[Tullebukk]

yeah I think proper memory foam holds bass a lot better, like the velour hm5 pads

 

[arkilus]

Three years usage, bass was completely gone:

 
Finally bought some cheap $10 on ebay, bass and definition are back, although for now they are less comfortable than stock`s:

 

[Tullebukk]

found an easy fix where you can still use the stock pads and make the headphones 1000x more comfy on the ears.. 
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Inside-Foam-Sponge-Pads-for-Beyerdynamic-DT440-DT660-DT770-DT860-DT880PRO-DT990-/231261159878?hash=item35d83d41c6:gtAAAOSwEppUTeNc
 
buy a set of those pads or similar and place them inside the cup (on the outside of the leather pads, kind of tucked inside them). Perfect for people for smaller heads: There is more padding for when it hits the ear and the leather pads are lifted very slightly so they hug around your ears better.
 
If someone else also has problems with pain on the top of the head, a fix for me was to buy some padding that has adhesive on the other side and just smack them on. I used some sound isolating foam with adhesive, works like a charm. My k550's went from horribly uncomfortable and thin sounding to one of the most comfortable headphone I've ever tried, and they sound amazing too.  

 

[itchyears]

  Was it so that the replacement pads which AKG sent weren't made of the exact same material as the original pads?

 
Sorry not sure if that question was directed at myself and for late reply, AKG did send me replacement K550 pads for £20 but this was the price like a year and half ago, think price went up I posted the email and telephone details few pages back but this was for UK guys, should still work for others she told me the pads were coming from europe.
 
The AKG replacement pads were 100% identical to the stock ones since its was from AKG themselves.
 
The alphapad alternative lambskin pads that a member bought few pages back sound like they might have been the best alternative for the K550 pads, but the member blueprint did not pop back to say if it fitted on so hard to risk spending £50-60 on something that may not fit or be good.
 
Seems just by reading the last 2 pages many have K550 earpad woes, I wished AKG released K600s and beyond and more high end closed headphones, so the search continues for the ultimate closed back headphones !

 

[itchyears]

arkilus :
 
Thanks for confirming how those cheapo ebay K550 generic replacement pads are doing, I had a feeling they won't be quite as good as the stock or original K550 pads, I guess for $10 and from ebay its still the most cost effective and easiest method of getting K550 replacement pads though !
 
 
 
Tullebukk :
 
That padding looks interesting I have to admit with the K550s the distance between the ear and pad is too small and it does scratch or rub against the ear.
 
I would rather just have that distance, those brainwavz pads posted on the previous page here look interesting and solve that gap distance issue.
 
Was going to say you can buy an Headband Cushion like this here:
 
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hand-Woven-Wool-Headband-Cushion-For-AKG-K701-K702-Q701-Headphones-Black-/181996655371?hash=item2a5fd8930b:g:7owAAOSwa-dWnMse&rmvSB=true
 
Solved my padding issues for the headband and top of head is nice and comfy. You could also put your padding under it while the headband cushion has button clips so it could hold the padding and maybe look better.

 

[colonelkernel8]

  A week ago I put Brainwavz angled pleather pads on one of my K550s, and I really like them.  They give a lot more breathing room between my ears and the drivers than the stock pads do, but don't have the excessive bass-light/treble-heavy tilt that the Brainwavz flat pads did (for me at least). 

How well do these fit on the K550 given that they're oval shaped? I'd love to get the sheepskin ones, but I'm afraid that the fit will make it look all distorted on the 'phones. I'm a stickler for aesthetics 

 

[episiarch]

See @Rainmaker91's helpful pictures here:  http://www.head-fi.org/t/613707/the-akg-k550-impressions-and-discussion-thread/2385#post_12786026

 

[colonelkernel8]

That is helpful, thanks.
 
Thus begins my epic journey to get the AKG K550's to sound right with glasses. They are so dependent on a perfect seal that with my glasses on they sound completely devoid of bass, but with my glasses off, they sound rich and amazing. I don't know what the solution is, probably really thick pads so the headband is forced to exert more force and contour the pad completely over the glasses frame.
 
