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Painless Listening

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Graham Slee View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Graham Slee Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Jul 2020 at 12:06pm
Originally posted by Ernie Ernie wrote:

Thanks Graham,
Looking at the reviews they are the best thing since sliced bread. Makes you wonder how can pairs costing £1k and above even exist? Paying £100 for headphones seems daft if you can get these for 50 quid. Am I missing something??


Chris, I think we might be moving slightly off-topic (apologies to Nigel), but then again, I have had to do some "long-distance listening" of my own, over the years, mainly self-inflicted in the interest of maintaining one's reputation ;-)

Anyway, back to the K240. In my search for an alternative to the HD250 II, I have tried a number of headphones, from £1,000 downwards, but my list is not exhaustive, simply because I have to fund my purchases from available funds and also pay the wages.

As real-hifi customers get fewer/rarer, I can't chuck money away on a whim. Still, in the interest of designing the next generation of headphone amplifiers (there may only be just the one), I really needed an HD250 II replacement - a reference headphone, in my opinion.

I had tried the K701 and had found the particular sample (a rejected birthday present bought for Leo by his missus), which was on semi-permanent loan to me, very grainy.

Grainy is a nice way of saying distorted, and I'm not saying the K701 is, just that this particular one is. I would never dare to write that on Head-Fi!

AKG was absorbed into the Harman group in 1994, but the K240 can be traced back to 1985 and was classed as an actual studio monitor. It is now made rather cheaply in China and is decorated with resin dome stickers (which are cheap), but somehow, it sounds good.

It is good enough to hear the differences between grounding mods, and output stage bias current adjustments.

As for the ability to create the illusion of a full orchestra or choir and the hall's acoustic signature, I am still waiting for that particular magic to appear. As long as it doesn't feel like it's all happening inside my skull, I'm happy. I also think the shape of the ear canal has something to do with it. In my case, the "stereo" happens behind me!

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ash Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Jul 2020 at 12:40pm
It is a shame that there seems to be a gaping hole in the headphone market for an affordable high fidelity closed-back headphone. They seem to be either cheap rubbish or cost a fortune.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ernie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Jul 2020 at 12:41pm
In that case Graham I’ll give up on headphones. 30 odd years of Rugby Union has destroyed the shape of my ear canals.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Grumpysaurus Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Jul 2020 at 5:42pm
Dear all.

I knew that I had come to the right place. Helpful ideas and useful discussion. Thumbs Up


Bob: it is most like me to forget something important ... yes budget is a consideration as always but if there is something worth paying for I'll save up for it. The Dan Clark headphones look to be interesting and I will check these out. Thank you.  (Saving up for various GS items first though  Smile)


Ernie, Graham. Alongside the Dan Clark suggestion from Bob I will look at the AKG headphones too. It' s not that I don't like the Sennheiser Momentums but they are not the most revealing and sometimes they sacrifice detail for 'warmth'. This is a weakness if a lot of your music is the one-person-with-a-guitar/violin/piano-etc like mine is.


Derek: great idea and a reminder to oneself that the simplest ideas are sometimes the best. Given that I am saving for various amps at the moment and a replacement set of headphones is further down the list, a new set of pads will be very useful for comfort. I'll get a set ordered 


Ash: thank you for your thoughts regarding headphones. Always interested in learning from someone's journey through hi-fi.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ernie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Jul 2020 at 9:29pm
Beyerdynamic dt 770 pro worth looking at? Any experiences out there? Which impedance and what difference does it make?
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Graham Slee View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Graham Slee Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Jul 2020 at 10:04pm
Well, I just bought another pair of K240's since Jnr. has made off with my first pair, and loves them.

Straight from the box they sounded a bit gritty especially on Joe Walsh's County Fair, but that seemed to ease during the track. It shouldn't be long before the diaphragms bed-in.

Comfy enough for this old timer. The damage? £52. Good enough for me.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ernie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Jul 2020 at 11:02pm
Already Graham,
I give in I’m buying a pair. Struggling with £52 being any good. Western HiFi marketing has brainwashed me!! Too cheap = no good repeat after me...
There are 10 kinds of people. Those who understand binary and those who don't.
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