[dxanex]

To me audiophile is a person not the gear. An audiophile is someone that can hear differences in gear and cares enough about their listening experience to pay a premium based on those differences.

^this
 
au·di·o·phile
ˈôdē-ōˌfīl/
noun
noun: audiophile; plural noun: audiophiles

• 1.
  a hi-fi enthusiast.
  
  
  
  

 
 
So by this definition, if you enjoy the K550, they are up to audiophile standards. Considering the K550 pretty much sounds like a closed K701 with more body in the low end, I don't see why anyone should get bent out of shape for calling them audiophile quality. After all, once upon a time the K701 was a high end audiophile quality flagship headphone. Semantics can be  a b**ch.  That's why in all my years in this hobby I've never considered myself to be an "audiophile" because people wonder why I use $800 headphones to listen to Spotify and not massive HD files that eat up hard drive space. It's what you enjoy, that's all that matters here.

 

[raidenwolff]

To anyone who is interested in picking these up from the UK, they're on sale on amazon.co.uk for £109!

 

[Davidek]

  Sorry, didn't mean to be rude, but for me Audiophile means, in essence, being as true to the source as possible and you just wont find that for under $500 never mind $100  We may well have different ideas of what the term means but  if you compare the K550 up against what i would refer to as 'Audiophile Headphones' such as Beyerdynamic Tesla T5p, Sennheiser HD 800, LCD-3, Audeze, Grado PS1000, HiFiMAN HE-6  then I couldn't in any good conscience call the K550 'Audiophile quality' headphones.
They are fun headphones but . . .  

Saying K550 are not audiophile is quite ridiculous.. don't ever say that please.. An entry-level audiophile phones are called even Grado sr80i, and these are far beyond that quality, for a killer price right now. You are probably just nurtured by high-end headphones, but as good as headphones can get, doesn't make these k550 worse.

 

[jon parker]

  Saying K550 are not audiophile is quite ridiculous.. don't ever say that please.. An entry-level audiophile phones are called even Grado sr80i, and these are far beyond that quality, for a killer price right now. You are probably just nurtured by high-end headphones, but as good as headphones can get, doesn't make these k550 worse.

'You are probably just nurtured by high-end headphones'
 
I think you are right, I was just thinking the same exact thing an hour ago whilst listening to my K550's!!  
(which by the way, my admiration for is increasing!)
But, you know it really doesn't matter if I think they are audiophile quality or not. Its just my own feeling/opinion.
Im happy and welcome to all views be they those who agree with me or those who disagree. If my saying this
upsets some people then may I humbly suggest looking closely at what and why you getting angry at. Why does
an opposing opinion cause a reaction or anger to arise inside? Im not saying I don't this myself - of course I do but
when i think about it I feel a bit like a pebble on a vast beach jumping up and down saying my shape is the best
but hey, you know, that's just like my opinion man
Life is too short to take ourselves TOO seriously

 

[jon parker]

I was thinking about this 'audiophile' discussion last night. It seems the people who respond with a more negative angle towards the term often have a view that audiophiles are snobs. Im sure there are 'audiophiles' who ARE snobs, perhaps the ones who have a lot of money and buy expensive gear just because they can and it makes them feel good. No judgement.
Where I do take exception is when I get accused of audiophile related snobbery based on the odd view I may hold for the simple reason that I think snobbery is very much related to pride. Pride is a type of mind that exaggerates its object/subject to where it is perceived to be better than others. A prideful person puffs themselves up to feel bigger or better than they really are. We all do this from time to time, its a natural defence mechanism for the times when we feel small.
There is a world of difference between offering a view or opinion based on ones personal audio related experience and just basically 'giving it the large' with no care for others opinions of views.
Again, just some thoughts, doesn't matter!
 
Oh, sorry, but I realised why I was uncomfortable with classing the K550's as 'audiophile' quality on another point: From the website:

1. Real Image Engineering for accurate definition and impression of width, distance and depth

When engineering a headphone to give an impression of width distance and depth the designers would not necessarily be looking for accurate reproduction and playback of exactly what appears on the recordings, which is more towards what i personally feel an audiophile designed pair of headphones would do
 
BUT again please don't be annoyed with my points  They are just musings. I may be totally wrong, you may be totally right. It doesn't matter - just sharing some thoughts
I really like these headphones a LOT - I just bought a pair of Sennheisser HD sp II and am loving the different characteristics between the two. Its what makes the world of audio so much fun. The price of the AKG550 at the moment makes them a total no brainer - I would reccomend them to anyone!
Also, related to what Davidek said. I agree. (If I understood you correctly!) It is all relative. I havent heard the Grado80i's but to call them audiophile entry seems a fair thing to say. Although i am biased towards the Grado sound. For me they perform miracles!

