[bonehelm]

A warm greeting to every head-fi member

I just joined the community and I have a question to ask, because you are more experienced than I am. Oh, I'm sorry about my wallet, too.

So basically summer has arrived and I'm planning on buying a ~$100 cans for mainly classical music. I listen to rock/metal/hiphop sometimes as well. Since the AKG K518 received positive reviews around here, I'm thinking of getting them. I have never owned a pair of cans that worth more than $10. So it's a big upgrade for me. I am almost certain that I will also get a PA2v2 or CMOY or GoVibe amp to go with the set, too.

My question is: AKG K518DJ, being bass heavy phones, how will they perform in huge orchestral music such as that of Mahler's? I'm a big fan of wide, open soundstages. I know closed cans don't usually provide that, but I need the isolation...and I'll be wearing them in public. So that is a major factor requiring consideration...

I've heard Sennheiser HD280's give the best isolation out of all cans in my price range, but I've also heard that they're too "analytical", lacking musicality and emotion. K518s are cheap for where I live (about 60USD) so it's what I'm aiming for as of right now...I hope they will sound great after I pull the foam inserts and burn them in for a sufficient amount of time.

What's your say, head-fi?

 

[jewman]

First off, welcome to Head-Fi!!!

The k81dj (the black/silver version of the k518) was my first purchase after visiting Head-Fi. I was a little concerned after I purchased the 'phones that they would have WAY to much bass. I was wrong. After some solid burn-in time using pink noise, and the removal of the foam pads, these phones really started to shine. I use them mostly with my iRiver h320 (unamped) for the same genres you mentioned above, and I find that the bass is fairly tight, however it's worth noting that I have the 60Hz band on my h320 set to a gain of -0.5dB. The sound stage is not bad as well. Running through my h320, iBook, and a home amp/receiver, I can discern each instrument section in Mozart's "Rondo alla Turka." If you have a Rockbox-compatible player, I would suggest loading it onto your mp3 player, and setting the stereo width to higher than 100%, which is the default.

I am looking for a portable amp to pair with these headphones myself, so I cannot answer that question.

Overall, I am quite glad I bought these phones. They only seem to get better with time.

 

[bonehelm]

Thanks very much for the comment, jewman!

I wish I would enjoy my pair as much as you do.

P.S. When you say pink noise, what does that mean?

 

[jewman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bonehelm /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks very much for the comment, jewman! I wish I would enjoy my pair as much as you do. P.S. When you say pink noise, what does that mean?

Pink noise is similar to white noise, although I think it covers the entire sound spectrum better.

 

[bonehelm]

Pardon my utter ignorance, because I haven't the slightest clue what "white noise" is either.

 

[MonkeyA**Sucka]

Opposite of "black noise"

 

[bonehelm]

Now will you be kind enough to give insight on the term, "black noise"?

 

[MaZa]

White Noise is like radio static, or noise from analog TV when there is no channels found. All in all, its a frequency response noise covering large range of different frequencies. Pink Noise atleast covers all frequencies from 20hz to 20khz.

 

[Meloncoly]

white noise is just like when you turn your TV onto an unregistered channel and it goes sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

 

[bonehelm]

Thanks for all the kind replies.

 

[MonkeyA**Sucka]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bonehelm /img/forum/go_quote.gif Now will you be kind enough to give insight on the term, "black noise"?

Sorry, couldn't resist

White noise is equal power at each frequency. Pink noise is equal power per octave.