AKG K240 Monitor (600 Ω) - Historical Significance
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ต.ค. 2024
- Today we have a Classic, a Studio Staple. The Vintage AKG K240M.
Music by CIRUS.
This Video is the intellectual property of Mr.Tech Agent any copying of this video is unauthorized and illegal
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Listening to this while wearing the akg 240 Monitors!
Nice!
+MrTechAgent I have 2 of the 3 mentioned...The Sextetts and the DFs...Both in very good condition...The Sextetts came from ebay with the box and paperwork
+Mark Gray Very nice, if you are looking to sell them then shoot me a PM!
+MrTechAgent everything is for sale far the right price... Lol
+Mark Gray True but you are the seller and everyone's opinion of price for a discontinued model is variable. You come up with a number which would initiate the talking.
I'm a long time 240 Monitor user. As I get deeper and deeper into mixing, I keep thinking that I should upgrade my headphones. So I just tried some Beyerdynamic 990 Pro and Sennheiser 65xx. Clamping strength on both gave me a headache. So it's no go on either. (Comfort is a major factor for me.) So it's back to my trusty (and extremely comfortable) 240 Monitor's. Long may they continue to live!
The use case for the 600 ohm 240's was to hook multiple sets in parallel in a studio environment. In the days of high powered home audio amplifiers, you could also drive them fairly well with the headphone output of good audio amps. I did so for decades. I have had a pair of the K240 600 ohm for over 30 years. They are wonderful, great sounding headphones that I have used for mixing, monitoring, mastering and critical listening over that time period. They are quite sweet. I now drive them with a dedicated tube pre amp, and they still sound wonderful.
I have a pair of K240 Austria headphones I purchased new in the early 90's. They have a great flat response you can trust for mixing.
I’m fortunate to have a pristine pair of K240 Monitors that have sat on the shelf for decades. This video inspired me to revisit them, and they do sound quite nice. Great midrange on these puppies. So thanks!
THis channel deserves waay more audience. Great job dude!
ryanrazer1 Thanks!
Headphones arent good or bad just from where they're build. Rated this review down and don't care about any of his insights if this guy is so biased as he is. There's hardly any value in his insights with such bias. Love the vintage AKG K240 Monitor though.
Maybe I'll try again if he tames his potty mouth and cynical attitude a bit
Harman is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics (as of In March 2017). So AKG, JBL which is owned by Harman is in-turn really owned by Samsung. They all become "Korean brand" already !
There was a time when Harman Kardon was a great, indie higher end audio company, in the 70s to 80s, after that, forget it. Not only that, but once upon a time HK was based right here
on Long Island, either in Woodbury or Garden City. I even sold my dad a Harman Kardon tuner receiver in 1987 and he used it for years, it was fantastic. I used to work at the infamous
Crazy Eddie's for a while, that was the reason. We never sold anything high-end, really. Most of these companies are cutting a lot of corners these days, and nothing is what it once was.
I must have bought at least 10 headphones at the lower end the past 13 years that were just awful. I got JBL Synchros Bluetooth cans 3 years ago that I thought were ok until I ran them
through my home theater and an amp, and OMG they were horrendous, distorted, and totally unlistenable.
My K701 was made in Austria, but that didn't prevent the right channel '+ wire' to snap inside the cup. It's not so much because of an inherent design flaw as it is an assembly issue. The wire is bent and routed in such a way, that every move of the cup puts strain on the solder joint. What's strange is that there's enough wire inside to be able to move freely without issue, BUT the way it's assembled, most of that wire is tucked away in a really non-optimal way. I'll be recabling my K701 really soon. So, I guess it doesn't matter all that much where the headphone is assembled, as long as it's done right.
Angel Angelov Of course it doesn't. I agree.
+Angel Angelov were you able to solder it back in place? I hate it when one of the two speaker fail. Even more on expensive headphones
A bowl of Miso soup
I recabled it: forum.audioplatinum.com/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=5125
Great no BS review, thanks. I'll be watching for more reviews from you.
Thanks!
