TheSloth

What mods did you have Larry do on your K340's? I can see some wood there...

Convertible = Desktop Portable w/Max Modules. I listen at about 80-85dB.

Well, they're here! I've had a day with them now, and run the new drivers (both were replaced, and they sent back the old ones which looked in pretty bad shape so I just threw them out) for about 12 hours. Things might change/improve with burn-in, but I think overall the sound signature is pretty settled. They are a very strange pair of headphones indeed. They aren't that hard to drive - I am at about 10-11 o'clock on medium gain with my convertible. I'm trying to get my head round the frequency response. People have said that the K340 isn't very flat, but I personally can't hear and large peaks and troughs disturb me - I'm oversensitive to brightness, and the K340 certainly doesn't exhibit any un-natural response in that area. It also has a very good bass response (I am certainly happier with it than with the K501 that I tried for a while). I do however hear a slight discontinuity between the dynamic and electrostatic elements of the sound - it seems that the midrange is rather slower than the treble, with the definition to the sound coming from the electret element. The electret sound has that electrostatic 'sweetness' which I've come to love since my hi-fi ears were broken in on a pair of QUAD ESL's. I suspect however that the dynamic driver is a little 'behind the times', compared with that AKG and others are able to do with dynamic drivers today. It just lacks a certain articulation throughout its range - that might simply be the location of the driver, which is of course behind the closed back of the electret meaning there is a lack of 'directness' to it's interaction with the ear. That's just speculation of course. I'd appreciate any comments from other K340 owners.

To be honest, when I sold my first K701's, I could have got a pair of HF1's + cash in a trade and am angry I didn't do it. Why? Because, yes, horrible person that I am I would have sold them at market value. That is my right, and how have I done someone a disservice by selling something at a price that they are willing to pay? I'm not forcing them to buy it - I get my cash, and they get the headphone of their dreams. Why are people still whining about this? John Grado did Head-Fi a favour? Puuhlease! He made more profit in the first week of HF-1's than he probably does in a normal month. He saw a markting opportunity and siezed it. Same for TTVJ. But if a head-fi'er does exactly the same thing with the exact same product they are evil?

Oh the stories I could tell you about Ben Zander, or perhaps the trumped up stories he might tell you about himself... Benjamin Zander is a testament to what you can acheive in this world if you enter it rich and don't mind leaving it poor. Tilson-Tuchus (always liked that one ) has a fine set there, but they are somewhat 'clean' and 'refined'. There is also something special in hearing the Vienna Phil play Mahler - after all it was written for them, and the Vienna wind and brass instruments are uniquely designed, with a timbre and blend that is only approximated by other orchestras. Not that I don't love other performances (all of the other orchestras in the Bernstein set are of course fantastic), but it's worth mentioning nonetheless. The European orchestras also have a sort of 'go for broke' approach to brass playing that is very much frowned upon in the US, particularly in New York - they fire people just for lifting the bell of the horn off their leg... The Americans go for a clean, tight and rich sound, and the Europeans go for maximum energy and expression at the expense of a little control.

Get in touch with [email protected], Mark Zucha - he's the service guy at AKG. Very friendly guy. It's Daniel by the way.

Pictures isn't that difficult actually, and being a collection, you just skip out the ones you can't manage!!! And Reks, did they teach you anything useful over at Oberlin?

Where are you from? The only thing that starts with Guild... is The Guildhall in London (that I know of). Glad to see people who have some hold on reality when they put their headphones one. That is becoming all too rare with so much 'music' that doesn't even exist in an unamplified, organic medium. Who do you have playing those concerti?

I said it was expensive! Worth every penny where I bought it, or cent where you'll buy it. I don't know what prices you are seeing, but I paid ?90 for it. And for a living, I toil away at that thing in my avatar (aka. concert pianist).

Is this the first classical music thread on head-case? BRAVO!

That one! It's very special.

Yes, but then again that's a flat fee so you can grab pretty much any condition pair of 340's and get them up to factory spec...

