[That dude]

I had a chance to audition it, and I gotta tell you, it is NO WHERE near the k5/6/701s.

The build is plasticky, fiddily, and loosely put together. When I tried them, the headphones griped my head like a vice. REALLY uncomfortable. Sound wise, I could not remember the exact characteristics, but, I remember being unimpressed, not even slightly. I think they would be quite a good choice for a first timer head-fi (soon to be) addict, but the sr60 still reigns king in that area IMO.

Also, there're made in China, like all the other low-end AKGs.

 

[Fitz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ernie II /img/forum/go_quote.gif They are the successor to the K 501. They have a lower impedance (55 ohm).

It's already been said, but no they aren't. The K601/K701 are the successors to the K401/K501. The K530 is the new K301 Xtra.

 

[fhuang]

this new phone is no where near the high end akg, k5/6/701 from build quality to sound quality but surely better than k301 or k44/55/66

 

[audiomagnate]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fukujama777 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The K530 are quite hard to find even in Austria (AKG is an Austrian company - at least partly). Same goes for the K324P which seem to be a CX300 variation. I have them now for some days and like them better than any of my existing phones for home listening all of which fall more or less in the same price region - Senn HD555, HD485, AKG K271. They sound big, with deep bass that's never boomy, voices are sweet and highs are detailed but never aggressive. They are easy enough to be driven from iPod or laptop jack but definitely benefit from a dedicated amp. The looks are a matter of taste. Cannot decide if i find them retro or futuristic. They make a good match with my white MacBook. Compared with HD555: I love AND hate the HD555, listen to all kinds of music and I love them for how they present small setting, female voices, Jazz etc. but tune to some not so well recorded aggressive rock and they just suck. The bass section of the K530 blows the Senn away and overall the sound more grown up. Compared with HD485: Both are pretty much the same price over here. Got the HD485 for 85 Euro and the the K530 for 82 online. The HD485s deliver where the HD555 lack - bass. They're just a fun listen, easy to drive and never aggressive, but at a price: the highs are rolled off, there's less detail, the overall presentation is less thrilling and engaging than the K530. Both 555 and 485 to me have the same overall "Sennheiser" sound signature - though they are quite different - and I'm now sure I like the AKG approach better.... Compared with K271: I got rid of them simply because I now don't need closed fullsized phones anymore and they are a little bass shy compared to the K530, that's all. So for now I'll use the the K530 "in-house". The K81DJs are my semi-portable option and they're still fantastic price/value - just a little too uncomfortable for long sessions. Whereas the Senn PX100 don't get much use these days I still use the CX300 every day on the street. BTW, if anyone tried the K324P I would be interested if they're different from the CX300?

What an excellent, thoughtful review. I'm going K530 hunting.Does anybody know where I can get a pair shipped to the US without too much trouble?

 

[Specialzed]

These things are nice, hows the bass?

 

[hardstyler]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Specialzed /img/forum/go_quote.gif These things are nice, hows the bass?

Very good says fukujama777.

 

[boomy3555]

Where did you guys find this 2 y/o thread ? They look so " Nancy Sinatra" Boots Are Made For Walking" "Cadillac Seville"

 

[adiZero]

Can anyone tell me why the AKG K530 does not have many fans here at head fi???

Anyone knows how well these cans isolate ?(they are so called semi open)....

 

[oqvist]

Just tried them today. These and the Bose Around ear headphones was what I focused on primarily. I have never heard Bose before and wanted to see how bad they are. If we stick to sound they are hugely underrated over here.

Comparison was on my Ipod touch 3G versus my Edition 8. I found both the Bose and the K530 to be very easy to listen to. Definiatly do the job to me when I don´t want to dig to deep into the music.

As for build quality well its below 100$ here so I think it´s good for it´s price point. Relatively thick cable and the construction seemed like it could take some beating. That its plasticky you have to expect at this price point. The Bose however had some ridiculous cable, they felt very poor built it felt you could break them just by handling them. And cost 250$? That they are overpriced I agree 150 % on but they sounded quite nice with a really nice soundstage. None of these got "destroyed" by the ED 8 but then I listened to it 10h a day the last 3 days so I needed the change perhaps

I loved the fact that the Bose headphones was smaller then the ED 8 yet fully circumaural and as mentioned they didn´t feel that claustrophobic anyway. My much bigger ED 8 doesn´t manage to become fully circumaural but it has much thicker leather earpads.

So yes the K530 did perform great. Much better then trying to run my K701 out of an ipod. More body to the music and doesn´t need as much help from clever amp matching to make them musical.

55 ohms they required slightly more juice then my ED 8 but no problem at all. How much they scale I can´t say of course. If they had the same casing as the Bose and didnt become sweaty so incredible fast I would probably have bought them. K530 was quite comfortable though the Bose take the price here even disregarding warm ears.

As for isolation it was really hard to tell here. The did manage to shut out the salesman that tried to except for selling the overpriced bose later suggesting the K518DJs over the K530? They did loose some of their mojo seeing the Ed 8 on my neck it seemed though

I didn´t even take a listen to the 518 after having the 81DJ torture instruments. Both the Bose and the K530 was warm but not excessively bassy at all on the Ipod anyway.