Question about Studio Cans

[Hexodus]

OK so I got a new pair of AKG K240-Studios, and they are my first pair of studio headphones. Newb question- are they suppose to sound like this? And by 'this', I mean flat and borderline scratchy, allllmost making the music sound bad, or 'naked' is a better word perhaps. I realize the point of studio phones is to get the flattest sound possible for proper mixing, but I'm just wondering if all studio phones are this way. There is 0 bass.. at all.. which I know heavy bass means heavy bass in the mix, but shouldn't there be at least a little bit? And white noise is evident in almost every track. Of course I'm noticing sounds that I have NEVER heard on tracks before, but it just seems weird.

So did I get a bad or wrong set of cans, or are they all this way? And they have 20+ hours burn time as well. Thanks for any input

[Gutcha]

i have k240's aswell, i think they are great because they are so flat.

mine did sound abit too bright at start but just some music through them for 4 hours seemed to do the job for me.

[jrisreal]

When I got my first monitoring cans, tunes sounded flat and bass was greatly reduced, yes. What do you mean zero bass? Are you powering them properly?

[Hexodus]

I guess that leads to another question...

The K240s are 55Ohm impedance phones. Which (to me) means they *can* be used on portable media devices (laptop, mp3 player, etc.), but what does that lack of power mean as opposed to being connected to an audio interface? Like, will the tunes just not be as loud? Or not be as clear? Lack in certain frequencies?

[Eat Bass]

lack of power will usually mean less lower frequencies because it takes more power to move the speaker more. and low frequencies obviously move the speaker more. most headphones nowadays can be run off a portable device, but it won't be deal. most nice audio interfaces have a headphone amp built into them which will be fine.

do you have an audio interface?

[virks]

[Ongelegen]

I guess that leads to another question...

The K240s are 55Ohm impedance phones. Which (to me) means they *can* be used on portable media devices (laptop, mp3 player, etc.)

No , the higher the impedance the more power you need to power them

What's up with people buying stuff without researching it first

[virks]

What's up with people buying stuff without researching it first

+1

[minusworld]

yes , it's normal to have 'less bass' but , 0 bass? that's not right . Do you have bass when you listen to music on your ipod or wathever?.

[Fromosapien]

55ohm cans actually sound fine in some portable devices. It isn't just about impedance. A headphone's sensitivity and the power of supplied by the device are equally important.

The K240s have a fairly high sensitivity, so despite their impedance, they should be fine with most mp3 players. And if they're not working quite right,you could always get a Fiio E3/E6. I have the E5, and it made my Superlux HD681s do a lot better in the bass department.

[Ongelegen]

55ohm cans actually sound fine in some portable devices. It isn't just about impedance. A headphone's sensitivity and the power of supplied by the device are equally important.

Crap my bad, I read it as 550 Ohm:oops:

[safeandsound]

I have a pair of K240's, they are unhyped and the bass is not at all heavy in these cans. (it does not really need to be)

They are good for mixing because they are neutral, not fatiguing, (imagine how annoying it would be to produce for 6 hours on toppy / bass heavy cans) and very importantly light and comfortable and let your ears breathe. They don't have a hi-fi sound at all, just clear and neutral. Most headphone outputs on sound cards are a crummy opamp ones (5532/2068/4580 etc.) A high quality headphone amp really makes a big difference. In saying that you don't need one to do decent work. Watch the levels and time exposure for your hearings sake.

A good choice IMO.

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