Lathing and hammering are different. The alloy is the same. Neither of them are "better" than the other line, but they are both top-of-the-line Zildjians. The Ks are a little more labor intensive, so they're more expensive.

As for sound differences, in general, the As have a more tonal sound and the Ks have more complex and trashy overtones, but there are TONS of exceptions, which you'll find on a cymbal-by-cymbal basis.

My main recommendation, with whatever you decide to get: always try before you buy.

A's are bright sounding, and K's are dark sounding

There is so much crossover in sound, especially in recent years. I've heard PLENTY of dark As as well as bright Ks to know that the rabbit hole goes much deeper than this...

I agree that while the k line is generally darker and more complex sounding,that there are some bright k 's out there,I have a K 16 thin crash that is very bright,and an 18 k crash that is very dark.With the A line you can find some dark ones,but IMO Zil has sort put more efforts into their upper and lower lines,so you can still find nice A's,but you really have to look through a lot of them,with the exception of the hats,those a generally concistently good.

I went and checked the cymbals out last night. It was 16" and 18" crashes. The 16 was a little dark, but I would still consider it on the bright side. The 18 was good and dark. So it seems like even in thier dark series that dark is a relative term. Played them next to an A custom medium thin 16" and that was darker than the K dark medium thin.

As for sound, I guess you have to hit a lot of cymbals before you find one that makes you happy. I think I am going to pick these up tonight - they are selling them on the cheaper side, so it won't be a bad deal. And if I don't like them in the long run I can sell them.

I answered the question in the very general mannered I did, because the question was so damn general,the lines on every cymbal brand have criss crossed so much there is no general answer, take a look or listen to Paise 's traditional line, those are the darkest sounding cymbals on the planet, but if you look at them from sight only you'd think from how beautiful and shiney they are they would be bright sounding cymbals, NOT!!!!

Take your cymbals your going to match the new one with, place them on a kit and give them a listen that's the only way to know if they will work for your needs, plus they've got to feel good under your stick while playing them, no soundfile will tell you that.

I think if any of had to explain the difference in 10 words or less, we would have said the same thing. As an addendum, K's tend to be used more for jazz, funk and "mellow' rock and A's tend to be used more for pop and rock. But... the word "tend' is important. I know people will chime in on all the exceptions.

Having said that. there are very few A's made after the 1960's that I would even consider buying. Most are too bright and pingy for my tastes and do not have the kind of wash or woody sticking I favor. Even most modern K's don't do a lot for me. I do have several Kcons that are very nice though.

Roger Taylor used large Ks with Queen when I saw them years ago. I don't believe it's possible to answer this question. They are alike and they are different depending on which specific A or K model you are tapping. It's just too much. Bottom line ... check out whatever cymbal you want and enjoy those that you buy.

I have owned an 18" Custom A for around 15 years now. It sounds amazing and is very diverse. I always get compliments on it from all types of musicians so you may consider picking up one of these. The 18" is much more diverse in use then the 16".