The clamping of the AKG 518 headphones is strong, but not at all unbearable for me. The biggest issue for me regarding comfort is the relatively short headband with no padding. I can wear them for hours at a time. If the band starts digging in, I just readjust the way they sit on my head...

The AKG K 518 LE's are well worth the $55 you paid. They are extremely good at isolating outside sounds due to the heavy duty clamping headband. I haven't heard the JVC HA-S160's, but looking at their picture, the headband looks pretty thin. By not sealing the pads against the ears as tightly...

AKG K-518LE. I got the red ones in the US off of Amazon for $33. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk