Official K-81 DJ thread - Page 9

Cmon guys can anyone answer my question on the loudness of the k81dj? Anyone with either an hd555 or 595 to compare? My 555 says it has a sensitivity of 112db at the senn site and the k81dj is supposed to be 115db but Markl mentioned to me that the senn px200 was significantly louder for the same volume setting as the k81dj and the px200 is also rated at 115db... I am ordering one tommorrow and would really like someone to PM me or reply if they have a 555 or 595 to compare with their k81DJ

I have heard 555, a700, px100 and k81dj. In my opinion, px100 is the most sensitive, and 555, a700 and k81dj are about the sam. I will not be too worry about a portable not being able to drive k81dj. I use a sony vaio pocket mp3, and I think it gets too loud at half the max volume.

By the way, K81DJ are really amazing cans. It is definitely better than px100. And I personally think it is better than A700 and comparable to 555 but with different sound signatures.

I didn't quite understand that... you mean the 555, k81dj and a700 are about the same or just the k81dj and the a700

I mean these three are about the same for sensitivity. But for SQ, I think k81dj is above a700 and same as 555.

ok thx....I'm ordering...YES!

If you are still intrested, i have the 595 and the k81dj. The 595 is louder then the akg, but don't worry, my ipaq's are enough for driving em', so i think any portable will be able to do so!

Just got em! Of course they've had zero burn in so far so SQ observations hold no water at this point. But there are other observations I can make.

First of all, sizewise, yes they're fairly small. That's the good news, the bad news is that on my large roundish noggin they make it even larger and rounder looking. Definitely a look I'm not interested in sporting in public. However someone younger, slimmer, etc might have completely different results since the phones by themselves do look kind of cool.

Also I can confirm as others have mentioned that they just didn't make the headband long enough for larger heads. Having the bands fully extended I still either feel the band on top of my head more than I'd like, or the phones sit up a fraction of an inch higher than I'd like. Also they do have a decent amount of clamping action, but it's all entirely tolerable so far.

So far I'd have to say between the look (on my round head) and the fit and comfort issues (on my round head again), I will probably return them unless the sound quality turns out to be as spectacular as others have stated.

What are my out of the box opinion of sound quality so far? Well, I'm experienced enough in audio to know that it almost doesn't matter at all what they sound like until they're nearly fully burnt in. But of course I won't let that stop me.

I'm running them directly from my Sony HD-5 MP3 player unamped. The seem plenty loud maybe lower than my PX100's but much better than my Sony V600's. Sound is nothing spectacular so far (and there shouldn't be). Mids are recessed, bass is too boomy and echoey through the lower mids, treble seems decent and fortunately not sibilant at all (which is a VERY good sign pre burn in). Also the soundstage for the most part seems non-existant, though now and then I'll get hints of excellent sound stage momentarily snapping into focus. And I'm guessing/hoping I'll be hearing more of that after 100 hours or so.

The good points I'm noticing so far is a nice coherent balance across the frequency range (after I've EQ'd flat) with a warmer bassier bias which is how I prefer it. As previously mentioned I also find the musical timbres nicely accurate (huge for me), and also crunchy sound that should work nicely with rock and metal.

Once it burns in I'm pretty sure it will be a fun sounding phone that I'll much prefer to the PX100s. Though since I won't be wearing them in public, I'm not sure if that's the important comparison.

Again though, about the only thing I can take away about the sound quality before they're burnt in is that in general they'll be warm and fun sounding. Stay tuned and I'll give you updates as burn in commences/continues.

100% Agree here, this pair of cans scales very well with whoever wears it. If you look geeky youll look more geeky with them. If you look fashionable(???? lack of my vocabulary here ) they can support your look in a positive way...

I loved mine right out of the box, besides the boomy bass. Mids are clear and only upper mids are slightly recessed. What i like is that the mids cut through the bass from the first minute i used them.
Now mine have around 40-50 hours on them and soundstage didnt come out much more with burn in, stays at level of the PX100. Which is still far more than the HD25-1 delivers With headphones too much fake soundstage actually distracts me from music, so i dont like cans the level of k701, dt880... i'm a grado (and speaker!) guy Bass got lots better but its character stays definately. I find the ATH-A900 to be more echoy in bass than the K81, not a problem for me in the K81.
Curious how it'll develop for you with breaking in.


EDIT: This are also the first cans which really improve with just a little EQ in the upper mids. The "comes to life" effect from it is almost like using a good amp. Now if only my ipod would support custom eq

Hmm maybe I just needed an attitude adjustment or something. I left them burning in for a few hours when I left the house, came back to them, and now they're just scary good. I don't know how that happened, but now they're starting to sound so good I'm really going to hate the fact that they're basically too small for my head and can't be worn in public (at least by me).

IMO they're similar sonically to the Grado 60's but not as fatiquing, more versatile and better, but similar. I can't believe how fast I'm changing my mind about these. Lets see what happens, but Argh I really wish these fit better!

I 100% agree again Actually at the moment i use it with the treble boost EQ on my ipod to bring up the mids. Makes a nice closed junior Grado out of them including harsh highs thanks to ipods distorting EQ. But still the highs are more harmless than a Grado, even with EQ.
Sadly they are too big for me to wear outside too, on trains and busses its ok but walking with them would look dorky for sure I hope someday there'll be a headphone of k26 in size with k81 sound

I have exactly the same feeling. When I first tried mine last Wed evening, I was disappointed at the recessed mid and boomy bass. I left it burn-in for a night and miracle happened. The next morning, I found the bass became much tighter and mid wasn't as recessed. Now I now had them burn-in for about 60 hours and I already prefered it to A700! Moreover, these cans keep giving me surprises. I think their vocal reproduction is spot on, sometimes I can even imagine the singer's facial expression while I am listening to the songs, these didn't happen to me before with cans like hd555,a700 and k501!

Yes, be patient, the mids really start to bloom after the 40 hour mark. I still continue to be amazed at how good these cans are for the money. They've transformed my work-out/running experience. I really look forward to them now because I know my tunes are going to sound great.

Amen bro. That's EXACTLY the kind of phone we need. Of course this goes back to my first comments about how headphone makers don't seem to be paying attention to the whole MP3 player phenom. Maybe they still think that the MP3 sound quality is so bad that having good headphones is a waste? Can you say lossless? Whatever the reason they seem to be asleep at the wheel - but I don't want to start another flame war.

I've let them burn in overnight, and yes the mids are waaaay better. I put on some Diana Krall and whoa, fantastic. I can see now that the mids will actually be the strong point of these phones. Unlike the Grados, the K81s seem to work well with a large variety of music.

So far I've listened to selections from Green Day "Bullet in a Bible", Diana Krall "Stepping Out", Beethoven "Sonatas for Cello and Piano", Mozart's "Le Nozze De Figaro", The Arctic Monkeys, Bill Frissell "East/West", Perfect Circle "Emotive", Shpongle "Last Chance to Dance". All these genres sound good with chamber classical and trad jazz sounding excellent. The others will probably be elevated to "great" once there's a touch more development in the upper mids.

Of course all of which makes the fit/comfort issues even more frustrating.

Got my K81's and shortened the cord with a new jack on it. Not sure what kind of jack it is but it looks cool: all gold with a spring where cord enters.
I'll take some pics next chance I have with the family camera.