Z Review - AKG K240 Vintage 600Ω RARE!! Like New! BOLD TEXT!!
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Old studio headphones were designed with high impedance so you could run multiple pairs off the same amp. They would run 4 or more of these in parallel lowering the impedance. As the impedance lowers the amp could actually drive them more easily. I've got the same cans here fun fact. Picked them up from the same guy lol.
would you also review it?
So I just need three more to run them....... great.
That means an impedance adapter could actually help to serve the same purpose ...
Wait, when you run them in series, the resulting impedance will be much higher, that means that it will needs more voltage (but the same current). So it will make it harder to drive from the amp perspective. Am i missing something here?
brintiks sorry I meant IN parallel. It's early lol
For a second I thought: "Finally, Zeos cleaned up his room". Then he turns right.
Love that. Finally a real person in a real room. No prodent smiles and industry jargon blurp memorized from the press release.
a tip: you can watch series on Flixzone. Been using them for watching loads of movies lately.
@Jack Lian yup, been watching on flixzone for months myself :D
@Jack Lian Yea, I have been using Flixzone for since november myself :D
I have this pair. I have had mine for 33 years. I bought them when I was 21 years old. They still work flawlessly.
What do u use to run them?
heres the thing. what makes your reviews so good is that you walk the fence of the audiophile line and the normal person line. and thats whats important to me. Awesome job sir!
the confidence at which Zeos yeets the knob to the max gives me anxeity im just expecting my ears to explode
TheNeedleDrop uses these to listen to all the music he reviews.
These were also some of the most widely used as studio monitoring headphones back in the day ans still are to this day
Pictures of John Lennon, Kurt Cobain among others are all over
I just bought a pair of vintage K240s off Ebay for $41 BUCKS! HOW THE HELL WERE THEY ONLY $41 BUCKS?! I have no idea how I'm gonna run them, but there's no way I'm passing up a chance like that.
Thanks for the video. Its not "power" or "overload", they are high resistance, this means with a standard HP amp, the "power" that its able to push is LOW, so not "overload". A little more understanding of basic electronics (power/voltage/resistance/amps/overload/ect) would go a long way for your reviews. My used $50 AE-5 sound card drives then fine and loud. Here is what the AE-5 says about HP amp,
"Xamp Discrete Headphone Amplification - The Sound BlasterX AE-5 is the first sound card to feature Xamp, our custom-designed discrete headphone amplifier. Each audio channel is individually amplified, allowing the AE-5 to deliver a whole new level of pristine audio fidelity in an unaltered lossless model to each earcup regardless of demand. The ultra-low 1Ω output impedance drives 16-600Ω headphones perfectly."
It's funny people pay $100+ for the hifiman speaker amp adapter box. It's literally an xlr connector connected to binding posts with a couple resistors. I think someone on headfi opened one. I got mine for a dollar on clearance haha.
my father gave me the 240-df's because he didn't use them for like 20 years or so and he used to listen to them on his studio equipment and an avc/avr at home. still got all of his stuff after so many years :)
I have a pair of them. And they sound great through my technics home stereo,and in my opinion are very comfortable. They are for studio work,mixing and such.
I have been involved in audio for nearly fifty years. My "premium" phones are my (original purchase) Koss Pro4X phones. I did buy my girlfriend a pair of AKG K-40 phones in 1981. The K-40's are cheap, no doubt about it. The sound is, as expected from AKG, excellent. They were the budget version of the AKG K-140's and were in line with the K-340, K-240 and K-140 models. The K-40's retailed for $29.95. I paid $18 for them. The cheap foam ear pads rotted twenty years ago so I made new ones from heavy, dense foam. They are comfortable to wear for hours (as most all AKG phones), have very good bass response to near 30Hz and are very light.
With the wife working from home due to corvid-19 restrictions I find headphone listening preferable to being asked to "lower the music" using the big speakers while wifey works. These AKG's are accurate and really "open up" the music to expose every-freakin'-detail of musical content from my cassettes, reel, LP's and CD's. Even FM sounds good. That these K-40 phones have lasted thirty nine years and still function perfectly is a tribute to AKG's quality construction, fuhgeddaboudit. Nice video of a fine product.
