The only mod I had found thus far for getting a better seal on the AKG K550 was Curly's post here- http://www.head-fi.org/t/613707/the-akg-k550-appreciation-discussion-thread/15
 
But I've discovered an even easier mod for people who are less keen on bending the holy hell out of the band or stuffing the pads.
 
The answer is actually ridiculously simple...what is it? Rubber Bands.
 
I noticed that pushing the cups closer to my ears boosted the level of bass, but greatly diminished the soundstage and made the high end way too harsh. But I discovered that just squeezing the pleather cups a bit while wearing them actually made the K550's sound fantastic (ie the way AKG intended) with nice, clear thumpy base and still a wide, clear soundstage. So with that I found a couple of rubber bands and placed them around the foam cups just beyond the plastic around the driver.
 
Let me say I have a pretty small nogin, but believe me, it works like a champ. Finally instead of me fussing every few minutes to get a good seal, they sound great as soon as I put them on. The bass no longer feels out of reach and the mids tinny.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
As you can see it puckers the pads up just enough for people with small heads to get a good seal. The best part is, I left the bands on for 24 hours and took them off just to see, and the pads just sprang back into their natural shape, so it wont damage your pads.
 
It may not look very glamorous, but believe me it works. And now I don't have to sell these great cans. I'll probably try to find some black rubber bands to make it less obvious.
 
Hope this helps some of you small heads out there...

I like this idea. 

 
edit: get blue rubber bands.. and we shall call it the K550 anniversary mod (by dxanex)
 
 
I don't think that other mod works.. and if the extra padding is uneven, it'll make it a lot worse.

LoL, I love it. Less is more!

or remove the pads and stick a steelseries siberia V2 pads =)

talisman42 said:

I like this idea. 

edit: get [COLOR=0000CD]blue[/COLOR] rubber bands.. and we shall call it the K550 anniversary mod (by dxanex)


I don't think that other mod works.. and if the extra padding is uneven, it'll make it a lot worse.

Click to expand...

Ha! Great idea. Or lime green!

The other nice thing is this won't compromise comfort, where as stuffing the pads would, as even the original modder admitted..

[VIDEO][/VIDEO]

dyaems said:

or remove the pads and stick a steelseries siberia V2 pads =)

Click to expand...

I haven't heard of these, but I'm curious and going to look into them now!

Edit: ok, so these pads fit the k550 for sure? But why would I buy a whole other headphone just for the pads??

yep they fit. those pads has an adhesive that doesnt mess up the plastic so you can slap them on and remove it anytime you want. the pads are somewhat have similar size when you squeeze the stock pads with rubberband. you can search the web for replacement pads. everyone knows that it is silly to buy a headphones just to remove the pads
 
it also sounds alot bassier/darker than the stock pads because of the hole is much smaller than the stock pads, creating a "bass-lens effect". very good way to "improve" the k550's stock sound signature while not making it look bad =)

Great work!  I've edited the first post of the other thread to include a link to here and will be testing this when I get home from work today.

 
Quote:

talisman42 said:

I don't think that other mod works.. and if the extra padding is uneven, it'll make it a lot worse.

Click to expand...

 
So what you're saying is that others aren't as obsessive as I am...?   But yes, it worked.  Still, as I conceded later in that thread I had since removed the cotton stuffing from the ear pads as I was able to achieve a sufficient seal with just the bending, but am still not entirely satisfied with the comfort.  The large pad circumference engulfing my noggin and the insufficiently padded headband -- as well dispersed as the weight/contact may be post-bend -- are two attributes that I will seemingly never come to terms with.

thanks for sharing. i have a small head and have to adjust often to get a good seal. Will try your mod later

i seem to hvae a smaller head than i thought initially and i dont even have to adjust the headband at all to get it to fit.although theres some space on the top right.i seem to be getting a pretty good seal although i will try the rubberband to c if its better

hum....why didn't anyone else thought of this before ? As the saying goes, the really good solution is sometimes the simplest...hanging around the corner, waiting to be discovered.
 
thank you

Posted this in the K550 Appreciation Thread! A mod that most can't tell it's even modded!
So this is the mod I did.. My head is small so the headband bend mod only made the earpads sit lower on my head... -_-
 

Using cloth Headbands stuff them into the earcup.. start at one end and work your way through!

See the one on the right the headband is in there pretty good...

If you twist the band before you put it in you can barely see it! the one on the left is stuffed already..
Remember start on one end and work your way around... Don't try to make a "C" or a Circle and stuff
it all in at once! Hope this helps some of you out! It worked for me! Happy listening my friends!
I bought a pack of headbands it came with like five or so for a few bucks..!

I love the ingenuity of people wanting to get the most out these headphones. I actually tried this first, but with cotton balls. I found that (for me) it still didn't give me the best seal so I stuck with the rubber bands which works for my head.

Great job!

I kind of want to try this though, as those headbands look like they have more push to them than a cotton ball would.

I was looking for some headbands but I couldn't find any. Now I use toilet paper and it seems to do the trick 

I have now done three mods to the k550s:
 
1. Headband bend
2. Stuffed earpads (I used folded cotton rounds)
3. rubber bands.
 
 
The combination of rubber bands and stuffed pads works nicely, though you have to be careful about stuffing the pads to make sure it's even.
 
For the rubber band mod:
wrap 2 rubber bands around the ear pad and roll them down as low as they'll go while still on the soft part of the pad.  Basically, you want them to be wrapped around the pad and flush against the frame.