I bought the AKG K 240 headphones to replace some Sony MDR-V600s. Paid $83 plus tax on amazon.com. The Sonys were getting old, and I was never entirely happy with their accuracy. Most of my headphone use is evaluating and editing a cappella vocal recordings.

My first reaction to the K240s out of the box was that they seemed dead, without the life of the Sonys. But after doing a bunch of A/B comparisons, I realized that the K240s are just way more accurate. I had gotten used to the high frequency distortion of the Sonys and imagined that to be exciting. But it was really just distortion. I'm already getting used to the pristine, clean sound from the K240s. For my critical listening to recorded vocal tracks, they will be much better in helping me produce better recording products.

If you're buying headphones to get cranked up listening to loud music, these are likely not the best choice. But if you want accurate sound for studio work, the K240s are a great value.

These headphones sound great! The open back design makes them sound like near field monitor speakers. They don't get very loud, which is actually a great thing because it forces me to listen closely rather than crank the volume, which is consistent with the advice I've gotten from industry professionals. The big drawback is the friggin' cable that attaches to them. It broke after about 3 months of use. WTF! AKG wouldn't honor their warranty and just replace it so ethically I can't purchase another AKG product but damn these sound good. I guess that's why everyone tolerates this glaring design flaw. If you buy a pair just disconnect the cord EVERY time you put them away or it will break. I know you're thinking " No way these were expensive. Surely AKG made a durable product." Not so. It's almost like their technicians know all about the electronic world of sound but nothing of physical reality. I recently got a replacement cord after storing my broken headphones for a couple of years. They still sound great although I notice much more wear on the ear pads than on my Sony headphones that I've used much more than the AKGs. If your ears are made of cotton and you have enough time to treat your equipment like a princess then these headphones are perfect. If you want a reliable durable pair of headphones, look elsewhere.

Since there are only 3 reviews on these legendary cans and 1 is bad, I've decided to put in my 2 cents. Clearly billallyn had a bad experience. However, if you're considering purchasing these, do yourself a favour and do it. Amazing build, extreme comfort and of course. top notch natural audio. You can't go wrong, and now with the new KII model, you can get a grey market pair of these discontinued bad boys for a song. Before multi media portable devices, DJ's and extra bass gimmicks, AKG K240S roamed the earth...

Flat Responce
Here sounds in the background some good, some BAD!
But it is on the original tape!

None to speak of
At times I think they seem just a little muddy,But these are 53Yr old ears!

Use these for mixing and casual listening.
Studio standard for ever. The "S" are just imedence friendly.
No ear fatigue
Not for everyone These are STUDIO phones kids!
Not those ear buds which I would use for a nose bleed!

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SH 535, Sony

There are no strengths. They don't work.

Faulty proprietary design breaks quickly even when using extreme care, with no option for repair. Worst $99 I ever spent.

The AKG 240S headphones would be decent phones, but they have an intractable problem. Within 3 months of purchase, and under very light usage, the cable went bad (to put this in perspective, I have Sony headphones with hardwired cables that I've had for over 12 years and used every single day, and they still work fine). The detachable cable in question has an 1/8" jack with screw-on 1/4" jack on one end, and a strange-looking proprietary mini (3/32"?) jack that plugs into the headphone (this is _NOT_ a mini XLR). This proprietary jack is utterly impossible to fix, even for an electronics technician, and the phones themselves seem impossible to modify as well - which makes this product utterly worthless, completely unfixable. I asked AKG for a replacement cable, and they were not forthcoming, and were very rude to me, and said that it was my fault that it broke. I have over 15 sets of headphones, some over 15 years old, and the only ones that no longer work are the AKG 240S--and they quit working within 3 months. They gave me no option to get them working again, so I'm left with a $99 piece of garbage. It is my considered opinion as a studio owner and electronics technician that cable system for the 240S is a grossly flawed design. AKG should change the design, and then replace or repair all of the faulty headphones that they wrongly allowed to enter the marketplace, together with an apology to those consumers who were unfortunate enough to waste their hard-earned money on these faulty headphones. They should also fire the dimwit who came up with this blatantly flawed cable system. Needless to say, I will never buy AKG products again, and I let every musician that comes into my studio see my $99 piece of AKG JUNK. It hangs not-so-proudly on my "Wall of Shame", with a note explaining why no one should buy AKG headphones. Bill Allyn me@billallyn.com

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I use Sony and other brands--anything but AKG.

natural, detailed and quiet

looks stupid when worn outdoors

very comfy and light. after a period of breaking-in (100 hrs) sound is spectacular! very natural, detailed and quiet. truly studio-quality sound

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sennheiser and grado