[cehowardNote3]

Fast forward to present. This newbie/novice just happened to stumble over this thread, and stumbled over that Harman Kardon have AKG K550 on sale, refurbished, with full warranty for $129.95 free shipping... Plus, Harman Kardon have a nice return policy,.. Free shipping on exchanges (30days), and buyer pays shipping for a refund (30days).
 
From reading the thread, the non-detachable cord seems like the only snag for me...But, for this price, and option to return, I think I am going to bite..

 

[d3r1d3x]

Great price. These are really love or hate headphones...really depends on what music you listen to. For example, nothing I've heard beats it for dub. The sparse highs, looow lows that are reproduced with incredible accuracy. Other headphones would smudge the same music. Also, these are the best headphones for mixing that I've used. Better than the HD600.

 

[cehowardNote3]

  Great price. These are really love or hate headphones...really depends on what music you listen to. For example, nothing I've heard beats it for dub. The sparse highs, looow lows that are reproduced with incredible accuracy. Other headphones would smudge the same music. Also, these are the best headphones for mixing that I've used. Better than the HD600.

Thanks for that feedback. I am a novice/beginner/newbie, and just getting into headphones from following my mobile devices..Also, price along with performance are my main goal.  From that standpoint, and being a beginner with no clear listening styles,  I think these will fit right in with my loose style of doing things and be my 3rd set of headphones. My job allows me to have on headphones, look at movies, and listen to music all at the same time I am doing my job, plus, I am stationary too. Sol the wired part is okay. But, I still can use these with my mobile devices, if I so desire. So, my other headphones are bluetooth, to work mainly with my mobile devices.. I just happened to take a pair of the bluetooth headphones to work, and discovered a new world of enjoyment, and that is why I am here and onto these... 

 
Back to these AKG 550, it seems for the price, the return policy, and the reviews, I can't go wrong here..
 
Thanks again,

 

[d3r1d3x]

  Thanks for that feedback. I am a novice/beginner/newbie, and just getting into headphones from following my mobile devices..Also, price along with performance are my main goal.  From that standpoint, and being a beginner with no clear listening styles,  I think these will fit right in with my loose style of doing things and be my 3rd set of headphones. My job allows me to have on headphones, look at movies, and listen to music all at the same time I am doing my job, plus, I am stationary too. Sol the wired part is okay. But, I still can use these with my mobile devices, if I so desire. So, my other headphones are bluetooth, to work mainly with my mobile devices.. I just happened to take a pair of the bluetooth headphones to work, and discovered a new world of enjoyment, and that is why I am here and onto these... 

 
Back to these AKG 550, it seems for the price, the return policy, and the reviews, I can't go wrong here..
 
Thanks again,

The main thing that will determine your experience with these is your head size. I'm 6'3" with proportional head size (not a lot of hair though), and I'm using the smallest headband setting and I still have to squeeze the headband time to time to make the fit tighter. But it does the trick to me.

 

[cehowardNote3]

  The main thing that will determine your experience with these is your head size. I'm 6'3" with proportional head size (not a lot of hair though), and I'm using the smallest headband setting and I still have to squeeze the headband time to time to make the fit tighter. But it does the trick to me.

I have a backup plan... 

 
From reading this and other threads, they all state that a larger head size is preferable..I think I have an average head size maybe on the big side. Plus, I noticed that a lot of owners were recommending doing the gentle squeeze thing too. Well, I just pulled the trigger on them, will get a order confirmation and tracking number tomorrow.  The back up plan is this, when I get them, sample how they perform, if they are say better than my Harman Kardon BTs, they will be keepers, and most likely I will get past the fit thing.  I am almost 98% sure they will not be better than my Sony MDR 1RBTMK2s, but, if they are, and I am that lucky, they will be super keepers, and I will have a lock grin for about a month!! 

