[dleblanc343]

derbigpr, you seem to be heavily influenced on other people's opinions ( on the topic of manufacturing materials and impressions on the hd700's). I recommend you don't overthink, no, the akg's won't intoxicate you so don't be afraid for your health. As for if the HD700's sound great for you or not, you'll definitely need to try them out and compare; it's the best way to get an idea of the sound. Your appreciation of sound is more valuable than anyone on the internet, no matter how professional they are; so enjoy your time listening/ finding the right headphone for you

 

[derbigpr]

Quote:

What the.
 
Mate, where did you get yours from?? You just made me sniff mine. Nothing wrong at all. I've just switched listening from the d7k to these as these give me a nice flavour for classical music that the denon''s can't.
 
I'm not saying yours are fakes- but could they be. Otherwise there might be some discrepancies in the manufacturing of these. 
 
 

 
They sound too good, and are built to well to be fakes.   
 

 

[CantScareMe]

These are EXtremely impressive for closed headphones sound quality wise. Factor in other stuff like their build, design, comfort, mp3 player friendliness (to a large extent) and you have a great rounded off headphone.
 
Talk of the hd800 and hd700 has surfaced here- but these are not even playing the same game as the k550 and other sub £200 closed headphones. We all know that right? 

 

[Katun]

Personally, I think they look amazing. One of the best headphones I've ever seen.
 
Too bad the cable isn't detachable though...

 

[putente]

Quote:

Personally, I think they look amazing. One of the best headphones I've ever seen.
 
Too bad the cable isn't detachable though...

x2 

 

[prayer86]

I LOVE my AKG K550. They sound fantastic through my E9, but I do have a bias towards these brighter headphones. And while it's not important to me, I can't help but feel that the K550 just looks incredibly sexy.

 

 

[thermalboyz]

Quote:

Personally, I think they look amazing. One of the best headphones I've ever seen.
 
Too bad the cable isn't detachable though...

I am thinking that too, next week i will mod the cable to detachable one. Will post some pics when its done, now burning in progress. 

 

[simalicrum]

Hello all, this is my first post. I just bought these headphones a couple of weeks ago so I thought I'd wade into this discussion.
 
I'm one of those people that's very sensitive to treble problems so I'll give you my take on the k550.
 
In the store I auditioned these along side the Hifiman HE-300, AKG Q701 and Beyerdynamics DT990. I loved the treble and open air on the Q701. Bass was kinda not there and I like to run my headphones off my iphone sometimes so that was a no go. Beyerdymanics were kinda uncomfortable and bass presence wasn't there when I tried the k550 so the dt990s went in the discard pile as well. It was down to HE-300 and the K550. HE-300s sounded dark and 'non-hifi' compared to AKGs. Bass was obviously flabby and un-controlled. And the K550s were just soooo comfortable.
 
First day home I listened to them at low to moderate volumes and after a couple of hours much to my chagrin they gave me tinnitus. Bear in mind that I own a pair of Shure SE215s that leave me in agony, I can't even listen at whisper quiet volumes. Same with the Sony XB500. A pair of bass monsters that's like dentists drills in my eardrums. I'm just really sensitive to treble issues.
 
So I tossed them in a drawer and ran pink noise at loud volumes through them for a week.
 
Then I cruised head-fi and discovered that other people are having issues with the treble in these phones.
 
Tried them again after a week and they seemed.. better.. but.. tilted up in the treble but maybe that's confirmation bias. Everyone was talking about it so it must be true. Right?
 
There was some controversy and I wanted to either be happy with my purchase or take them back so I had to do some more investigation.
 
I listened to pink noise and a variety of music in these phones and compared to my three stereos at home: My 'main' system, a pair of Energy C5s powered by a NAD b320bee, my cheap-y bedroom system, a pair of infinity p160s power by a panasonic xr50 and active studio monitors I have hooked up to my computer. All three systems are very tonely flat and extended to at least 20khz. In both pink noise and music there was nothing overly bright or tilted up in the treble about these cans.
 
I sat in front of all three turning volume knobs and taking headphones on and off for about an hour to make absolutely sure.
 
They are flat. Very flat. Any albums that I know to be very bright and strident on my home systems are bright on these phones. Some albums just are just mastered that way. You'll have to ask the mastering engineer why a particular album was mastered to be too bright.
 