Nice... The yellow sennheiser 414 pads fit pretty good. I have almost every set in that line, and the little pamphlet, but holy shit try to find a set of K41's... they don't really exist, they can't. There's one set on the entire internet... but yeah, the K40's a very fun and stay on your head so well you could probably skydive with them on.
@@theworkshopstudio2069, me thinks that Sennheiser and AKG phones offered the most "bang for the buck" back in the day for comfortable wear and sound. Awesome that you have the entire line 'cepting the K-41's. An envious collection.
I spent this afternoon chillin' to music with the K-40's. Impressive, solid bass and sound, handling Renaissance (Ashes Are Burning), Kinks (Show Biz) and Beatles (Revolver) with audio aplomb. Not too shabby for 1981 twenty dollar headphones. Thanks for the tip about the 414 pads.
The foam driver protection screen deteriorates into a gooey mess and occludes the driver opening, over time. Cleaning them up is a chore.
true
Yes, the original driver foam circle was actually made of two layers. A very thin cloth layer facing out, and a foam that completely disintegrates into goo facing the driver. Cleaning it can require a lot of patience, but it is worth it.
The worst part is the damping foam in the back of the cups which also disintegrates and falls down in little flakes. I opened the cups in my K240 Monitors and removed the foam. I am using the headphones without the foam and they sound really good. I don't think the bass is lacking either, but I am not a basshead.
Great Zeos. Now I'll have to build a 15bn$ reactor for my 100$~ish headphones.
I believe that I bought sometime around 1976 a pair of (I think) Sennheiser HD 414 2000 Ohm on ear headphones. They made 600 Ohm headphones seem easy to drive. Maximum volume was still very quiet. I learned to be very careful not to unplug very high impedance headphones while listening.
Attention, there have been 3 revisions of the 600ohm gold monitor, wich sound quite different. A good revision of the 600ohm shits on the new 55ohm K240's.
@@LoopedGamer DF is another model. There are 3 unofficial revisions of the non DF version. You recognise them just by taking them apart and analising the driver.
RARE... unless you live in Austria. After a quick, like 5 minutes, look I was able to find 4-5 600Ω pairs for €50-100.
wha- WHAT?
@@karigori6415 Yub... and 4 years down the road, nothing much changed. Found 3 for sale in Vienna alone within minutes just now, same price range as well.
Germany here, got my K240 Sextett here for 75€ used.
Exactly!
Wow I have never heard so much ill thought out thinking....
I bought these headphones last week at a Estate Sale with other stuff and payed only 6 bucks for everything. I power these headphones with a Yamaha HTR-6030 Reciever and the headphones get plenty of power. Using a external DAC, the SIGNSTEK DAC to be precise, with optical out. Im starting to like the AKG sound ;-)
Similar experience here. Bought a brand new pair and they shine out of my vintage pioneer stereo with not much more volume than normal headphones. They sound relatively quiet on my phone, Pretty okay out of my laptop, but they shine out of the pioneer. Bright with great soundstage, but not a whole lot of bass; but that's why man created the equalizer. Plus they match the black and gold of the pioneer perfectly :))
I have a pair of AKG k240 sextetts which are the silver trimmed 30-40 year-old vintage predecessor to the k240 600 ohm you've got there, with 6 passive drivers per side. You know, if review driving that kinda thing interests you.
The Sextetts were my first pair of great headphones. Still adore them. I'll never part with them.
I also have pair of sextetts and they are impressively good as far as they are 30 years old.. Massive bass and great crisp mids..
Corey Singletary finally he fell on the "real thing"
Evolution takes it's time.
there was so much good sound and material in the past.
but steaks turned into mcDo
See this pseudo-"hifi-world" of the "hi-fi-community"
and their salesmen - reviewers
saaaad....
ps : only klipsch seems to keep up the old,real values
Not really drivers, but diaphrams covering the six vents around the driver. On later variants AKG changed them to simple micropore-like fabric covers.
Enjoying this on AKG K240 600ohm made in Austria, run by SMSL SD793II. Plenty of power for me :)
I found and bought the 600 ohm version. My M-Audio Audiophile USB is handling it exceptionally well. (almost all capacitors changed, more filter capacitors added and pot capacitors bypassed).
