The AKG K550 Appreciation/Discussion Thread! - Page 17

Just picked up these headphones they feel nice on the head however the pad on the metal strap doesn't seem to be very comfortable anyway to make this a softer touch to the top of my head?

Any tips for someone who just recieved these? They fit well. Im new to audiofile world and I think these sound great I haven't even added my new sound card or e11 amp yet.

if they fitting OK then just enjoy...

Any recommended players before spotify itunes etc?

It depends on if you want to listen to lossless files like Apple Lossless or FLAC. Any real audiophile will tell you you MUST listen to EVERYTHING in lossless format. If that's the case you can rip a couple albums in FLAC and throw them onto a Sansa, or just buy CD's (lol).

 

That being said, I use both iTunes and Spotify premium, coming out of a good DAC/Amp it's very hard to tell the difference between 320Kbs and FLAC. Unless you are born with mutant x-factor hearing or using a top-tier headphone like the HD-800 or STAX 009, you probably will be fine using iTunes with 320kbs MP3's or Apple Lossless files with your FiiO E11. (AAC or AIFF files which will play on any device running the newest iTunes)

Edited by dxanex - 1/11/13 at 12:09pm

There is quite a noticeable difference between 320kbps and 3000kbps , but not with all of them. The recording itself must be good! If the studio that recorded the play did not do its job well then yes you should have x-factor mutation for better hearing to hear the differences. You must have a good system indeed to hear the differences though, as you said it yourself.

Between 320 and 500 the differences are minor indeed!

Edited by dan.gheorghe - 1/11/13 at 1:19pm

Ii cant say exactly why I bought these as my first pair of audiophile headphones but I really do love them, I could go into it but I think they are just me. Yeah the treble isn't dead perfect but the whole is greater than its parts, I also think they benefit from amping. My few words aside, has anyone compared these to some FA-003's? From what I am reading they get similar descriptions

This is also my first proper headphone, reason, iv always(goes way beyond my audiophile history) wanted an AKG can, mostly because the design AKG has used in most of its cans, like Q701, but that was just too pricey. I ended up reading ton of reviews of these, it was in the pricerange i wanted, the design was way different, witch i didn't mind, its still AKG :) And it does sound great.

 

 

I have both the Digitech Pro (which is FA-003 equivalent for $50) and K550.

 

I mentioned this elsewhere in these forum, the only area which Digitech / FA-003 has an advantage is a thicker, fuller sound, particularly with vocals. In most other respects the K550 has the upper hand. There are quite a few complaints over the forum that the K550 tend to sound thin. I guess that is a valid concern for many but I did not found it to be a problem for me.

 

Akg K550 is a pair of excellent headphones. It amazes me every time I listen to them, even after I listen to my LCD2+Conductor at home. I use them at work with fiio e17. 

At first I thought It wasn't worth half the price, but citraian, the friend that introduced me to them said it may have to do with the fact that I may have a smaller head than his and the seal is not good on my head ( it seems to be a know problem with akg k550) . He told me to push a little on cups and tell him if it was a difference. Before i pushed, i thought it had a thin sound, that it was too sibilant, loose and undefined bass, etc (in a few words I hated them). Ok....I pushed for his sake, as I for one was skeptical, and I was truly amazed of the difference. The bass became very punchy and well defined, it stopped being sibilant, the sound more balanced all over the spectrum, etc... I do not have a small head, when I go at carting I usually get a xl helmet, as the smaller ones do not fit, but the shape of your head really matters. If you have a good seal, these headphones are one of the best sealed headphones out there, if the seal is not good, you must apply some mods to get a good seal, starting with the bend of the headband.

 

After you bend your headband, you must be careful as if you use them at minumum setting, you may loose the seal on the lower side of your ears, even though the smallest setting on the headband seem to fit you. You must try to increase the headbands' size one by one, until you get a full seal. 

 

I don't know what AKG's headphone designer thought while designed the k550, but he must have had a really big head...really big! 

 

 

I gave the k550 to a female colleague at work and the headphones fell at the smallest settings.

 

 

 

Sound wise, I just love these cans, they are great for work, or anytime you have to use sealed cans, but they are good in any situation too! They are a steal at their price, trust me! I would give them an A+ for the price/quality ratio, and if they had a better design and wouldn't have the seal issue, they would have deserved A++. I have listened to AKG K701, and didn't like it at all, but I really enjoy the k550.

 

So be aware that if you seem to find them sounding to thin, or feel like they have a thin loose bass, or if you think they are too sibilant, you may have the know seal issue!

 

A solution can be found at the first page of this thread, but I for one found it to make the sound muddier, and didn't help much at the seal, after a while. You also have to be very careful to make the both pads even.

Edited by dan.gheorghe - 1/18/13 at 2:10pm

Anyone find a good pouch/case for this?  Something that isn't really bulky and not too expensive would be awesome!

 

I love the pic 

 

I wonder if you sent it to AKG would they get the message?

lol @ pic...but it's funny, as time goes on I feel like they are easier to get a proper seal (I have a smaller head too) I dunno, maybe the pads stick to my head better now that they have been broken in, or maybe I'm just learning the exact way to wear them to get the best sound...

 

All I know is every time I come back to them after days/weeks of not using them, I am wowed by them again and again.

Ok, I must have the biggest head in the world or my head is really round like a cookie but I for myself, I think there's too much bass on this headphone hahaha.

Now seriously, I have been a reader of this forum for some years now but never had a reason to post anything (or guts too), but I bit the bullet and after some of the most helpful recommendation from a user of this forum I bought one. I have to say I had tears on my eyes the first time I listened to "quarteto novo" record. I could hear intruments and performer's placement that I have never noticed before. I spent almost 2 hours in complete trance mode.

Now I have a question to ask you guys... after all my listening I found it was tiring on my ears. And it does sound there's a lot of bass, more than I was expecting. Is my can a new veresion or is it because of the recessed nature of the beast (a lot more soundstage) that I may be listening too high? It does not sound hight at all but the bass (and highs) comes pretty strong at times, depending on the record.

I am kind of used to sound, as a film editor, I work all the time (and I am pretty used) with a pair of genelecs 8030s and I have a pair of hifiman re0. I know they are pretty light on bass, a bit forward but that's the reason I thought the k550 would be a good choice for me.

Anyway, I am in love with it, and even considering not wearing a glass anymore if it gets me a better seal. The seal is so tight with me that if I have them on, and I bite (force) my mouth muscles, I can hear them.

Or maybe I have a new improved version? When I tried them in a local Saturn dealer, I found them pretty thin tho... not with this ones.

It's possible they made a new revision already, but I think you just happened to get a better fit with the pair you bought. They can be finnicky

Edited by knubbe - 1/19/13 at 11:20am