Latest Thread Images

k518.jpg
akg-blue-tack.jpg
AKG_K81DJ_Recabled.jpg
AKG_K81DJ_Mod.jpg
photo0185_001.jpg
photo0170_001.jpg
photo0171_001.jpg photo0172_001.jpg photo0173_001.jpg AKGK81srecable.jpg AKGK81Switchcraftplug.jpg AKGK81Y-split.jpg AKGK81Cupentry.jpg K518LE.jpg photo0123_001.jpg Portablerig.jpg Portablerig2.jpg
See full thread gallery...

Featured Sponsor Listings

AKG K81/518 DJ/LE Thread and *Review*

Jan 21, 2013 at 1:48 PM Post #91 of 131
they are really meh regarding soundstage. a cheap philips shl8800 for examples sounds much more open and bass reaches deeper into sub bass also. the only thing these do really well is separation and natural sound of upper mids and highs. it is to bad, that the update k618k619 does not sound as natural anymore. spoken words sound like out of a 1970s kitchen radio. 
 
Jan 22, 2013 at 4:45 AM Post #92 of 131
Quote:
sofastreamer said:
they are really meh regarding soundstage. a cheap philips shl8800 for examples sounds much more open and bass reaches deeper into sub bass also. the only thing these do really well is separation and natural sound of upper mids and highs. it is to bad, that the update k618k619 does not sound as natural anymore. spoken words sound like out of a 1970s kitchen radio. 
Click to expand...

 
Thanks for the info. Supports what I hear.
 
Mar 18, 2013 at 5:03 PM Post #93 of 131
Really looking forward to trying them, ordered a couple of days ago, the K518 LE version. Currently have a pair of Klipsch Image S4 for home listening and portable use, and I thought that the AKG's would replace them as my home headphone.
 
Mar 21, 2013 at 2:40 AM Post #94 of 131
kolapso said:
Really looking forward to trying them, ordered a couple of days ago, the K518 LE version. Currently have a pair of Klipsch Image S4 for home listening and portable use, and I thought that the AKG's would replace them as my home headphone.
Click to expand...


I purchase a couple on amazon when the price hit $31.75 and then $28.58 for new green ones. Love gifting these. Get a lot of "a bit painful but sound great! and look sweet."
 
Mar 24, 2013 at 10:50 AM Post #95 of 131
They're not painful sofar for me. Been burning them in some 40h and for electronic music they're great. Just took out the foam pads and it balances the bass towards being more in level with the rest of the headphones. Also the bass is very fast and less boomy with the foam pads out. Song example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXEo_IUs1po 
 
I can't help but smile when certain parts of songs contain new  details that I hadn't noticed with my Klipsch Image S4. It made me wonder what would happen if i plugged an amp to the headphones through my Ipod nano 7th gen. God damn this forum :D
 
Just wanted to chime in regarding the foam pads. Just took them out, and with for example http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAVEDh6C8VM and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QMBr5xYR_U there's a (for me atleast) noticable difference between having the foam pads in and having them out. Having them out makes the bas less muddy and boomy. It feels like the bass is more on level with the rest of the headphones now. 
 
Apr 6, 2013 at 4:41 PM Post #97 of 131
Something I found odd. I've purchased lots of K518's and it seems they don't all sound the same. I had the chance a wile ago to get a hold of the very first pair I purchased. I was already curious as many of the K518's I have now all sounded rather fine. This was odd as I strongly remmember the first pair sounding amazing. I ignored it for quite a wile until I finally tested it. Results? All the newer 518 sounded rather lose on the bass and less detailed in comparison. I played some Sweet Dreams by Beyounce and bam, the first pair had a strong tight bass and chill inducing reproduction of Beyounce's voice. Now I feel rather sad, as that pair is going back to its owner and I'm stuck with the new hotness, minus the hotness :( any thoughts?
 
Aug 3, 2013 at 3:33 AM Post #103 of 131
unityispower said:
Something I found odd. I've purchased lots of K518's and it seems they don't all sound the same. I had the chance a wile ago to get a hold of the very first pair I purchased. I was already curious as many of the K518's I have now all sounded rather fine. This was odd as I strongly remmember the first pair sounding amazing. I ignored it for quite a wile until I finally tested it. Results? All the newer 518 sounded rather lose on the bass and less detailed in comparison.
Click to expand...


I was wondering the same thing. A few months ago, I got my 13 year old son a pair of K518 LEs. Bass was very boomy and flabby. Lots of bass, but like what you get from a cheap sub. Not at all what I expected for the successor for the K18 that is listed on Innerfidelity's Wall of Fame. But I paid less than $40 for them, so OK for the price. And my son liked them OK, but he did comment that the bass was muddy (he's got some Ultrasones to compare).

Tonight we got around to doing some blue tack and duct tape modding (but did not remove the foam). I let my son do it, and I advised him. So as not to overdamp the bass, I decided to go with only a little blue tack and then some duct tape around the rest of the inside cub. Sorry for the crappy phone pic (I took it so he could remember what he placed where):


We were both amazed at the results. The bass is still impactful, but now completely clean and tight. Now we both agree that these sound like +$100 headphones when it comes to bass, while accompanied by excellent AKG mids and highs, which are now more detailed and clearer. The drivers have much better overall transient response than what we were hearing before. There might still be a tiny bit of bass resonance at high volumes, but these sound like much better headphones.

Perhaps AKG is using some kind of cheaper material in the cups than previously. Who know? But this mod is well worth the twenty minutes or so it takes to do it. :D
 
Aug 27, 2013 at 2:45 PM Post #104 of 131
I just picked up another K518 LE for me (the others I mention above are my sons) to mod and use. It does seem like these are a little less bass bloated than the other pair, but audio memory without direct comparison is of course unreliable. However, I would not doubt what others in this thread have said about inconsistent sound quality. Could be different production batches.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)
Back
Top