The AKG K550 Appreciation/Discussion Thread! - Page 25

I just got mine for under 200 and I'm pretty happy with them. They do sound a little bass-light, and some of the lower mids and bass is oddly represented. But I got used to it quickly and I'm liking how sharp and clear they make things sound. They're making some songs sound better than I've heard them on my other headphones, and they're extremely comfortable and look good too. I just wish they had made them in Austria like the other good AKG headphones.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tsujigiri 

I just got mine for under 200 and I'm pretty happy with them. They do sound a little bass-light, and some of the lower mids and bass is oddly represented. But I got used to it quickly and I'm liking how sharp and clear they make things sound. They're making some songs sound better than I've heard them on my other headphones, and they're extremely comfortable and look good too. I just wish they had made them in Austria like the other good AKG headphones.

The bass body improves quite a bit after the earpads are worn in. The drivers are too far away from the ears when the pads are still brand new, which causes both sharp-sounding treble and unbalanced bass.

That said, the lower-mids and upper-bass region in the K550 is a bit recessed, which is both why it is such a clean-sounding headphone, and why several reviews called them thin-sounding. Coming from the rich and full-bodied sound signature of AT headphones, these took me a while to get used to.

Good to know. Even though they do sound thin sometimes now, I'm glad I have them because I like to have a few sound signatures available in my collection to suit what I'm feeling like listening to at a given moment. The comfort of these is what really surprised me, though. I'd say they're more comfortable than the famous Beyers, although they get hot more quickly and the cups are more shallow.

Great review, helped me a lot making up my decision while buying headphones. I must say that Im very very happy with the k550, but I agree they are way to wide, and I do have a big head :) but they still feel a bit loose. 

This are my first quality headphones so I cannot compare to others; but I definitely recommend them

Hi!

I am looking for nice closed cans over ears headphones for home use.

I tried AKG K550, but their bass is a little low and also does not fit me - my head is not big enough for them and I also wear glasses.

I also tried:

• Shure SRH940 & 840 but they are heavy and uncomfortable on top of my head - I liked  their sound;
• Sennheiser HD600, but they are open - I was stunned by the sound;
• Beyerdynamic DT 880 PRO - I did not like their sound;
• SONY MDR-1R - they are too bass heavy and with colored sound;
• Sony MDR ZX300, but they are not over ear, the sound was ok.

My short list includes “German MAESTRO GMP 8.35 D” and “SoundMagic HP100”. Does any of you tried these or recommend s.th. that sounds like K550 but is more comfortable ?

Best regards,
Stefan

I actually do not have a big head and the K550's work for me. You can bend the headband in a little to apply more pressure, but one of the more important things is to make sure you set the angle of the cups correctly to give you the best seal. The mounting is stiff enough that they don't adjust automatically. And glasses will break the seal so that won't work for sure. Can you not wear glasses when using them or switch to contacts instead? Closed headphones are particularly sensitive to the seal.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tsujigiri 

I actually do not have a big head and the K550's work for me. You can bend the headband in a little to apply more pressure, but one of the more important things is to make sure you set the angle of the cups correctly to give you the best seal. The mounting is stiff enough that they don't adjust automatically. And glasses will break the seal so that won't work for sure. Can you not wear glasses when using them or switch to contacts instead? Closed headphones are particularly sensitive to the seal.

I tried to bend the headband but in this case the pads fall much lower - the headphones weight is put on top of my ears and a space appeares between the headband and the top of my head. Is this normal ?

With my current headphones I put the glasses temple arms a little bit higher over the ears and they do not violate the seal at all.

my refurbed that I got a few weeks ago are sounding really good now. There's a lot of bass and body now that I've rockboxed my Sansa Clip Zip as long as I'm using my Ibasso P2 or Fiio E6. I also don't need to crank the volume to the max on both the clip and the amp. I'm not sure exactly why that is. With the original firmware I had to adjust the EQ for every album. With rockbox, I don't have to. I just leave everything as neutral as possible. Occasionally I will turn the volume up from 0db if it's a cd mastered in 1986 or something. I prefer using these with the Clip zip over my Arcam 73 and amps. I'm so glad I didn't let the negative impression I got from listening to them on Best Buy's display stop me from looking into them further.  

