[OwlAudio]

There are several versions of this AKG headphone:

K240S
K240 55 ohm
K240 600 ohm
k240m
k240df
k240 sextett

more?

I am just trying to familiarize myself with the headphones. Could someone please inform me which is the best for studio monitoring?

I will be using them for monitoring and mixing on a laptop. (recording) Sometimes in noisy environments (train, cafe, park)

Headphone amp to be determined (will be portable).

 

[ericj]

iirc the 240-S is 55 ohm. It is also the only version you can buy new this year.

But just so you're not disappointed, there are several major versions of the -M and the Sextett.

The -DF is Diffuse Field equalized, which is supposed to be an enhancement For Monitoring, but the -M for Monitor is most commonly used for studio monitoring.

None of them are particularly efficient, however, if you have something like an Echo Indigo, that may have a good enough output to drive any of them.

 

[facelvega]

Owning a K240M and a Sextet (better version) and having heard all of the options by now, I'd say my order of preference goes

1. K241 (had Fitz's pair here for a week or two, they were very fine-sounding headphones, an improvement on the sextet in my opinion)
2. K240 sextet
3. K240DF
4. K240M
5. K240S

Sadly, the K240 is a textbook case not of refinement, but of constant cheapening with every new version. The outer bits mostly stayed the same, but the drivers/passive diaphragms grew ever simpler and in my opinion poorer-sounding. The DF was a surprise to me, quite good actually. But even a K240S can sound alright with a decent amp, as good as an HD595 in my experience.

 

[ericj]

Interesting you should say that, my K240-M is the version based on the K241, with six patches of filter material instead of passive drivers.

If AKG could get it together and actually ship the parts i ordered six weeks ago, I'd get to hear it . . .

 

[nc8000]

I have only tried one type, the DF. I could never make up my mind about them, sometimes I found to be fantastic and other times I just plain did not like them. They are also the hardest phones to drive that I have tried, on my Xin SuperMacro LE with gain enabled I have to turn the volume to somewhere between 1 and 3 o'clock to get decent volume. Incidentally my DF's are probably for sale as I have just bought Blackmore's modded K340's but I have not got posts enough yet to post in the for sale section.

 

[facelvega]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericj /img/forum/go_quote.gif Interesting you should say that, my K240-M is the version based on the K241, with six patches of filter material instead of passive drivers.

Yes, I was very skeptical about the filter material versus the passive membranes because it seemed like a classic case of cutting production costs, but A/B testing I give the six filters the nod because the preserve a greater soundstage and more open character.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nc8000 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have only tried one type, the DF. I could never make up my mind about them, sometimes I found to be fantastic and other times I just plain did not like them. They are also the hardest phones to drive that I have tried, on my Xin SuperMacro LE with gain enabled I have to turn the volume to somewhere between 1 and 3 o'clock to get decent volume.

Yes, all of these K240 versions including the S are very difficult to drive, but I think the DF for some reason is also very source-dependent. I've only spent a half-hour with a pair on two sources at a friend's production studio, and though I was impressed, I felt like I wasn't getting their full potential.

 

[Fitz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by facelvega /img/forum/go_quote.gif Owning a K240M and a Sextet (better version) and having heard all of the options by now, I'd say my order of preference goes 1. K241 (had Fitz's pair here for a week or two, they were very fine-sounding headphones, an improvement on the sextet in my opinion) 2. K240 sextet 3. K240DF 4. K240M 5. K240S Sadly, the K240 is a textbook case not of refinement, but of constant cheapening with every new version. The outer bits mostly stayed the same, but the drivers/passive diaphragms grew ever simpler and in my opinion poorer-sounding. The DF was a surprise to me, quite good actually. But even a K240S can sound alright with a decent amp, as good as an HD595 in my experience.

This makes me very excited! Your ranking for the four K240 phones matches my own, so I'm really looking forward to hearing the K241. I don't think the DF gets enough love around here though, and I'm not sure why, since they're almost as easy to find as the M.

 

[aphex944]

After spending lots of time with each, I prefer:

1. K 240 DF
2. K 240 S(55ohm)
3. K 240 M(600ohm)

At first listen, I thought the M was the best of all, but after extensive listening the upper midrange seems to be missing some detail and presence