[mrmoto050]

  Just got a pair of these.  I like them.  Nothing fancy, but they get the job done.   The K550, IMO, is a better headphone, but you can't take those around with you without looking silly.
 
I like these better than the H6, the PM-3 (I bought and sold\returned both recently) and a bunch of other portables which I've owned or heard over the years.  The H6 and the PM-3 are better headphones (technically), but somehow I prefer the signature of the K545.
 
I bought the HD280 headband...and I might try the HM5 pads.  The headband bothers me...which is strange since I had no problems with the K550s.   The pads could be a little roomier -- I hope the HM5 pads don't change the signature too much.  I guess I can live with the stock pads.
 
 
Just some random thoughts...

@elvergun put some brainwavz pads on them (AKG545_ and you will change your opinin about the K550. imho

 

[van nguyen]

I use the k545 with the dx90 and it sounds very good! I EQ the 10k region down by 2db and the 3k300 region up by 2db.The sound even gets better!

 

[van nguyen]

What is your EQ setting for the k545 guys?

 

[mrmoto050]

What is your EQ setting for the k545 guys?

@van nguyen flat no EQ, but I changed my Pads to Brainwavz

 

[van nguyen]

@van nguyen
 flat no EQ, but I changed my Pads to Brainwavz

what does the hm5 do to the sound?

 

[mrmoto050]

what does the hm5 do to the sound?

@van nguyen for me, it tightens the bass and opens the soundstage up, also more comfy

 

[rhythm is life]

What is your EQ setting for the k545 guys?

Using Neutron Music Player:

Center frequency: 255 Hz
Gain: 3 dB
Bandwidth: .805 octave

Center frequency: 8500 Hz
Gain: -4 dB
Bandwidth: .36 octave

High shelf cutoff frequency: 14000 Hz
Gain: 3 dB
Q: 1.0

 

[dweaver]

I don't stop by this thread very often but thought I would drop in and say I am still enjoying this headphone. My son has commandeered it most of the time but when I can sneak it back from him I still enjoy it a lot especially for Jazz and older rock.

 

[antistrange]

Tried these out with stock pads and with Brainwavz HM5 pads.
 
Out of the box:
 
Sound is mediocre. Loud in the middle, but drops off on both ends. Minimal highs, lows feel forced and dull. Could tweak EQ around to make them passable, but nothing special. Adding an amp did nothing for it. Turning the volume past comfort point made them sound average, barely better than consumer Bose / Beats.
 
With Brainwavz:
Somehow the sound is worse - even fitted properly, the sound became muddy, even less lows, and the highs / mids turned metallic. No amount of EQ / amp / adjustment improved it. Entire range felt sloppy.
 
Overall:
The comfort was nice, but they slide around on my head (small head) so these would not be portable for me. No sound leaking at volumes I listen to but I had someone try it at their normal volume and I could hear it from a few feet away. Isolation seemed minimal, outside sounds were in constant competition for comfortable volumes on these.
 
The price point also seemed too high for the sound quality - comparing them to the ATH-M50x, which were $100 less - the M50x were much more rounded, and had a lot more to offer but still not perfect.

 

[money4me247]

@antistrange, lol. the ath-m50x is actually strongly v-shaped (so recessed mids, emphasized bass & treble). so your relative complaints of the akg k545 is simply due to its more neutral and balanced frequency response. it's totally chill to prefer a v-shaped sound sig, but the k545 definitely has better technical sound performance than the ath-m50x from my direct comparisons (larger sound stage, better transient response, tighter notes, more balanced sound signature).

 

[antistrange]

  @antistrange, lol. the ath-m50x is actually strongly v-shaped (so recessed mids, emphasized bass & treble). so your relative complaints of the akg k545 is simply due to its more neutral and balanced frequency response. it's totally chill to prefer a v-shaped sound sig, but the k545 definitely has better technical sound performance than the ath-m50x from my direct comparisons (larger sound stage, better transient response, tighter notes, more balanced sound signature).

