AKG K340 - what do I need to know?

[recstar24]

Hey guys,

At the last meet, I really enjoyed the k340's. They sounded great out of various setups, especially the zana. The bass was quite full and deep, I personally did not hear any issues or lack of. It was a headphile modded version though.

I would really love to pick up a set. I have no idea though what I should be looking for. I have read about different versions. There seems to be an assortment of mods that can be done to improve performance, which I haven't quite grasped on.

Ideally I would love to pick up a used set modded by a reputable user, just need to know what to look for and/or what questions I should be asking.

Thanks guys.

[swt61]

I think your best bet is just to be choosy about who you purchase them from. Make sure he's a reputable member with knowledge of the K340.

The mods aren't that difficult, but I have heard some K340s that were bloated and terrible sounding. I prefer the bass light version, but again I think the right mods can make both versions quite similar.

You could also buy a stock pair and send them to Larry to mod. He does know this headphone well, and his mods are spot on with what my ear tells me is right.

[guzziguy]

Also you need a good amplifier that can provide them a lot of current. They are very hard to drive.

[swt61]

I wish I'd taken the time to listen to mine through the Zana at the last Dallas meet.

The ?22 drives the K340 better than any amp I've heard, but there are a few amps I'd still like to try.

[n_maher]

Ryan,

I've tried them multiple times now, both stock and modded and have yet to find a good reason to own them over the Senn 650s (or 600s for that matter). That's not to say that I don't think they're on par with the Senns, I'd actually say in terms of relative fidelity (accuracy, neutrality, etc.) that they are similar in terms of overall performance I just happen to prefer the Senns in every rig I've tried them in. Like a lot of things it's going to come down to whether or not they're your cup of tea and fit well in your rig.

As far as amplification is concerned you're going to want something with boat loads of current and voltage gain. My PPA V2 w/ a gain of 8 wasn't up to the task w/ a 1V source. The Wheatfield HA-2 w/ the Hertsens was a lot better and pushed me to the edge of keeping the K340s. Ultimately though my interest in them waned and I decided to try something else (the failed W5000 experiment).

And depending on the FOTMness prices can make them very unattractive. There was a time when stock pairs were going for ~$300 (for anything in a condition that I'd buy anyway) which is at least $100 more than I'd pay for them. Larry's mods aren't cheap either so be sure to factor that into whether or not you want to make a run at them. At a minimum you're looking at ~$275 and I personally would want a 3 meter cable, why he even offers a 1m length is beyond me. Like you're going to use these portably and have an amp in your shirt pocket...

[/ramble]

[naamanf]

A second the B22 as a good amp for the B22. I picked up my pair off of ebay for $50ish bucks. Did the mods myself for another $10. So they can be had inexpensively if you are patient.

On a side note I have yet to install the fabric over drivers, so my ears touch the electret. Needless to say if I touch anything grounded I get a nice little shock through my ears. So if you get them and mod them make sure you install the fabric over the drivers.

[aerius]

I would really love to pick up a set. I have no idea though what I should be looking for. I have read about different versions. There seems to be an assortment of mods that can be done to improve performance, which I haven't quite grasped on.

Ideally I would love to pick up a used set modded by a reputable user, just need to know what to look for and/or what questions I should be asking.

If it has Jenalabs cables or anything which looks ike JL cables, run away. Try to get the history of K340 you're buying, and find out who did what mods on it if it has been modded. Then search their posting history on head-fi, and if you find something like "need help with soldering" or "how do I solder cables to my K340's?", well, that's not a good sign. Also, check for pictures of the modder's other DIY work, if any. They'll give an indication of how good the guy is and whether he knows what he's doing. Along those lines, find out who's owned the particular pair of headphones and what their impressions have been.

Other notes. I'd much prefer to have the original plastic screens intact, you can always cut out the plastic later and go with some kind of fabric or foam covering, but once if it's already cut out you can't go back. As already mentioned, the K340 wants amp power, and lots of it. Treat it as a K1000 and you won't be too far off.

