Entry-Level Headphone Recommendations

[archie2]

Yes they are very similar. The only difference in their respective parts lists besides the velour pads are the "Housings", P/N 12 on the lists. This is where the back-wave damping occurs which determines how much is returned and how much is vented. The specs are the same but the voicing is different. That's a lot of the tweaking/refinement they've been doing for 30 years of 240's. AKG have revised their literature since I bought mine a couple years ago. They no longer claim improved bass over the Studio's. The descriptions read the same. Probably lots of angry complaints and returns from the "Beats" crowd. I haven't heard the "Studio's" but yes I think the price difference was justified. I use the coiled cable on the go and the straight cable when these make it into the office rotation. The velour pads are more comfy and less sweaty as well.

Good point on the pads. Velour is more comfy and cooler. My gripe is that they are also a lint and hair trap, but still preferable. I have the AKG K240 Studios and the AKG 240 Monitors (600 ohm) and IMO there is no comparison with high amplification. Don't have the M220 so I can't comment.

 

[ramair02]

I also have the ATH-M50x and it is "better" than the SR950 but not by all that much, mostly in the shape of the signature boost and some additional clarity in detail which is noticeable. The SR950 has much more bass, but it's a nice tight bass that doesn't spill over over into the mids. I'm no bass-head, if anything I dislike bass heavy cans. But oddly enough I do appreciate the SR950's. IMO they are much better suited to hip hop, classic rock, Do Wop. The low end of that genre music really comes though with the SR950's. If I were to put it simply, the M50x is more refined, closer in class to the AKG's(even though the Sextetts and the K240 are different), while the SR950 is a "fun" set of cans. If someone were to offer me both for the same price I'd take the M50x but of course their not. Tough decision, good luck.

Ok, you've convinced me! I went ahead and ordered the SR950's. I mean, they're $30 on Amazon. I got to the point of, "Why wouldn't I give them a shot?"

I have a feeling I'm going to be ordering a lot of headphones in the near future

 

[elcoholic]

Good point on the pads. Velour is more comfy and cooler. My gripe is that they are also a lint and hair trap, but still preferable. I have the AKG K240 Studios and the AKG 240 Monitors (600 ohm) and IMO there is no comparison with high amplification. Don't have the M220 so I can't comment.

I'm using the leatherette K-240 pads on my home brew "Yamastein" orthos. I need to order a set of the velour pads for them as well. The K-240 mkll's
really open up using the Fiio Q1 or incredibly even more so on my beastie 6W Schiit Lyr but they also sound plenty good right off my MacBook Pro. They are my lowest cost cans and please beyond expectation.

 

[RamblinE]

I have these pads on all four of my K240s. It appears that eBay is the only place to get them but this style is a perfect fit, as long as the pictures are accurate. The last time I ordered three sets, yes the pictures were accurate. The sets I've gotten from Amazon have been pretty poor. I'd ignore those. These for cheaper or OEM AKG are the way to go.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/271888346174

 

[archie2]

I have these pads on all four of my K240s. It appears that eBay is the only place to get them but this style is a perfect fit, as long as the pictures are accurate. The last time I ordered three sets, yes the pictures were accurate. The sets I've gotten from Amazon have been pretty poor. I'd ignore those. These for cheaper or OEM AKG are the way to go.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/271888346174

I bought the ones from Amazon, made by Cosmos. They damaged the sound IMO, turned limited bass into no bass among other things. i took them off.

 

[archie2]

I'm using the leatherette K-240 pads on my home brew "Yamastein" orthos. I need to order a set of the velour pads for them as well. The K-240 mkll's
really open up using the Fiio Q1 or incredibly even more so on my beastie 6W Schiit Lyr but they also sound plenty good right off my MacBook Pro. They are my lowest cost cans and please beyond expectation.

Had the Fiio Q1 and found it to be a poor performer. My Fiio E06 bought many years ago is much better. Returned the Q1. Maybe I got a bad one.

 

[RamblinE]

I bought the ones from Amazon, made by Cosmos. They damaged the sound IMO, turned limited bass into no bass among other things. i took them off.

I can't stand the Cosmos ones. For a while I was just using my K240 Monitor for Netflix and yet the Cosmos pads were sloppy looking and ill-fitting even when sound quality didn't really matter.

 

[archie2]

Ok, you've convinced me! I went ahead and ordered the SR950's. I mean, they're $30 on Amazon. I got to the point of, "Why wouldn't I give them a shot?"

I have a feeling I'm going to be ordering a lot of headphones in the near future

Hope you like them. FWIW you may have heard of Superlux, a headphone manufacturer of quality low cost headphones with many good reviews. The Sampson SR950 is a rebranded Superlux HD668B with a low end kick. When you get them run Yasi Horikawa through them for soundstage and imaging. No other of my cans give me the low end I get from them when I play Bach's Tocata and Fugue in D or the opening theme from 2001. I usually find that "burning in" a pair of phones doesn't do much but these may be the exception. They are also have tight clamping which is easily resolved by stretching them out over the armrest of a sofa or plush chair for a few days. Well spent $30. IMO.