  Now, if they turn out to be sub par to my novice listening ears, then I have a exchange plan to try out another pair. BTW, Harman Kardon, offers FREE shipping back for exchanges..And exchange time is 30 days..Great policy if you ask me.. The pair I will exchange them for, and I have no idea what reference and open back mean,which these will be. I am going for the style and what they originally cost, I will be exchanging for the AKG Q701 in black. They have these on that same web site for $199.95 refurbished.. However, these are referred to as reference phones, and I have no idea what the reference or even the open back does.. Just  going by the looks, the same way I judge cars and women... 

  
 
So far, this is a fun thing I have latched on too.. 

 

 

[QBoQBo]

Same here former K701, now k550 and never been more satisfied

 

[Dozbik]

Hi! 
 
I have the chance to buy a pair of these headphones for approximately $122,5 after conversion. They are used, but in fine condition, there are no aesthetic defects on them and they are perfectly functional (owner claims he's had it for a year and only used it once or twice a week, but only to listen to a few songs on each occasion). My question is if you would recommend me this can for this price, which I believe is quite a bargain (well, at least where I live it still costs $220 in a retailer) or are there now cans that are better in this price category? I don't really want to spend considerably more, but if there's any reasonable upgrade for a slight rise in price up to around $150-$170, then I'm fine with that. 
I predominantly listen to progressive rock, progressive metal, classical music, rock 'n' roll and instrumental stuff, like Steven Wilson, Porcupine Tree, Transatlantic, Anathema, Neal Morse, Dream Theater, Rush, Haken etc. etc., just to name a few artists. Not into electronic music or rap etc. From what I managed to gather from the reviews is that this pair excels at managing clear, acoustic instruments, drums, vocals with having a slightly withdrawn bass. These are all excellent for my taste, they pretty much represent what I'm looking for, but I'd also like to know how they fare when, say, a progressive metal song turns into heavy, distorted, gloomy and so on or they turn on lots of effects on the guitar, the synthesizers, a lot of background effects etc. I'd love to hear some of your views in connection with that. Does this pair manage to retain its excellent sound quality even when it comes to music that uses lots of effects, distortion, relay and all the fun stuff you can imagine with modern music technology?
Oh, and one more thing: do you recommend any external amplification to this? I mainly plan to listen to it from my PC to which I have an Asus Xonar DG sound card. What do you think, will that suffice or do I need extra amplification to get out the most of this little baby?  
Okay, one last thing (really, this time!). Is it a bit pointless to buy closed headphones for home listening? I mean, I might take these on the road sometimes, but not too often I believe. So if I want to listen to music in my room, would it make more sense to approach open headphones? Yet, from what I've read from the reviews, this can has also excellent soundstage, so is there really any point in forcing the issue?
I will listen to these at the weekend, but I'm trying to get as much feedback beforehand to refresh my knowledge.
 
Thanks a lot in advance! 

 

[money4me247]

  Hi! 
 
I have the chance to buy a pair of these headphones for approximately $122,5 after conversion. They are used, but in fine condition, there are no aesthetic defects on them and they are perfectly functional (owner claims he's had it for a year and only used it once or twice a week, but only to listen to a few songs on each occasion). My question is if you would recommend me this can for this price, which I believe is quite a bargain (well, at least where I live it still costs $220 in a retailer) or are there now cans that are better in this price category? I don't really want to spend considerably more, but if there's any reasonable upgrade for a slight rise in price up to around $150-$170, then I'm fine with that. 
I predominantly listen to progressive rock, progressive metal, classical music, rock 'n' roll and instrumental stuff, like Steven Wilson, Porcupine Tree, Transatlantic, Anathema, Neal Morse, Dream Theater, Rush, Haken etc. etc., just to name a few artists. Not into electronic music or rap etc. From what I managed to gather from the reviews is that this pair excels at managing clear, acoustic instruments, drums, vocals with having a slightly withdrawn bass. These are all excellent for my taste, they pretty much represent what I'm looking for, but I'd also like to know how they fare when, say, a progressive metal song turns into heavy, distorted, gloomy and so on or they turn on lots of effects on the guitar, the synthesizers, a lot of background effects etc. I'd love to hear some of your views in connection with that. Does this pair manage to retain its excellent sound quality even when it comes to music that uses lots of effects, distortion, relay and all the fun stuff you can imagine with modern music technology?
Oh, and one more thing: do you recommend any external amplification to this? I mainly plan to listen to it from my PC to which I have an Asus Xonar DG sound card. What do you think, will that suffice or do I need extra amplification to get out the most of this little baby?  
Okay, one last thing (really, this time!). Is it a bit pointless to buy closed headphones for home listening? I mean, I might take these on the road sometimes, but not too often I believe. So if I want to listen to music in my room, would it make more sense to approach open headphones? Yet, from what I've read from the reviews, this can has also excellent soundstage, so is there really any point in forcing the issue?
I will listen to these at the weekend, but I'm trying to get as much feedback beforehand to refresh my knowledge.
 