[philodox]

Just to add to what guzzi said about the K340s needing lots of current... Though they do need a fair bit, what they really need to sound their best is lots of voltage swing. This is the main reason that amps ideal for the K1000 often are poor matches for the K340 and visa versa.

[riceboy]

This is a great thread. Thanks for starting this thread up Ryan as I was looking for a K340 eventually. Now I'm sort of tempted as I would drive it with either the B22 or SinglePower amp I have.

Just like Nate I like the Senns a bunch. I'm very happy with how they sound with my SP amp. Since I haven't heard a K340 it is great to have some feedback on them as some have offered

Thanks everyone

[swt61]

On a side note I have yet to install the fabric over drivers, so my ears touch the electret. Needless to say if I touch anything grounded I get a nice little shock through my ears. So if you get them and mod them make sure you install the fabric over the drivers.

If you have the screens I'd be happy to fabric mod them for you.

I use my router table, and it takes about 90 seconds.

No charge of coarse.

[recstar24]

Thanks for the help guys. At the last meet, the Zana pushed the headphile modded k340's easily. Just a very deep, full bodied sound, like a 650 but with more midrange clarity and presence. Sounded incredibly tight and balanced, what a nice sound. I am a gradohead too and you know how we can be picky about our stuff, I respect the senns but they just don;t do it for me unfortunately.

[diebenkorn]

Anyone heard the new Lunchbox with K340's?

[swt61]

Anyone heard the new Lunchbox with K340's?

No, but my guess would be not enough power.

[n_maher]

Anyone heard the new Lunchbox with K340's?

It would probably work ok, but I don't know what type of current output capacity that amp has. It's got plenty of gain (and probably voltage swing) but it is pretty cheaply made and certainly not the best pairing. If money is tight the K340 is not the headphone to buy.

[Absorbine_Sr]

That was my Zana at the Chicago meet and I was equally impressed with the K340's. So much so that like Ryan, I'm in pursuit of a stock pair to send to Larry. The pair in question were morphsci's and they did sound awesome. And as for power needed, I was surprised. Using RS-1's on the Zana I rarely turn the volume past about 9 - 10 o'clock, with Senn's 10 - 11. The K340's were usually above 12-1 o'clock to get them to a decent listening level.

The bass was very good, but what I was impressed with was the overall balance and clean midrange on Jim's pair. They really hit the sweet spot of how I like my music.

[n_maher]

One more thing that I should have mentioned earlier, in both of my experiences I found that the K340 needed to be driven hard (i.e. louder) to sound complete to my ears. Listening at what I typically do db-wise was very unsatisfying with the stock pair that I had first and while better with the second modded pair I still found myself wanting to listen louder than I would with other cans. I was probably still in the safe zone in either case but my environment is very quiet so elevated levels are rarely required.

[Smeggy]

The 340 is still on my list of phones I'd like to hear rather than just hear about. I've almost bitten a few times but 'stats usually end up winning the attention and cash

I'm hoping somebody will bring a set to one of the meets we have up here. I don't think there are any 340s around here though.

[diebenkorn]

What about the used route (melos, meier, etc)?

[guzziguy]

What about the used route (melos, meier, etc)?

I didn't like the way a Meier Opera drove my modded K340s. The sound was thin and compressed. The Opera was missing the voltage and/or current needed to drive them well.

[dc]

One more thing that I should have mentioned earlier, in both of my experiences I found that the K340 needed to be driven hard (i.e. louder) to sound complete to my ears.

I agree with this, I had a stock pair also, and although overall not my cup of tea, they were much better when cranked. Sounded a bit dull at lower listening volumes.

[morphsci]

Used stock K340's will be all over the place. My first pair sounded like shit but I sent them to Larry for a recable. When I got them back, I was totally stunned by their sound. My current pair sounded very good stock and had them recabled balanced with Larry at Headphile. I would not send a pair of K340's to anyone else to mod. Larry knows the 340's very well.

