[dweaver]

My Bravo Ocean tube amp arrived today so I have been playing around with it and the K545 as well as my Q701. For me I find the upper mids and possibly lower treble are too mellow and smooth. So if a person has a tube amp and is worried about the areas I just mentioned in regards to being to peaky they will be able to take the edge off the K545. There will be times I can enjoy the Bravo, but I think for the most part I will stick with just the Audioengine D1 and my portable devices.

 

[elwappo99]

Kind of odd for AKG to release this headphone so much after the K550. When this gets released street price of the K550 will already be lower, which isn't a good sign for the K545 market. 
 
With that said, seems so far the few opinions are the K545 is a slight improvement? Or am I reading that wrong. I haven't seen any comments on the resonance that occurred with the K550's midrange, anyone know if that was fixed?

 

[dweaver]

I don't notice a resonance in the midrange but may just not know what to look for. What specifically should I be looking for? I know when I had the K550 I could detect a bit of what I refer to as a cavern effect or slight echo like effect. If that is what your referring to I don't believe it is in the K545 or if it exists it's not nearly as present.
 
Having owned both headphones and done an A/B test I definitely prefer the K545 and think it's portability plus fuller sound offer a very compelling reason to consider it. But that is my take, everyone will have to decide for themselves.
 
I hope chudaliscious receives their pair soon so more people than myself can start to comment on these and share their impressions.

 

[Chudalicious]

I've had a few people ask so here goes with my initial impressions:
 
I want more time with them but I feel like they may be a little too dark for my taste. What I love about the K550/1 is the soundstage and the neutral feel but I think like these may miss the mark on both. I was looking for the same spacious sound and separation with a touch more bass and more portability but it just seems like they darkened the whole signature and moved the orchestra to a much smaller venue. Intimate? Yes... but not really was I was hoping for.
 
Build quality is very similar to the other K5.. offerings with sturdy swivels, comfy pads and headband. Light as well and being a woman with petite ears, I have no issue with comfort as the pads fit nicely around and do not sit on any portion of my ear. May be easier to get a seal with these than the K550/1 for some.
 
Mine came with a 3 button iPhone ready cable and also included a one-button cable as well. I like what they did with the plug in making it a slimmer profile as the K550/1s had a thicker plug that made it impossible to fit with any of the iPad/iPhone cases I have. Turquoise color is very pretty and different from the buffet of HP choices to date.
 
To be fair, I have been listening to the K551s I grabbed off Amazon for the past week leading up to getting these yesterday so I want to a)allow my ears to get a little more used to their signature before making a decision as to which one to keep and b)allow them to burn in more to the point of the K551s to ensure there are no unfair advantages on either side.
 
Giving it a little more time before I make a final call but I would say I am a bit underwhelmed at this point. They may be exactly what some have been craving from AKG but a twin of the K550 signature with a bit more bass they are not. I only bought them for work to leave at the office but I just don't find myself getting lost in the music like I have with the other K550/1 like I have in the past.
 
Don't mean to turn anyone away from trying these but had to be honest with my initial impressions with respect to the qualities that I was looking for. Had I not already been familiar and had a crush on the K550 sound, I think my impressions would be skewed differently.
 
My two cents...

 

[dweaver]

Excellent impressions

My take that they were a bit darker may be off as I tested against a brand new K550 in the less than ideal testing environment. Also these do seem to have changed with use so between brain and headphone adjustment you might like them more after a week of use, but they are still going to be darker even then.

btw what sources have you been using? I am finding these change a fair amount between sources. For example I was quite underwhelmed with my new tube amp last night as the added warmth of the tube running from my Audioengine D1 plus the already warm K545 was to much and sounded almost muddy. But when played from my portable devices directly the bass is not as strong as my Audioengine D1 and consequently brighter sounding. I personally live the Auduoengine D1/K545 combo but I do think it might be bass heavy and dark for some.

 

[Chudalicious]

For consistancy's sake, I have been using the audio out on the MBPro. However, when the Meridian DAC gets back in hand (it was sent back to Meridian for the swap out on the impedence issue) I will definitely be using that to test these bad boys.
 
Overall, I just feel like the presentation is a bit forward for my likes but again, time will tell and these are up against some pretty heavy hitters in my lineup so I guess my ears have just become snobby in general.

 

[dweaver]

I suspect these will be to forward for lovers of the K550 and other headphones too. For me the closer sound is great in noisy environments which accounts for a lot of my portable circumstances and for lots of my genres. Then when I want more open sound I switch to my Q701. My only other high end headphones were a Shure 940 and 1440 both which I have sold for various reasons. So I don't have anything seriously high end to spoil me LOL.

 

[elwappo99]

 

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

I've had a few people ask so here goes with my initial impressions:
 
I want more time with them but I feel like they may be a little too dark for my taste. What I love about the K550/1 is the soundstage and the neutral feel but I think like these may miss the mark on both. I was looking for the same spacious sound and separation with a touch more bass and more portability but it just seems like they darkened the whole signature and moved the orchestra to a much smaller venue. Intimate? Yes... but not really was I was hoping for.
 
Build quality is very similar to the other K5.. offerings with sturdy swivels, comfy pads and headband. Light as well and being a woman with petite ears, I have no issue with comfort as the pads fit nicely around and do not sit on any portion of my ear. May be easier to get a seal with these than the K550/1 for some.
 
Mine came with a 3 button iPhone ready cable and also included a one-button cable as well. I like what they did with the plug in making it a slimmer profile as the K550/1s had a thicker plug that made it impossible to fit with any of the iPad/iPhone cases I have. Turquoise color is very pretty and different from the buffet of HP choices to date.
 
