[Shinnbone]

  At first I was completely sold on the K545 but now I must consider the competition.  The K545 looks to have average isolation, and may have seal problems.  Seal problems are the absolute worse.
 
I'm still considering the MomentumOn-Ear (since it's so small! and looks so good), and HP50.  I know the HP50 and K545 will sound the best but I'll give up a tiny bit of SQ for convenience (since that's the reason we use portable cans in the first place).

 
I think the K545's isolation is pretty good. At work, I could barely hear the phone on my desk ringing. And I listen at a fairly sane volume. I guess the seal is dependent on the individual, but the fact that you can adjust the cups and that they stay where you put them help with the seal tremendously. 

 

[Lukalop]

I thought the K545 is meant to have more bass than the K550.
Would a person who listens to hip-hop like them? Having second thoughts now.
o.O

 

[grizzlybeast]

 
Sharp sounding? In reference to what?


Rolled off treble was the first thing I've noticed on them out of the box. Burn in helped with the extension a bit, but they never became sharp or grainy, detailed yes, but not in your face showed via accentuated treble kind of details.


K550 is sharp, HD800, and to lesser extent T1 are sharp. 


7520? Not to my ears and in my setup. 


Apologize if there is a different meaning of sharp/smooth in this context. 

 

I7520 is sharp to me unmistakably. Not smooth at all. Not because of the highs but because they are forward with not much decay. Sharp is usually associated with edgy which means too much highs. Thats not what I mean and definitely not because of the treble.The combination of detail, dryness(no decay or reverb sound), and forwardness in nature makes me wanna say no other word than sharp,lol. 

 

[jwong]

The bass is not heavy at all, but I find it does extend pretty deep. That's the way I hear it anyway. I have a Takstar HD5500 here for heavy bass and it's a fuller sounding headphone, but I find it hard to leave the nuance and clarity of the K545.

 

[dweaver]

The K545 definitely has more bass than the K550. If its enough for hip hop that I can't answer as I do not listen to that genre.

 

[Lukalop]

What genre do you listen to?
Also where do you play the music i.e iTunes
or Spotify
Bit rate? 320 Kbps?

 

[dweaver]

My review lists a whole sack of songs I used during testing, they are a good representation of the genres I listen to. I also list my devices. At home I use mostly flac files, on portable I rip everything to 256kb mp3 files.

 

[Lukalop]

Where do you get flac files from
Also how on earth do I post a thread

 

[Trunks159]

To post a thread, go to forums, choose the forum; then the sub category. For example, the help and introductions subcategory.

Then look for the option to create a thread. On mobile, click the box in the upper right corner and create a thread.

Flac files must be ripped off of CD's.

 

[dweaver]

I ripped most of my flac files from my CD collection but have also started to buy them from HDTracks.

 

[waynes world]

Where do you get flac files from
Also how on earth do I post a thread

 
You can also find some good free flac music here:
 
Official Free FLAC File Music Sharing Thread:

http://www.head-fi.org/t/644595/official-free-flac-file-music-sharing-thread

 

[Beagle]

  Interesting. I just got the 7520, and to my ears it sounds significantly more balanced, natural, and enjoyable than the K545 did right out of the box. K545 had almost no bass, and the highs sounded a little harsh. I am comparing the 2 freshly out of the box, and from my phone, though.

 
In comparison to the 7520, I would agree. In comparison to real life, I would disagree. I find the 7520 upper bass a bit overpresent and the top lacks a bit of air and sparkle. BTW I am using amps in my comparison, the Vali and the iFi iCAN.
 

The K545 definitely has more bass than the K550. If its enough for hip hop that I can't answer as I do not listen to that genre.

 
I'm not sure if the K545 has more bass than the 550, to my ears they are about the same...but I think the bass might just be more obvious because the highs are not as hot as they are on the K550.

 

[dweaver]

Beagle, I think the bass is a bit deeper and slightly more in volume but actually I think your right about the tamed treble being the biggest difference in the K545.

 

[Shinnbone]

   
In comparison to the 7520, I would agree. In comparison to real life, I would disagree. I find the 7520 upper bass a bit overpresent and the top lacks a bit of air and sparkle. BTW I am using amps in my comparison, the Vali and the iFi iCAN.
 

 
Beagle, I was talking about the K545 fresh out of the box. After about 20 hours of use, the bass was more present, and the harshness of the highs subsided.

 

[Beagle]

   
I think the K545's isolation is pretty good. At work, I could barely hear the phone on my desk ringing.

 
Are you sure the ringing wasn't the tubes in my Schiit Vali?