Any ideas?

 

[episiarch]

With those pads glasses don't affect the seal, on my head.  Your head may vary of course.  But if aesthetics are a big deal for you then do be sure you like what you see in those photos, because the pads definitely widen the K550's profile.

 

[dudestranded]

I've read all 8 pages of this thread as I am also looking for an alternative to the k55X stock pads.  I have a pair of K553s and the stock pads are a tad shallow for my ears.  I have a big head and big ears so the seal is good but I dislike the feeling of my ear touching the inner material of the pad.  I have a set of Brainwavz pads on my shure srh840 and tried them on my K553.  To me it was more comfortable but the extra distance the pad gave from where AKG originally tuned for their stock pads made the treble very sibilant as well as dethroned the bass.  When I say dethroned, its not that it isn't audible, but it takes the life out of it.  It sounds tight but it has no meat so I don't even notice the tightness.  It turned the perfectly flat tuned sound profile to almost a backslash sound profile (at least to my ears.)  I listened to everything from neil young to beethoven to lil wayne, and the treble was very straining on my ears, from the flutes in Beethoven's Flute Sonata in B flat major to the auto-tuned high pitches in Lil Wayne's Mr. Carter.
 
Just my $0.02 for those thinking about the Brainwavz.  They are much more comfortable but i've went back to the K553 stock pads until I find a better option.
 
As for the $60 needed for the alpha pads, on top of the price I paid for the K553 (off mass drop for $119) i feel like i could have bought a better set of cans so I refuse to pay that unless someone from the prestigious group of audiophiles of head-fi can let me know otherwise. =)
 
Happy listening guys.  Subscribed.

 

[itchyears]

  A week ago I put Brainwavz angled pleather pads on one of my K550s, and I really like them.  They give a lot more breathing room between my ears and the drivers than the stock pads do, but don't have the excessive bass-light/treble-heavy tilt that the Brainwavz flat pads did (for me at least). 

 
Thanks much appreciated, I am still having itchy ears with my K550s, clearly not enough breathing room with the K550s!
 
But you saved me some money not splashing out on these brainwavz so appreciate it, thanks.
 
I have looked around on ebay there are some foams and leather type k550 pads but they appear to be the same width (3cm) thick so don't think they will solve the issue.
 
I may place some extra foam on the inner cup to move it few mm higher and see if this improves it but not got any foam handy just yet. Will report back if it works or not.

 

[lilgr8fool]

A mod I found elsewhere in this tread that worked beautifully along with the original pads or similar sized pads which are found cheap on ebay. 
 
A thick 10 - 15 mm polypropylene (boat ) rope cut to approx 315mm burnt melting ends together with some electrical tape to hold the loop then inserted inside the pads around the circumference increases the bulk and a better seal can be achieved. Done for about 5 dollars and you get some extra rope for around the house as well.

 

[itchyears]

thx yeah had a feeling that was what was required to do it does feel like the engineers did not really test the headphones properly especially if its chaffing and rubbing on the actual ear and causing discomfort.
 
A small piece of foam should fix the engineers mistake here

 

[itchyears]

Bought some memory foam show foam flop thingies but had another idea of using plastic cable tie spiral cable instead since its easier to fit on the inside of the cups.
 
like this :
http://www.tradekey.com/product-free/Cable-Accessories-cable-Ties-Cable-Clip-Spiral-Wrapping-1478781.html
cost a few pounds from ebay
 
Cut it up and slipped it in a loop on the inner pleather cups and its added 3-4mm off height on the cups, its no longer scraping or touching my inner top ear!
 
Feels comfortable so far and no difference to music from what I can tell, the padding looks more fuller and stronger, I will give it a few days or weeks and see if its comfortable but so far this mod is cheap, quick and it helps these K550s hope it works as expected.

 

[LSeven]

The ear pads in my K550 need replacement, any one knows a good seller with compatible earpads (in leather or pleather), for K550. 
 
I tried to buy the  Brainwavz angled leather pads from Amazon, but shipping it's not possible to Portugal
 
Thanks.