HARMAN K81DJ Akg Closed-Back Folding Dj Headphone

I bought these AKGs as the result of my search for a decent sealed headphone to replace my Sennheiser PX100s, which just weren't cutting it on the train. I'm amazed at the difference. These, like the Senns, have a 32 ohm impedence, so they're easy to drive with a portable player. At first blush, they reveal much more detail in the music than the PX100s do, including a more coherent and present high end. I'm hearing a lot more detail even in songs encoded in WMA format at 128kbs. The bass is controlled but does not lack. I have had AKG reference headphones in the past (240DFs). While these are not in that league, they easily sound as good as the Sennheiser 280 Pros that I've got. Better than the 280s on a portable, too, as they are easier to drive. These are smaller, supraaural headphones. Though they're not as portable as the Sennheiser PX100s, they're much easier to wear during the commute than the 280 Pros. All in all, they're a great deal for someone with a portable...Read more

I did a looot of research when looking for a pair of headphones to ease the transition to dorm life. My only comparison was a pair of 70s or 80s Panasonic se-30a's--good headphones, but fading. Over the course of 2 weeks I shopped here, tigerdirect, newegg, and the internet at large, with the excellent help of [...] I settled on these particular cans for a number of reasons:

1st: They had a large cult following at [...]
2nd: I could get them for $50 new on ebay
3rd: They had a reputation of being at least partially noise canceling and being a good value in general.

After using them for two months in a loud living situation, I've come to be of the following opinion:

Pros:
-Excellent noise canceling when playing music-- Enough to block out the chatter of my roommate and his girlfriend, not enough to block out a train (although I've never tried). A lot of this I think has to do with quality noise saturation. Put on some high...Read more

First, I want to share my audio preferences in order to put the review into perspective. I'm a drummer and I don't generally go for a flat EQ. I like to hear both bass and treble very clearly. I'm extremely sensitive to distortion and have no tolerance for muddy sound reproduction. I'm using these as portable headphones with an MP3 player (creative zen). I listen to a lot of types of music: rock, blues, hip-hop, folk, jazz, classical, and choral. I'd been using the Sennheiser PX100s (which are great headphones), but I wanted something a bit better. These AKG K 81 DJ phones are fantastic. They cost twice as much as the PX 100s, but are definitely better. The AKGs have a lot of warmth and depth of sound, are very clear, and I really like the frequency distribution. The bass is certainly present, but they are not too bassy (unlike the smaller AKG K 26 P) and have a very nice balance of highs and lows.

The only cons I can think of are that they are a little bigger...Read more