are at driving headphones. If you want to go that way, I'd suggest frequenting Goodwill with your K240 and a portable source. It shouldn't take too many visits before you find something good and it will be a lot cheaper than any other way to go except ourfpshero's suggestion of used pro equipment. The only pro equipment I've heard is a Presonus Central Station which is very good, but not cheap.

 

[ourfpshero]

scompton is right on that.
the best amp for my 240m is actually an old pioneer receiver. drives them beautifully. its too large to sit on my desktop though! cost $20 at a goodwill, i got it to drive electrostatic cans, turns out the headphone out is wonderful

 

[gab3739]

Wow, thanks for the insight and suggestions

. I'm gonna scope out for an old pioneer receiver then. I don't mind the size, should fit on my desktop.

 

[rhythmdevils]

I say get an amp. Even without one though, just because the K240M needs an amp more than say, the M50, it doesn't mean you wouldn't still prefer the K240M over the M50 without an amp.

I think people get a little amp crazy on here, and I find that for me, the sound signature of the headphones themselves is much more important. I prefer the HD600 out of my iphone to most grados out of the iphone. Grados are easier for the iphone to power, but that doesn't matter, because they're too bright anyways.

But if you don't like how the K240M sounds, that's another story, then get different phones. if you want to improve them, get an amp if you can afford it.

 

[12Bass]

FWIW, I've been doing some mixing with K702s, but decided to try out my old K240Ms to see how they compare. Although many criticize the K70x as hard to drive, they are more efficient than the old K240s. Soundwise, in comparison, the K240s sound like there's a pillow over your ears. So much more detail is audible in the K702s. They sound more even across the spectrum as well.... deeper in the lows as well... but not as warm and forgiving.... more clinical.

 

[rhythmdevils]

oh wow, I just figured out what FWIW means

 

[Deep Funk]

An old stereo amplifier or receiver with headphone out is the best option with a low budget.

It might be worthwhile to figure out if a Graham Slee Voyager works too.

 

[lejaz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 12Bass /img/forum/go_quote.gif FWIW, I've been doing some mixing with K702s, but decided to try out my old K240Ms to see how they compare. Although many criticize the K70x as hard to drive, they are more efficient than the old K240s. Soundwise, in comparison, the K240s sound like there's a pillow over your ears. So much more detail is audible in the K702s. They sound more even across the spectrum as well.... deeper in the lows as well... but not as warm and forgiving.... more clinical.

They were produced for a lot of years, so there's probably a lot of variation in the sound of old 240M's. If you like detail but the overall sound of the 240M try to find a second hand 240DF. Great detail and clarity...treble and mids just right... bass tight and defined, maybe not quite enough for some people. They sound good out of the emu 0404 which doesn't have a powerful amp by any means. They were engineered to have a very flat/neutral frequency response and they can be usually found under $100.

 

[12Bass]

Ya... I remember coveting the DFs and wishing I had spent a little more to get them. From what I recall, they are more open/flatter than the M, but I'm doubtful that they would have the resolution of the K70x. My K240Ms are from around 1991 and are still in good condition.

 

[Cothealiv]

I found a pair of K240Ms on ebay and was able to get them for around $40. Tried to drive them with a JDS Labs cmoybb but was getting horrible distortion even with a 12v adapter. Was able to find a compatible 18v adapter, and it's a night and day difference. These little puppies sound absolutely fantastic when given enough power.