[geoff]

On 31/12/2017 2:45 AM, Adrian Tuddenham wrote:

What I've tried:

In the past I've been pretty happy with AKG K-240 (they fit me fairly
comfortably, the sound is pretty "natural" to my ears, not fatiguing)...
but they could be a bit better in the detail and clarity department, and
they don't isolate the room at all. I could end up buying a pair if I
don't find anything I like a lot better

Sorry I'm a bit late contrubuting to this thread:

I measured the frequency response of a pair of early-model AKG K-240
headphones some time ago and found they had a huge dip of about 20 dB in
the HF range. Both left and right transducers demonstrated this at
nearly the same frequency, so it appears to be an inherent property of
the design, not an individual faulty unit.


And nobody noticed this huge dip ? Maybe the transducers have had an
aging r=effect which is causing this now ?

The AKG K-44 showed some minor wobbles in the frequency response curves
with a rise at the lowest and highest frequencies, but overall sounded a
lot better than the K-240.

Cheap and maybe not quite so nasty ?


I have just tested the AKG K-52 and found that is is better than both of
the above models, wth no obvious wobbles or other deficiencies. At
first I was puzzled by an apparent falling-off around 3 Kc/s, but
clamping the earpieces a little more firmly to the test rig removed
this.

Still pretty cheap.


My conclusioin is that, of the three models teated, the K-52 is the best
for flatness of response as long as it is properly positioned on the
listener's head. The K-44 isn't bad and the early-model K-240 is a
waste of time and money.


How about testing some more recent higher-end AKGs. And some actual
listening testing, because steady-state frequency response is only one
of many factors in sound quality. And arguably a minor one at that ...

geoff