I just picked up a pair of these used and I'm happy with how they sound so far. A little fuller than my K701s but the similarities are still there. 

What I'm a little confused/dissappointed over: The fit and finish on these is not as good as I was led to believe reading about them on the internet. Not sure if it's because I bought them used but the right cup has a slightly different range of movement than the left in relation to the gimbles on the side. While not uncomfortable they sit on my ears a little unevenly, again in relation to the gimble. They're also creaky as hell. That really surprised me because the internet describes these as being put together really well. 

Either way, glad I bought them, just a little put off. I can see why AKG goes through so much trouble to hide the 'made in China' tag. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by vazmuten 

I tried to bend the headband but in this case the pads fall much lower - the headphones weight is put on top of my ears and a space appeares between the headband and the top of my head. Is this normal ?

 

With my current headphones I put the glasses temple arms a little bit higher over the ears and they do not violate the seal at all.

Even with the headband adjusted to a lower click?

Quote:

Originally Posted by vazmuten 

Hi!

I am looking for nice closed cans over ears headphones for home use.

 

I tried AKG K550, but their bass is a little low and also does not fit me - my head is not big enough for them and I also wear glasses.

 

I also tried:

• Shure SRH940 & 840 but they are heavy and uncomfortable on top of my head - I liked  their sound;
• Sennheiser HD600, but they are open - I was stunned by the sound;
• Beyerdynamic DT 880 PRO - I did not like their sound;
• SONY MDR-1R - they are too bass heavy and with colored sound;
• Sony MDR ZX300, but they are not over ear, the sound was ok.

 

My short list includes “German MAESTRO GMP 8.35 D” and “SoundMagic HP100”. Does any of you tried these or recommend s.th. that sounds like K550 but is more comfortable ?

 

Best regards,
Stefan

I'm not sure if it will be more comfortable for you, but... Try the new Ultimate Ears UE6000.... it's an over ear with noise-canceling for about $200.

With the noise canceling off, it sounds great. Very neutral and clean. Similar to the 550, but cheaper. They are smaller as well, so they are easy to move around with.

With the noise-canceling on, they sound muddy, but with 'fun' bass. (IE: messy/impact)

They should have a demo at apples stores, so give it a try. You might be surprised. ^^

Quote:

Originally Posted by fateicon 

my refurbed that I got a few weeks ago are sounding really good now. There's a lot of bass and body now that I've rockboxed my Sansa Clip Zip as long as I'm using my Ibasso P2 or Fiio E6. I also don't need to crank the volume to the max on both the clip and the amp. I'm not sure exactly why that is. With the original firmware I had to adjust the EQ for every album. With rockbox, I don't have to. I just leave everything as neutral as possible. Occasionally I will turn the volume up from 0db if it's a cd mastered in 1986 or something. I prefer using these with the Clip zip over my Arcam 73 and amps. I'm so glad I didn't let the negative impression I got from listening to them on Best Buy's display stop me from looking into them further.  

I really do not understand the complains about bass with this headphone. I have mine recabled with silver and the bass is just fine. All of you who are complaining about bass , have you considered your source equipment and source material?  Many less expensive headphones artificially push up the bass and/or lower midrange to deal with the sound you get from crappy iTunes downloads. This kind of reminds me of HD800, when in the past people complained about its bass, but over the years the same people who criticized this phone are now posting how wonderful the bass is since they acquired better fitting amplification. I am not trying to start anything, but this criticism of bass runs totally contrary to my experience, so maybe there are other things at play. 

Re large ear cups, I could see how it could be annoying if you don't bet the right fit. Actually headphones can sound diff depending on where you place them on your head, so come to think of it that could also be the culprit in the bass complaints. However, mine fit just fine (I have average head) and the large earcups are in part necessary to reproduce the wonderfully large soundstage of this headphone. This in fact was the draw for me -- the large sound stage. I normally listen to HD800 and HE6, but feel like I am missing very little when I put on my K550 when I need to listen to closed cans. Just my 2 cents.