AKG K518 LE Headphones

We were hesitant to buy the AKG K518 LE Headphones at the original SRP of around Php5,500. However when we heard that the price was cut down to around Php4,100, one of our writers couldn’t resist and immediately went to JBL and forked over his credit card. It’s a win-win-win for him, JBL, and Unbox because he gets good music, JBL gets paid, and we all get to see the unboxing and later on the full review! Note that we’re also doing our best in trying to get AKG Philippines to sponsor a contest with this as the the prize! Anyway, on to the unboxing!

Packaging

The packaging is made up of transparent hard plastic. This is to showcase the different colors that the AKG K518 LE comes in. We had the choice of picking between the Green and Yellow model. Ended up getting the Yellow since our ATH-SJ11 was already color green. Here’s two more shots of the headphones still in the box.

Opening it is easy. Just take of the tape at the sides and unfold the plastic. From there just pull the back cover and you’ll find the AKG branded black pouch for the cans, a warranty card, and of course the headphones.

Build

To get the headphones out just pull out the packaging inside. I had to take a while to admire the craftsmanship of this product. I love how they branded this thing AKG all over and yet they did it in a very fashionable and cool way.

The ear cups have a yellow “Y” with the AKG logo at the center. This gives the cans more personality and flavor. Suddenly it’s no longer just audio equipment, it’s a fashion accessory. The cups are retractable so that you can find the best fit for your head.

They used hard but flexible material for the headband so that you can fold it a bit when storing it in the pouch. At the top of the headband they carved it out a bit to expose the metal frame. They made this really cool by putting the AKG logo again at the top. Check the pic below.

One thing I noticed about the AKG K518 is that it has a short cable compared to a lot of other cans in the market today. I did some googling and a lot of audiophiles actually have the AKG K518 re-cabled and this produces better sound quality and over-all performance. I’ll explore the world of re-cabling when I have more budget and I find the right contacts! I’ll definitely write about the experience here on Unbox.

Initial Impressions

Bass. Lots of it. Clarity is there but the mids are a bit recessed. If you’re a basshead you’ll definitely take a liking to the AKG K518. You’re better off with this one compared to the overpriced Beats stuff that cost over Php10,000. With that budget I’d rather take this one and get a Nationite N2 Audio Player.

We’ll do the full review soon!

To those who can’t wait for the review and already want one just head over to JBL stores. This retails for a little over Php4,000.