[Groundloop]

They are even being shipped to retailers any time soon. My concern is jump in or wait. I can have them for 200E in 2 weeks but my concern is that K550 will fall behind K601/K701/Q701 SQ wise...

 

[electropop]

They probably will, but then again it's closed back... Where's my t-shirt?

 

[DVDRey]

They have been released since Monday 05 in France, my vendor has it. I ll probably order one during this month.
 
299 euros.

 

[boba6]

300EUR is too much, it must be around 200

 

[Gwarmi]

 
 
 Price confirmed for Australia at $398AUD (305 euro as of today's exchange rate)

 

[boba6]

HIFI and IT products are always the most expensive here in Hungary and now the cheapest? What (Dacmagic Plus price in promotion is really great too)

 

[Joehandsome]

Looks like I can buy them for 190 EUR here in Denmark I hope they get them in stock soon

 

[rhythmdevils]

I'm going to guess the M50 will be the better headphone.  They're pretty great headphones.  And I have no faith in HarmanKG.

 

[roBernd]

Quote:

I'm going to guess the M50 will be the better headphone.  They're pretty great headphones.  And I have no faith in HarmanKG.

signed...
sad but true... I'm sticking with my Sextetts at home and Etymotics on the go. I guess selling its soul to Harman killed AKG for good.

 

[Gwarmi]

Quote:

signed...
sad but true... I'm sticking with my Sextetts at home and Etymotics on the go. I guess selling its soul to Harman killed AKG for good.

There's still an odd AKG unsung hero can here and there, namely
the AKG 242HD - $200USD and no one wants a bar of them as
their portable pair ~ you can keep the M50, I'd take these any day.
 

 

 

[MuppetFace]

This may sound naively optimistic, but sometimes companies come back from the dead. Take Luxman. Sure, we all know them for having high QC standards now, but they were given new management and really went downhill for a while before making a return. I could probably come up with a few more example in the audio world, but I just woke up.
 
Point being, it's still possible AKG could make a return with legitimate audiophile products down the road. Some new leadership could always raise Lazarus from his tomb.

 

[CantScareMe]

Well, at least when the k550 does come out, it'll be slightly unique in one way. IT'S A CLOSED HEADPHONE.
 
Which is why i'm interested in it.
 
 
I mean the big boys are scared of producing top of the line closed headphones- because it's so much harder to get a hi-(enough)-fi sound from them.
 
Beyer's attempts with the dt770 hi-fi range and their tesla are dissapointing. Overcharging headphones that all together don't even beat the sound of the ath a900. Sennheiser have avoided full size closed headphones completely. Denon's range and the ATH's are non isolating, so if you're looking for a closed headphone, these automatically don't fit the bill (Okay they don't leak as much as open headphones but that's about it). Shure headphones are decent, but it seems like the've hit a brick wall with the srh 940's. 
 
My favourite is the akg k271, but what I would describe as the closed (isolating) full size headphone with the best overall SQ is the ultrasone edition 8. But they aren't that impressive at all the ultrasone's- i prefer quite a few aspects of the k271 over the ed8.
 
 
And that's why i'm stuck on this akg thread. Not that much innovation around in closed headphone land, and when there is- it's exciting.   

 

[Deep Funk]

AKG should have kept the product range more simple. Why offer so many variations of the 'classic' K240-line at the same time? 
 
The K550, I will sooner buy a reserve K181 if I want a closed AKG for on the go...

 

[MuppetFace]

Actually, a lot of sound leakage from closed headphones are due to fit issues with certain people. The W5000 for example either leaks like crazy or not much at all, depending on the seal. The headphone wires can be adjusted to fit properly with a little bending. Same for the W1000X and W3000ANV.
 
Really, Audio-Technica makes more closed headphones than they do open ones. There's also the JVC Victor HP-DX1000 and 700, as well as the vastly underrated Kenwood K1000s. Ultrasone also just announced the Signature Pro, which is basically the spiritual successor to the Edition 9. Also what about the Beyerdynamic DT 1350, T70P, and T5P? Then there's the Sony Z1000 and ZX700...
 
To say that all of these aren't legitimate as closed headphones is kind of a sweeping generalization. People are going to have different shaped heads, and while some of them may not isolate well for one person, they may isolate much more effectively for another. In the end, all closed headphones are going to leak. It's just a matter of how much and the threshold of acceptability.

 

[Deep Funk]

Try a K181/K81/HD25 and ask if anyone around you can hear your music playing while the headphone cups seal your ears. Guess what?
 
If you want to categorize, yes you have closed headphones that actually isolate and you have closed headphones that isolate less. Annoyingly sometimes the marketing on the package indicates isolation but often the headphone does not really isolate. The SHP6000 merely shielded me a bit from the noise while being a loud headphone for example. Oh well...