Going back to headphone ?


Hello everyone,

I am going back to audiogon, after a difficult now improved period of my life...

I was in the obligation to sell my house, then i loose my very satisfying acoustic room and speakers...

I was very sad to loose it and going back to headphone was not my choice...

But happily at the end after many months of works around the AKG K340 and my never used new Sansui Alpha amplifier AU 607i, i am very pleased and will explain soon why i am....

First: most speakers in room which are not dedicated acoustically are not better than headphone generally, on all acoustic factors

Second: my Mission speakers were at their optimal level being in my mechanically acoustically controlled room... The soundfield was around me not between the speakers...

Third: It is very difficult to own the right headphone able to give you an "out of the Head" experience, if the recording make it possible for sure first, Most headphone, and i ownd ten, were completely unsatisfying and unnatural sounding... It was the reason i invested so much time for years  in acoustic listening experiments to create my room for my speakers...

Four: I was lucky i stumbled on my last purchase in headphone 5 years ago and after modifications and few months optimization process around them , i succeeded...

My headphone /amplifier/ dac is now better than my past room/speakers on many acoustic factors... The first reason is simple: the K340 hybrid goes under 30 hertz drived by a dynamic cell  and the higher frequencies are driven by an electroacoustic cell then, the frequencies range capabilities are way better... The second reason is related to my 6 modifications of the K340 , among other, my addition of anti- vibrations materials inside the shell, my cut off of the thick plastic inside obstructing  grid...Etc

 

Then SOME headphone design can give you an acoustic experience exceeding many speakers/room installation... SOME headphone, not all... My other 9 headphones are in the trash-bin... ( under my bed to be less hard on words) :)

 

Dr Gorike of AKG who designed this top headphone in 1978 was a physicist, an acoustic genius behing AKG top headphones... His patent for the K340 revealed why....

I paid them 100 bucks 5 years ago, and they are very hard to drive , and not only in raw power , they are probably the most difficult to drive headphones ever designed...Because it takes me 6 months to figure out what to do and which components to use for them.... But after that research  their soundfield is so immersive, that i forgot my speakers /room... For example the bass note of organ are felt with my feet ( by resonance of my body skull) and the organ is "out of my head" in my room, in a way no speakers could do it, save very costly one with sub-woofers array...More later...

 

I am glad to be back after my long holiday...

Welcome to all and salutations to all my friends here....

 

 

 

 

 

 

128x128mahgister

@mahgister sorry to hear of hard times but glad to hear you made it through.

Yup, life is much simpler with just headphones and not having to deal with acoustically challenged rooms.

What were the other headphones? I have a few around here I use from time to time as well.

Good sound is largely a subjective personal determination. Different strokes for different folks. Everything has its ups and downs. We are all lucky to have many fine options at our disposal. Each is different and somewhat unique. Variety rules. Choose your weapon!

 

Don't choose unless you have to. I enjoy both headphones and my stereo system.

My equipment would be laughed out of this forum compared to what most posters have. The key for me was to set limits (financially) and enjoy the music. I am an amateur musician, and I tend to listen for detail when learning new material on guitar. I have HiFi Man Anandas and a couple of Sennheisers for phone listening, driven by some good but low cast JDS amp and DAC combo. I use Sennheiser Momentum 2 bluetooth phones for walking. Sound great to me driven from my old LG V40 phone. At home, in my decidedly not optimized living room, I'm loving my new KEF R3 meta speakers augmented by an HSU sub.

Thanks mapman....I am happy to see you here....

 

I am more happy than ever because of my optimized headphone.... All my other headphones had been modified with success but they dont hold a candle to the AKG K340.... The designer was a genius, i even read his patent to figure out my modifications and to pick the right components for them...

My mission speakers were limited by a 7 inches driver for the bass... Problem solved now... And i listen choral music as if the chorus was in all my room...Anyway i could not create a new acoustic room again, my new house is smaller and i am so happy with this marvel K340 i would not create a new acoustic room even if i had a spare room to do one... ... I was sad at first, but after 6 months working around the K340 and i can assure you that this old TOTL for AKG present some speaker-like soundfield almost no headphones can reproduce at any price.... My others headphones are in the closet or for computers and TV use...

I hope you are in good health and spirit.... my deepest salutation to you and respect for your free spirit ....

 

@mahgister sorry to hear of hard times but glad to hear you made it through.

Yup, life is much simpler with just headphones and not having to deal with acoustically challenged rooms.

What were the other headphones? I have a few around here I use from time to time as well.

Good sound is largely a subjective personal determination. Different strokes for different folks. Everything has its ups and downs. We are all lucky to have many fine options at our disposal. Each is different and somewhat unique. Variety rules. Choose your weapon!

Wise post thanks!

 

Don't choose unless you have to. I enjoy both headphones and my stereo system.

My equipment would be laughed out of this forum compared to what most posters have. The key for me was to set limits (financially) and enjoy the music. I am an amateur musician, and I tend to listen for detail when learning new material on guitar. I have HiFi Man Anandas and a couple of Sennheisers for phone listening, driven by some good but low cast JDS amp and DAC combo. I use Sennheiser Momentum 2 bluetooth phones for walking. Sound great to me driven from my old LG V40 phone. At home, in my decidedly not optimized living room, I'm loving my new KEF R3 meta speakers augmented by an HSU sub.