Review of AKG k518LE (lambourgini ltd edition)

I’ve been after a good set of headphones for just listening to music (not for dj’ing) for a while. I was given some Skullkandys from the rep for free to review and if any of you read that review you will know that they are aweful, and after a few hours of listening to music (be it faderwave or just cd’s) the terrible sound quality starts to make my ears hurt.

AKG have a good reputation and i saw these on sale at HTFR and after some research i decided to get them. (although my mum did pay so i had to wait until xmas ) £34.99 - (approx $55 or €40)

The range has been out a while but the new ltd edition Lambourgini range offers a wide choice in colours, i chose green for no reason other than i just liked them.

OPENING THE BOX
1st thing i noticed is the size of them. they are alot smaller than i was expecting but being a HD25 user for djing i was not disappointed in the size at all, they are  almost exactly the same size as the HD25’s and when i use them with my ipod thats actualy something i prefer. (walking down the street with huge ass phones on looks ridiculous ) also in the box is the usual jack size adaptor and leather effect carry bag. The build quality seems pretty solid, certainly considerably better than the skullcandys but obviously not on par with my senheisers. i would compare the build to the pioneer range of headphones, they are in general very strong but you can see they have weak points on the hinges. This is something I’m not overly worried about as they wont be used for gigs.  I don’t imagine they would last many years in a gig environment.They do however fold very small in the bag and take up very little space which is great for portability.

IN USE
If your used to bigger style dj headphones such as sonys, pioneers etc you may find  these a little tight on the head, they feel very similar to HD25’s on the head.  the lack of padding on the headband means you cant put them on tight but they sit  perfect in any place you put them, (some of you may know i wear my headphones in an unusual way when i dj so these are perfect for me, however some people may find this uncomfortable) and the ear pads are very soft and very comfortable. Now comes my biggest gripe with these headphones. When being used with the ipod this i suppose is a big plus but for home use with my PC or for Djing the cable is just way way too short. the cable on HD25’s is often considered too short my some people and this  is only 2/3 the length of that. similar to the one on a regular set of mp3 headphones. i have a 2meter extension cord so I’ve ran that from my studio mixer to the pc desk and solved that problem.

SOUND QUALITY
In a word, Impressive. I’ve side by side ran these with Sony MDR-V700’s, Senheiser HD25 and Skullcandy G.I.
At normal listening levels (ie: home use or on your MP3 player) the sound quality is  closer to the senheisers than the sonys and far superior to the skullcandys. They do seem a little eq’d towards the lower end but the mids and tops are clear crisp and not at all harsh even at higher levels. They do however start to distort at a lower level than the sonys and quite a long way before the HD25’s. However unless your in a club running them at this level is painful on the ears anyway. They handle maxed out  ipod Volume with zero sound degradation at all.

OVERALL
For the money i genuinely think these are the best you can buy. I’m not sure they belong in the gig bag of any touring or regular giging dj, but for a bedroom dj, and occasional gigging dj they are more than capable of doing a very good job. also if your looking for a pair of full size headphones for your MP3 player these offer a great choice in colors so you can even be fashionable with them as well as fantastic sound quality.

Ratings

design - 4/5 they look great and fold very nicely too, some people may find them a little small though.

comfort - 3/5 i would personally put these at a 4, but as I’ve said before, if you have a big head, or are used to bigger styles, you may find these a little tight. it also would not have killed AKG to throw some padding on the head band.

Sound quality - 4/5 this is all dependent on their operating levels, being aimed at dj’s. Under home use conditions though they are very good. but in a large club i think they are going to distort way too early.

Build quality - 3.5/5 the hinges could be weak points later on in their life, but over all they feel solid and unlike many, don’t creak when you bend them.

Overall - 4/5. For the money they are fantastic, and i’d go as far to say they are better than many headphones that cost half as much again.

Other colors in the range