AKG K240 STUDIO
Printed From: Graham Slee Hifi System Components
Category: Headphone Audio
Forum Name: DJ and Professional Headphone User
Forum Description: Technical Q&A, hints and tips
URL: https://www.hifisystemcomponents.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4380
Printed Date: 20 Apr 2024 at 7:39am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.01 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: AKG K240 STUDIO
Posted By: Graham Slee
Subject: AKG K240 STUDIO
Date Posted: 23 Dec 2017 at 7:27pm
|
Out of the blue whilst researching something else on the web I found myself reading about AKG headphones, and the AKG K240 Studio caught my eye. Good things were being said about them in professional circles so I thought I'd take a look at the price. At £56 I was quite taken aback! Obviously they can't be much good for that money?! Wrong! I'm impressed! Using them with a Bitzie playing FLACs from my PC, volume set to 3 o'clock position, so far I cannot fault them. Imaging is, dare I say it, first class. Tone is spot on. Timing good. And I'm hearing things my trusty HD250 II don't let me hear. Fantastic bang for the buck (as they say). Hope they don't bed in badly. ------------- That none should be able to buy or sell without a smartphone and the knowledge in how to use apps |
Replies:
Posted By: Fatmangolf
Date Posted: 27 Dec 2017 at 9:44pm
|
At that low price I may buy a pair, please keep us posted Graham. ------------- Jon Open mind and ears whilst owning GSP Genera, Accession M, Accession MC, Elevator EXP, Solo ULDE, Proprius amps, Cusat50 cables, Lautus digital cable, Spatia cables and links, and a Majestic DAC. |
Posted By: Graham Slee
Date Posted: 09 Jan 2018 at 9:27pm
Two weeks with the AKG K240 Studio headphones, and they are revealing much more. Digital recordings seem to be reproduced better and the newspaper sound on Jean Michel Jarre's Aero is incredibly real. Vinyl can sound a little muddy if the volume is too high. This is distortion of sorts, but reducing the volume a little makes everything clean and clear. Tonal balance is far better than the K701 and much less fatiguing. Pink Floyd's live album Delicate Sound of Thunder sounds slightly restrained in places but between songs you can just about make out conversations in the crowd with pinpoint positioning. They pull off the ground shaking bass quite well too. Obviously the ground isn't shaking at all, but that's how it can be perceived on a good headphone performance, either that or I'm from another planet (possible... ).They are not the last word in comfort by a long shot, and they are adorned with raised resin stickers for cheapness (as is an expensive amplifier I think), but for £56 I am not complaining. If you can spare £56 give them a try. ------------- That none should be able to buy or sell without a smartphone and the knowledge in how to use apps |
Posted By: mal4mac
Date Posted: 13 Feb 2018 at 1:15pm
|
What Hi Fi tend to give AKG budget headphones good marks, some 5/5 and "best buy", but this only gets 3/5: "Play I Am Arrows' Nice Try and they're initially very pleasing, offering-up a smooth and fluid performance that bounces along to the chirpy tune. The vocals are clear and direct, but there's a very pleasant airiness to the overall presentation, and the tonal balance is very even. There are flaws, though: that smooth fluidity comes at the expense of the drive, punch and detail that the best are capable of producing, and they also lack the insight and dynamic subtlety to deliver the low-level nuances" Can you really get a decent headphone for £50? How do these compare to top rated £300 headphones (e.g., Senn HD 650) when using a decent £300 headphone amp (Novo!) and CD player (Nad 5420, or maybe a more modern thing like Marantz CD6005?)