The 340's need a good amount of voltage to sound their best so balancing them really helps to deliver the power they need. When given enough power (which may mean driving them louder than other cans) they are sublime. The frequency balance is wonderful but they also do tonality right (better than the Senn 650's IMO) and just get out of the way. I may be in the minority but I actually prefer my modded K340's to the R10. Even though I run them balanced they sounded at least as good running single-ended out of the Zana as they do runing balanced on my GS-X. It has me looking now at a balanced tube amp for them.

My suggestion is not to worry too much about the stock pair as long as they are in relatively good condition. I am not a big believer in the bass-heavy vs. bass light pairs as my take is that there is simply a lot of variation among the pairs out their since they are all relatively old and the conditions of use, storage, etc. among those pairs is very large. Modded pairs (using the same modder) brings them much closer together. My recommendation is Larry but to be honest i have not had any pairs modded by anyone else.

[mypasswordis]

Then search their posting history on head-fi, and if you find something like "need help with soldering" or "how do I solder cables to my K340's?", well, that's not a good sign.

>_>

Anyway, I resurrected this thread to blab on about my K340 some more, since I never actually got it working properly until now, in the 2 or so years that I've had it.

Bullet points shall follow this colon:

• Speed for the most part is pretty good, somehow pretty much on par with electrostats
  
• Frequency balance and extension is pretty good as well
  
• Imaging is bizarrely almost 3D even though it's semi-closed and there is no stereo bleeding of the two channels. I've always wondered how the K340 imaged so well, in the brief moments that both channels worked.
  
• Slightly papery resonant tonality a lot of the time
  
• Strings don't sound that good, I'm pretty sure it's another function of the semi-closedness. First mod I will try after this is more mechanical damping on the backs of the plastic badge back things. I'll also probably play with acoustic damping the passive diaphragms
  
• Bass sounds like a weird combination of electrostatic and dynamic, but not necessarily the best of both. The impact is.. kind of on an electrostatic level, but dynamic-ier. It's got some dynamic rumble and is a bit slow because of it but is not quite as tuneful as electrostatic bass. Must be the passive diaphragm trickeries.
  
  Mods:
  
  
  • Dual entry high performance audiophile milspec vintage NOS cable (3 ohms)
    
  • Bypassing the transformer PCB for the dynamic driver
    
  • Layer of felt in the back
    
  • Ring of bluetak in the back
    
  • Piece of tape behind the dynamic drivers (possible reflex dot, it's been there since pretty much the beginning but I don't remember what effect, if any, it had)

All in all a bit of a bizarre headphone that gets a lot of things right, as long as I don't listen to anything with bowed string instruments. I will try further tweaks somewhere down the line which should help but have more pressing matters to attend to.

[swt61]

I always wondered if some Dynamat inside the cups might help, but never tried it. It also has to be said that different K340s can sound vastly different, possibly due to age. I do agree that strings are not its strong point, but when you find the right pair/tweaks, they recreate female vocals superbly.

[morphsci]

x3 on the individual variation among phones, it is huge. Have you cut out or drilled out the plastic screen over the driver yet?

[mypasswordis]

I always wondered if some Dynamat inside the cups might help, but never tried it. It also has to be said that different K340s can sound vastly different, possibly due to age. I do agree that strings are not its strong point, but when you find the right pair/tweaks, they recreate female vocals superbly.

I'm gonna get so much shit from the Stax mafia from this, but I think the mids are superior to Stax at times. Just glorious when it hits the spot. AKG just plain know what they're doing with vocals IMO, I'm sure in part due to their expertise in mics. Hi hats/cymbals are also kind of mind-blowing. I think Dynamat or bitumen on the backs and then damping some of the passive diaphragms is really going to make this thing sing. Also, I take back what I said about it being bass-light: it's bass normal to heavy.

x3 on the individual variation among phones, it is huge.

Curse you, AKG!

Have you cut out or drilled out the plastic screen over the driver yet?

I actually took the whole grille off at some point and used some speaker cloth in place, but it was too fiddly because the driver baffle wasn't really secured to anything other than the tape I used. I suppose I could've devised a better way but liked the protection to the drivers the grille offered. I may eventually try drilling a few holes as a final tweak.