[CantScareMe]

okay, finally these are on my head. 
 
Initial breakdown (5hrs listening)
 
1) Looks. box looks good, so do the headphones. I'm not easily impressed by this kind of stuff though, so it doesn't bother me. Some may prefer the look and feel of the denon d2k here.
 
2) Comfort. Will take time to get used to it, but initially I feel that it's not the best. Nice plush pads, but there's a bit more pressure applied than the denon d2k. I'm not too sure about the headband padding. It's too tough and the heaband is shaped too curved. I don't know how to say it properly, but the headbands curvature isn't really right. But overall, goodish comfort. 
 
3) Leakage. 2/5 star. Yes, listening under normal volume it leaks sound, when at this level other closed headphones won't dare leak. Not like a denon d2k, but not far off.
 
4) Isolation. Inconclusive yet. Need more time. Think this isn't that bad though 
 
5) Sound. Dissapointing. Beaten by shure 940, yes, easily. The K271 beats this thing as well. It's got a Lethargic midrange, with quite a lot of muddiness. LOL- Someone first said these have bass like the denon d7k- person must be really confused. Didn't expect this to be this bad. Gonna burn it in, but burn in has never done anything for me ever, so.....
What the hell have akg done. The denon d2k outclasses it most departments sonically, except bass leakage and separation. 
 
 
 
I'll be back after a short 10hr burn in. 
 
 
 
 

 

[MuppetFace]

Your assessment thus far seems pretty similar to my experience, CantScareMe. The more time I force myself to spend with them, the more I realize AKG has seriously dropped the ball.

 

[DVDRey]

I said the same thing, but actually I temper my comments. A good and long burn-in, greatly improves the rendering. After a good scrub, K550 is much better. I had the same problem with the K701, a long, strong and powerful burn-in had changed a lot the headphone.
 
I have actually more bass quality and stronger bass, treble are tamed, soudstage is still huge, mids are more released...(~150 hours), but still not a portable headphone as akg seem to think,lol.

 

[MuppetFace]

Not a believer of burn-in myself, and no amount of use has really changed the character of the K701 for me over the few years I've owned it. Just my opinion of course.
 
When I get a pair of headphones this bad though, I usually let them "burn-in" just for kicks. I figure I have nothing to lose and perhaps see it as an opportunity to witness any evidence of a change in sound. Having let them play for 200 hours now, I'm still not hearing any fundamental change in the sound. Still not good.
 
For what it's worth, I recently purchased a Q701 for my partner, and the total hours of use are probably in the neighborhood of 50 hours. Comparing a relatively "un burnt" Q701 to the "burnt" K550, I still find the Q701 to be a much better headphone.
 
Again, just my opinion obviously. Burn in can't be proved, but then it can't really be disproved either. I just thought I'd offer a counter-perspective.

 

[MuppetFace]

Also, amping does improve the K550 a bit. I've tried pairing it with a variety of amps, both solid-state and tube, as well as different sources. No combination really improved them significantly for me however.

 

[DVDRey]

 
Quote:

Again, just my opinion obviously. Burn in can't be proved, but then it can't really be disproved either.

A driver is a mechanical part, with some use, it normally improves, then wears out and eventually breaks with time,lol, just my opinion.
 
I do a burn-in with all my headphones (and all my speakers since 30 years), some don't practically change, others much more.
 
 
Quote:

I just thought I'd offer a counter-perspective.

 
Completely agree.
 
Maybe its just my ears that are accustomed to the K550, but from the beginning i didn't really like the K550, but after 150 hours of multi burn-in I find it much more enjoyable.
 
The most difference after 150h is concerning mids, they have now a presence and a grainy sound that I love. With Norah Jones voice, its excellent.
 

 

[CantScareMe]

Quote:

Not a believer of burn-in myself, and no amount of use has really changed the character of the K701 for me over the few years I've owned it. Just my opinion of course.
 
