Official K-81 DJ thread

[Meyvn]

Originally Posted by markl

Not the K601, but the K701. (Maybe you guys missed my "controversial" impressions thread on them? I put 450 hours on them. In the end I liked them, fine, though I didn't think I would at first. But when pressed, I'd probably rather listen to the K81, but it's really a toss-up for me.).

I've still got the scars from my public stoning for posting my honest impressions. How dare I speak ill of the then flavor of the month!

http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showt...highlight=k701

Psha, I'm still hoping you get a chance to post on the GS1000s, even if I disagreed with you on the K701.

[phatmat]

Originally Posted by sonick

All youse guys are arse-holes. I just found a place a few blocks from work who are going to be getting stock of these babies any day now, for $79 CDN.

I'm going to crack sooner or later. Time to sell off my Eggos, perhaps.

Hey man where in Canada are you and where is this shop? In van by any chance?

For the record these cans look badass. I can't think of a better looking pair for my tastes..

[markl]

Psha, I'm still hoping you get a chance to post on the GS1000s, even if I disagreed with you on the K701.

They'll be here soon. But I'm on record many many times over as not being a Grado fan. But if these are in fact the "un-Grado" as some are calling them, then we'll see...

[VR6ofpain]

Originally Posted by donunus

People...all yall. Im dissapointed. Especially MarkL. The k81djs are basically good. Youve posed them to be too much though. I dare anyone to compare them even to a broken in hd555! No bias here. My ony bias is the comparison to live instruments!!! Try Miles Davis... No WaY!!! Baaaazuuuu!!! In spanish "Basura"! The k81dj is a great portable headphone but realistic sounding, it is not. Take this as gospel ... you will thank me. Newbies will love these but the experienced people shouldn't even give a damn about this thread!

I own an HD555. I prefer the sound of the K81DJ. The 555 is a tad too bright and definately not smooth by any means. It is a good can for the money, but definately not the deal the K81DJ is. In fact if you own a DJ, there is no point in even getting a 555, because the DJ is basically a superior can. The 555 only beats it with comfort and maybe a tad bit more clarity, which can be bad with so-so recordings.

[The_Duke_Of_Eli]

Originally Posted by markl

They'll be here soon. But I'm on record many many times over as not being a Grado fan. But if these are in fact the "un-Grado" as some are calling them, then we'll see...

Very un-Grado. They remind me of baby DT880s.

[sonick]

Originally Posted by phatmat

Hey man where in Canada are you and where is this shop? In van by any chance?

For the record these cans look badass. I can't think of a better looking pair for my tastes..

Yeah man, Tom Lee Music on Granville, in the DJ section. They're a few weeks late, the guy said he's gonna get em in anytime.

With my quarterly gov't tax cheque, its mighty tempting

[Jahn]

Folks, imho these cans aren't Giant Killers. To compare them to full sized open cans that are triple the cost is a bit unfair.

However, they fill a niche that no other company has a hold on just yet - that of the Portable Sealed Can. If you can't stand IEMs and buds/clips let in too much ambient noise, there aren't many options out there outside of wearing ginormous A900s or DT770s in public, or sacrifice sound quality by using sealed cans which are not as good. The K81DJ are still on my head months later for this reason - on the subway, there's no better way to rock out.

[sonick]

So, what's the consensus on this headphone, I'm at work and don't want to read through the entire thread... Are they good "rock" cans (classic rock, indie, alternative)?

[Jahn]

Originally Posted by sonick

So, what's the consensus on this headphone, I'm at work and don't want to read through the entire thread... Are they good "rock" cans (classic rock, indie, alternative)?

Putting aside the KSC-35 and IEMs? Portably, the best.

Examples - The Who - Live at Leeds? Awesome. The Decemberists? Excellent. Radiohead? Blast your ears off.

[sonick]

Originally Posted by Jahn

Putting aside the KSC-35 and IEMs? Portably, the best.

Examples - The Who - Live at Leeds? Awesome. The Decemberists? Excellent. Radiohead? Blast your ears off.

My wallet hates you, Jahn

[Jahn]

Originally Posted by sonick

My wallet hates you, Jahn

What can I say, my ears hear what they hear

[Cousin Patty]

I just got mine in yesterday. Lemme see if I can give some impressions based on the short amount of time that Ive had them. Keep in mind that they have not had many hours (a couple of hours at most) on them so they are not fully burned in. Also keep in mind that I removed the foam pads in the cups right away and have not listened to them with the foam pads in.

Right off the bat, what I noticed about these cans is that they have alot of bass. I would consider the bass to be the main feature of these cans so far. It just sticks out the most. I also noticed that they lack alot of refinement and detail. Alot of guitar work (perticularly distorted guitars in rock/metal recordings) gets kina lost/slurred in the wall of bass. There's alot of impact to the bass, though it tends to have a very padded effect and seems to be a bit detached from the music somehow. What I do like about these headphones is that they do a very good job conveying the tone and excitement of recordings. They are very engaging and fun to listen to despite the lack of refinement, detail, and super-bass. I think they do a pretty good job at presenting vocals (tested with Opeth's Ghost Reveries and Alice in Chains Unplugged). Soundstage isnt bad. There is not much separation between instruments though from what I can gather. They do a nice job at isolating from the outside world. However they are extremely uncomfortable to me so far as a result of the very strong clamp that they have on my head. Ive been trying to stretch them out and also to push the ear cups together and past eachother but it hasnt helped much yet.

Overall these are really good headphones for what they are: Cheap, portable, isolating headphones.

This is all I wanted out of them. They were never meant to be giant killers to me. I bought them for a road trip Im taking in a couple of weeks and for that they will be excellent as long as the clamp loosens a bit. Like I said, despite their lack of refinement and detail they convey alot of excitement and present the tone of recordings very well. This makes them fun to listen to...and thats all I wanted out of them for the price.

[Gloomfire]

Mine should be here tomorrow. Cannot wait .

[VR6ofpain]

Originally Posted by Cousin Patty

Right off the bat, what I noticed about these cans is that they have alot of bass. I would consider the bass to be the main feature of these cans so far. It just sticks out the most. I also noticed that they lack alot of refinement and detail. Alot of guitar work (perticularly distorted guitars in rock/metal recordings) gets kina lost/slurred in the wall of bass. There's alot of impact to the bass, though it tends to have a very padded effect and seems to be a bit detached from the music somehow.

HINT:
As you bend out the headband to lighten the pressure, the seal created on your ear ever so slightly opens. What does this do? It decreases the bass. You can actually tune the bass level by the amount you bend out the headband and position them on your ears. I have been fooling with this at work (probably shouldn't be, and actually working more, but what are you gonna do when you have a new toy!). You can actually make them rather un-bassy with this method. Mine sound even more like my K601 now (though they still have more bass impact than the K601).

[Woosh]

ok think im going to pick these for my next upgrade, can someone tell me how much of a difference am i going to get jumping from these from my CX300s?