Official K-81 DJ thread - Page 145

We all know about the HD25 velours, but...

...what about the HD25 leatherette pads? Has anyone who finds the stock AKG pads uncomfortable ("too stiff" is the common complaint) tried replacing them with their HD25 counterparts? One would imagine isolation should not suffer any...not sure about sound quality. Perhaps some HD25/HD25SP owners could comment on the non-velour pads' softness and comfort? Anyone here willing to give them a spin with their K81DJs? (Me, I'm too stuck on my vibes at the moment to justify the expenditure.)

Anyway, it's a thought. Yes it is.

I find the original pads some how uncomfortable. My ears get hot and uncomfortable after some time. Same was happening with my HD-25 with the original pads. I replaced those with the velour pads and now they are much more comfortable. I can ware themfor 2 or 3 hours easily, I even fall asleep with them on. I don't thnk there is much leakage with the veluor pads because my wife has not complaint.

I order 2 set of veluor pads from Senheisser for the 81s but they are on back order. They wiil be in on the week of 3/19.

I just got these, and though they sound great and everything, I find the headband really presses down into my head - it's not the vice-like grip that everyone else seems to find an issue, but rather that the headband is wayyyy too short (i've got it fully extended).
I didn't think I had a big head, but these do dig in rather a lot

Is there anything I can do?

Just got my used 81DJ's today. No clamping at all. The treble is a bit grainy, mids a bit recessed and bass a bit muddy. I haven't compared yet, but they remind me of a closed KSC75, which is a good thing! Not sure if I like them defoamed or not. Might go with velours, but I still need to reseach how they affect the sound. Over all I am happy with them.

I don't own a pair (yet) so take this for what it's worth. (but then again, I suppose you should take anything you read on the internet with a grain of salt)

To answer the recently posted questions (tight fit and uncomfortable pads) your options are:

1-read this entire thread--All of your questions have been previously addressed. I've read this entire thread, even though I don't own a pair. (yet) I like to be an informed consumer before I make a purchase.

2-take my advice--I already told you I don't own a pair. (yet) But I will. Soon. I only know what other people have posted around here, but I do read everything related to phones I'm interested in.

3-wait for other recommendations--Really not a bad idea. (see above about taking internet advice)

To relieve the headband pressure, press your earcups together. That's right, press them together. By doing this, you bend the headband into more of an arc, which seems to fits some heads better. Others have bent/stretched them using books or by hand.

For hot ears, several have recommended Armour All on the pads. Apparently it softens the leather up quite a bit and relieves the stiffness and hot feeling you get. Some people have purchased the velour pads and reported good results, but that's gonna cost you significantly more than a bottle of Armour All. If you want to switch to velour pads, scroll back a page or two and you'll find the info you need on which specific pads folks recommend. I'd probably try the Armour All first since it's cheaper. And it seems to take a few applications over a few days to see results.

Good luck!

I wont recommend pressing the earcups together; a few guys had their swivels broke cuz of the pressure. My way is to turn the cups sideways and let them slide past each other when pressing. Works a lot better as you can apply more pressure.

Why would anyone care so much about a [cheap] headphone that you had never owned, let alone heard? Can we say "vicarious"?
Anyway, I read most of this amazingly long thread before pulling the plug and buying a pair of K81s last month. I took them cross country last week with my UM2/56s and spent almost all of my hotel time with the 81s. How weird is that? There is something very appealing about these headphones. They do have a little bit of soundstage, and to me it appears slightly behind my ears.They do start to hurt after about 45 minutes, but then I just take them off for a few minutes and then I'm good to go again. The bottom line is that even with their overblown bass, I think they're the best deal out there in headphones right now, except for 701s.

Wow, this thread is long!

Anyways after not much success with IEMS like the V-Moda Vibe, E2c, and even (testing out for a week) the E4cs, I figured IEMs werent for me. Not only did I dislike the nasty microphonics I was getting (especially for portable usage), but even with a pair of high end shures, I found the highs hard to listen to even after burn in.

SO, I said to myself, how about I try out a pair of bigger headphones? I wanted something that didn't look too ridiculous that I could use for portable usage and for gym-time, as well as something not too expensive. I thought about getting the Sony MDR-V300's because I'd tried a friends and I thought they were alright.

I searched up Head-Fi and everyone said that the sony's were terrible, and lo and behold, people recommended the K81 DJs. Not only that, but the Tom Lee close to my house had them in stock, and at a fair price of 78 bucks CAD + tax. Picked them up yesterday, and I love them!

This is the first pair of headphones I've really enjoyed listening to. It makes your music just sound great! The bass is awesome, although it can get a little muddy at times. But, if you get a good track, (Good People by Jack Johnson) the bass can go surprisingly deep and simply put, it's impressive. But, with certain tracks, the bass can be overbearing.

The highs are definately not too harsh, which is what I was looking for. But, you win some, you lose some. With this pair of cans the mids and highs (especially with vocals) are more recessed, and they're less prominent than on other cans. (which makes the bass seem all the more overpowering)

The musical detail is sufficient, but not like that of most iems, even E2cs.

The build quality is top notch, and the matte black finish feels great to touch. The metal band on the top spelling out AKG looks sweet too. Leather ear pads are relatively comfortable to use. Closed headphones work well for blocking out noise, I can hear a lot less around me, but my voice when speaking doesn't boom, nor do the cables create that nasty IEM microphonics boom inside your ear. I love how the cables aren't too thick, so they don't bog you down too much. However, my only gripe is that the 2.5m cable is particularly long. It kind of defeats the purpose of my 8gb nano in my pocket. Also, these headphones are pretty power hungry. I have to crank nano volume to about 70% to get some good noise out of it.

On the whole, really FUN set of headphones, at a good price. Nice for portable usage, they look cool, sound good, and I like em

good to hear...i love mine

hmm haha i went the other way around. I bought a recabled k81 for $70cdn and i thought that the headband got in the way of my spiked hair, so i sold it. the sq was awesome but it just couldnt cut it in public. now im stuck with canalphones and iems and imo, good iems people say on forums sound like clearer earbuds more than anything. just not really enjoyable like what the k81 gave me. now im second thinking whether or not i should have sold my k81s. =(

I finally received my K81 DJs today from Jason at JayCoAudio.com (who, by the way, does very good work; I would certainly recommend him to anyone who wants these recabled) and I must say I am very pleased with these! Thanks to everyone here who recommended them!

x2. blue tacked it my self, maybe a bit too much tho lol.

xeno, ihave the x1 and the k81 can you tell me how does the diablous improve the sq????

well its a line out, so the amped source is not from the headphone out, which is internally amped. it sounds better with the line out to the amp, but diablous isnt the only one out there, i havent compared it to other line outs so i cant say how that holds up but it does sound better then the headphone out amped or unamped.

I just got the HD25 velour pads for the K81DJs and I find them to be a bit stiff/painful (after wearing for a long period of time). Do they get softer in time as they're broken in? I would like to hope that I didn't just waste the cash on these.