When I get a pair of headphones this bad though, I usually let them "burn-in" just for kicks. I figure I have nothing to lose and perhaps see it as an opportunity to witness any evidence of a change in sound. 

Exactly my way
 
 
 
 
Quote:

Having let them play for 200 hours now, I'm still not hearing any fundamental change in the sound. Still not good.
 
 

 
Exactly what I expect to happen
 

 

[electropop]

It's funny how people always tend to say that the bass livens up after a burn in period. If anything, on a brand new pair, it becomes tighter and drops in volume, if ever slightly. I think this happened to the KNS8400. Can't say the same about my other headphones though, since if anything happened, it was too insignificant to notice.

 

[MuppetFace]

Quote:

It's funny how people always tend to say that the bass livens up after a burn in period. If anything, on a brand new pair, it becomes tighter and drops in volume, if ever slightly. I think this happened to the KNS8400. Can't say the same about my other headphones though, since if anything happened, it was too insignificant to notice.

I think it has to do with the faults of a headphone and the perception that burn-in somehow addresses those faults. With a headphone that lacks bass like the K701 or K550, you'll see people saying the bass gets thicker and more lively over time. With the PRO 900 or another headphone that has too much bass for some, you'll generally see people saying that burn in supposedly tones the bass down.
 
It seems to me the trend is more about satisfying what people are looking for (faults passing the threshold of acceptability to them) rather than a general trend of a mechanical process.

 

[MuppetFace]

Quote:

Exactly what I expect to happen
 

Looking forward to your findings.

 

[electropop]

Quote:

I think it has to do with the faults of a headphone and the perception that burn-in somehow addresses those faults. With a headphone that lacks bass like the K701 or K550, you'll see people saying the bass gets thicker and more lively over time. With the PRO 900 or another headphone that has too much bass for some, you'll generally see people saying that burn in supposedly tones the bass down.
 
It seems to me the trend is more about satisfying what people are looking for (faults passing the threshold of acceptability to them) rather than a general trend of a mechanical process.

Exactly my thoughts. Just didn't want to say it out loud 

 

[DigitalFreak]

Quote:

Your assessment thus far seems pretty similar to my experience, CantScareMe. The more time I force myself to spend with them, the more I realize AKG has seriously dropped the ball.

I for see a K550 going up on the for sale forums in the next few days.

 

[MuppetFace]

Quote:

Exactly my thoughts. Just didn't want to say it out loud 

Ah, okay. I really shouldn't derail this thread anymore than it has been, but...
 
It just seems interesting to me that burn-in 9 times out of 10 seems to make headphones better. If we were talking about a change in the drivers significant enough to alter the sound, wouldn't the possibility exist for headphones to sound worse after burn-in too?
 
I've only seen a very small handful of reports of that happening, all with Ultrasones interesting enough. Having said that, I leave the burn-in issue behind. Whenever I look at the K550 I can't help but feel a bit of remorse, as it really is a well built and attractive headphone. Maybe a driver transplant is in order?

 

[MuppetFace]

Quote:

I for see a K550 going up on the for sale forums in the next few days.

I foresee a few K550s showing up in the sale forums in the coming weeks. I guess this thread won't help the sales much though.

 

[derbigpr]

Quote:

If we were talking about a change in the drivers significant enough to alter the sound, wouldn't the possibility exist for headphones to sound worse after burn-in too?
 
 

I think the engineers take into consideration that materials out of which drivers are made will get "softer", so to speak, after some usage, so they make the drivers in such a way that they will perform as intended AFTER this "softening" of the driver occurs. I'm not sure they do it this way, but it makes sense to me.  Whatever the case, burn-in IS real, it does change the sound, but that change is not even nearly as drastic as some people make it sound, and the general rule is for me is, if I don't like the sound of headphones straight out of the box (with maybe 1-2 hours of burn-in, since some headphones tend to sound really bad when they're completely unused), I won't like them after a long burn in either.