AKG K-240 Studio
A 55-ohm revision of the studio workhorse that finally lets a laptop drive it.
Overview
The K-240 Studio is a re-voicing of one of the most familiar shapes in the tracking room. AKG's own advertising for the launch laid out the lineage: the K240M and K141M were "industry standards," and the K 240 Studio and K 141 Studio were the newest members of that family (EQ-Magazine, May 2002, p.73). The pitch leaned on three things - a new "XXL transducer," a 55-ohm impedance that promised "louder and better sound than ever before," and a plug-in cable that made storage and field service simpler. The detachable cable is a bigger deal than the copy lets on. Nobody has to retire the headphones the first time a chair rolls over the lead.
The K 240 Studio introduced Varimotion XXL diaphragm technology, a 1.2-inch low-impedance transducer design with improved dynamic range and resolution over the original. The claim, per the period coverage, was a more sensitive driver delivering significantly higher decibel levels than the K 240M at the same gain setting. That is the point of the 55-ohm impedance. It will make useful volume on the underpowered headphone outputs built into portable CD players, computers, and keyboards, where a high-impedance studio can would just sit there and sulk. It found its way into a lot of project studios and laptop rigs for that reason.
The rest of the package is conventional. The K 240 Studio is a semi-open, circumaural design, so you get some isolation without a sealed cup. It weighs 8.5 ounces and has a self-adjusting headband that conforms to about any head size. Frequency response is quoted at 15 Hz - 25 kHz. It ships with a single 10-foot oxygen-free copper cable that terminates in a gold-plated 3.5mm mini plug, with a screw-on adapter for standard 1/4-inch jacks. One reviewer described that connector arrangement as rock solid and secure enough for professional working environments. The cable is the plug-in type, so it can be replaced.
Reception was warm. Period coverage found the sound pleasant and extremely accurate and singled out the elevated volume levels the 55-ohm impedance allowed, calling the extra efficiency real flexibility. The same reviewer liked the connector hardware enough to trust it in a working studio. These are not a flattering headphone and not a bass monster. They are a reference-flavored can that behaves itself across a wide range of sources. One caution came up in a separate test of a FireWire interface, where a reviewer monitoring through the K 240 Studio noted the sound was lacking in the low frequencies.
Pricing wandered over the run. The K 240 Studio was listed at $179 in the Pro Audio Review piece and at $165 in an Electronic Musician studio build. The same magazine elsewhere treated it as the "studio-reference quality" pair in a six-headphone kit alongside budget AKG K44s.
The K 240 Studio is the approachable end of a long-running studio lineage, the version you can plug straight into a laptop. It does not isolate like a closed-back, and it will not hide a bad mix. The 55-ohm revision is the one to have if you are driving it from anything other than a proper headphone amp.
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