Here's a little bit more about this model:
http://20cheaddatebase.web.fc2.com/AKG/K160.html (Google can translate it into English.)
Basically the site seems to imply the K 160 was introduced in 1977 and discontinued in 1995 or 1996, although the translation may be inaccurate. There's also a price, 18 500 yen, about $220 today. I bought them for 15 euros off eBay.
First of all, I just love the funky AKG logo:
Sound-wise; man, these sound really muffled.
Really muffled. My old K 141 sounds dark and smoky, but these are just something else. A thick blanket covering everything, and forget sparkle.
The AKG brochure says, "Powerful transducers for ... high energy bass," but there's not much bass to speak of either.
A lot of pictures I've seen on the internet have the driver grille visible through the holes in the pads, i.e. there is no foam in between. One picture, though, showed foam in there, so I thought I might add some in mine as well. The pads have a circular indentation inside, and the K 141 foam discs are almost the perfect size. This gives a little more bass and ties the sound together, much better. (What I wrote in the two paragraphs above was with the foams already in.)
Comfort is quite bad; a tight clamp and plastic pads (wouldn't even call them pleather). Still, I like the construction, very solid and minimal, although not a very typical AKG look.
What I really like about these phones, though, is that they seem to do human voices very well. Female vocals sound smooth, and I actually preferred them on the K 160 when I did a quick comparison against the K 271 S. Acoustic music seems quite nice, as does some lo-fi indie, like The Radio Dept's album Lesser Matters.
I do find that some EQ is in order, basically emphasizing the high frequencies by downplaying the mid and lower ones. Just way too muffled otherwise.
Nice cans.