I have the m220 which are basically the k240 55ohm and don't have a really powerful amp, but I love them, for hearing details and instruments and to be able to pick up every instrument individually. Need to do the cable and earpad upgrade tho.
you must listen to your music at dangerous levels. I can power my k240 600ohm just fine on my O2 on low gain.
TBH, I don't know what the fuck you're saying half the time, but I like listening to you shit on products.
Hey Zeos can you go over music some time? sources, quality, which songs you use to test particular aspects (bass, treble, etc) and what genres you bring to audio shows/cookouts? Cheers
I was lucky enough to find a pair of the older version of these at Goodwill for $6. I absolutely adore them.
I do have them connected to an old Marantz receiver. With ample power to drive them, they're spectacular.
Its like his little lab where he works. His Bat cave sort of thing. But Zreviews is the only guy who can rant off to whatever shit comes to his mouth and is still so enjoyable to listen to.
Thank you Zeos, I have this pair, but didnt know it and only now just realized after watching your video. No wonder I can't power them, they're 600 ohms!
Oh also theres a design flaw.
I have had to repair them, because the signal cable actually gets to the Right side over the 2 thick structural wires on top (they actually carry the signal) and they are soldered to smaller tiny leads of the drivers behind the Gold AKG K240 cap. This system causes any bending and flexing of the headband to impinge on the soldering joint, which broke off for me.
Liking and commenting before watching the video.Been waiting for this and was discussing with my brother,friends and cousins.I gave them 3 options to choose one for me,SHP9500,AD500x and these.They voted these.And then I came home an see the review.Sep man I love you.
Woha i actually have those from my dad
The 240's go back way further than the late 80's. More like early-mid 70's. 1975 is the earliest I'm sure of though.
I have a pair I bought slightly used around 1978; the leather ear pads are degraded, but they still sound excellent.
The k240 was introduced in the mid 70s. I still have 2 pairs of the old ones. Try to connect them to your speaker terminals, the 600 ohms, a 20watt amp should do it. I guarantee you'll be surprised.
As much as I would love to say I was the first to send you headphones, I only the second. The first were MDR-XD200s that were beat to hell. My Q701s were the first sound demo though.
Thank you. I was really curious about the vintage K240 as I've seen so many forums talking about how great they are. Also I've found that velour pads help cut down on the K240 studio's harshness.
@Mr. Nice I got those too. They made my headphones more comfortable.
This is sounding like the OG Mad dog review.
my man was listening to the commando soundtrack. that was movie back in the day
Thank you for your reviews. I have been obsessing over buying the Audio-Technica m40x headphones or sticking with my akg 600 ohm that I bought in 1995 and buying an amp. I can see now that would not be wise or cost effective. I think I'm going to buy the m40x after hearing all of your good information in your reviews on both.
I HAVE A PAIR OF vintage K240 monitors I bought in the early 80's and they ARE reference quality. Something is odd or wrong with the units you tested. I was to replace them with a pair of K701 I had purchased for over 400 dollars US, but in comparison after a couple weeks burn in, the K701 was not an improvement over the 240, in fact there exists an annoying midrange resonance around 1.5khz on the 701 that does no exist on the 240.
A proper pair of 240 are neutral, a bit slow rather than lithe, and somewhat rolled at both frequency extremes. They like power to kick. I had for some time used a 5w class a SPEAKER power amp with good results for hard driving rock. I still have that old pair I described; Likely needing a fresh connector cord and the headband bungies replaced but OTW still sweet. I just had to defend my babies. Ken the aging audiophile.
I had four pairs of OG 240s in my early home studio days. I knew a lot less about headphone impedance back then, but I remember getting plenty of level out of them through my various small mixers (Mackie, Soundcraft, etc). Certainly enough to hear a backing track over an ear-hemorrhaging guitar overdub. Of course, I remember Mackie's brochures of the era boasting that they could drive power-hungry phones, so maybe it's an amplifier topology thing and not a price tag thing.
