[naamanf]

I am thinking about picking up a pair of AKG K340s. Of the phones that I have I listen to the K701s the most. How do the K340s compare to the K701s?

 

[swt61]

They're actually not that similar. The K701 is what I would consider a neutral headphone. It's strengths are presenting the recording in a somewhat uncolored fashion.

The K340 is a more euphoric type of headphone. This is not to imply that it doesn't have it's technical merits, it does. It has great detail and imaging, and a very nice soundstage. It just has a more colored, musical presentation IMO. One that I find quite nice.

However I don't particularly care for what's known as the bass heavy version. The bass light K340 is spectacular with female vocals (or any vocals for that matter), jazz, classical, progressive rock and so on, but I don't think it's all that well suited to classic rock or blues. That's of coarse just my opinion, but it's definitely worth trying.

Just remember that a really stout amp is a must.

 

[luvdunhill]

in short... "do it!" They're definitely one to hear along the journey and perhaps the will be the final stop on the journey

 

[Faust2D]

K340 is a very nice headphone if you want even bad recordings to sound nice. Midrange is rounded, upfront yet nice and smooth. High frequencies are also very airy and extended, not supper detailed but ok. Soundstage is not spectacular, very claustrophobic in your head like, but detailed and positioning is good.

My bass heavy version had a strange reverberation coloration thing that I could not deal with. If something like this does not bother you it might be a nice can for you. Try them, you might like them.

 

[kool bubba ice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by naamanf /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am thinking about picking up a pair of AKG K340s. Of the phones that I have I listen to the K701s the most. How do the K340s compare to the K701s?

Much better then the 701's IMO.. & has the AKG house midrange, something the 701 lacks..

 

[Duggeh]

K340 needed a lot more volume to get going, the K701 was more comfortable, and more boring. I don't rate either especially high.

 

[kool bubba ice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Faust2D /img/forum/go_quote.gif K340 is a very nice headphone if you want even bad recordings to sound nice. Midrange is rounded, upfront yet nice and smooth. High frequencies are also very airy and extended, not supper detailed but ok. Soundstage is not spectacular, very claustrophobic in your head like, but detailed and positioning is good. My bass heavy version had a strange reverberation coloration thing that I could not deal with. If something like this does not bother you it might be a nice can for you. Try them, you might like them.

I totally disagree. My 340's are better at picking up micro detail then my SA5000.. & the sound stage is huge.. Not 701 huge but feels more natural to me.. Very wide left & right. & this being underpowered..

 

[Faust2D]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kool bubba ice /img/forum/go_quote.gif I totally disagree. My 340's are better at picking up micro detail then my SA5000.. & the sound stage is huge.. Not 701 huge but feels more natural to me.. Very wide left & right. & this being underpowered..

I guess it depends what you compare them to. My Lambdas are so much better at resolving low level details across the spectrum, and so are my QP85 when it comes to certain things like special placement. Soundstage is also so much better on Stax and QP85, there is no comparison at all.

 

[philodox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Faust2D /img/forum/go_quote.gif I guess it depends what you compare them to. My Lambdas are so much better at resolving low level details across the spectrum, and so are my QP85 when it comes to certain things like special placement. Soundstage is also so much better on Stax and QP85, there is no comparison at all.

It's got to be a version thing... no way do my QP85's have more detail. A bit more soundstage, but that is a given. Imaging is more important to me anyways, and the K340 have stellar imaging. From memory I wouldn't say that the Lambdas are more detailed either.

I'm with luvdunhill though, dew eeet!

 

[Faust2D]

Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's got to be a version thing...

I guess it is.

 

[facelvega]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Faust2D /img/forum/go_quote.gif I guess it depends what you compare them to. My Lambdas are so much better at resolving low level details across the spectrum, and so are my QP85 when it comes to certain things like special placement. Soundstage is also so much better on Stax and QP85, there is no comparison at all.

Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's got to be a version thing... no way do my QP85's have more detail. A bit more soundstage, but that is a given. Imaging is more important to me anyways, and the K340 have stellar imaging. From memory I wouldn't say that the Lambdas are more detailed either.

As a former member of the QP85 and K340 at once club (including the very pair of K340 to which Faust2D refers), I'd have to put myself halfway between the two of you on this. Did you ever reduce the cotton as I recommended, Faust? That bass problem you often mention would have been mitigated by that. Not all the cotton, though, as this would lead to a little bad resonance.

