The budget long runner from AKG
frequency range: 15 - 25000 Hz | sound pressure level: 91 dB | impedance: 55 Ohm | dynamic
The K240 MKII is an affordable and functional headphone that is suitable for monitoring and also offers musicality
Sound 7.6
Bass Mids Trebles Stage Imaging
7.5 7.5 8 7.5 7.5
Handling 7
Processing Comfort Earpads Headband Weight
7 7 8 6 226 grams
Total 7.4
Price 63 €
Quickcheck
Pro Contra - warm & musical - a bit dull in the mids
- processing / accessories - Imaging not the best
- no unpleasant peaks - upper bass
- treble presentation - pad comfort
Intro
The AKG 240 MKII is a warm and quite linear tuned headphone that is relaxed and musical, but does not reach the clarity and accuracy of an AKG 612 PRO or K701/702. On the other hand, its sound characteristics are more mainstream, making it a good musical companion for a wider audience. With its functional design it was/is also a model for many cheap replicas from Asia.
Handling
AKG has the knack of designing functional headphones. The K240 MKII is certainly one of them, even though the pads appear rather cheap compared to the 7-series and don't come close to comfort, since they don't completely surround my ear.
Many companies already helped themselves to the design, such as Superlux for the HD681. The headband is comfortable and flexible and automatically adjusts to the shape of your head without you having to put your hands on it.
With two different removable mini-XLR cables (3.5mm - 3m and 5m spiral), a 6.3mm adapter and two kinds of pads, the scope of delivery is quite generous.
The velour pads have less contact with the head, which means that they can take some of the bass intensity away from the K240 MKII, which can be a welcome side effect for some people. I find the leatherette pads more comfortable, even if it gets a bit warmer under them.
The isolation is certainly not the best due to the semi-open construction, but that was clear from the start. However, the K240 MKII is therefore not necessarily suitable for travel.
Sound
Bass
The bass of the K240 MKII has a typical AKG basic orientation. It is rather dry with a linear roll-off from 100 Hz, which is not as drastic as on the K271 MKII. This takes away the physicality and organicity. Nevertheless it is very accurate and fast. In the upper bass it still has a bit too much presence, which colors the mids. The K240 MKII therefore sounds more natural in music without much bass.
Mids
If you've been more involved with the K702 or K612 PRO before, the presentation of the mids is certainly a change. They don't sound quite so clear and separated, but are warmer, more relaxed and softer tuned. I find the mids quite pleasant and unobtrusive, but I lack a bit of differentiation. I also find voices a bit too thick and reserved. The mids of the K240 MKII are certainly not the most exciting, but they are detailed and musical.
However, they cannot be described as neutral, as they sound too full, especially in the lower range, and therefore the K240 MKII is more suitable as a monitoring tool than for mixing. To me, however, the mids are a bit too dull and uninspired.
Trebles
The trebles stand out as winners in the signature of the K240 MKII. They have this relaxed basic attitude as well as the mids, but they convince me with a good variety of details and a nice transparency despite the largely secure tuning. In addition, they don't tend to overdraw and can still reach their potential at higher volumes without becoming too exhausting
Stage
The stage has a realistic extension and convinces with a balanced construction in all directions, even though it has the largest dimensions in width.
Imaging
Imaging suffers a little from the upper bass and the low-energy mids, resulting in a lack of clarity and the sharp separation of instruments and voices. This sometimes leads to overlapping. Here the stage size could have been better utilized.
Outro
The K240 MKII is an affordable and functional headphone that is suitable for monitoring and also offers musicality. However, it is tuned a bit too warm and the mids lack assertiveness. The bass should be more crisp and the ratio upper bass/subbass should be more balanced.
Nevertheless, one gets used to the presentation and can use the K240 MKII for hours without signs of fatigue.
I have heard better things about the AKG, but the K240 MKII is certainly not a bad start if you are looking for relaxed headphones that provide enough information to look at music more critically from time to time, but do not see it as his core competence.
Thanks to Sattler Electronic Showtronic AG for providing the test headphones.