AKG K518DJ

Hello everyone ill try to keep banther to a minimum, but excuses in advance 
 
I've purchased these cans about 2.5 years ago, to be exact the LE version in yellow with the short cable for 50euros. It comes with a pouch and small-to-big jack adapter. Ive made keywords Bold-Italic to be a bit easier for you to find them. Also if i say something totally inaccurate/stupid please forgive and disregard it.
 
Sound:
Recently i had the opportunity to try out different headphones like the Sennheiser momentum(on ear and over ear as well) the Denon ah-d600 and others. I have to say i was really surprised, the sound easily matches top shelf performance, though i have to admit that it lacks details of the sound that you hear with an expensive one, but i'd say for the price it has nothing to be ashamed of.
I usually listen to EDM, but from time to time i pull out som Metal, metalcore, and classic rock, so the range goes from A-Z. 
Overall the cans have a sliight V-shaped sound, mids are a bit recessed so its not optimal for listening to classic rock or similar music with more midrange freqs. I wouldnt say its bad, but you can feel it lacks a bit. Bass is really good,AND accurate it has enough punch to it and presence, but not at all overwhelming. It always puts out as much bass as it is needed. Mids as i said are a bit lacking if youre more into vocal music or classic rock you might have to consider something else. Highs are excellent, really sparkly and crystal clear, its a joy to listen to them. Even really highs are not fatiguing at all.
Overall its really good i cannot complain.
 
Noise-isolation:
Because of the over ear design it gives a really good seal. If you're listening to music on it you will NOT hear any normal volume sound(eg.: talking, cars.) I lived in Budapest for some time and when i used it on the metro line, even with those ****ty noisy russian trams, it barely came over it.
 
Design:
Not much to say about it, either you like the look of it or not. Its not flashy, but it isnt ugly either, I like it.
 
Build:
Even though it looks like its made out of plastic, it is really well built and is sturdy. Like i said i had them for more than 2 years now, and apart from a bit of wear on the paint(bc i didnt carry it in its bag, just threw it in my backpack). Also the band has a metal insert which makes it even better. Overall It feels well built, never felt like i have to be wary like its made out of glass. One of my earpads' leather cover just started to crack but that was because of my use of it, the one i used properly held up still, so 
Weak Point i can say really is the cable. If you have a low price and you dont compromise on sound, you WILL have to somewhere.The end of the jack just where it leaves the "rubbery bendy" part cracked up for me fully. 1, its a straight jack so you have to be careful with it if you use it with a phone in your pants pocket like i did, if it gets bent a lot, it will break. I got a 5€ Neutrik fully metal angled jack cable and re-soldered it on it, really sturdy hadnt had a problem with it since. Also it gets tangled up all the time, i got to the point where there is always a bit of twist in mines...Also The LE has a 0.6m cable so you might have issues if you put your phone/player in your jeans pocket. Im a small guy i dont have issues with that but keep it in mind.
 
Comfort:
As you might have read reviews about it: Its really bad from the beginning, and in time it will break in but even now the clamping force can make my head ache after extended use. The stock earpads are pretty hard as well and with the clamp, brand new it will destroy your after an hour or less. It will get better over time, the pads will soften up and you'll get used to it eventually, but its its pretty bad that i had to give my ears a 5-10 minutes of rest from time to time. Also the headpand doesnt have any padding at all, so by the time your ears get crushed, the top of your head will ache as well, tho its lightweight it will still hurt a bit. Luckily heat wasnt an issue even in the hot summer.
 
Conclusion:
End of the line, its a really good pair of headphones for the price, with overall sound quality, its a good all-rounder. Where it doesnt compromise on sound-to-price it has to on the cable, and the comfort. I learnt to live with it(you can get used to it), and i love it. Also if you're a bit of a DIY person you can make them even better.
 
Recommend: Yes
Would i buy it again: Probably

A few months ago, I got my 13 year old son the AKG K518 DJ LE, based on the listing of the K81 DJ on Innerfidelity's Wall of Fame.

The sound was disappointing. Very heavy muddy bass that overwhelmed the mids. While OK for the price I got them at, this was not what I expected.

Then yesterday, we decided to mod the headphones. The blue tack mod is a popular mod for the AKG K518 DJs. Because I was afraid of over dampening the phones, we used blue tack sparingly and put duct tape on some of the rest of the inside cup to curb the resonance (see pic in this post).

The results? Absolutely a world of difference. Here is what I was expecting from a headphone whose design had made it on Innerfidelity's Wall of Fame. Bass impact was reduced slightly because the muddiness was gone. No longer a thumper, but a headphone with highly textured bass with very good transient response, and yet still significant bass emphasis. As a results, mids are much clearer as well.

So if you can do the mod (and it's not hard), this is an excellent headphone for those looking for some portable headphones with some strong, but good SQ bass emphasis. Considering these can often be picked up for less than $50, they are a bargain

Had it for about 2 years, can't really remember when exactly did I buy it.
but this one gives me a lot of frission everytime I listen to music
got me off the headphone market for about a year because of the satisfaction
it's over ear, but just the right size for portability in my opinion