100% agree brother........
Great review as always , forthright honest and don't pull punches.
I bagged myself a pair of these monitor 600 ohms made in Austria for next to nothing and the condition is amazing.
NOT that hard to drive imo but obviously to make them sing they need juice and amping. Sound superb! Bass is beautiful on these , tight and tuneful MUCH better than my Chinese 701s
I like my akg k240s thats made in china. IF these suck comared to the originals then the originals must be amazing.
Got really lucky and picked up a pristine set at a swap meet for $10! They're tough to drive but they do sound nice!
Catching up on your excellent channel. I have the k340 and they still hold against most TOTL headphones. They are really special. I also own the Austrian made k701, which is rather nice with some modifications. AKG was indeed a great maker of microphones and headphones for professional use. Now they only make novelty products.
It is sad what happened to AKG. I have the Sextett, it is in bad shape though and I know it will sound better if restored properly, I do find it better than the K240 MKII without a doubt, build quality also destroys the China made modern K240s. Not sure if I will get anymore modern AKGs, I really enjoy the K712, but I did feel mixed about the rest of the K7 series. I guess I am lucky to have gotten one of the last Austrian made AKGs.
I guess I am going to stick with mainly Beyerdynamic, Sennheiser, and a few other brands I want to give a shot for future headphones. Still not sure what direction I want to go with flagships, I'll need to hear some flagships on my system and decide from there as who knows what will sound the best on one's particular system in the long run.
I know you're not a big fan of the HD 600, but some reason it's one of my best sounding headphone on my system edging out the K712 and HD 650 and approaching the DT 150 , not sure why, as I felt really mixed and disappointed about the thing until recently when I paired it with certain tubes and all my complaints about it just disappeared, no more upper mid/treble grain or lack of fidelity. The HD 650 is good too, but my system is not liking it as much as the HD 600.
Kevin Smith Me too. Done with AKGs.
But I do want to complete some Vintages like the Sextett, K501 and K1000.
The only reason I dislike the HD600 is the HD580, I get a lot of flak from people saying I'm an idiot and it's impossible the HD580 is different from the HD600 but...it is.
Have you ever considered the HE60 and ending the game?
There's a lot preventing me from getting one, first finding one, second - finding one for a good price and third risking import. I would never risk importing something so expensive so I just can't get one right now. You could.
I think HE60 is something you'll love as a permanent headphone.
***** I'm not sure if I'm done, but it does seem Harmon pretty much ruined them, the K812 does appeals to me as a potential flagship option. I think I do plan on parting with some headphones in the future, I don't really use more than two headphones.
I've always read the HD 580 is different than the HD 600. I don't even expect them to have the same drivers. The HD 600 and HD 650 sure don't. I hear people say the HD 600 and HD 650 are pretty much the same, I'm personally like they are very different sounding headphones and don't understand why people say they are pretty much the same, the two headphones really start sounding very different on higher end systems imo. I guess some people have trouble picking up differences easily. I know for sure I definitely don't like the community surrounding the HD 600 or Senns in general.
I have considered it as something to get as it was the third best headphone I've heard and it will definitely be a cheaper than the only two headphones I thought sounded better. Problem is finding a pair and I'm not willing to spend that amount on a headphone anytime soon.
Kevin Smith What would the other best headphone be apart from the R10 and HE60?
***** That would be the HE-60's excessively expensive sibling, the Orpheus(HE-90).
WTF is the problem with anything being made in Slovakia? Slovakia is about a 20 minuttes drive from Wienna...
Greetings and congrats for you videos.
Have you made a review of the 240 sextett yet?
I think that you made one but I can find it... maybe it was in another channel of yours?
Anyway,
please make a review about them. I would like to hear your opinion.
Cheers
Sorry for the late response,
No, I don't have a Sextett in my collection yet.
I've heard that a lot of people do like the AKG 701 and 702s, and particularly the 712 model. And the massdrop edition I'm told is a fantastic open ref. headphone. The problem is,
I think, is the build quality is just not there, really. Not like they once were.