They have been excellent - very forthcoming and responsive. I'm curious what kind of K340 I'll end up with, as there are reportedly so many different drivers out there...

I bought a pair of physically very good condition K340's from head-fi a while back, and found that the left driver was not working properly - the electrostatic element wasn't doing anything. I contacted AKG who informed me that they can repair the K340, and charge a flat fee of $80 for any electrical work. So, I sent off my cans and today, true to their word, they called me to inform me that the would completely replace both drivers for the said flat fee if I wanted to go ahead, and would return them tomorrow FedEx Express! I'm very excited! Any suggestions for a K340 noob?

Get the DG Box set of Bernstein from the late 1980's, which also includes all the orchestra lieder. All live recordings, all superbly played by the worlds 4 finest orchestras at the time (NY Phil (1, 2, 3, 4), Berlin Phil (5), Vienna Phil (6), Royal Concertegbow (7, 8 (?), 9, 10), and also very well recorded (surprising as that is for early digital). This has nothing to do with the Mahler thread on head-fi. I refuse to read it because I can't quite cope with watching the way people talk about what I do for a living, but that is my top recommendation. Problem is, it's damn expensive. Edit: there is also a set of Bernstein form early in his life. I am specifically recommending the one from the 1980's that is completely live.

I opened my mail today and was shocked to find a letter from a debt collection agency (Wyse Financial Services, Inc.), demanding over $3000 in debt from a company called 'NCO Financial Systems' (never heard of them...). As someone who has no debts (I don't even use the 'credit' on my credit cards), it was clearly fraudulent, not on the part of the collection agency who on further investigation are legitimate, however on the part of the company/person demanding the debt, or someone attempting to use my name for identity fraud. Furthermore, my name was incorrectly spelled, and the apartment number was completely wrong (not even close to correct). I have obviously taken the first obvious steps, including mailing an immediate written response demanding my legal right to full disclosure, and contesting the debt. As the agency is in Colorado (and I'm in NY, go figure), I also filed a complaint with the State of Colorado Collection Agency Board. I only received the letter a short while ago, so was not able to get hold of anyone on the telephone, however I will obviously pursue that first thing tomorrow morning. Depending on the results of my telephone conversation tomorrow, I may also have to pursue legal advice. I'm not even an American citizen! Has anything like this happened to anyone here? And do you have any suggestions other than the steps I have described? Furthermore, how can this kind of fraudulent crap get to the stage of debt collection demands? 5 seconds of research would immediately show that something is fishy. Furthermore, what might have happened had I been away for some time. I spend many months at a time in the UK, and had this debt been validated somehow, could I have been arrested on returning to the US? That's fucking scary if it's possible...

Interesting to find you agreeing with Tyll here. Most interested in further comments in that direction.

Are you planning to take this design into your Gilmore Lite (which I assume would no longer be a 'Gilmore' anything)? What do you plan to charge for these new modules, and are they user changeable? Are they your personal design, or do you have a design team, or are they based on previous designs, such as your Gilmore Dynamic implimentation? Always been curious about your amps.

I believe one of the design goals of the Gilmore Dynamic was to properly drive Grado's, so I'm thinking it's going to work very well...

When did you get a custom title, Billy? I mean, it's not the best, but it's still a custom title... I want one! Maybe a littile nicer though...

I was under the impression that the Monster power cond. stuff was snake oil...?

Does it humm like the other one? (I sound like a complete idiot).

The fundamental difference is that despite what so many have said in retrospect, the Nazi party enjoyed the continued support of the majority of the German people. They had a democratic mandate to behave that way. George Bush does not, and will therefore not be able to push through any policy to that extent. He also cannot conceivably remain in power in 2 years time, and has his actions moderated by the rest of the political system which is still in tact. Hitler was not a dictator in the vein of a Stalin. He did not keep his power through fear; he exercised it through fear, to the ranting cheers of the majority who were not doing it just for show. The reference to Nazi Germany in the title of this thread is largely irrelevant, and does not add to the weight of the genuine concerns expressed by the OP, as well as yourself and others.

Nice...

ROFL. Ah, my great fatherland...