I don't think I'd say QP85 are more detailed than a K340 either, but then neither did Faust really. As far as soundstage goes, I think the K340 are great for a closed headphone, which means still not as good as almost any open headphone, much less a set of earspeakers like the QP85 or Lambda. Imaging is better than soundstage on the K340 and more competitive with other headphones, but I also hear something odd with the spatial presentation of the K340, not that it's in the head, but it is definitely an enclosed space of some sort.

In the end, I'd probably give the K340 the nod over the QP85, though they're opposites really, so it may just be a taste issue. I would, however, unhesitatingly take almost any Stax over a K340. A cheapo SR-5 walks circles around a K340 to my ear. Finally getting some Stax was one of the reasons I sold my last two pairs of K340 before leaving Germany, just didn't need them anymore.

 

[facelvega]

Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's got to be a version thing

Quote:

Originally Posted by Faust2D /img/forum/go_quote.gif I guess it is.

I seriously doubt it. I've had three pairs of K340, one of which I sold to Faust2D, a pair in stock condition. It was probably the middle-sounding pair of the three, but by no great margin (one recabled and modded pair was noticeably better to me, though I don't know if this was due to the mods or not). I hear version differences but from my three pairs I'd say such differences are strongly overrated, and often a case of electrets that haven't been played much in years.

On that-- in my experience, with some hours of rebreaking-in, deadened electrets come back up to a refined level. It's an easily audible process that I've only had happen on a pair that the seller told me he hadn't used in ten years except to test that they were still working. If I hadn't let them run for a long while, I would have assumed it was simply a "bass-heavy" pair and written them off. Instead, they were the best pair of the three I've had-- the modded pair mentioned above.

 

[Faust2D]

Quote:

Originally Posted by facelvega /img/forum/go_quote.gif As a former member of the QP85 and K340 at once club (including the very pair of K340 to which Faust2D refers), I'd have to put myself halfway between the two of you on this. Did you ever reduce the cotton as I recommended, Faust? That bass problem you often mention would have been mitigated by that. Not all the cotton, though, as this would lead to a little bad resonance. I don't think I'd say QP85 are more detailed than a K340 either, but then neither did Faust really. As far as soundstage goes, I think the K340 are great for a closed headphone, which means still not as good as almost any open headphone, much less a set of earspeakers like the QP85 or Lambda. Imaging is better than soundstage on the K340 and more competitive with other headphones, but I also hear something odd with the spatial presentation of the K340, not that it's in the head, but it is definitely an enclosed space of some sort. In the end, I'd probably give the K340 the nod over the QP85, though they're opposites really, so it may just be a taste issue. I would, however, unhesitatingly take almost any Stax over a K340. A cheapo SR-5 walks circles around a K340 to my ear. Finally getting some Stax was one of the reasons I sold my last two pairs of K340 before leaving Germany, just didn't need them anymore.

I am with you on Stax vs K340 thing.

As far as QP85 are concerned, spacial placement and details superior on QP85 vs K340, they sound more like speakers than any kind of headphones. The sound signatures are different but QP85 is more to my liking, I like bright sounding headphones and do not like soft, emphasized upper midrange, that why I do not like 300B amps and like EL34 amps

.

[size=xx-small]I took out some of the cotton and got even more of that reverberation thing, so I put it all back as it was before.

[/size]

 

[Faust2D]

Quote:

Originally Posted by facelvega /img/forum/go_quote.gif I seriously doubt it. I've had three pairs of K340, one of which I sold to Faust2D, a pair in stock condition. It was probably the middle-sounding pair of the three, but by no great margin (one recabled and modded pair was noticeably better to me, though I don't know if this was due to the mods or not). I hear version differences but from my three pairs I'd say such differences are strongly overrated, and often a case of electrets that haven't been played much in years. On that-- in my experience, with some hours of rebreaking-in, deadened electrets come back up to a refined level. It's an easily audible process that I've only had happen on a pair that the seller told me he hadn't used in ten years except to test that they were still working. If I hadn't let them run for a long while, I would have assumed it was simply a "bass-heavy" pair and written them off. Instead, they were the best pair of the three I've had-- the modded pair mentioned above.

Interesting, now I want to hear some of these "different" versions of K340. I am not going to buy another one, unless it's really cheap. I don't want to get the one that sounds the same as mine.

 

[zillac]

I'm getting another pair and have them modded : ]