I have a brand new pair and i get okay volume on my phone, but these shine on a full stereo system. Good soundstage with not an abundance of bass.
The Darkvoice 336 is sitting right there. Try it! Mine drives the 600ohm 240 Monitors beautifully. My Aune x7s also drives them easily set in the highest position on the bottom of the amp. Not sure what his is set on, and not sure why he spends the vast majority of time repeating the same thing......"You can't drive them." We get it. You can't......some of can with no problem. They are special phones. Even the portable XD05 Plus, set at highest position and with bass boost, makes these sing with no problem.
I have a pair of 240 MP(mid production) sextets, 701 Quincy Jones and Sennheiser HD650's. While I like them all in their own way, the only pair I could not part with are the sextets. The sextets are 600 ohms and are easily powered by any basic 50-60 watt amp. They sound less like a monitor headphone than the EP(early production) or LP(late production) version and I can listen for hours without fatigue.
K240 MK2 would be the better buy which comes with 2 ear pads and 2 cables, unless you dig the gold color of basic K240 unit.
Those are a variant of the modern 55 ohm K240. The 600 ohm model is a whole different beast, of which there's several variants as well.
Right you are but 600ohm and other variants can only be bought ( if available ) probably on ebay and specialists' sites.
Just saw K240 600ohm selling for $45, although have to be wary if drivers or any parts are working properly.
True, the 600 ohm variant has been out of production for a while (IIRC, they were made until the early 2000s), and with second-hand units one might have to replace some parts what have worn out. Thankfully drivers tend to last well, so they're likely just fine if they're working.
I had a pair of these and they had the usual stuff worn out and needing care: pads flat from use & age, headband suspension elastics snapped (didn't bother replacing, as you can adjust the maximum extension of the headband by fixing the L & R 'blocks' in place via the scews behind them), and the foam covering the baffle plates was all deteriorated into stick mess (threw in foam discs from a replacement pad set and covered the sound ports around the driver with micropore tape).
Have my pair from the 1980's when I was a radio announcer, still in perfect working condition, in studio, interviewing and "on-air" in an FM Rock station....was just seeing if I could use them on my PC with a new Sound Blaster AE-7 setup, somehow, don't think I'll be able to power them after watching this...
I have these, AKG1000, and Ergo AMT. Both the AKG and the Ergo are Harder to drive than these BTW. All three are converted to banana connectors, and I drive them with a 100W NAGRA PSA power amp.
I have the same orig 600 Ohm K240s and no problem powering them via the headphone amp in my URIE 1620 Mixer, So I take it back then they used a HQ headphone amp with plenty of power back then.
I run them on Optonica sm-4000 and works unbelieveable!Good old school.
Love that Rem picture.
I've got a pair of these in my studio
For the record, the Jotunheim on High Gain mode destroys my 600ohm. 12oclock high gain mode is PLENTY loud
Love my 600 Ohm HD-25-13 :-) Bought these in 1996. They're not reference but I trust these with my life. They've seen strange things. :-D
Headphones that make mobile devices run screaming in terror.
No. No screaming, just whisper ;)
Valhalla 2 might be good for these. Thinking of getting one soon so I might get these and see if they can power them.
IDK what is wrong with yours but my old-school Austrian 600 ohms play fine by just plugging them into any headphone jack
Wow, score. I had no idea that these were a known item. I'm not that far in to headphoneria. But I scored mine at Goodwill for $6 made in Austria 600 ohm mint condish and my (turntable/CD/cassette) Sony STR DG510 amplifier runs them just fine. They sounded so good it made me want to do some research on them. And if the mighty magnanimous ZEOS has reviewed them, that says "something" at least.
Thanks for all you do my friend.
-✌🏼
Oh you did spit at 5:36
LOL I notice that too. That spit flew too.
tha AKG ∞ , coming to a flux capacitor near you.
For anyone that has or wants these, Dt990 pads fit and sound good on them, but make sure not to get any pads that add space between you and the driver (i.e the Cosmos "velour" pads that are for the k240 on amazon and alot of the ebay pads). They become UNBEARABLE with even the smallest amount of space added. If you are buying some, make sure that the papers that act as the diffusers (under the pads, next to the drivers) is not busted out and realize that the little elastic bands on the side WILL need to be replaced, as they are always dry rotted. Most amps can't dive these, and if they do, they are on the very edge.
