AKG K550 or Denon D600?
Sep 17, 2013 at 4:12 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 11
cdahdude

cdahdude

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Hello,
 
I am going to college soon, so I need to choose a good sealed headphone so that I don't annoy my roommate and still listen to loud music. I have been using a Sennheiser HD 650 for a year now and am looking for something new, so I am thinking of buying either the D600 or K550, which I've heard have great sound. But I still don't know if the D600 will have a good enough seal for me to be able to listen to music at medium volume without leakage. I also have an amplifier, and am planning for just desktop use, not portable, if that helps. Thanks!
 
Toshiki Nazikian
 
Sep 17, 2013 at 4:26 PM Post #2 of 11
I can only speak about the AKG K550 which I appreciate a lot, and are amongst my favourite closed (but really surprisingly open sounding) headphones, but yes, as frequently stated on this site, you do have to have a good seal on your ears, as otherwise the sound seems to be washed out, especially the lower frequencies. Sound isolation is really good on K550s. Regarding the Denons, I cannot really give you any advice as I do not own those, but the previous Denon versions seem not to be so good in so far as isolation (not sound!) is concerned, but that might have been addressed, for all I know, in the newer versions. i sure other Head-Fi members, with more experience in different headphones, will be giving you further advice which will help you make a wise decision!
 
Sep 17, 2013 at 4:33 PM Post #3 of 11
cdahdude said:
  I am going to college soon, so I need to choose a good sealed headphone so that I don't annoy my roommate and still listen to loud music. I have been using a Sennheiser HD 650 for a year now and am looking for something new, so I am thinking of buying either the D600 or K550, which I've heard have great sound. But I still don't know if the D600 will have a good enough seal for me to be able to listen to music at medium volume without leakage. I also have an amplifier, and am planning for just desktop use, not portable, if that helps. Thanks!
Click to expand...

What make and model is the amplifier?
I only own the K550.
I would guess the Denon AH-D600 is going to have more bass and the K550 is going to offer more sound stage.
 
Sep 17, 2013 at 6:23 PM Post #5 of 11
cdahdude said:
  Hi folks and thanks for the replies so far,
I own a Qinpu A-3 amplifier and Schiit modi DAC.
Click to expand...

The Qinpu A-3 is recommend for headphones that are 100-Ohms or higher.
The Denon AH-D600 is 25-Ohms and the AKG K550 is 32-Ohms.
 
Sep 17, 2013 at 7:17 PM Post #6 of 11
Hmm.. Well, I suppose I don't really need to use an amp to run it, but the bottom line right now for me is to find a good sealed headphone within that price range soon. As long as either have good sealing properties than I am more than happy, but if there is a better alternative that I have missed...
 
Sep 17, 2013 at 7:23 PM Post #7 of 11
cdahdude said:
  Hmm.. Well, I suppose I don't really need to use an amp to run it, but the bottom line right now for me is to find a good sealed headphone within that price range soon. As long as either have good sealing properties than I am more than happy, but if there is a better alternative that I have missed...
Click to expand...

What sources will the headphone (& amp) be plugged into?
 
Sep 17, 2013 at 7:46 PM Post #11 of 11
I've heard both. The d600 aren't that bad at all actually ..... good in-fact for what they are. They give a vast soundstage to music and OST tracks, orchestral pieces benefit greately from this openness in all directions. Obviously the bass is heavy but not overly bloated and not distracting from the midrange. This highs are in general good too - but then comes the problem. With female vocals and frequencies in that region they're terrible. Only beats headphones priced as such suffer from similar problems in my experience. There's a huge reverberation and mismanagement of tone in this region that I couldn't own the headphone. 
 
The K550 is more balanced and 'audiophile' like. It too can sound unnatural at times but can't go no where near as crazy as the d600.
 
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