 
I didn't say the ath-m50x was perfect, far from it. I just find better sound quality with them than the k545. Unless the k545 I received was defective, I found none of the features everyone has mentioned - sound stage was small, no tight notes or bass, sound signature was lacking and so on. If I only listened to music that was mid-heavy, I could see them being decent but expensive for the quality. The same could be said if I only listened to bass heavy music - I'd just buy Beats and be done with it instead of throwing hours and money into the search for high quality sound.
 
Since sound is highly subjective, it's reasonable that someone might really enjoy the k545, but for me, not at all. I've already been through a number of headphones trying to find a sound experience that has what I'm looking for, and so far, none of them offer the full experience.

 

[money4me247]

 
I didn't say the ath-m50x was perfect, far from it. I just find better sound quality with them than the k545. Unless the k545 I received was defective, I found none of the features everyone has mentioned - sound stage was small, no tight notes or bass, sound signature was lacking and so on. If I only listened to music that was mid-heavy, I could see them being decent but expensive for the quality. The same could be said if I only listened to bass heavy music - I'd just buy Beats and be done with it instead of throwing hours and money into the search for high quality sound.
 
Since sound is highly subjective, it's reasonable that someone might really enjoy the k545, but for me, not at all. I've already been through a number of headphones trying to find a sound experience that has what I'm looking for, and so far, none of them offer the full experience.

closed v-shaped headphones with larger sound stage look into the v-moda m100 or one of the beyer headphones.

 

[mrmoto050]

closed v-shaped headphones with larger sound stage look into the v-moda m100 or one of the beyer headphones.

he said he had a small head. He might try senheiser momentum

 

[money4me247]

he said he had a small head. He might try senheiser momentum

ya the momentum gen 2 over ears may be a good fit. not as v-shaped as the m100s, but a bit more prominent bass and treble compared to some of the more neutral oriented headphones.

 

[antistrange]

  ya the momentum gen 2 over ears may be a good fit. not as v-shaped as the m100s, but a bit more prominent bass and treble compared to some of the more neutral oriented headphones.

 
Small head, and listen at low to moderate volumes. What's loud to me is average to kind of quiet for most. Trial and error has led me to understand that that has a huge impact on what I'm looking for. Headphones that I have disliked at volumes I listen to sound fair to decent at much higher ones, or in some cases, worse than before. I'm not a fan of open, so I think that removes Grado from the running completely.
 
I've tried the Momentums and don't like them at all. I have been unimpressed with most all of their line up for some time now. The most recent I've tried is Sennheiser HD25-1 II, I have those on hand right now, but they are going back because I can't stand them. They're on-ear, which is a deal breaker immediately. That aside, the sound was just ok. Much better than the Momentums and the other Senns I've tried but too colored in the mids for my taste. The rest of the sound quality felt boring, like "ok yeah these are headphones" kind of boring. If I ever wanted to just limit how much I listen to music, I'd buy them because after a song or two I felt tired of it because I couldn't experience the music at all, it was just "there". I can see if being ideal if you want flat quality for mixing, totally understand that. Not something I'd want to use for listening though.
 
The Beyer DT770 32 Pros didn't work for me either. Comfort is perfect, fits great, doesn't slip, even with glasses I can barely feel them. The sound though, not for me. Sibilance at higher volumes, cramped sounding all around, isolation barely exists, not enough kick on the lows, mids sound veiled/clattered. At low volumes, I don't notice it as much, but turning it up or using an amp makes the sound turn ugly and the stage feels even more tiny. Hearing the hiss/pop on everything that isn't mid makes me cringe, and the bass is more of a rattle/echo than anything else.
 
Maybe my expectations aren't realistic, but that's why I spend so much time reading through these threads trying to find something that fits what I want. There's no place near here to just go audition headphones unless I want the usual Bose/Beats/Skullcandy, so I'm left with ordering from Amazon and other places if I want to try anything. The next pair that's coming is the ATH-M70, but I won't know until they show up tomorrow how that will turn out. I don't think V-shaped is what I'm after, I think I'd rather something that represents everything with purity to the point that I can hear even the tiniest detail as clear as if I'm sitting next to it, without coloring, or sacrificing mids for more bass etc.