If you're gonna review vintage stuff try to get your hands on some HD580's and compare them to the HD600's
Maybe I'm not pushing them as well as I should but I seem to be able to drive my 600ohm 240 monitors with my Lyr 2 at about 2 or 3 o'clock and maybe 11:00 on high gain. I've USED them with a an O2 and always loved the sound but they of course sound muuuuuch better with the Lyr.
Well I don't know what the purpose of this video is but it would appear it is to dog on the k240 600 ohm rating. You are comparing studio headphones to other headphones on not so optimum equipment. Now if you want to use the k240's on the equipment that you have you have to do it the right way let me explain what I mean. I don't know anything about the equipment that you are using but let's say their output impedance is 8 ohms and the k240's input is 600 ohms you have an impedance mismatch -- not good. Now you will have a loss of power due to the mismatch. to correct this you have to have an impedance matching transformer installed between the two. 8 ohm to 600 ohm must be the rating of the transformer then you will have a matched setup for maximum power transfer. I dare you to put the correct impedance matching transformer in line and put the k240's on with the volume turned up like you do in the video it will not be a good day for you. By the way I use the k240 ( old school with out the detachable cable that should give you an ideal as to how old they are) with an impedance matching transformer on my system and they are awesome. They are not reference headphones but they are close to it so if you are as big a fan of headphones and want to be an audiophile spend some time on google and learn the basics and get a good understanding of the fundamentals of the trade.
"Spend some time on google and learn the basics"? youre a fucking clown
I have both a very very old Austrian K240 600 ohm and a very very old Austrian K240 55 ohm. I used to drive them with SoundBlaster internal PCI and PCIE cards and legacy ones as well. Never had an issue with sound or volume. Running them off a Scarlet 2i2 no issue at I would say 60% volume and we know that the Scarlet has a shit hp amp. They are made to be run in series in studio. Lots of clean vocals and almost some bass. But, yes it is everything coming at you at once. I think for most they would be a bit harsh. They are the most uncomfortable hp tho for sure. But most of the time I used to hold them and only use one cup on my ear so the other cup would just hang around the air. One ear. Not for listening enjoyment, but for sound checking and moving on.
Me too I never had problems driving an akg240 600ohm pluged into an audigy soundblaster and the sound was AMAZING and ultra detailed, i think 90% of newer dacs and amps are pure BS and snake oil oriented for rich and fool people.
god, I own these and I like them so much
and im pushing them with my headphone amp from my marantz pm 17 mk2 ki
Hi Zeos,
Any chance to review the new PSAs S1801/V1801 anytime soon ? :)
Great reviews btw !
You're the man!
Thanks!
Haha I have a pair of these 600ohm K240. No problems powering them with a SMSL SD-793II and a Essence STX. will try O2 later.
Nice review. I've bought my AKG 240 (the "daddy" on the video haha) in a flee market for 5 €...didn't know anything about headphones and then I had a big surprise reading things about their quality on the internet haha. They are working perfectly! Of course you'll need a good and powerful amp. I use them with my pionneer SX-10AE amp and is just perfect, not even need to increase the volume too much. Only problem : not confortable at all!!! I agree that the structure is not very ergonomic. The elastic bands of the adjusting mechanism are dead, but they seems easy to replace, so I hope it will be fine.
You need to look into Asus Xonar U3 USB sound cards... I used these USB card on a beyerdynamic DT 990 600 ohm version with no problems.. My AKG 240 600 ohm from ebay is on route, and I should be getting it tomorrow. Gonna be replacing my akg 701 quincy jones as replacement as my go to gaming and listening to everything.
Mr Z, when do you think the monoprice tube amp review will come?
Also, do you plan on doing an updated video of the monoprice m1060 version 2 (revision) headphones if you will be getting any?
Also, massdrop has the smsl m8a (revision/version 2), thought you should know. You think I should buy one, less than a day left.
i use a tube amplifier with 2 e88cc and a 12at7 for driver in a Otl configuration perfect for 600ohm vintage akg240 studio, bit I user it with studio mixer and intgrated beadphone amplifier integrated in CD or apli without any probelm.
