well.
this was my shortest "dalliance" with a headphone.
i bought it on friday. received it no saturday. returned it today (monday).
in short:
THEY SUCK!
sorry to offend anyone who has fallen headlong in love with this headphone.
So, I'll elaborate a bit more:
The K550 is anemic. And this coming from someone who likes the K701 "pretty well".
It is very uneven starting in the upper midrange.
It has slightly withdrawn upper mids. But still comes across as bright because of the spike at 9-10kHz.
It tries to "induce" soundstage, but instead it seems like the sound is "boxy" and there is uncontrolled cup echo.
but, hey - they're sexy headphones.
and pretty well built.
EDIT:
let me add one last point.
it wasn't just me who thought this.
i let 3 people who i work with audition this headphone.
and did not tell them my own reaction to the headhpone first.
all 3 of them said they sucked.
even my wife, who is no audiophile, listened to them and said "they don't sound natural."
hey, i respect Tyll Hertsens a whole bunch.
but, i think he called this one way too early.