 

[rwpritchett]

Anyone willing to spend more than the average consumer on any product must be someone who is passionate about that type of product. When people are passionate about anything, emotions run high and people get offended easier.

So an audiophile is someone who loves/appreciates high-fidelity music. If the K550 is said to not be an audiophile headphone, then some make the connection that you are saying it does not produce high-fidelity sound. Hi-fidelity is a subjective term and there isn't an absolute defined threshold that a product must reach to be considered high-fidelity.

The dictionary defines high fidelity as: the reproduction of an effect (as sound or an image) that is very faithful to the original

So I guess one could argue that any audio equipment that doesn't sound like the original recording is not truly high-fidelity by the literal definition of the term... or one could argue what the definition of "very faithful" is LOL. I guess it's a fool's errand to pinpoint where "high-fidelity" begins and ends with audio gear.

For the $349 MSRP, there are much better options for headphones. At the going rate of $190 on Amazon, these headphones are a deal. I got mine refurbished from AKG for $150 and consider that an incredible value. I'm not hung up on whether or not they are truly hi-fi.

 

[dxanex]

^ You guys bring up some really good points, and I believe that there is a lot of psychology that goes on with this kind of hobby. 10 years ago I would have told anyone that they were crazy for spending more than $200 for a pair of headphones, but now I've heard setups that cost several thousand dollars that sound absolutely amazing and it makes sense to me now. When people spend a lot of money, they expect the best; and that is relative to what they themselves think is the best to them.
 
Sure, some people only want the most expensive gear so that they can feel they are king of the head-fi hill and that's ok if they can afford it. But people often do take offense when someone says that their headphones aren't of good quality because it doesn't have the same technical abilities of a headphone in a whole other price bracket. Sometimes people need to remember that this is a place to talk about why you enjoy headphones and gear and not a place where you have to justify to others why you bought "x" brand headphones and why you think they sound great. Unless you bought a pair of Beats, then you just suck at life.

(I kid).

 

[elvergun]

  When engineering a headphone to give an impression of width distance and depth the designers would not necessarily be looking for accurate reproduction and playback of exactly what appears on the recordings, which is more towards what i personally feel an audiophile designed pair of headphones would do

 
Isn't this what the HD800 is famous for, an impression of width and distance (a wide soundstage)?    So, either the HD800 is not an audiophile pair of headphones or the Sennheiser engineers got really lucky.  Were they looking for accurate reproduction and they somehow got a model with the added bonus of width distance and depth....or did they try to create a headphone with the widest soundstage and they somehow designed a model which accurately reproduces what appears on the recording?

 

[Zephead]

  To anyone who is interested in picking these up from the UK, they're on sale on amazon.co.uk for £109!

 
Same price at Richer Sounds and you can listen before you hand over the cash there. I did and 2 weeks on, I'm loving them.

 

[BeBop Lives]

K550 Mfg Refurb being sold for $129 and free shipping..........This is a great bargain!

 

[kvtaco17]

Just scooped up a K550... so far so good... sounds pretty good once I got them to seal.

 

[eac3]

Hi all, I search this thread and did not see mention of owners of Phillips X1's. I know they are open-back headphones but are there any previous/current X1 owners that can comment on what specifically is different between the K550's and the X1's. I am searching for a nice closed back headphones and have already jumped ship from the Mr. Speakers Mad Dogs.

 

[cel4145]

Hi all, I search this thread and did not see mention of owners of Phillips X1's. I know they are open-back headphones but are there any previous/current X1 owners that can comment on what specifically is different between the K550's and the X1's. I am searching for a nice closed back headphones and have already jumped ship from the Mr. Speakers Mad Dogs.

Even though I have not heard them, I'm pretty sure the Philips X1 are open back.

 

[elvergun]

  Hi all, I search this thread and did not see mention of owners of Phillips X1's. I know they are open-back headphones but are there any previous/current X1 owners that can comment on what specifically is different between the K550's and the X1's. I am searching for a nice closed back headphones and have already jumped ship from the Mr. Speakers Mad Dogs.

 
I bought the Mad Dogs and the K550 at the same time, with the intention of keeping the one I liked best.  I sold the Mad Dogs after a couple of months.  I have not heard the X1.
 
The K550 gives my T5p some serious competition...at a fraction of the cost.

 

[JohnnyWarbucks]

Just in case anyone missed it - they have the reconditioned ones back in stock now for $130 shipped from Harman: http://www.harmanaudio.com/search_browse/product_detail.asp?urlMaterialNumber=K550-Z&status=
 
I'm seriously considering them, but still on the fence myself I had been leaning toward the B&W P7, but it's hard to pass this up for the price.