[x151092]

I'm going to buy my first pair of headphones in the near future, which is whenever I have time to go down to Mong Kok. I'm not that much of an audiophile, so I'm just looking for a pair of inexpensive good quality headphones.

I've narrowed it down to:
ATH-SJ5 ($280 [Kingsound])
AKG K518DJ ($488 [Kingsound])
AKG K81DJ (?)

Prices in HKD
1USD=7.8HKD

Is there a difference between K518 or K81? By the way, is the K81 discontinued? Also, if anyone knows a place where I can get K81s please tell me.

I the extra $208 (approx. 26USD) worth it for the AKGs?

Which one should I get?

 

[kojebee]

AKGs sounded far better to me. AKG K81DJ and AKG K518DJ are the same phone, just a color difference.

$488 HKD is a fair price. I don't know where you could get them cheaper overseas, once you factor in the shipping costs.

 

[nickchen]

It depends on what you want. The AKG's achilles heel is lacking comfort and the bloated nutty bass, whereas the AT doesn't shine in respect of isolation and mids (typical AT, can be queeky).

Sonically, I'd recommend the AT for rock- & guitarheads and all "conventional" genres, whereas the AKG works better with Hiphop, D&B and alike.

 

[x151092]

thanks for the advice.

Quote:

$488 HKD is a fair price. I don't know where you could get them cheaper overseas, once you factor in the shipping costs.

the cheapest I found on the net was on eBay, which was for $75USD shipped. Quite a big price difference.

I'll have a listen to them before I buy.

Does blu-tak in the cups work?

 

[nickchen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by x151092 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Does blu-tak in the cups work?

Heared many rumours that the lower mids (which are quite fine stock) get "collateral" damage from that as well.

 

[x151092]

Oh. Thanks anyway

 

[hauton]

I bought the last pair of K81s that Kingsound had. Sorry!

It was $20HKD cheaper than the K518s, so you're not losing much.

I'm loving it though, and I really think you should get the K518s.

For me, they both have their obvious weaknesses, but being honest, the SJ5 sounds and looks the price it's actually worth (no, it's not $50+, even the $30+ of Kingsound is expensive when it's a $20+ thing in Japan).

If you want something that overall, IMO, sounds better and is definately built better, get the K518s. Comfort is a non-issue to me now - I even have glasses and I listened for the entire flight home.

 

[x151092]

Comfort seems to be a big issue with the AKGs. I have glasses and wondered if it would be uncomfortable, but since you say they're okay, then I guess they would be. My noggin isn't that big anyway.

It actually doesn't matter that the K81s are gone, I just wondered if they were cheaper (evidently, not by much); I like the all black paint job the K518s have too.

Another question I have is, are the headphones really big and eye-catching? You see, I'm a girl, and I don't like walking around the street with everyone staring at you because you look ridiculous with a pair of huge cans. So...?

 

[hauton]

It is no comfy circumaural, but I have a pretty huge head and I've at least gotten used to it. Like I said, I even fell asleep with them on the flight home. I didn't bend/stretch the headband over anything and I let it naturally adjust, so it feels a lot better now than it did at first. And it's pretty much an inverse relationship with comfort and isolation - the tighter you make the band the better the isolation/worse the comfort.

Foam removal seems to lose a bit of bass impact but you get rid of a lot of boom - and once properly burned in the mids and highs will become better. I wouldn't bother with a blu-tack mod, but I haven't tried it.

As for how it looks, I could snap a pic of myself with them later if you wanted.

 

[nickchen]

They are not to be recommended for shy or vain persons. Wearing them in publicy always leads to some staring citizens, as they are designed as DJ fons and are not really what you call tiny. I'd say "half way" between the usual smallish portable fons and big fons for home usage.

But the sound rewards you for dorky looks.

 

[holland]

Returning the stare with a I'm gonna kill you, gangsta type look always works to thwart the stares.

OP, try the headphones on for a fitting, though if you are a typical azn size girl, (5ft-5.5ft ~90-105lbs) I think you'll be OK. The K81DJ feels fine at first, but it starts to hurt after a few hours and it gets worse as the hours burn on.

I can't say if the K81DJ has been discontinued or not.

 

[michaelJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by x151092 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Comfort seems to be a big issue with the AKGs. I have glasses and wondered if it would be uncomfortable, but since you say they're okay, then I guess they would be. My noggin isn't that big anyway. It actually doesn't matter that the K81s are gone, I just wondered if they were cheaper (evidently, not by much); I like the all black paint job the K518s have too. Another question I have is, are the headphones really big and eye-catching? You see, I'm a girl, and I don't like walking around the street with everyone staring at you because you look ridiculous with a pair of huge cans. So...?

Comfort wise they *do* clamp really hard. The big problem to me was that they didn't respond well to bending and that the headband was very short, well I couldn't get a good fit so I sold them.

They are not big in fact I think they look really stylish. In my opinion they definately look cool.

cheers

 

[nickchen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by michaelJ /img/forum/go_quote.gif The big problem to me was that they didn't respond well to bending

Poor guy, suffering from amyotrophia at such an young age...

 

[x151092]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hauton /img/forum/go_quote.gif As for how it looks, I could snap a pic of myself with them later if you wanted.

That'd be great

Quote:

Originally Posted by holland Returning the stare with a I'm gonna kill you, gangsta type look always works to thwart the stares. OP, try the headphones on for a fitting, though if you are a typical azn size girl, (5ft-5.5ft ~90-105lbs) I think you'll be OK. The K81DJ feels fine at first, but it starts to hurt after a few hours and it gets worse as the hours burn on.

usually I just ooze hostility from every pore of my body.

Yea, I am about 5ft2in so, within the typical size.

 

[x151092]

Other than Kingsound are there any other good audio stores in HK?