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Official K-81 DJ thread - Page 169

post #2521 of 2656
7/21/08 at 10:59pm
Well, I thought the same thing. I got mine Friday and the first thing I thought was "LOTS of bass, no mids and too bright highs". Well, listen to the people that say break it in. I've left mine on for just 24 hours now and the difference is very noticeable. Bass has toned down some, the mids have somewhat appeared and the highs have mellowed. I was almost considering sending them back, but now I'm very intrigued by what is going to come at my breaking point of 200 hours. Looking foward to the journey. Of course I'm judging them by my benchmark which is the sound quality of UE Super.fi 5 Pros.
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post #2522 of 2656
7/22/08 at 1:42am
Modding helped... Original cushions and foam inserts replaced with open doughnut cushions, enclosures lined with old speaker dampening felt.

They're still stiff and bassy with recessed midrange, but much less so. The dampening felt removed some of the plasticky echoes. Overall they're not as barmy-bassy as with the stock cushions with foam inserts. They still need some kind of fix to release the midrange. Maybe holes in the grilles, but unfortunately grilles aren't removable...
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post #2523 of 2656
7/23/08 at 10:14pm
Ok, I'm on about hour 90 now with the burn in.....another big difference. The highs have mellowed further and seem warmer. The mids are starting to come through more, but still not "there". Bass is less punchy too. I ordered the Sennheiser velour pads to try out too. Not sure if I will open up the headphones and do the blue-tak/felt mod. Not sure its worth it.
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post #2524 of 2656
7/24/08 at 4:58am
It is. As is the recable. Any open cushions will help, though there's still the nasty "stiff" tuning of the grilles.
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post #2525 of 2656
8/2/08 at 11:07am
i've been a long time lurker here in head-fi.

this is also going to be my first post.

my second head-fi inspired purchase because of this thread.

it is really hard to look for high quality cans here in the philippines. most stores only sell bose. i was lucky enough to find a local retailer of akg and it is also a good thing that they have theakg k81 dj in stock.

thanks to the guys who provided feedback on this thread. really satisfied with my purchase.
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post #2526 of 2656
8/7/08 at 7:48am
@LXG_SELLER:

Would that be Audiophile? If so, which branch, and how much were the k81dj's? I've been pondering on getting them too...
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post #2527 of 2656
8/8/08 at 10:45am
Yes, that would be audiophile. I got mine from SM mall of asia. 3800 pesos if I'm not mistaken. but they will give you a 3% discount on cash purchases.

I think they still have some in stock. They also have the AKG 518dj there for testing (in case you're interested with it). I think it sells for 3900 pesos.
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post #2528 of 2656
8/8/08 at 10:25pm
Arghhh... talk about calamities with getting mine repaired. I lost a channel in mine and sent them to the local service centre (under warranty) and figured it was probably the plug that just needed reterminating... well, it fixed it for a bit but now where the cable goes into one of the cups is causing the same channel to come and go.

Considering I've given these to a friend as a gift, I will just get them fixed under warranty again rather than risking melting something with my sub-par soldering skillz
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post #2529 of 2656
8/11/08 at 9:10am
Quote:
Originally Posted by LXG_SELLER View Post
Yes, that would be audiophile. I got mine from SM mall of asia. 3800 pesos if I'm not mistaken. but they will give you a 3% discount on cash purchases.

I think they still have some in stock. They also have the AKG 518dj there for testing (in case you're interested with it). I think it sells for 3900 pesos.
Cool, thanks for the info. I'll probably drop by audiophile one of these days...good thing they have an open unit for testing. Since the k81 and k518 are essentially the same drivers-wise, i'll see if the all-black finish of the k518 is worth the extra money.
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post #2530 of 2656
8/12/08 at 1:25am



did these ever make it to the US? anyone know where to get them?
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post #2531 of 2656
9/20/08 at 6:32pm
I'm planning on getting these phones... I'm wondering "how heavy" the bass is. Super heavy bass gives me headaches.

Thanks
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post #2532 of 2656
9/20/08 at 9:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ne12o View Post
I'm planning on getting these phones... I'm wondering "how heavy" the bass is. Super heavy bass gives me headaches.
In my opinion, the K81DJ's bass does qualify as "super heavy."
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post #2533 of 2656
9/20/08 at 9:45pm
Blue tak mod dampens the boominess so the bass is still present but more detailed.
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post #2534 of 2656
9/21/08 at 6:21am
I just took the plunge and got my very first pair of K518DJs.

First impressions :

-They look simply awesome in that black finish.
-They fit pretty nicely on my head, which is a 10 on AKG's scale of melon-size. ( Self-conscious : is my head really that big )
- Sound is awesome. To me , they have sufficient clarity. Sure, mids are a little recessed but I'm listening without burn-in. Bass is TOTALLY awesome. Great depth and detail. I'm a bass player myself so bass is like the ONLY factor pushing me to headphones.

Glad to have found this thread full of like-minded bass-freaks like me.
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post #2535 of 2656
9/22/08 at 4:22pm
They're very bass-heavy and "stiff" and hitting, especially in stock configuration.

Contrary to what this thread might make one believe, the K-81/-518 are DJ headphones. They're quite barmy as sold, with additional foam inserted into the cushions. Removing the cushions (or even removing the foam) and replacing them with open doughnut cushions makes the sound cleaner, but still hard-hitting and stiff.

Beyerdynamic DT231, 232, Roland RH-50, Denon AH-D501 are all more refined and cleaner-sounding than the K-81 for roughly the same money. Denon AH-D1000/AHD1001 online prices have also dropped to ~$70-80 (and they're very worth the extra coin).
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