The real one is the AKG Diffusefeld-Enzert Nacht IRT K240DF 2x600 Ohms Made in Austria Studio Monitor. This is the true Studio Monitor suitable for mixing and studio recording sessions. It meets Institut fuer Rundfunktechnik specifications for flat response. The last thing you need in the studio is Beats / Bose style pumped up bass and treble.
I own these Austrian made 600ohm phones and I'm looking for suggestions on what I might use to power them.
Looking at the Schiit JOTUNHEIM
and wondering if anyone has the experience with anything that they can recommend! Highly recommend even.
Thanks for the video. I'll have to try to track down the review...
-✌🏼
■ I habe noticed they are 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗞𝗚 𝗞𝟮𝟰𝟬
𝟭.. AKG K240 𝟲𝟲𝟬 𝗼𝗵𝗺 impedance [Suppose this is to be used in studio with an amplficator]
𝟮.. AKG K240 𝟱𝟱 𝗼𝗵𝗺𝘀 impedance [ Suppose to be used with phones and similar diveces]
■ Am I correct?
■ Is there any difference betweeen those made in Austria and thos made in China?
I used the K240 Monitors for almost 15 years. I had only one pair of them, as they got broken I was litterally crying. Since then trying to find some in good shape or maybe new.. but it's very difficult as they got disontinued and the few that I've found were pretty fucked up...
+Francesco Alberelli Strange, K240 Monitor is among the easiest to find Vintage headphones because of the high production numbers.
Yes but it's a mess to find a pair in good shape, mine were perfect
True, people really use them a lot!
+MrTechAgent sell yours to me :-D
Listening this with akg 240 Sextett.
To my ears, the K240's were ok. But, I much preferred the open, airy sound of the K280's. Was really surprised that you called your K280's rubbish. Commented on your video about the K280's that my pair seems to have deteriorated over the past 25 years, especially in the high frequency response part of the audible spectrum. I'm sure that the pair of drivers in each ear cup does not present as pure of a listening experience (maybe why recording engineers like the K240 so much, and the fact that the K280's didn't come out until the late 80s). But, the K280's were a less muted pair of cans circa the early 90s. Not sure about the "sextet" model. Never had the opportunity to audition those. Only ever got to compare them with the K240 and K240DF, neither of which I liked very much.
I personally like the K240Ms more than any other K240 model ever, they are just so perfectly rounded and balanced.
For me, it was the K270 (same kind of multi-driver headphone). I received the K240m's as a gift, but underpowered them at the time and didn't know it (I was very young when I had them - 12 to 14 years old, or somewhere around thereabouts. I didn't know any better). Still, in the store, I preferred the K270 by a wide margin, for the same reasons you state above.
K240's Rock and I will never get rid of my pair. Curious about your JBL/Harmon comment. From what I have read, Harmon bought JBL in the late 60's, is this true? What was the last year that JBL speakers were actually good?
I'm not sure about the dates.
Harman is notorious for taking over R&D by compromising research and selling sub-standard equipment for high prices, same as Bose.
I'm not a speaker guy but I do remember the JBL 4355 were considered to be the best of the best back in the day .
wow,still made in austria,it must be good!😉
th-cam.com/video/jn48dYlOjqk/w-d-xo.html
whats the difference between the akg k240 and the k240 mkii
"Harman is a total dickhead company" Hahah YES YES YES. Harman are one of the worst, most damaging audio monopolies out there, buying up brands and totally running them into the ground and putting out cheap s*it (See Urei) I have the original AKG-240 Sextet's and use them every day either for late nigh listening or monitoring in the studio.
Diggin' that instrumental at the end, did you do that? If possible I would love to have a WAV or MP3 copy. Let me know. Also, I have the Schiit Magni/Modi stack and I know they are very versatile in handling a lot of different headphones because of the low output impedance. Do they have enough power to drive the 240's? Thank you for your time.
My Schiit Valhalla struggles to power them to my liking. I'd cross check the output numbers and then decide.