To be fair, I have been listening to the K551s I grabbed off Amazon for the past week leading up to getting these yesterday so I want to a)allow my ears to get a little more used to their signature before making a decision as to which one to keep and b)allow them to burn in more to the point of the K551s to ensure there are no unfair advantages on either side.
 
Giving it a little more time before I make a final call but I would say I am a bit underwhelmed at this point. They may be exactly what some have been craving from AKG but a twin of the K550 signature with a bit more bass they are not. I only bought them for work to leave at the office but I just don't find myself getting lost in the music like I have with the other K550/1 like I have in the past.
 
Don't mean to turn anyone away from trying these but had to be honest with my initial impressions with respect to the qualities that I was looking for. Had I not already been familiar and had a crush on the K550 sound, I think my impressions would be skewed differently.
 
My two cents...

 

 
Huh! Thx for the impressions. One priority I have is for SS in a headphone, so maybe I should keep looking for a K550 

 

[Trunks159]

1r and kef m500 have a really good soundstage.

 

[dweaver]

I think the K545 has a larger sound stage than the M500 and at least as large a sound stage as the 1R. I hope Chudaliscious's experience starts to improve with some burnin (brain and headphone). I did notice a bit of difference in size though (smaller) when I A/B tested the K550 but it wasn't massive which is why I still think these have a larger SS than most of the portables I have owned.

Chudaluscious, do you have a straight up portable device you could try a quick listen from? These are designed to run portably foremost and I do think they are closest to the K550 from that type of source. I love my Audioengine D1/K545 combo but I do think it will be an acquired taste.

 

[Blinxat]

Dark? I only auditioned them briefly today and I found them to sound quite clear and somewhat papery in the highs. Not harsh though. I thought they had very good soundstage. Felt open and immersive to me. 
 
Also thought these need a fair amount of juice. On my K267 I have 3-4 stops to spare in volume, on the K545 it was full volume or maybe -1. (on my smartphone).

 

[Chudalicious]

  Dark? I only auditioned them briefly today and I found them to sound quite clear and somewhat papery in the highs. Not harsh though. I thought they had very good soundstage. Felt open and immersive to me.
 
Also thought these need a fair amount of juice. On my K267 I have 3-4 stops to spare in volume, on the K545 it was full volume or maybe -1. (on my smartphone).

 Just wondering if you also are familiar with the K550/K551 sound to compare them to? If you do a side-by-side, the difference is quite night/day, least that is what my ears told me
 
Far as volume, I had the K267s as well (until I sent them back because they kept breaking) and I also find these to need more volume than usual for a "portable" pair of HP.
 
I'll do more listening tonight from my iPad as dweaver had suggested and report back on the findings.

 

[dweaver]

In comparison to the K550 they are definitely different and not just the bass. I actually find the mids and parts of the bass to sound more like a modded Q701. This doesn't mean they are like the Q701 in all areas, but in those two areas I hear definite similarities. Conversely the original Q701 was similar to the K550.

BTW I should have been more clear in my comments earlier where I suggested the K545 slayed all the portables I have owned. I meant this mainly in my personal preference not technical ability. In regards to technical ability the M500 and DT1350 are as good and possibly better than the K545. I do think the K545 has a leg up technically on the MDR1R though.

 

[Chudalicious]

So the longer I listen to these and then swap over to the K551s, I am coming to the conclusion that I think I have zeroed in on the issues my brain is having with these. When swapping between the two (and then even throwing in a little TH-900 as a baseline), it seems the K545 is just a bit too veiled for my tastes. I was using the word "dark" previously, which I still agree to some extent but I think "veiled" works a bit more. This became more apparent to me with the vocals more than anything. They are more in your face but I want to "peel away the plastic" so-to-speak when listening. Granted it is unfair to A/B with the Fostex but those really showcase the sound I have grown to love from a closed HP. When I switch back to the K551s I feel like they are a bit more open, airy and some of that "heldbackness(?)" has been removed, albeit with a little less bass impact. I would not go as far to say the K545s are muddy but it almost feels like that with some rock selections and such.
 
Yes, I realize these are ~$250 and many may really like their SQ but I am on the fence with sending both AKGs back. Had I not been able to compare with any other HP, I would probably be satisfied. However, when it comes down to it, I just can't get lost in the sound of these. My test for this may be a bit silly but its kind of like listening with your brain and your gut. If I want to close my eyes and stop what I am doing to just enjoy the separation and soundstage and then try to figure out the position of the singer, then I got a winner. Unfortunately, I do these more with the K551s than I do the K545s so my lithmus test has told me that I may be barking up the wrong tree with respect to WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR in this headphone.
 
Now many would say why not keep the K551? Well, it's plug is too fat to fit with any case around my iPhone or iPad making it quite annoying to plug and play quickly and easily. Add in the extra size and greater lack of portability (and that still nagging lack of low end I was hoping the K545s would achieve) and I think they may go back as well. Picky lady - indeed but I have put a lot of effort into my gear to achieve my own audio nirvana and if something gives me the not-quite-right feeling it kind of takes away from the enjoyment longterm and I always end up selling.
 
If it makes any difference, I exclusively used my iPad with some ALACs to test as it was previously suggested that a portable setup be used for more critical listening.

 

[Trunks159]

can't you just use an eq to boost the treble? It works with all dark headphones imo. I used to not like dark headphones but Ive learned to appreciate them.