What helps the 340's the most? The mods or going balanced..

[kool bubba ice]

I'm getting mine balanced next month to use with my DAC1..Just curious what garners the most improvements..

 

[daveDerek]

i've heard modded ones side by side against stockers and i'm not a big fan of the modded ones, and while this may not be the gospel on head-fi i'm not alone in my observations. in fact machead felt that my stockers were superior to his fully headphiled 340s at the 11/06 ny meet (ck his post). at the ny meet in march i again got to compare stockers to modded ones. the difference this time was the modded ones were wired for balanced operation and also had an adaptor to run single ended. once again i didn't feel the modded ones offered any advantage over the stockers when both were run single ended, but running it balanced made a notable difference and really kicked these cans up a notch giving them a lot more pop (all driven by markmaxx's special single power amp) !

 

[kool bubba ice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by daveDerek /img/forum/go_quote.gif i've heard modded ones side by side against stockers and i'm not a big fan of the modded ones, and while this may not be the gospel on head-fi i'm not alone in my observations. in fact machead felt that my stockers were superior to his fully headphiled 340s at the 11/06 ny meet (ck his post). at the ny meet in march i again got to compare stockers to modded ones. the difference this time was the modded ones were wired for balanced operation and also had an adaptor to run single ended. once again i didn't feel the modded ones offered any advantage over the stockers when both were run single ended, but running it balanced made a notable difference and really kicked these cans up a notch giving them a lot more pop (all driven by markmaxx's special single power amp) !

Great help Derek.. Balanced first, then maybe mod later..

 

[daveDerek]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kool bubba ice /img/forum/go_quote.gif Great help Derek.. Balanced first, then maybe mod later..

bubba, mine may prove to not be the popular view, but from what i've heard on more than one occasion balancing does far more for these phones than modding. you might want to solicit other opinions such as swt61 and philodox since they're both hardcore k340 guys, and have ballsy balanced amps to drive their favorite cans.

 

[Zorander]

At least try the screen mod first. It's that much preferred to the plastic mesh on the stock screen.

Then start playing around with the internal dampings. These, if done properly, have the most significant impact on the sound.

Cheers!

 

[Blackmore]

Check KT88 mods, if you like of course. I am totally convinced that modded are much, much better than stock one. Everything just opens up in very
You have to be very careful with choosing of cable and when you closing them back for better BASS response. Plus the screens must be replaced for sure.
Another think is that they need some power to get the best of them. Darkvoice seems to be a very good budget match.

I dont know anything about balancing them.

Good luck

 

[facelvega]

I question the screen mod in light of the many other screened headphones that sound fantastic, including the K240 sextet with exactly the same screen. I do swear by the easiest and most reversible of all mods, though: adjusting the amount of cotton to fit your taste in bass/treble balance. And in general I'd say that mechanical mods will do more than electrical ones in much the degree that changing headphones has a greater effect than changing source and amp.

 

[johnsonad]

You know about my pair which are now fully modded. The best thing you can do for them is a good amp, this is a must. All of the other mods help to tweek them and should be done in stages and only to your liking. Good luck!

 

[luvdunhill]

personally, the mod that has helped mine out the most has been the velour pad replacement. The fit and therefore the sonics have greatly improved.

 

[kool bubba ice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by luvdunhill /img/forum/go_quote.gif personally, the mod that has helped mine out the most has been the velour pad replacement. The fit and therefore the sonics have greatly improved.

Yeah.. I'll check out the mod page..But can only do the basics.. I never done any DIY stuff before.. Yeah.. The DAC1 is the greatest amp to drive the 340's..But balanced I can switch to calibrated mode which gives it more juice..I heard it can even drive the AKG 1000 well..& was told to be careful cause it has the power to blow out your headphones..

 

[Azure]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kool bubba ice /img/forum/go_quote.gif The DAC1 is the greatest amp to drive the 340's

What?

 

[kool bubba ice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azure /img/forum/go_quote.gif What?

I'm using the headphone in my DAC1 to drive my 340's..Need to turn the volume pot to max to get it to a decent volume..

 

[vcoheda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azure /img/forum/go_quote.gif What?

i think he meant "isn't"

 

[Azure]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kool bubba ice /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm using the headphone in my DAC1 to drive my 340's..Need to turn the volume pot to max to get it to a decent volume..

You said that the Benchmark DAC1 is the greatest amp to drive the AKG K340. Can you verify this statement? It just such a hard statement to swallow considering all the K340/Darkvoice raving out there and how the K340 is supposed ridiculously hard to drive properly.

vcoheda - Ah, if he did mean that, then it makes sense.

 

[blinx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azure /img/forum/go_quote.gif You said that the Benchmark DAC1 is the greatest amp to drive the AKG K340. Can you verify this statement? It just such a hard statement to swallow considering all the K340/Darkvoice raving out there and how the K340 is supposed ridiculously hard to drive properly. vcoheda - Ah, if he did mean that, then it makes sense.

it was a typo...