AKG K180 Review:
[For context, my setup is in my sig.]
Intro:
A couple weeks ago, I gave in to the opportunity cost of stumbling upon these not-so-easy-to-find cans--I got 'em for just half a c-note. Surprisingly, they were in better condition than expected, especially considering their vintage (1969). The collector I got them from really took care of these and doesn't appear to have used them much, if at all. They even came with the original box and brochure!
A Little AKG History:
The innovation on display by AKG from their inception up to the 90s is truly legendary: the K180 in 1969, K240 Sextett in 1976, K340 in 1979, and K1000 in 1989. In reverse order now, just for a little suspense, here are the details: the K1000 with its angle-adjustable ear-speaker design, the K340 with its electrostatic-dynamic driver combo, the K240 with its six passive drivers, and...the K180 with its screw-adjustable driver distance (as seen in the photo below). What other headphone company has--sorry, "had"--these kinds of creative innovations!? Not to mention the little things, such as the ingenious adjustable headband perfected in the K240 as well as the K400/401/500/501 and K1000. After that, with the K601/K701/Q701/K612/K712/K7XX, the ingeniousness was compromised, as the clear plastic used to guide the self-adjustment in the newer models is prone to cracking and breakage (I had the K601). The vintage models don't have the cheap, clear plastic guides, instead using more durable materials: vinyl for the K240, and hard plastic brackets for the K400-K501 and K1000.
Features:
Reading through the K180's brochure, it says how to "select your seat in the concert hall":
For an "orchestra seat," you are advised to "Turn both adjusting knobs backward evenly and as far as you can; the two drivers will then be in their foremost positions at minimum auditory volume--for brilliant presence of sound."
For a seat in the "15th row [middle]," you are advised to "Turn both adjusting knobs by 1 1/2 turns forward for the drivers to take mid-position giving medium auditory volume--for spatial and neutral sound image."
For a seat in the "last row," you are advised to "Turn both adjusting knobs forward by another 1 1/2 turns until the drivers are at their rearmost position: maximum auditory volume--for diffuse and soft sound."
These are 600 ohm cans; not ideal for use without an amp. I'm using my OTL tube amp, a fully-modded Bottlehead Crack (designed for high-impedance cans). With that said, the K180 is still a lot easier to drive than the K240. Plugging them in directly into my cheap Samsung phone, the K180 gets to an acceptable moderately-loud volume; the K240 gets to a not-quite-acceptable moderate volume.
Build Quality:
Ah, made in Austria. Just gaze at the photos and take in the robustness of this vintage craftsmanship! Most of the K180 is made of metal (ear-cups, adjustable sliders, headband). The only plastic visible is the adjustable knobs for the drivers and the part of the slider's guides (where the "L" and "R" stickers are). Still, the plastic on the guides are just caps for the metal flat-head screws! This is for tightening or loosening the tension of the headband adjustment, i.e. it's not flimsy or cheap-feeling whatsoever. However, the knobs to adjust the driver distance don't have any tension (they move easily). So, if you adjust the distance to somewhere in the middle, you'll need to routinely check the knobs to make sure you didn't inadvertently turn them. The ear-pads and the headband-padding are of a high-quality vinyl, and almost 50 years since these were made, there's no cracking or any signs of age. Finally, the coiled cable is nice but feels very lightweight (not a lot of copper). A good amount of stretch is allowed, but the comfortable length of the cable is about 5 feet. Oh, and the quarter-inch plug is of decent quality.
Comfort:
All the metal definitely makes these feel heavier on my head than my K240, but the weight isn't the main detractor of comfort. That honor goes to the metal mesh inside the ear-cups. Though if you have very small ears, maybe this won't be as bad. For me, the pressure of the mesh against my normal[ish]-sized ears causes minor aches after an hour or so (even with the drivers set to the furthest position). I can get through a two-hour movie but I'm relieved once I take the cans off. If the drivers are set to the closest position, the drivers actually push right up against your ears and the discomfort is immediately intolerable. For short listening sessions though, this isn't much of a problem--especially considering the magic these cans are capable of producing. And yeah, about that...
Sound Quality:
The cover of the brochure states that, in 1969, the K180 was "The top model for the sophisticated stereo system." Well, let's see what they may have meant!
To begin, I played a vinyl rip of The Beatles' "Julia" at a low-medium volume...Present, delicate, smooth, pure clarity in the mid-range, natural...these were my first impressions when I
tried to think about it. Before trying, I was content in my delight simply hearing the lifelike sounds; with the K180, the music doesn't seem like it's coming through electronics--and that's the main thing about them. There's no hash or stridency to John Lennon's vocals--it sounds closer to being within the same air as him while he recorded the song than I've heard since briefly hearing the K1000 at a Bottlehead meet. The K140 is at the same level as the K180 in this respect. In comparison to these three, my K240 Sextetts sound a little muddled, a tad veiled, like I'm no longer within the same air. Thinking about the K240's six passive drivers: while they promote more bass, they also clumsily muddy up the mid-range a little bit. To be fair, the K240's mid-range is vastly more clear and present than my brother's (still excellent) Sennheiser HD 600 or my friend's (also excellent) Beyer DT 770--both of which sound more distant and veiled. But this elucidates the level of clarity and openness the K140, K180, and K1000 achieve. "Open clarity in the mids" was always a trait I associated with AKG. This magic mid-range however is only accessible from low to medium-loud volumes with the K180 and K140. Raising the volume too much and the K180's sound starts to break apart, sounding thin and strained.