|
Posted By: oldagetraveller
Date Posted: 13 Feb 2018 at 4:04pm
|
"Can you really get a decent headphone for £50?" Yes. You could have bought a very good headphone for $34 before they were discontinued. https://www.gearbest.com/on-ear-over-ear-headphones/pp_306291.html" rel="nofollow - https://www.gearbest.com/on-ear-over-ear-headphones/pp_306291.html They really are much better than their price indicates. The reviews back that up. ------------- Peter P T- LPT/RB300/G1042, Pink Triangle Tarantella/Nima/Ortofon 2M Black, SL1210II, Naim CD5, NAC112, NAP150, Flatcap2, Proac SC1, GS SoloUL,GS Accession , Senn HD250 & HD540. |
Posted By: Ash
Date Posted: 13 Feb 2018 at 7:51pm
|
Sennheiser HD600/HD650 aren't particularly high fidelity (they're not precise). I would not personally select them for professional applications. Price is meaningless; marketing is an entirely different world to sound engineering. For precision and closed-back monitoring, I would go and get a Sennheiser HD250. ------------- We do not see things as they are. We see things as we are. |
Posted By: Fatmangolf
Date Posted: 13 Feb 2018 at 10:17pm
|
Agree with Ash and Graham's long standing recommendation of HD250/II's. Sadly long out of production unless you know someone like Ash who takes the time to refurbish them. ------------- Jon Open mind and ears whilst owning GSP Genera, Accession M, Accession MC, Elevator EXP, Solo ULDE, Proprius amps, Cusat50 cables, Lautus digital cable, Spatia cables and links, and a Majestic DAC. |
Posted By: mal4mac
Date Posted: 18 Feb 2018 at 12:15pm
| There are a lot of complaints about the build quality of the AKG K240 STUDIO on Amazon. |
Posted By: Chris Firth
Date Posted: 18 Feb 2018 at 12:52pm
Of 81 reviews, 81% of purchasers were extremely pleased or delighted. |
mal4mac wrote:Posted By: Humboldt
Date Posted: 07 May 2018 at 4:05pm
|
I agree. These headphones are a steal. In my opinion the tonal balance have some similarities with the HD250. I also think the 702 is a great headphone, but they are less forgiving compared to the 240´s and the tonal balance is different. Once in a time 240 was a very well built headphone and a studio standard tool, but since they moved production to China many are of the opinion they have become less well built. There is also a MK II version, and to my knowledge it is exactly the same headphone except the colour. However, the MK II are delivered with an extra pair of ear-pads - a pair of velour if that is preferred. Also an exchangeable spiral and straight cable. Last year (I think it was) Harman Kardon (Who owned AKG) was sold to Samsung. (Now Samsung smartphones are delivered with AKG earplugs - that is with a AKG logotype put on it. I doubt they have anything to do with AKG in Vienna. Samsung didn´t buy know how, they bought a brand.) The Vienna AKG headquarter have been shut down, so we can probably expect AKG to disappear from the market in a not to very distant future. Anyone considering these headphones ought to bay a pair now. As Graham said, these can´s are surprisingly good. |
Posted By: Ash
Date Posted: 07 May 2018 at 10:34pm
|
As HD540II headphones seem to be more difficult for me to source these days and HD250II headphones are even more rare to appear online, perhaps I should consider either a K240 Studio or K702. They won't beat the K1000 but I don't need them to; I just need them to be more practical. The K1000 tie up a lot of funds and as I can only use them at home (amplification and quiet environment), I may as well use speakers there instead. Something like the K702 is more portable and I've never tried them. I've listened to many Sennheiser HD250/HD540 drivers quite extensively, which share almost identical driver designs to one another. Their diameters are both 36mm, if I recall correctly, and my former HD800 has a 56mm (20mm larger) driver, which is partially responsible for its larger stereo image size, in my opinion. I believe that the K702 has a driver diameter between 36mm and 56mm, maybe 45mm?? I can't remember what I read. But anyway, I reckon this should give it a dynamic advantage over the HD250/HD540 models, assuming its amplitude is fairly even across the frequencies. HD800 had exceptional microdynamics due to it large driver surface and I would hope the K702 is pretty close. Maybe I should get one off Ebay. Velvet pads too and I'm aware of how much earpad properties can alter headphone sound. Graham, how does K240 Studio compare with your K701??
------------- We do not see things as they are. We see things as we are. |
Posted By: Graham Slee
Date Posted: 08 May 2018 at 12:15am
I daren't say ------------- That none should be able to buy or sell without a smartphone and the knowledge in how to use apps |
Posted By: Humboldt
Date Posted: 08 May 2018 at 8:52am
| HD250 and AKG 702 (and AKG 702 is soundwise the same as 701) are very diferent headphones. AKG 702 is very "airy" and linear. They need very well mixed and mastered recordings. In those cases the are wonderfoul because of their clarity and kind of sparkling sound. They lower end is not pronounced in any way, and many recordings may therefore have a thin so und in the low end. AKG 240 has a sligthly elevated lower midrange and low-end compared to AKG 702. We are still talking about a very linear headphone, but it has a touch of warmth where AKG 701/702 can be to analytical and cold. As I wrote in a previous post, in my opinion, Sennheiser HD250 and AKG 240 are not very diferent when compared. AKG 702 on the other hand is something else. |
Posted By: Graham Slee
Date Posted: 08 May 2018 at 10:51am
 ------------- That none should be able to buy or sell without a smartphone and the knowledge in how to use apps |
Posted By: Humboldt
Date Posted: 08 May 2018 at 12:13pm
|
For those of you who like to dive deeper into the issue about different headphones sound profiles, I can recommend this site. Curves and measurement don´t say it all about the sound of a headphone, but it is a starting point for comparisons. You can for example see how AKG240 differs from AKG702. https://www.headphone.com/" rel="nofollow - https://www.headphone.com/ Learn > Headroom Labs > Build a Graph |
Posted By: Ash
Date Posted: 08 May 2018 at 10:25pm
|
I'll probably be disappointed with either. Might just stick with what I've got. Guess I shouldn't try to fix what isn't broken. ------------- We do not see things as they are. We see things as we are. |
Posted By: Pwog
Date Posted: 09 Apr 2019 at 12:42am
|
So, I have a set of AKG K240s that I bought years ago (more than 20) and they have monitor written on the sides, not studio. They were made in Austria. I can’t find any information on them. Does anyone know if these are the same as the 240 studio?
