Ive had an 8190 and 8290 ira-but never the 8180-bothe the two i mentioned for me basically have the looks but the sound is a dissapointment....i mean,yes they go damn loud but very little bass....the loudness buttons on both mine didnt seem to be working????well they didnt make any difference to the sound quality anyway....the only hitachi i wish i still had was my 8600-great looks and actually not a bad sound at all!i also have a soft spot for the 9100 3 piecer-basic but nice