[Kalidor]

Hi, what cans are these?? are they worth that much??

 

[vpivinylspinner]

That is close to the going rate. They are hybrid headphones with electrostatic mids/highs and dynamic lows and they are very good at certain types of music. I am quite pleased with mine.

 

[philodox]

People have been getting these strange ideas the K340's are way overpriced and have began comparing them to the Grado HP1000 headphones in that regard. It is absolutely ridiculous in my opinion. The HP2's are being sold for double what they went for when they were still being produced. The K340 was originally sold for $350. Not sure how many K340's there are out there in circulation, but I wouldn't expect it is that much more than the amount of HP2's. Properly modded the K340 can compete quite well with the HP2... yet costs a fraction of the price.

It is true however that a year or two back you could get the K340 for ~$120 and the average price has risen in the last while to ~$200... but they are still a steal for what you are getting. That said, while they are worth $285 easy, you could probably find them for cheaper with patience.

 

[swt61]

Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox People have been getting these strange ideas the K340's are way overpriced and have began comparing them to the Grado HP1000 headphones in that regard. It is absolutely ridiculous in my opinion. The HP2's are being sold for double what they went for when they were still being produced. The K340 was originally sold for $350. Not sure how many K340's there are out there in circulation, but I wouldn't expect it is that much more than the amount of HP2's. Properly modded the K340 can compete quite well with the HP2... yet costs a fraction of the price. It is true however that a year or two back you could get the K340 for ~$120 and the average price has risen in the last while to ~$200... but they are still a steal for what you are getting. That said, while they are worth $285 easy, you could probably find them for cheaper with patience.

Well said!

 

[raisin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox Properly modded the K340 can compete quite well with the HP2... yet costs a fraction of the price.

I'm sorry if I missed a thread, but besides lead, what mods are recommended for the K340's?

 

[Meyvn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by raisin I'm sorry if I missed a thread, but besides lead, what mods are recommended for the K340's?

You're from New Jersey. You can't use British terms! Aren't you supposed to have your own language or something?

 

[philodox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by raisin I'm sorry if I missed a thread, but besides lead, what mods are recommended for the K340's?

There are a few threads on the topic out there if you do a search. This one is a good starting point: http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=124069

There is a link part way down the page to aerius' mod thread as well, which goes into more detail I think.

Most important mods IMO: bypass circuit board, recable, remove cotton, tape up the back, cut out the screens

Nice aesthetic mods: replace pads [velour is now an option], k501 headband, woody

I'd also like to say that they sound amazing balanced... so if you think you might go that way in the future, terminate them that way and make yourself an adapter cable for the meantime.

 

[nikongod]

something to note is that they had the styrofoam and booklet...

it also looked like the elastics were not droopy like an old ladies bewbies. i want nice 24-yer old elastics...

 

[Baycode]

double post sorry...

 

[Baycode]

I was watching them too. But the price suddenly risen too high for my wallet

I have one K340 but still looking around to get a spare. Yes, they are worth taht price but not for my wallet

 

[sgrossklass]

Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox Most important mods IMO: bypass circuit board, recable, remove cotton, tape up the back, cut out the screens

I'd rather call that a brute-force revamp. The guys constructing headphones usually have a pretty good idea of what they're doing, thus I find it kinda hard to believe that the original design should be this flawed.

 

[philodox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sgrossklass I'd rather call that a brute-force revamp. The guys constructing headphones usually have a pretty good idea of what they're doing, thus I find it kinda hard to believe that the original design should be this flawed.

What can I say, listen to them modded and unmodded. These headphones stopped being made 20 years ago and the design is at least 30 years old. The idea behind it is sound, but the implementation was not perfect.

PS. nikongod brought up elastics... another very good and very easy mod. Since it improves fit, I found the bass increased substantially, which was just what my set needed.

 

[nikongod]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sgrossklass I'd rather call that a brute-force revamp. The guys constructing headphones usually have a pretty good idea of what they're doing, thus I find it kinda hard to believe that the original design should be this flawed.

what they are doing is not always what you are doing.

 

[ilovecables]

K340's are my main cans, never letting 'em go.

 

[Baycode]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sgrossklass I'd rather call that a brute-force revamp. The guys constructing headphones usually have a pretty good idea of what they're doing, thus I find it kinda hard to believe that the original design should be this flawed.

I think the original design could not be called as flawed for the date these headphones were in production. But some experiment really brought them in to a new level (thanks to Larry, Philodox, Aerius and many others).

If I did not do the mods and hear the difference by myself I would probably have the question in my mind as same as yours.