AKG K 240 Studio Reviews

First I have to say that the product looks more beautiful in photos. The leather headstrap is thick but what worries me are the two stretchable strings that hold the strap in place (the band is designed to automatically adjust to your head). They look like they will break, but, I have had these cans since October 2007 and they still don't show any signs of wear. I do hope they last. There is a sort of clear rubber covering the AKG logos and model number, they are hard to keep shiny. The jack is made of plastic with a metal adapter, I wish they had made everything metal. I take really good care of these cans, I can't say much about their durability. I do like the leather earpads and the gold metal accent on the earcups.

The clasp is really comfortable, one of the most comfortable I've tried. At first they do feel like they would fall off your head but I tried to headbanging just for the sake of it and surprisingly, they hold well. They cover my ears entirely and comfortably. These cans are also really light. They are not closed though, so noise isolation is out.

This is my first AKG. The contrast to my other headphones is overwhelming. I'm used to Sennheisers and Audio-Technicas and the sound of these cans is like the total opposite of those. At first I thought the sound was too tinny. They do need a considerable amount of burn-in and after a while the sound gets bigger and bigger.

Huge soundstage; larger than my Sennheiser HD555. Positioning instruments using these cans could probably be done by a 5-year old.

I could probably best describe the sound of these cans as V-shaped - imagine setting a manual equalizer to a "V." But, it's not that exaggerated. The highs are I guess the strongest part of these cans. Listening to cymbals in recordings is like listening to the real thing. Voices may sound a bit thin but they do give a different texture to it - like listening to a mic'ed vocalist rather than listening to a singer without amplification. To me that's a good thing since all recordings are mic'ed to begin with.

Apart from those, all kinds of music sound good with these cans. Rock recordings which I don't enjoy on my Audio-Technicas sound good with my AKGs. It's like they've been mixed differently (better).

For a while these were my most expensive headphones. I've had more upgrades since then, and from my experience, the more expensive ones don't overtake my AKGs that much. The way I see it, high-end sound begins with these cans. There are very subtle differences even if you go as high as twice the price of these. For the same price range, especially if you're thinking Sennheiser or Audio-Technica, the sound would be very different in color, but clarity and detail would be almost the same.

These cans are meant to be amplified. Yes, you can use them with portable players but do not expect much. I use these when I want a different flavor (sound signature) from my collection. I won't be selling them anytime soon. I'd probably upgrade the cable just for the heck of it (it is detachable), so I'd know if they make a difference. I guess for me this is a very good contrast if you still don't have an AKG in your collection. I can best describe these cans as shining and shimmering.