Regarding the driver adjustment: When set at the closest distance, the sound thins and loses the lifelike, pure sound--similar to my experience when completely folding in the K1000 against my ears. Here I'm reminded of the cheap, plastic supra-aural headphones that came with portable tape players in the 80s and 90s--though the AKGs are still obviously higher fidelity. I can understand wanting to hear all the details clearly and upfront, maybe if you're a sound mixer, but I will likely not put the drivers in this position for musical enjoyment. When the K180 is set to the middle distance, the sound smooths out--ahhh, much better--and suddenly there's the soundstage. And finally, at the furthest distance, the sound softens noticeably and the soundstage really opens up. For me, I prefer having it between the middle and furthest positions for good soundstage without sacrificing the intimate vocal presence too much. And so, this makes me appreciate the two, in my mind, hallmarks of vintage AKG headphone design: 1) mid-range clarity, and 2) spaciousness. About the second one, you just don't think of an angle-adjustable ear-speaker or a screw-adjustable driver distance unless the transportive quality of a wide soundscape is sacred to you. It's sacred to me too.
Now playing an SACD of Ray Charles' version of "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye," a personal favorite, the weaknesses of the K180 become trout-face obvious. The thick, weighty, caramelly vibrato I hear with the K240 when Ray starts with "Ohhhhhhhhhh, ev'ry tiiiime" is weak sounding with the K180--lacking in weight and bass presence. If the "window of lifelike sound" with the K240 is from the upper bass to the mid-treble, the K180 is much narrower from the upper-mids to the treble (though it handles that narrow bandwidth where the two overlap better than the K240, as described earlier). To be more of a nuisance about the bass-shaming, when switching to a CD rip of Sia's "Elastic Heart," not only is the bass embarrassingly bashful, but the dynamics are also nowhere near modern standards. How about an HD track of the Justin Timberlake remix of Michael Jackson's "Love Never Felt So Good"? Ha! Forget it...These types of songs have great power with driving bass that the K180 humbly doesn't pretend to be good at. In terms of bass and dynamics, the K240 is a light heavyweight and the K180 is a strawweight. However, MJ's "Man in the Mirror" and "She's Out of My Life" were truly haunting, rejuvenating, and satisfying through the K180. The bass that is there is accurate and tight, but make no mistake, it's still very shy and not at all deep.
Next, I listened to some HD Norah Jones tracks. And man...how achingly beautiful can you get? Like with the K140, the high peaks her voice reaches in "Don't Know Why" really grab you in a way the K240 isn't able to do. I don't think I can overstate that actually. When she crescendos with "you'llll BEEEEEEEE ooon my mind for-eh-ver..." I'm on the verge of getting butterflies during the "BEEEEEEEE" part, that's how soaring, five-star luxurious, and soul-penetrating the treble in that instance is. It's so clear and high-reaching yet not at all piercing.
You may not think to use the K180 for movies based on what I've said about its bass and dynamics--and you'd be right, mostly. Because when watching
Casablanca, I'm entranced with a wonderful, detailed, analogue sound. Humphrey Bogart's voice is spookily lifelike and present as he walks around tending to his cafe; there seems to be absolutely no veil between my ears and the atmosphere of the recording. Same experience with Jack Nicholson in
Chinatown. Droning waves of reverb from the strings and other instruments in Jerry Goldsmith's score really make the soundscape dense and romantic. And suddenly, appearing center-stage, that solo trumpet...it soars, and I mean SOOOAAAAAARRRSSSSS, stratospherically and with the grace of an acrobat. Also, I notice how much clearer the details are, and how precise the imaging is, with the K180 over the K240. For example [MINOR SPOILER ALERT!], when Gittes meets with the Evelyn Mulwray impostor in the beginning, I hear the atmosphere outside the office much more clearly than I do with the K240 (cars, horns, and whistles), as well the office-space minutiae within (turning pages and sighs). These details are distinct yet aren't glaring distractions, offering a presentation much more like the wholesome sound of vinyl rather than a clinical assemblage of separate sounds. Overall, films that are majorly dialogue-driven (dramas, character studies, and classic films) are all handled with class and finesse at less-than-loud volumes.
Conclusion:
So, the name of the game with these cans is to make sure the main frequency range of a song (or movie) lies
within the cans' window of lifelike sound. Hip-hop, EDM, epic symphonies, and superhero films at high volumes? Ha, you're funny. Live acoustic, jazz, female vocals, solo songwriters, modest classical, mellow concept albums, and classic cinema at low-to-medium volumes? Oh yeah, you could do a whole lot worse in terms of realism and intimacy. Now, about that claim on the brochure...yes, in engineering, these vintage cans are impressively "sophisticated." Pertaining to sound, the descriptors I've used thus far--analogue, intimate, haunting, soaring, vinyl[-like], luxurious, rejuvenating--all support AKG's sophistication hypothesis, and I think I realize what they may have meant. Sophistication is such a potent word, and to add to it: AKG probably didn't imagine, in 2017, that the "vintage" status of the K180 would add even more to the potency of its sophistication; on a more depressing note, AKG also probably didn't imagine that their vintage models are made all the more sought-after because their company is now owned by Harman lol. Sigh. If I was a young person in 1969 though, I would be thrilled to take these home from the local hi-fi shop--along with a pristine, first vinyl pressing of The Beatles'
Abbey Road. And as a young person today, I was thrilled I got these in the mail because they have a truly special purpose. While my K240 is still my go-to because it's able to handle more varieties of material, and is more comfortable for long listening sessions, whenever I feel the need--likely late at night--to be within the same air as Lennon while he records in the studio, or Kurt while he performs unplugged in NY, or Bogie while he wisecracks in
The Maltese Falcon, or Audrey while she allures everyone around her while on location in
Roman Holiday...I'm likely not to get any closer unless I one day get a K1000, or a time machine.
Happy listening!
But hopefully soon you'll stumble across a great pair as well.