Thanks a lot in advance! 

 
They are a pretty solid closed pair of headphones at the $200 price point. Do not need an amplifier for them.
 
If you are just planning on home use & do not require noise isolation, a pair of open headphones would be my first thought. however, for the nice open headphones, I think even the budget friendly ones are around $200ish at least, and many of them require amplification which would be at least another $100ish for a well-reviewed budget amp.
 
At $120ish, I don't think there are any other options that will significantly outperform these headphones that springs to my mind. I think if you want something that may be nicer, you will have to spring $300-$400 for a pair of nice open headphones + amplifier. Otherwise, I think for $120 these are a great value provided that the seller is legit.

 

[Dozbik]

   
They are a pretty solid closed pair of headphones at the $200 price point. Do not need an amplifier for them.
 
If you are just planning on home use & do not require noise isolation, a pair of open headphones would be my first thought. however, for the nice open headphones, I think even the budget friendly ones are around $200ish at least, and many of them require amplification which would be at least another $100ish for a well-reviewed budget amp.
 
At $120ish, I don't think there are any other options that will significantly outperform these headphones that springs to my mind. I think if you want something that may be nicer, you will have to spring $300-$400 for a pair of nice open headphones + amplifier. Otherwise, I think for $120 these are a great value provided that the seller is legit.

Thanks for the qiuck reply. The seller seems to be legit to me, because he's been registered on the website I found his advert on for seven years and has thousands of posts, so that's a good start. Quite a number of people have leapt on his advert, but - uncharacterestically of me - I was the quickest, so I guess that's another indicator that this looks like a good deal. We'll meet at the weekend in person, so I will have the chance to try these out before I make up my mind, but barring any major ****ups, this seems to be a no-brainer based on what you say.  

 

[Dozbik]

So I bought them and I am happy so far, they seem to have been a good buy. I wanted to ask whether you guys think it would be necessary to get an upgrade in headphone amplification? I have an Asus Xonar DG sound card. Do you think I should buy an external amplifier and if so, can you name a model or two? 
 
Thanks a lot! 

 

[Spawn300Z]

  So I bought them and I am happy so far, they seem to have been a good buy. I wanted to ask whether you guys think it would be necessary to get an upgrade in headphone amplification? I have an Asus Xonar DG sound card. Do you think I should buy an external amplifier and if so, can you name a model or two? 
 
Thanks a lot! 

Congrats on your purchase.  You don't have too, but I think it helps out alot with these. I have the Headstage Arrow 3G and it really brings out the lower end.  Love still.

 

[Dozbik]

Congrats on your purchase.  You don't have too, but I think it helps out alot with these. I have the Headstage Arrow 3G and it really brings out the lower end.  Love still.

 


Thanks a lot! What do you think of this amplifier?

http://hardverapro.hu/apro/csoves_fejhallgato_erosito

It's built manually, it has a 6N1P-EV pre degree tube (?, I'm not sure, I'm just translating it literally) and 6N13SZ/6h13C tubs in it. Do these say anything to you? Would this one work well with the AKG K550?

 

[shnjb]

Is it worth buying these used on Amazon.com?

 

[HardTI]

I'm sure this isn't the best spot to post this, but these are on sale at New Egg for 89.99.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA62X53W0227
 
Bought a pair, posted here, and now it's sold out. Sorry. 

 

[ibrhmalk]

I bought a used one for $20. Let's see how this headphone will make me feel in 2022