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36 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
IMPROVED VERSION OF K240 MONITOR AND A REAL THREAT TO SPEAKER SUPREMACY, November 17, 2006
First, let me state that these phones deserve 5 stars, if they are going to be used at home. As a pro audio person I must reduce them to 4 stars if pro work is your intended use, due to a durability issue which I will get to.
Second, although K240 phones old and new surround your ears, they are vented. Ambient noise is not reduced greatly as a result, but this design improves sound quality.
I have used the 600 ohm K240M phones since 1986. The new K240S are 55 ohms making them far more compatible with todays lower voltage gear. Even better, this new design gives deep bass response that I never thought was possible from phones. Even a 32 foot bombarde pipe organ stop sounds quite real, although you will not feel the room shake. Listening to a signal generator through these new K240S phones gives an impression of powerful bass down to at least 40 Hz. The old K240M drops off below 100 Hz. A slight dip in the midrange(K240M) has been filled in, making the K240S more true sounding.
Both the new and old versions reproduce operatic voices without increased "ping" which can be very abrasive. Years ago I started using phones to judge voices on choral recordings, resorting to speakers only to judge the organ sound. Speakers can make some beautiful voices sound nasty. Producer John Culshaw documented this in one of his books on recording the Wagner Ring.
The open air design minimizes ear sweating while giving a more open perspective. "In your head" effects are greatly suppressed compared to many sealed type phones. When watching opera DVD I find no conflict between the phone perspective and the TV screen on DVD that are well mixed. Orchestral sound is excellent, as is piano. To my ears, these phones give a perspective and tonal balance that is very close to what I hear at Boston Symphony Hall, when I sit in the second balcony front. These seats overhang the stage. When I sing in a choir, the live perspective is even closer to what the phones produce, provided my position on stage is fairly central. This is, in my opinion, a valid sound perspective, even if it is quite different from the tenth row center sound I aim for when I build speakers. Non performers sometimes have trouble accepting this close a perspective at first, only because it is not familiar. Many other phones give a perspective that is too close for comfort, a good reason to avoid the low end.
It is good to bear in mind that individual ears are unique in shape and that phones are designed to work on a "standard ear" made with an average shape. Phones will give different response curves depending on how your ear pinnae and canal differs from that "laboratory standard ear" shape.
People with small heads will have trouble keeping the phones on. It is unfortunate that although this problem has been known for years, nothing has been done to correct this.
AKG did not change any parts that touch your ears and head, a very wise move. Some parts are interchangeble, as they have the same stock number on AKG parts lists. Unfortunately AKG has of late been hard to deal with, making part purchases difficult.
My major beef is the poorly designed connector, which while improved at some point early on, still does not inspire comfidence. Unlike the old K240M which did not have a detachable cord, these phones may break if rammed into a toolbox full of vocal scores, meters, screw drivers and whatever else I took with me back in those days when I recorded and sang in the same performances. Now that I don't do recordings, this is not a concern for me.
Getting this level of sound quality for such a low price suggests that one should not complain too much about build quality.
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39 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Decent, but there are much better options - 2.5 Stars, August 4, 2008
I've used the AKG K240S headphones for a few years now and I remain mystified at all the rave reviews here on Amazon. My experience may be different than some reviews, so I'll explain my approach. I do sound art, composition/production, and I listen for fun. Those are three different types of listening that typically require three different types of headphones. The thing is, out of my six pairs, these AKGs are my least favorite in every category.
We'll start with listening for pleasure since that's what the majority of readers are looking for. Despite the rather low 55-ohm impedance, I don't feel like portable devices can drive these adequately. I've never been impressed with their bass response. I'm not looking for anything really heavy, but when I'm listening to an album with punchy bass, it doesn't translate through these cans. The midrange is decent, but not very exciting. The highs are definitely on the dull side. I've heard plenty of headphones give me sparkling, crystalline highs, but not this pair. If you're on a budget, the $69 SR60 are a much better bet. You can easily drive them with an iPod and get a rich, full-bodied sound. The Grados are just a lot more fun to listen to. I realize that the Sennheiser HD600 Over-Ear Open Dynamic Hi-Fi Professional Stereo Headphones (Black) are a bit pricer, but they're a night-and-day improvement as well, but at 300ohms impedance, you'll definitely need a headphone amp to get a good sound.
Next, we'll talk about production work. I use a nice Digidesign audio interface, so I have plenty of power to drive the headphones. These work for tracking and monitoring, and the sealed design provides a little isolation, but at the same time, I've never felt that they gave me a clear picture of what the finished recording would sound like. Once I listened through some good speakers or a better pair of headphones, I'd notice details that remained hidden with the AKGs. They don't have the clinical precision of the Etymotics in-ear monitors, nor the isolation. They don't match the bass response of similarly priced Sennheisers either. As an alternative to the AKGs in the production/recording/mixing category, I'd highly recommend the beyerdynamic DT 770 Stereo Headphones. It provides superior isolation, excellent bass response, a better fit, and better construction. The Etymotic ER-4P Portable In-Ear Earphones are also useful for certain types of studio work, although they probably shouldn't be your only pair of headphones.
The other major factor is comfort. The circular design fits around your ear, but usually squashes part of it. My ears aren't abnormally big, but they don't quite fit perfectly. Sennheiser's elliptical design seems to solve this problem. The AKGs are very light weight and they don't put much pressure on your head, but they also don't stay in place very well. If you move your head, the ear pieces are going to slide. This isn't a deal-breaker by any means, but it's just another reason why I don't like this model. The Beyer DT770s also beat the AKGs in this area. They use a circular design, but the driver doesn't touch your ear, and a nice velvety material is used for the ear-pad. They're a little bit heavier and they grip your head a little tighter, but you can move around and they don't budge.
I don't recommend the AKG K240s. If you're an iPod user, you're not going to get a satisfyingly full sound without adding a headphone amplifier. If you're listening with a more powerful system, you'll get a decent sound, but not an amazing sound. Rich is not a word I would use to describe the K240s. If you're using these in the studio for recording, production, or mastering, you're not going to get a satisfactory level of detail. Overall, these are adequate and, all things considered, an improvement over many headphones out there. Perhaps I'm being too critical. The fact remains that I own four other pairs of headphones, each with better qualities than the AKGs.
Also, I've reviewed the Beyerdynamic DT 770s and the Etymotics ER-4Ps on Amazon, if you're interested in more detail on those models.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Spectacular, May 7, 2007
I've had a pair of 240's for the last 8 years. About 2 years ago, I ran over the cable with my office chair, and basically ruined the headphones. I mended the cable, but they never really sounded right again.
So, I got a pair of Shure E40's, and they've been quite good. Yesterday, I finally realized that the jack on the AKG's was broken, not the wire. So, I replaced the jack, and for the first time in about two years, am using the headphones again.
The sound quality is leagues better than anything else I've used in the last two years. Better than the Shures, better than the Sennheisers I got through work. There's a huge amount of detail that I'd been missing with the other headphones. I'm not an audio professional, or even a hardcore audiophile, but I've been a musician since I was young, and have a good ear.
For the price, I haven't heard anything that even comes close to these headphones. Just watch the cord.
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