A great review, informative yet witty. I have the 600 ohm cans, can I run them via the headphone out of a run-of-the mill integrated amp? Sorry for the noob question. Thanks in advance!
I Still have my original k240's from 1980 and they're
still the best headphones I've ever heard. Try getting a quality vintage amp instead of the piece of shit you're using.I used to run them on an Onkyo TX2500mkll (40 watt receiver) and they played just fine.
I see your Sim racing setup quite often. Are you on any sort of forum or something I'd love to see it more :)
I have the sextet. My Dad bought them for me before you were born, in 1982...?ish? Had them rebuilt in SoCal a few years ago and still use them.
What amp do you use ?
Pioneer Receiver
I can drive them with a fiio e07k and listen at 60% volume on the source
5w per channel? Zeos, you're gonna need more.
I have a vintage stereo amp that routes power through the preamp to the headphones. (AKA- the speaker amp IS the headphone amp) I drive mine with 15 watts per channel and they soak up every bit.
They'll drive on lower power (I've run them on my phone), but they'll only perform properly with a massive amp.
Nice! I own them! They actually sound far better with velour pads, IMO!
Got a pair from church that I have sitting in a drawer. Never have been able to power them enough to sound decent lol
AKG k92 or K240 (New Chinese) or samson sr850? Wich I buy?
I got the K92 to use with my Samsung S9 (at home). Sound quality is good, crummy / plastic construction and the 10ft non detachable cable not so great. It depends on use case.
P.S. considering your comment is a month old, did you buy any headphones? how are they?
I've had my K240s for 5 years and with semi-memory-foam earpad change they are phenomenal value for the price
I bought a pair of K240DFs for $5 and now I’m trying to figure out if I should buy an amp for it or not
They... they look so pretty
These are the headphones I have in my studio
5:37 nice spit yo
I just got that akg k240 from my garage. Damn the sound is so good, but i cant see for its potential.
ive had those but the are now broken : (
see if this helps:
"Oh also theres a design flaw.
I have had to repair them, because the signal cable actually gets to the Right side over the 2 thick structural wires on top (they actually carry the signal) and they are soldered to smaller tiny leads of the drivers behind the Gold AKG K240 cap. This system causes any bending and flexing of the headband to impinge on the soldering joint, which broke off for me."
Sorry but I love Emilia.
ghostR Rem is best sorry.
want to start a fight?
I showed my nieces your Chewbacca review. They stared at me open mouthed for a minute or so afterwards and didn't say anything.
Did you try them on the jotunheim?
I did. 12oclock High Gain
Hello Z Reviews, i wanted to buy 1 pair of headphones under 50-65 euros. what do you recommend? Thumbs up and thanks for the good reviews :)
are you ever gonna review the k240DF and k240 sextett? I got both and they are polar opposites in what they do
Was the Aune7 I high gain mode or default?
Think those are hard to drive? Try the AKG k60's.
i know this is an ancient video, but studio mixing boards could power these easily... and pretty much ONLY studio mixing boards (and Studio headphone amps from Mackie, and their ilk)
I am running these of a portable mp3 player running from an AAA battery louder than I want, and they sound about the same coming from the mp3 player as they do coming from my O2/ODAC amp. They are not that hard to drive properly.
Holy shit that wallpaper...
Looking at picking up a set of the old sextetts with six passive radiators in them to complement my k141 that also have the old 600ohm sextett drivers in them. I’m interested to see if my LG phone can make them produce any sound, otherwise they’re running off my 160wpc sansui 9900z
Great for guitar tube amp to play on headphones
Timeless movie track!
You should of switched to high gain on the X7S. These are the headphones where you would of felt safe having it on high gain.
Can I power them with my Samsung Galaxy S6 EDGE?????
I know this a year late and your using sarcasm, but I'm actually listening to my 600 ohms fine through my note 8
To not do so would be a crime against humanity.
Tubes cannot clip that is why people still use them, they just distort.
Yow Z ;), what program do you use for listening to your shiny flac collection?