The Vintage AKG Headphones appreciation thread

[Davidzak64]

I find it fascinating how some of these Vintage AKG headphones sound better to me, than most of the mid-fi and even some TOTL hps being produced over the past 25 years or so. Please feel free to post your pics, articles, experiences and opinions of them. For the sake of defining vintage, we'll just call them anything over the 25 years. Feel free to include other brands that have been produced by AKG also.

I am the proud owner of two that I consider some of the best vintage cans ever built. These get plenty of head time. Both models have the passive radiator design which I'm quite fond of. They have a unique, almost magical presentation that
IMO is simply amazing! The AKG K340 Dynamic Electrostat System and K240 Sextett lp will be a part of my collection forever. I look forward to Head-Fier's sharing their pics, experiences and information. Comparisons with today's current HP models are welcome.

 

[Davidzak64]

AKG K1000 legendary.

 

[richard51]

Someone had an idea about the K240 DF and the AKG K500 ?

 

[Davidzak64]

K340 (green driver): It doesn't have the Flattest FR, but takes very, very well to being eq'd. This is by far the most resolving HP that I've owned and still is my favorite.
It's a great all genre's HP.

 

[Majoox]

Someone had an idea about the K240 DF and the AKG K500 ?

Both very similar headphones, actually scary that AKG completely redesigned the K-Series in 1993 with new drivers but sonically almost identical to already existing headphones.

The K500 has slightly more resolution, which you have to look for with a magnifying glass, but again a good bit more soundstage. However, it already approaches the sound of the newer K701. The K501 was tuned a bit darker, this time with Varimotion technology and with different color scheme, but it was not worth any upgrade.

More exciting would be a K400, which is nothing more than a K500 with less foam damping behind the driver. This gives the driver more air, therefore has more bass quantity and punch (but also less detail), but it is often rated better than the K500.

However, the K240DF is the headphone that convinced me more, plays more dynamically (energy of instruments) and not quite as "shallow" as the K500. Here you can see the two behind my K240 Sextett and K1000.

 

[Davidzak64]

Both very similar headphones, actually scary that AKG completely redesigned the K-Series in 1993 with new drivers but sonically almost identical to already existing headphones.

The K500 has slightly more resolution, which you have to look for with a magnifying glass, but again a good bit more soundstage. However, it already approaches the sound of the newer K701. The K501 was tuned a bit darker, this time with Varimotion technology and with different color scheme, but it was not worth any upgrade.

More exciting would be a K400, which is nothing more than a K500 with less foam damping behind the driver. This gives the driver more air, therefore has more bass quantity and punch (but also less detail), but it is often rated better than the K500.

However, the K240DF is the headphone that convinced me more, plays more dynamically (energy of instruments) and not quite as "shallow" as the K500. Here you can see the two behind my K240 Sextett and K1000.

Very nice collection you have there! Thanks for contributing your infinite knowledge of the AKG vintage line to this thread. Hopefully you will become a resident Subject Matter Expert here.

 

[richard51]

Very nice collection you have there! Thanks for contributing your infinite knowledge of the AKG vintage line to this thread. Hopefully you will become a resident Subject Matter Expert here.

I think the same.... Thanks for all your insights, the two of you ....

 

[richard51]

Both very similar headphones, actually scary that AKG completely redesigned the K-Series in 1993 with new drivers but sonically almost identical to already existing headphones.

The K500 has slightly more resolution, which you have to look for with a magnifying glass, but again a good bit more soundstage. However, it already approaches the sound of the newer K701. The K501 was tuned a bit darker, this time with Varimotion technology and with different color scheme, but it was not worth any upgrade.

More exciting would be a K400, which is nothing more than a K500 with less foam damping behind the driver. This gives the driver more air, therefore has more bass quantity and punch (but also less detail), but it is often rated better than the K500.

However, the K240DF is the headphone that convinced me more, plays more dynamically (energy of instruments) and not quite as "shallow" as the K500. Here you can see the two behind my K240 Sextett and K1000.

I think if i trust your opinion, which is the case, that the DF is the road to go after the K340 and sextett.... Anyway i never planned to buy other headphone at all after the K340, but learning more about AKG made me curious... But all reviews i read also seems to boil down to the K340, the sextett and the DF and confirm Majoox opinion......


I thank you a second time for your instructive posts on headfi.... I just read all of them.....

 

[Davidzak64]

I think if i trust your opinion, which is the case, that the DF is the road to go after the K340 and sextett.... Anyway i never planned to buy other headphone at all after the K340, but learning more about AKG made me curious... But all reviews i read seems to boil down to the K340, the sextett and the DF....


I thank you a second time for your instructive posts on headfi.... I just read all of them.....

Oh, but don't you want another shiny new toy to play with?
Another AKG built product with passive radiator design.

 

[richard51]

Seems interesting Indeed.... But this headphone seems a rare find, as rare as Pope crap on street of my city.... The K340 made me nuts it seems....

Am i the only one?

Oh, but don't you want another shiny new toy to play with?
Another AKG built product with passive radiator design.

 

[Davidzak64]

Seems interesting Indeed.... The K340 made me nuts it seems....

Am i the only one?

I think you were already half way there. It just drove you the rest of the way.

 

[richard51]

You remind me of my wise wife.... You are right the two of you....

 

[richard51]

Someone know the AKG K4 ?

 

[richard51]

Ok i think that owning an incoming sextett, i dont need the realistic pro 90.... According to the similarity of design....

How about the K4 or K145 which are hybrids too as the K340 ? The problem is there is no internal resonators in these two as the sextett or the K340.... And the magic is with these passive resonators too.... It is what i think.... But anyone had listened to them ?

The more i dig, the more it seems the DF is the last of the three magical AKG headphone i must purchase, i dont count the K1000 because of price and the Majoox experience and opinion about feminine voice on the K1000....

 

[Majoox]

You're welcome, glad to hear it. However, I like to point out the series variations also for other readers, every AKG headphone sounds slightly different from the factory and handling, use and storage over the years make the differences even greater.

If you get a K240DF, make sure you get a pair of NOS headphones with a plain cable. This can be recognised by the golden TRS plug, which has 3,5 mm and 6,35 mm adapters. The advantage of these models is that they are simply not that old, >1989.

Some instructions for revision identifying:
- The first K240DF had six large openings, three with white paper, three with black paper. Black paper in front of a modified K240 Monitor driver (just two rear holes closed with glue, but 100 DM more!) (EP).
- The "later" version had only black paper but six smaller openings. Again, the black paper was on the driver (MP).
- The last version around the 2000s had slightly smaller holes than before and thinner black paper. But completely open driver without black paper over it (LP).

I have a K240DF LP here that was bought on 01.02.1998 (yes, the date is known) from Musikproduktiv (German company for music equipment) as a reserve in a recording studio, but was never really used until I bought it. I bought it defective because the disintegrated foam was stuck in the driver and the bass rattled. Before that I had another DF, pretty beat up, it had continuously 1,5 db less than the actual one below 1 kHz and sounded pretty weak and powerless. Good luck with the search!