[m17xr2b]

Hopefully this has more importance than just resell price.

I've got a 2xxx serial one and the bass on it is quite impressive, I'd say one of the most pleasing types of low end without the typical box sound due to earpads. The punch is what gets me, you wound't expect the low end to hit as hard as it does with more than adequate grunt. LCD-3 has nothing on them but LCD-4 has better low end. The only drawback is rolloff, under 60hz tends to be quiet. So if the bass is impressive then it's bass heavy?

That said I heard my pair on a Vitus SS-101 directly on the speaker taps and honestly I couldn't say it was better than my tube 2A3 SET or OTL amps. Still a fantastic experience and I would rather listen to it than the Wilson Benesch speakers we were auditioning.

 

[hrklg01]

Both MYSPHERE'S versions offer exact the same acoustics. There is just to decide for the best pairing to the amps.
This point is not new and effect basically most dynamic headphones. But only few producer offer different impedance of the product to optimize ...

 

[travis-bickle]

If it's got a black box I'd reckon it was a bass heavy. But the question is really which one is better? Some like the light- it's likely to be more reliable too. Some like the bass heavy. Either one is a unique experience, until of course the Mysphere came along. And there's 2 versions of those to argue about now

in terms of range theres no personal preference. especially when using it for multichannel simulation (music and MOVIES!).

What budget options for replacement do you have if someone offers a unit without the cable extension for speaker amps?

 

[yates7592]

New and very excited K1000 owner here. I have not received them yet and have no idea whether they are bass heavy or light. Has a black box and in excellent condition. Will be powered off my Sansui AU-717 speaker taps. Will report more when I have had a chance to listen!

 

[dhmpan]

Bass Heavy is below serial no.5000. It is in a black box. It has a light brown balanced cable.
Bass light has a tan coloured box and a multicoloured balanced cable and is over serial no5000
Simples!

I don't think this is true in no way.
Mine 74XX is in a black box, it has a multicoloured balanced cable, its filter looks like the left pic in the aforementioned comparison post but has a driver like the right pic.

 

[hrklg01]

I don't think this is true in no way.
Mine 74XX is in a black box, it has a multicoloured balanced cable, its filter looks like the left pic in the aforementioned comparison post but has a driver like the right pic.

Very likely those things, as in the beginning there was a high return rate for repair and components can be mixed up in the service centers.

BR heinz

 

[dhmpan]

Very likely those things, as in the beginning there was a high return rate for repair and components can be mixed up in the service centers.

BR heinz

??
I find it hard to believe that my pair with sn 74XX (second hand of course so I do not know its history) at some point got to be serviced and someone swapped the box.
It would be expected to get new drivers in a sn below 4000 and end up with a bass light model, but still the box would be brown.
In my case the black box is a mystery

 

[hrklg01]

??
I find it hard to believe that my pair with sn 74XX (second hand of course so I do not know its history) at some point got to be serviced and someone swapped the box.
It would be expected to get new drivers in a sn below 4000 and end up with a bass light model, but still the box would be brown.
In my case the black box is a mystery

Sure! Such case of mix up is in total not very likely! I do not have a good explanation for it! Sorry!

 

[Takeanidea]

Both MYSPHERE'S versions offer exact the same acoustics. There is just to decide for the best pairing to the amps.
This point is not new and effect basically most dynamic headphones. But only few producer offer different impedance of the product to optimize ...

I didn't wish to criticise your Mysphere Headphones Heinz with my throwaway comment. Please excuse me! I haven't even heard them up til now. When there are 2 models, like the K1000, there will always be controversy about which 1 is best. HE6 headphones are also part of it, people say that the earliest models are the best.
It's probably more useful to talk in terms of sounding different rather than better. Your ears get used to a certain type of sound, as long as the product is of good quality and you give it time they will become the sound that you prefer.

I don't think this is true in no way.
Mine 74XX is in a black box, it has a multicoloured balanced cable, its filter looks like the left pic in the aforementioned comparison post but has a driver like the right pic.

Sounds like the black box is the odd one out here. This is the only one with a serial number that high that has a black box. So that is wonderful! It's unique!

 

[travis-bickle]

so ignoring the usual variation which is mentioned by heinz. if i find an exemplar with a driver looking similar to the left picture ( https://www.head-fi.org/threads/history-of-the-akg-k1000.57805/page-20#post-12126078 ) and has no wire going to the board, it's likely that the target is 50-70/60-80hz or could it be a 70-90 also?
No one with a hint what you can do if the xlr-speaker-extension gets lost?

 

[hrklg01]

Yes, it's much more likely (the probability is higher) to get a "bass heavy" version when the drivers look like the left picture.

A cable adapter piece from XLR symmetric 4-pole to open speaker amp output plug can be ordered hopefully at local smaller cable suppliers.

 

[qazxsw80]

The beginning of production was done with open back radial magnet system. This was designed to avoid a resonance in the air gap. (As MYSPHERE 3 is designed also today). But due to no protection the magnets picked up iron particles and caused rubb & buzz. This was attacked by an almost closed circled protection film on the rear of the magnet system. Optically visible by a smaller inner diameter of the foam also. And it caused little changes in the acoustic in mid high frequencies.

And how did you realize the protection against metal particles in the Mysphere? It seems in the pictures that there is no such plastic cover around the magnets in the Mysphere. Or it is just hard to see?


By the way, is it possible that the voice coil on the picture (circled red) can be one of the sources of the infamous buzz? It is quite close to the diaphragm and since the excursion is quite big, maybe it can touch the surface of the diaphragm, creating some distortions?

 

[hrklg01]

And how did you realize the protection against metal particles in the Mysphere? It seems in the pictures that there is no such plastic cover around the magnets in the Mysphere. Or it is just hard to see?


By the way, is it possible that the voice coil on the picture (circled red) can be one of the sources of the infamous buzz? It is quite close to the diaphragm and since the excursion is quite big, maybe it can touch the surface of the diaphragm, creating some distortions?

Hello!
1st. MYSPHERE 3 magnet system is protected against dust and even water by an additional very thin plastic mesh in front and on the rear of the drivers. This design was one learning point out of many other driver designs later after K1000.
2nd Yes, this stranded wire that close to the membrane rim located might be another root cause for R&B - but it has to be checked out case by case and looked very carefully by an stroboscope.
BR heinz

 

[travis-bickle]

If there are no misleading changes through service the switch must have been between 5165 and 6210. 6210 still has the black box but the driver is definitly like the right one of the example-picture in this thread. The wire from coil to board is also clearly visible.

 

[Zhanming057]

I just borrowed a pairs of AKG K1000's (3xxx, I think bass heavy from a couple hours of listening but it's been a while). Working on my own K1000 review now that I have every pair of "ear speakers" ever made in the same room (there is also the Kurada KD-P1, but it's debatable as to whether they count).

I've owned two pairs (once in 2009, the other time in 2011) of the K1000's but this is the first time that I've tried them on a speaker amp as strong as the ones I own now (Spectral 150s2/30SS, Nagra Classic INT). They actually hold up better than what I expected - easily keeping up with something like the HE5 or even the 1st gen Abyss 1266's on imaging and finer control. Resolution is where their age shows, although the argument could be made that no other pair of headphones from the 80's holds up nearly as well.

Another big reason I borrowed this pair is that while it's immediately obvious that the Mysphere 3.2 is the superior headphone, I want to spend time with the K1000 on my own setup to do a more detailed side-by-side. From the short amount of time I've had with them thus far I've gained a bit of renewed respect for @hrklg01 who came up with this design. It's kind of amazing that these things are older than I am, and still manage to be competitive in some regards to similarly price, contemporary cans.