Regardless of price: AKG 240S or AKG 171?

[Feanor IV]

Hello,

Just this small question: what would I rather buy? AKG 240S or AKG 171? I intend to use them on my recording PC, with an mBox - no preamps. I want to use them 1) while recording overdubs etc 2) for "monitoring", although I am totally new to seriously recording.

BTW, 240S are semi-open type, while 171 are closed-back, so I just thought the 171 might be better as I want to record with them and I obviously don't want any sound coming out of them......... Anyway, as I said I'm new to this field, so I'd better shut up and listen to what you have to tell me!

Some help would be hugely appreciated - thanks in advance,
Menelaos

 

[manning1]

with respect feanor i think your being overly analytical at this stage.
although i have expensive akg master monitor headphones , imho for most users you dont necessarily have to pay that much for headphones. if they are closed it means less leakage into mics if the phone mix is loud.
there are lots of cheap phones around. i think i saw some from apex the other day at my local recording store. about 50 bucks.
with respect i think most new daw users get too obsessed about equipment.
because whatever you get NOW - one always changes ones perspective down the road.

 

[Feanor IV]

Yes I see. First of all, thanks so much for your reply! I suppose it's pretty usual for someone who's just starting off being all too obsessed with this kind of things! Anyway, the thing is that I always wanted some good headphones in general, and music123.com has both K240S and K171 for $99 each. Moreover, since I have already ordered an mBox, cables, some more stuff and a mic stand the s&h costs will be $10 for the headphones. This means that I can get pretty good headphones for a total of 90€, which is ideal to me. So, I was just wondering which of the two would be a better choice for what I want to use it for! So, does anyone have any idea?

 

[leddy]

I own the K240 M-version. I think the impedence is higher on the M's so they're not as loud as the S (or you need a powerful amp). I love the hell out of them. I mix with monitors, but once in a while I use the cans to listen for specific issues in the mix and these are really detailed and clear.