On the other side of the equation you have phones like the Hifimans or Beat Studios that are not flat, they have a 'house' curve. In that case these albums will sound just fine.
 
I would mix with these headphones, they sound like my studio monitors. They are very neutral and delineate spatial cues very well. Well mastered albums sound very good.
 
Listen to Pink Floyd's Piper at the Gates of Dawn, Micheal Stearn's The Lost World or Glitch Mob's Drink the Sea and tell me these phones sound too bright. You won't because they aren't. Radiohead's the Bends and the Tron Soundtrack remixes sound bright, hollow and gutless on these phones but they sound that way on any other system.
 
I've been listening to these now for hours a day at substantial volumes with no issues or fatigue whatsoever.
 
Is break-in in headphones BS or real? I don't know and I'm not claiming that I have proof. However I would recommend break in time for these phones, YMMV and it can't hurt.
 
Let the flame wars begin....
 

 

[CantScareMe]

'They are flat. Very flat'
 

Definitely. I've said that often before. These are the flattest headphones i've come across. Full stop.​

 ​

 ​

And about a detachable cable. Is it really that important to have one? I've never found this to be a deal breaker for me, in any way, for any headphone (although it's quite important for custom iem's to have a detachable cable). ​

 

[KimChee]

I think I'm gonna pull the trigger on these and do the detachable cable mod too. I did it with my M50s a couple of weeks ago.

 

[Bag3l]

Quote:

'They are flat. Very flat'
 

Definitely. I've said that often before. These are the flattest headphones i've come across. Full stop.​

 ​

 ​

And about a detachable cable. Is it really that important to have one? I've never found this to be a deal breaker for me, in any way, for any headphone (although it's quite important for custom iem's to have a detachable cable). ​

 
Of course. A faulty connection at can jeopardize the whole unit. The moment your warranty expires, you'd better pray that nothing goes wrong at that connection point, especially for a pair of cans that retails at ~$300
 
 

 

[CantScareMe]

Amongst the other 4 cans I've got only the very cheapest amongst them has a replacable cable. The k271 has (£100) and the ed8, d7k and d2k don't. Note that the first two are quite a bit more expensive than the k550. So price doesn't come into it.
Probably the main reason the k271 has a replacable cable, like the dt150 is it's a studio can- so it has to be well rugged
 
I mean what are you guys planning on doing with the k550. A wasp creeps in through the window 2 meters from where your sitting. Do you stay seated and fling a headphone at it using the cable? 
 
Fair enough it's a good thing for a headphone to have removable cables, but it isn't for me necessary given that these are home usage headphones. Plus akg make solid headphones anyway, so i'm sure the cable is secure enough as it is.

 

[idletime1213]

My Sextett EP: older than I am and still going strong with stock cable.

 

[Bag3l]

 
Quote:

Amongst the other 4 cans I've got only the very cheapest amongst them has a replacable cable. The k271 has (£100) and the ed8, d7k and d2k don't. Note that the first two are quite a bit more expensive than the k550. So price doesn't come into it.
Probably the main reason the k271 has a replacable cable, like the dt150 is it's a studio can- so it has to be well rugged
 
I mean what are you guys planning on doing with the k550. A wasp creeps in through the window 2 meters from where your sitting. Do you stay seated and fling a headphone at it using the cable? 
 
Fair enough it's a good thing for a headphone to have removable cables, but it isn't for me necessary given that these are home usage headphones. Plus akg make solid headphones anyway, so i'm sure the cable is secure enough as it is.

No I was thinking of using it more as a grappling hook when I'm climbing buildings around campus. I really, really, really want to order these headphones but the fact that it isn't detachable leaves a really bad taste in my mouth. ): But on a serious note, I DJ too, so I would need the headphones to be durable in every aspect if I ever needed to use them for anything besides casual listening on the go or in my dorm.  No K550 for me I guess.
 

 

[malbert]

 

 
Of course. A faulty connection at can jeopardize the whole unit. The moment your warranty expires, you'd better pray that nothing goes wrong at that connection point, especially for a pair of cans that retails at ~$300
 
 

 
 
These are very well made. Take care of them and I do not think you will have an issue.