[lawrecedent]

I noticed a bit of microphonics on a black background, but when music was playing it was generally OK, the big problem was when I would type with a little force (like when playing a first person shooter) it would rattle the case enough to cause some ringing. I didn't have any place to put it to isolate it so it was a big problem for me. It also didn't play nicely with my Grado SR325is at all.

It might be worth sitting it on top of a square of foam or other such insulating material. I haven't listened extensively with my 325is but my first impressions were quite good. Perhaps I'll have to revisit the pairing (they don't get much headtime at all these days sadly)

 

[sludgeogre]

It might be worth sitting it on top of a square of foam or other such insulating material. I haven't listened extensively with my 325is but my first impressions were quite good. Perhaps I'll have to revisit the pairing (they don't get much headtime at all these days sadly)

That would be interesting to see. I know what you mean on the SR325is, I probably listen to mine once or twice a month, the LCD-2 normally takes precedence, but I'm listening to my Grados now and man I love how incredible Goat Rodeo Sessions sounds through them. The action on the mandolin is so intense and beautiful.
 
Anyway, back to the K550 discussion!

 

[serman005]

Hey, gang. I'm considering getting a K550 and wanted to know if they must be amped. I saw that the impedance was fairly low, but I'm not sure about amping. Thanks for the feedback!

 

[TheGiantHogweed]

Hey, gang. I'm considering getting a K550 and wanted to know if they must be amped. I saw that the impedance was fairly low, but I'm not sure about amping. Thanks for the feedback!

They hardly need amping but they do seem to sound better when you use one. They are quite loud just plugged into the front of my PC. They do sound much better through my FiiO E10 and that has a nice bass boost feature that sometimes goes very well with the K550s. They have very deep bass but it isn't boomy at all like some other closed bac headphones are. Many people think they are very lacking in bass. That does depend on how good the seal is though. If they don't have a good clamp, the bass does become much less noticeable.

If you don't wan't to get an amp, it won't be worth it really. They sound good enough without but there is an improvement when you use one. You can go to crazy volumes with some amps though as these are so easy to drive. I use my FiiO X3 unamped with the K550s and that is loud enough.

 

[Dobrescu George]

fiio x3 can be considered listening amped, as your computer should have around 15 mw, whilst x3 has around 400mw...
 
k550 needs some amping, a fiio device will suffice, but listening straight out of a smartphone has not given me a very good impression.

 

[TheGiantHogweed]

fiio x3 can be considered listening amped, as your computer should have around 15 mw, whilst x3 has around 400mw...

k550 needs some amping, a fiio device will suffice, but listening straight out of a smartphone has not given me a very good impression.

Well, yes it is I suppose. It is pretty much the same as the original E17 which had the same amplifier built into it. they are both very powerful and my X3 is much louder than my PC output.
Maybe a cheaper FiiO amplifier like the new E11k or E10k or something like that depending on what the music source is.

 

[davek]

I post it here too:
 
Did something similar today, and I'm very happy with the outcome. I used sponge, and both the outer and the inner damping have audible effect. The outer part helps preventing resonances in the back of the housing which are present because unfortunately AKG didn't take care of the problem. The inner part has even more effect: depending on the thickness/airiness of the used material, it can soften the trebles. First I used some 3-4 mm thick sponge, it made the trebles really soft and the headphone overall much less brighter, it was a bit too soft for my taste so I changed it to an approximately 2 mm sponge and it is working for me: trebles are not that spikey any more, they are more natural, yet detailed and can bite when they need to, but can do silky laid back treble also which was not the case before. I always liked the K550, it sits comfy on my head, have a good seal at 4 and 5 positions, I just felt that the treble has some unnatural plastic sound and it can be too sharp sometimes. It can be solved with the above method pretty easily, and with it the overall sound becomes more coherent, balanced. I am not a fan of mods, but this one is working and should have done by AKG.
 
It's easy and makes a very audible difference. You can play with the thickness in the inner part, it's like a fine tuning for treble. Let me know your thoughts if you tried, maybe other materials work better, bot for some reason AT and Sennheiser uses sponge at the back of the driver.

 

[Dobrescu George]

  I post it here too:
 
Did something similar today, and I'm very happy with the outcome. I used sponge, and both the outer and the inner damping have audible effect. The outer part helps preventing resonances in the back of the housing which are present because unfortunately AKG didn't take care of the problem. The inner part has even more effect: depending on the thickness/airiness of the used material, it can soften the trebles. First I used some 3-4 mm thick sponge, it made the trebles really soft and the headphone overall much less brighter, it was a bit too soft for my taste so I changed it to an approximately 2 mm sponge and it is working for me: trebles are not that spikey any more, they are more natural, yet detailed and can bite when they need to, but can do silky laid back treble also which was not the case before. I always liked the K550, it sits comfy on my head, have a good seal at 4 and 5 positions, I just felt that the treble has some unnatural plastic sound and it can be too sharp sometimes. It can be solved with the above method pretty easily, and with it the overall sound becomes more coherent, balanced. I am not a fan of mods, but this one is working and should have done by AKG.
 
It's easy and makes a very audible difference. You can play with the thickness in the inner part, it's like a fine tuning for treble. Let me know your thoughts if you tried, maybe other materials work better, bot for some reason AT and Sennheiser uses sponge at the back of the driver.

the sponge you added can act as a dampening material, and stops reverb from forming between the driver and the back-plastic, gives a different sound on some notes, should make everything smoother, mids more melodic, but can distort bass a lot, or take out some bass, depending on what type of sponge material you used.

 

[Shaffer]

I did something similar with my K550, except using open-cell foam. Why open-cell? Because its absorption and dampening properties are relatively even across the spectrum. Sponge, not so much.

 

[maheeinfy]

I recently got K550 for USD 190. After reading few posts, i feel like i have paid more than i should.
Darn!
What is a good price for these?

 

[Dobrescu George]

I recently got K550 for USD 190. After reading few posts, i feel like i have paid more than i should.
Darn!
What is a good price for these?

i would not really agree. they are extremely good at what they do..

 

[Shaffer]

I recently got K550 for USD 190. After reading few posts, i feel like i have paid more than i should.
Darn!
What is a good price for these?

Keep in mind that much of the pricing quotes you see are anomalies; folks wanting to brag about how little they paid. Don't take it too seriously.

 

[TheGiantHogweed]

I recently got K550 for USD 190. After reading few posts, i feel like i have paid more than i should.
Darn!
What is a good price for these?

I paid £129.99 about 1 and a half years ago. The price you have paid now is pretty much the same. On amazon.co.uk, they are now available for £99 so about $150.
 
Maybe you did pay a bit too much

I'm not sure about the prices in the US though. They have come down a lot over the past few years though I think. I can't believe these were ever worth £250. Even at that price, What Hi-Fi still seem to think they are great.
 
http://www.whathifi.com/akg/k550/review
 
Maybe they are one of the best closed back headphones you can get for the price but if they have dropped as much as they have, are they not a little too cheap?

 

[theblueprint]

I recently got K550 for USD 190. After reading few posts, i feel like i have paid more than i should.
Darn!
What is a good price for these?

congrats! Thats what they usually cost new. I hope you enjoy them.

 

[Dobrescu George]

i think that it really depends upon what one is searching for... for me they would cost around 300$ new. I would still consider them. they are worlds better than ath m50..
 
but as far as closed back goes, if you want u shape or v shape you can't beat ultrasone headphones. better soundstage, better bass, better treble, better detail retreival. one can argue about tonality on both k550 or any ultrasone models... in this particular aspect, sennheiser are and will forever be the best...