H-K used to make amazing stuff. Check out their early tube amps like the Citation II and Citation V. Also, believe it or not, I found a perfect set of Sextetts with box at a thrift store. Everything was in perfect condition except for the little elastic loops. Well, H-K actually (as of 3 years ago anyway) still stocks those parts and for a few bucks I was able to restore the Sextetts to like new condition. They even had original style pads. They are bastards, but at least in this case they still stock parts.
But I thought the K812 was made in Austria, not Slovakia!
Antun Katona Not anymore.
Loved the content man, glad to be a sub and see what else you will put out in the future
Thanks!
i have one of theese fully intact
Hello! I got this headphones a few days ago (the Austrian made version, 600 ohms) but they sound low when I use them with my computer. Should I get a headphones pre amplifier? If so, would you recommend me any or is there any specification I should follow in order to get a pre amp that could make my headphones perform better in volume? Thank you!
Yup, you will need a headphone amplifier to use these headphones. There's two issues - they are 600 ohms, so the amplifier will have a tough time providing power to them unless you get an amplifier with a lot of power. The other issue is that they are not very sensitive (as Aumkar mentioned), so that makes the power requirements even more taxing. Unless your computer has a really nice headphone amplifier built into it, you will definitely need a headphone amp.
As for a headphone amp recommendation, there's a lot to choose from. The JDS Labs Atom would probably be fine. The Schiit Magni 3+ is also good. If you want to spend a little more, the Topping A50s is killer.
If I like ya I tell you the truth if I don’t like you I will tell you the truth this is showing love because you get the TRUTH If you HATE someone you will LIE to them deceive them b making them think you like them ..... DONT HATE its ok to disagree or strongly dislike even .. hatred is suppressing the truth in order to adhere to a lie in order to materially selfishly benifit ... although I like the review im attempting to master /mix down my albulm with some 240 studio because its what I could afford but wit my skills they number2 get the job done
Nice video. Well done.I am looking for a pair of these to try. Where can they be obtained?
+Collocutor RoundThree eBay.de is a place where you'll find them cheap.
Nice. I will start looking there.
What would be a reasonable price for one in excellent condition?
Tobias Wissmüller I see them on ebay & local trading markets for around 70-120€ for used to mint condition
How can you say that small inefficient 88db driver is better than todays 117db big driver AKG..Its nonsense!
I kinda feel better knowing that Samsung just bought Harmon, but AKG is now part of Samsung and like they’re getting screwed even more
I have the austrian 240 and the slovakian 712, at first (and still) I found better mids and highs on the 240, the 712 soundend less detailed, and muffled, but the problem was not the headphones, the music, the sources, the error is thinkning one headphone need to sound better or worse plugged in the same setup, then changing the overal setup, I found the 712 very similar detailed than the 240 and the 240 sounded like crap pluged into the new setup, since that experience I try not to judge so rude any new headphone I try, unless I already tried into a lot of setups and they still sound like crap, but at the end of the day AKG is now dead thanks to Samsung at least now we have Austrian Audio and Mysphere.
question tho: is the sound quality of the mk 2 and the vintage one the same? planning to buy the modern version of the k240.
Nope
Don’t even try to am sending my back
It came in today😓
Sadly no it's a day and night difference.. on ebay you can find some real made in austria sextetts!
But also look into austrian audio's hi-x55, they're ex austrian akg employees that make their own headphones and microphone like the OC818 which uses the same capsule as the famous akg c12!
Listening to this through the AKG K240 MKII's. I recently bought them for mixing and mastering. They're pretty shit if I'm being honest. Almost unusable for the job i bought them for.
They look lacklustre and I'm gathering, are lacklustre. Maybe the originals are great.
I'm liking the headphone history lessons!
If I may ask you, what do you think about the AKG N90Q and Pioneers new SE-Master 1?
And please don't treat Chinese/Slovak people like useless slaves who are unable to put a simple headphone together, lol.
***** Let me return to my position here. I have nothing against China or Slovakia, in fact I respect China as a manufacturing force more than anyone else, they have earned themselves a place and they deserve it.
