[ms345]

First post here but wanted to register to say thank-you to dweaver and all the rest for the reviews/impressions of these. Got my pair delivered off the back of them on Saturday and have barely taken them off my head.

My taste varies wildly, from D&B to Rock to Hip Hop to classical. An amp isn't something I could afford and I had yet to be impressed with a pair of headphones across the entire range of my taste that are closed back and work with my laptop/iphone/work computer on the go. These fit what I was after exactly. I had tried momentums previously and thought they felt too closed in on my head and a little too boomy for all types of music. I also tried the UE6000s and thought they were very disappointing (NC off and amped) they also felt so cramped. I come from normally only wearing IEMs and in my opinion they gave me nothing over the Shure SE535s I normally wear all the time.

With these I'm doing that thing where I'm re listening to my entire collection again. In regard to the 'improved bass', there is definitely a good low end, but it's not bass-head heavy at all and only seems to be there when it should be and suits i.e Hip Hop has a nice thump without making me want to instantly take them off my head. I imagine it's not heavy enough for 'bass heads' but I can't understand how anyone would want any more, they sound well balanced to my ears.

For me, these fit my broad tastes perfectly and seem to do justice to everything. Sitting here with a big fat grin on my face after being disappointed a couple of times before. I was expecting the same this time and it's a world apart.

Thanks all.

 

[money4me247]

If he has a Bose headphone they will have quite a different signature that he may like a lot which would make the K545 seem off, plus the K545 has a bit higher impedance and lower sensitivity making them a bit harder to drive.

I know the K545 will have deeper bass but less mid bass than the Bose and will have a warmer fuller sounding midrange with a lot less treble extension. The K545 will slay it for detail and sound stage though. But if your used to the Bose signature it would take several days of just listening to the K545 to retrain your brain.

+1. Often when people switch from beats/bose (insert any other bass boosted headphones) to a different set of headphones, they might not like it because they aren't used to the different sound signature. After you listen to the new pair for a while and then go back to your old headphones, you should be able to notice the sonic improvements better as your brain notices degradations audio quality more easily than improvements (from personal experience).

 

[burrrcub]

Really interested in this but why is there not a spare cable without the buttons?

 

[dweaver]

I wish they had a straight cable too, but it didn't happen. The good news is it will be something easily available through 3rd party companies.

 

[dweaver]

@ms345, thanks for the kind words and your impressions. I am glad they have met your expectations. Enjoy listening to you collection through a new lense. I still marvel at songs I have heard for years even months after getting the K545.

 

[waynes world]

Still loving them dweaver? One of the benefits of not feeling the need to get a new headphone right away is that I can wait for the hype to dissolve. Darn - I'm not sensing your hype lessening with th k545's though. That's not good for my wallet lol!

 

[dweaver]

I have bought 2 IEM's since I got the K545 and all they do is show me why I love the K545 and make me wonder what I was thinking LOL. They really are a wonderful headphone.

 

[money4me247]

  Still loving them dweaver? One of the benefits of not feeling the need to get a new headphone right away is that I can wait for the hype to dissolve. Darn - I'm not sensing your hype lessening with th k545's though. That's not good for my wallet lol!

hahah +1! and also, you can wait for sales slash used tho... i don't think that the price will get better than $200 (from razerdogaudio) until a few more months.

 

[Beasleyd2]

Hey Dweaver! Thank you for all the information you gave on these cans. In regards to comparisons to the K550's (I am really torn between these two), do you consider the K545's considered to be an improvement of the K550's or just the portable version? Do the K545's have the same fidelity and accuracy as the K550's? I heard a lot of people eq'ing the K550's to warm them up and create a fuller sound and seem to have a similar sound signature as the K545's while retaining its fantastic soundstage.
 
Now that the K550's are $200ish on Amazon, while the K545's are $250, which do you think would be the overall better set, as in a rich immersive listening experience? They will not be my portable set, my Shure IEM's have that covered. 
 
Again thank you for all the info you have given thus far, keep up the amazing work

 

[grizzlybeast]

k545 are better overall regardless but why not invest in some open back's
 
I also have some k545 you can send me a pm they are like new in the box. but the k545 is much more immersive and has better mids and bass. 
 
I would still recommend an open back. THe k545 will make you not want to pick up your shures anymore for portables. 

 

[Beasleyd2]

I would go open back but I'm in college and dorm rooms have a lot of external noise. My HD 558's are rendered useless in that environment, leaving me to use my HD439's to keep my sanity. AKG has piqued my interest to find high quality closed backs until I'm through with college.

 

[dweaver]

For me the trade off in regards to sound stage and airiness of the K550 vs the K545 is worth it in regards to the overall balance and tonality of the K545. I also find I don't feel the need to adjust the K545 as much as I did the K550.

But for a purely stationary scenario the K550 may be a better option especially if you like it's signature and sound stage. I imagine if the K550 was paired with my Audioengine D1you would also find the pairing good in regards to taming some of the aspects of the K550 that bother people.

But for me I prefer the K545 sonically, fit wise, and portability wise.

Let me put it this way. I ultimately sold the K550 but have ZERO desire to do that with the K545...

 

[Martinrm]

 

So i just got a visit from UPS and was pleased to find all this come today! 

 
First reaction to the K545's: The look amazing and are a pair of headphones that i wouldn’t mind being seen in. The sound is quite good un amped and can be powered by any laptop or phone. Highs are well defined and while the bass is not as strong as im used to it is prominent and pleasant. One thing that i didn’t realize was that its a 2.5mm jack into the headphones, so you cant use any AUX cable like i thought you could. The cable is quite thin and its something i do want to replace. Fit wise i had no problem getting a good seal, they feel very light and comfortable. I would of like them to be a little tighter seal around the ears so less sound escapes. Last thing i don’t like is the earpads, since the drivers are not angled and the earpads are not so deep i can feel my ears touching the back of the headphones. I'll probably end up getting another pair of earpads in the future. 
 
Now on to the best part, the part that makes me never want to take these cans off. They respond amazingly well with an amp. The bass opens wide up while still maintaining its tightness, the overall tone becomes rounder and more pleasant and the soundscape seems more present.
 

I suspect they will loosen up over the next few days, for now they sound very good. I’ll give my final impressions after a few days and a good 100 hours of burn in time.

 

[dweaver]

Look forward to your continued impressions. I am glad you like them. For my ears are pretty flat so I am lucky in regards to my ears not touching the drivers.

 

[Trunks159]

Nice! orange was my choice. I bought them but they will come some time in January. Might buy the Fidelio l2.