------------- Paul Acoustic Research ES-1, Ortofon 2M Bronze, Ayre C-5xemp disc player, Dynaco SCA-35 (updated), Dynaco ST-70 (updated and modified), Revel performa M20, Accession M, CuSat 50 interconnects |
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 15 Oct 2019 at 2:20pm
|
Graham, How are you getting on with the K240's? S.
|
Posted By: Chris Firth
Date Posted: 27 Dec 2019 at 1:29pm
|
Bought a pair of these for my son for Christmas, and I like them so much I've just bought another pair for myself. They're astonishingly good, and currently under £30 on Amazon. Their hearthrough clarity and midband lucidity are something to behold, and that's straight from the box. Heartily recommended from these quarters
 |
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 27 Dec 2019 at 1:51pm
Sounds like a bargain! Which headphone amp did you use through them? S.
|
Posted By: Pwog
Date Posted: 27 Dec 2019 at 3:56pm
|
Hi Chris, I used to do some studio work, once upon a time and the K240s were used everywhere for monitoring. They do have a nice clarity and realism to them. Enjoy! Happy New Year! ------------- Paul Acoustic Research ES-1, Ortofon 2M Bronze, Ayre C-5xemp disc player, Dynaco SCA-35 (updated), Dynaco ST-70 (updated and modified), Revel performa M20, Accession M, CuSat 50 interconnects |
Posted By: Chris Firth
Date Posted: 27 Dec 2019 at 5:49pm
Smartphones, laptops, and a Solo SRGII. At £30 for a pair they're a steal, but if your tastes veer towards the overly bassy and sat on upper end of Sennheiser HD650s then you might not like 'em. I prefer my headphones to be tonally neutral, and the AKG K240 tick that box. I was fortunate enough to be able to borrow some HD650, and it saved me the time and money finding out that that I didn't like them. Same with the HD700 - they were better than the HD650 in some respects, but ultimately never made it onto my wanted list. The last Sennheiser headphone I heard that I liked was the HD560 Ovation. |
Posted By: Chris Firth
Date Posted: 27 Dec 2019 at 6:11pm
|
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 30 Jan 2020 at 11:30am
|
Got some K240's for £29.99 just shortly after Christmas. Will the Novo have enough power to drive them? Don't have a Novo at the moment. Hence the question. S.
|
Posted By: Chris Firth
Date Posted: 30 Jan 2020 at 11:57am
|
The Novo will be up to the task of driving the K240s  |
Posted By: Ash
Date Posted: 10 Mar 2020 at 11:52pm
| I just found out that Helmut Ryback, one of the engineers behind the development of the K1000, also developed the AKG K240 DF so the reported great sound of this headphone makes sense. |
Posted By: MS61
Date Posted: 11 Mar 2020 at 8:16am
|
Very happy user of AKG 240 DF here! Still strong after these years (1999). Unobtrusive, neutral, clean and honest sound - but a little bit bass shy. Capable phone preamp recommanded, 2 x 600 Ohms imp. BTW: I found some similarity between 240 DF and GS Accesion I´m just testing (EU Loan Programm). Michal ------------- Technics SP15 / Audiomods 6 / SH-15B3 plinth / Audio Technica AT 150 Sa / Accession M / Genelec 8030 + RME ADI-2 Pro ADDA |
Posted By: Ash
Date Posted: 11 Mar 2020 at 7:30pm
| At 600 Ohms, I'd connect them to Graham's Proprius speaker amps. I used them to drive 300 Ohm vintage Sennheisers a few years ago. |