To AKG, when I'm buying a $1500 headphone from a Austrian company, I would like that it's made where it's designed, otherwise I'm not interested in doing business. Seeing hand assembly at Beyerdynamic has opened my eye about why QC can't be consistent once you leave the original plant. It's unattainable.
GrumpyKitten Nope, have not heard those new models.
SE-Master 1 seems like a Engineering fail cause Membrane Technology doesn't work like that.
***** You have unworkable time schedules everywhere. In Germany assembly jobs are considered lower grade. You have to do excessive piecework and stil deliver "premium quality" because thats expected from the "made in Germany" (or in this case "made in Austria") phrase.
Outsourcing to a plant that is specifically designed for headphones kinda makes sense.
Especially since AKG is alot bigger than Beyerdynamic who have the same design for 60 % of their products.
GrumpyKitten Your comment has gotten me very interested, rather than putting forth some of my points. I read something very interesting in your comment.
"Outsourcing to a plant that is specifically designed for headphones kinda makes sense."
You are the only person has mentioned that the Slovakia plant is specifically optimized for Headphone manufacturing.
That's interesting because AKG had a larger production scale than they have now. Most of the machines they have at the plant in Vienna are optimized for both their Headphone and Microphones.
For example, Voice Coil winding Machines work for both Headphones and Microphones. Injection molding and CNC machining is optimized for all products.
This shift has more to do with labor or land more than it has to do with anything else. In China they are just finding Contract Manufacturing companies. All Machines are easily accessible.
Slovakia shift is nothing but a transfer of Machines from Austria.
Now to the Beyerdynamic part, 60% is a very wild guess. You do realize that Beyerdynamic does more than Headphones and Microphones. Telecommunication Systems, Beyerdynamic is also a Special Contract Manufacturer for Board Designs, Headphones, Microphones, Aviation systems, Car Entertainment solutions etc. They don't show doesn't mean they are smaller than the one's that do.
AKG Slovakia Shift is a Classic attempt by AKG to keep manufacturing in EU and survive. From the recent events over the last few years, it's easy to notice that AKG is going through a financial crisis. They can't do a complete China shift as it would be a threat to Sales, I can guarantee that.
The current partnerships that they are doing is showing they are trying to recoup funds as fast as they can.
That's why I was interested by your comment. Your comment interests me at best, I can't believe you unless you have some relevant paperwork to back up your thoughts. No company wants to talk about a Financial Crisis, hence AKG's stealthy attempt.'
*Just trying to bring up some untouched topics that idiots on Head-Fi will never talk about, hope you understand GrumpyKitten. Let us know what you think.
*****
I get your points and yes, my comment was based on speculation. I don't think before I post, sorry for disappointing you
＜(。_。)＞
I am aware that companies like Beyerdynamic and Sennheiser make most of their money with non-consumer products. With the (wild guessed, you're right) 60% I was refering to headphones only. I mean everything from the T's to the non-monitor dt's is basically the same.
They are playing it super safe. I've never seen a nonsense product from Beyer.
Reading through AKGs job offerings in Austria they only seem to employ developers, IT and Qc people so I think that Austrian manufacturing is dead?
"They can't do a complete China shift as it would be a threat to Sales"
They are already making everything in China except for the pro gear. I don't think they would make their flagship headphone in Slovakia but their cheesy conference system in Austria.
Again, random thoughts.
so can my phone power this?
Nope
Lg v30?
HARMan...nomen est omen.
AKG comeback now that harman is out of the picture?
Well, give that they shut down their Vienna plant and laid off all their R&D team, I think AKG is history.
@@MrTechAgent indeed, very sad. Samsung will milk AKG's microphone designs for as many years as possible, but I don't see them doing any new products in that line. A sad end to a truly innovative company with great quality. I still have my Monitor K240s and they are doing well. Thought of getting some new Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pros to replace them after all these years, but not sure if I really need to....
@@MrTechAgent All of their engineers started Austrian Audio, so that would probably be the place to go for something that is like what AKG used to be.