AKG K518DJ Headphones

virtualTune · November 14, 2013

Hello guys,

I picked up these headphones a month ago after my Sony MDR-ZX600 broke recently. In this Review I will be comparing the two a little, since they are both the same price range (roughly 45 Euro).

So first of all the Looks: Now obviously everyone has got their own taste, but in my opinion they look nice from afar. There are many different colours but I wanted them to be subtle, so I chose black. From up close, they look cheap. The headband is plastic, and even though it has a nice metal band atop with the AKG logo on it, it still looks like they are 10 bucks. But hey, doesn't really matter if they look cheap as long as they sound good and are comfy.

Comfort: They aren't very comfortable. Yep, sorry to say that but thats just the way it is. They clamp very tight which can be looked at as good if you have a small head like me However they a bit too tight. Mind you I wear glasses so that may be a factor. The Plastic headband however isn't wrapped in any faux leather or something like the Sonys are. I was wearing the Sonys on a flight to China almost the entire time, without having any issues in terms of comfort. The AKGs start to hurt at the top, where they press down on the skull, after about 45 minutes.

Even though I was originally going to use these as my everyday/travel headphones, I rarely end up using them more than an hour anyways. At home I use a headset and for future flights I'll just go with the much larger Sony MDR-XB700 (They aren't very useful when it comes to short distance traveling)

Sound: Crystal Clear! I listen to a wide variety of music, from hardstyle over classic all the way to power metal. Lets start at the bottom; the bass is a bit subtle for my taste. It has a nice kick, but Hip-Hop or Hardstyle doesn't have as much punch and especially lower frequencies don't have a lot of power. Now, the small Sonys don't have that either. Since I wasn't going to spend hundreds on a small pair of headphones I can only assume that their very size is what limits the bass. In other genres, especially Classic the bass is very nice. Listening to Jazz or Pink Floyd on these is wonderful. I am still discovering the layers of instruments in Pink Floyds songs Very clear but smooth mids, not the mash of tones I am getting with the large Sonys. They are certainly superior to both Sonys in that regard. Highs are nice and clear without being painful.

Other: So, one reason why I chose these was because of they are said to have great noise cancellation. Obviously this isn't true noise canceling, but the headphones should be built in such a way that I will have a hard time listening to the people around me on the bus. So I must say I am a bit disappointed that unless I the music is very loud, I can still hear myself typing. Also, without music they have pretty much no effect on what I am hearing from my environment. Here is where the Sony MDR-ZX-600 have a big advantage. They are excellent at reducing any noise around me. Sometimes I would just wear them without being plugged in, just to turn down the volume on the world.

Now to a nice feature of the AKGs, they can be folded inward about 90 degrees to make them more compact (mind you that this takes quite a bit of force and feels a little flimsy). Also the earpieces can be turned 180 degrees in both directions, which makes them very useful when you want to only use on and have the other ear open. Also makes them more comfortable when they are hanging around your neck and lay flat on the chest.

Two small things that annoy me a little are that the markings for left and right are very small and engraved so it is sometimes hard to see, and the cable is roughly 7 feet long (too long).

Conclusion: If you are looking for a pair of headphones that are cheap and of decent quality, to wear at work or while traveling, you should certainly check these out. They sound absolutely fantastic. Unless your library is focused on bass-heavy music - then you may want to look at Sony's XB series. Now the build quality isn't great, they look a bit cheap but the folding allows for some flexibility. In the last month they have been flying around in my bag without any damage. They may feel uncomfortable to you depending on your hair (I have very short hair) and whether you are wearing (sun)glasses.However, this can be fixed with some padding and tape, if you don't care about the looks. Speaking of looks, they come in a wide variety of colours, so if you want something flashy, voilà. If noise canceling is a little more important to you than sound quality I would recommend a different model. (Since my MDR-ZX600 headphones broke after 4 months without any physical damage, I cannot recommend them. Other people seem to have made better experiences with them.)

Overall I give them 7/10.

Here is a link to the AKGs Website: http://eu.akg.com/akg-product-detail_eu/k-518-dj_1.html

Hope this helped someone make a decision

-vT

naca1227 · November 15, 2013

I thought my Shocks were so tight on my head too but I just started wearing them very often and now they're pretty much shaped for my head.

Great review, it's too bad reviews don't get much attention on LTT. It would help if there was a picture however.

Personally AKG is my go to audio company. They're OG in the audio fields and are usually just dang sexy with sexy audio quality.

virtualTune · November 15, 2013

Thank you! This is actually my first review. I really enjoy reviewing stuff, so I will probably do more in the future. Before buying these I was actually looking for some affordable audiophile grade headphones. I bought the K550s and while they are beautiful in looks and sound, I came to realise that I would have to make a lot more changes to make the investment worth it. Since I didn't want spend any more money on getting all my audio files in flac and also buying an amp I just sent them back and decided to go for these ^ instead. Also, the K550s are pretty bad when it comes to noise "caneling".

I looked at plenty of reviews for headphones like the K550 but not a single one was in the same price range and had good noise reduction without lacking in sound or build quality.

naca1227 · November 15, 2013

Thank you! This is actually my first review. I really enjoy reviewing stuff, so I will probably do more in the future. Before buying these I was actually looking for some affordable audiophile grade headphones. I bought the K550s and while they are beautiful in looks and sound, I came to realise that I would have to make a lot more changes to make the investment worth it. Since I didn't want spend any more money on getting all my audio files in flac and also buying an amp I just sent them back and decided to go for these ^ instead. Also, the K550s are pretty bad when it comes to noise "caneling".

I looked at plenty of reviews for headphones like the K550 but not a single one was in the same price range and had good noise reduction without lacking in sound or build quality.

I have the K550s in my wishlist, I was going to try to get those soon.

I never really cared for sound canceling because I honestly turn my music up extremely loud so I can't ever hear anything. Did they seem optimized for one kind of genre? I listen to everything spanning from metalcore and death metal to hip hop and old country so I need some that are good with everything.

virtualTune · November 16, 2013

I felt they were phenomenal studio Headphones. They look very good, are comfortable and sound great. However, when it comes to sound I can only compare it to the above Headphones and some Headsets which are obviously not the top of the line. I suggest you just buy them at a local store or order them online, keep them for a week and try them out, compare them to your current ones and if you don't notice a big enough difference, send them back. That's what I did anyways. Since I like to listen to music at a normal level, because I don't want to annoy the people around me on a bus/train/plane, the noise cancellation is quite important to me.