[389095]

.

 

[mikaveli06]

Has anyone else experienced similar defects or is it extremely limited. I'm thinking about getting a K545 perhaps for Spring time and wanted to see if perhaps there is an issue with the QC on perhaps a few units.

Razordog also seems to be providing excellent support and communication from what I have been reading in this topic. I'll definitely consider them for a headphone purchase outside of the Hifiman's (if only you could use the coupon on their Hifiman's stocked).

i got black pair from Razordog today, sounds great, no defects

 

[thievesarmy]

I ended up getting these for my gf, who had requested a nice pair of hp's for V-day. She tried them on and it seems to bother her glasses. I am playing with them now, and my initial impression is: WOW. I'm not an expert but these sound REALLY good to my ear, right out of the box, no burn-in and straight out of a MBP without a DAC or amp. She wants to try some IEM's since they probably won't bother her glasses, but I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to return these. I might be too fond of them already, and it's only been an hour or so. 

 

[grizzlybeast]

  I ended up getting these for my gf, who had requested a nice pair of hp's for V-day. She tried them on and it seems to bother her glasses. I am playing with them now, and my initial impression is: WOW. I'm not an expert but these sound REALLY good to my ear, right out of the box, no burn-in and straight out of a MBP without a DAC or amp. She wants to try some IEM's since they probably won't bother her glasses, but I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to return these. I might be too fond of them already, and it's only been an hour or so. 

awww you know you bought them for yourself

 

[Scotshner]

  Brian at Razordog confirmed the defects on my K545, and tested the replacement before shipping. Everything is good... and they should arrive tomorrow...
 

Be interested to hear if these new ones still crinkle. My 2nd pair started out with this barely happening but after a week it's definitely happening frequently.

 

[Change is Good]

  Be interested to hear if these new ones still crinkle. My 2nd pair started out with this barely happening but after a week it's definitely happening frequently.

 
Finally got my K545 replacement, today, after two days of delayed shipment due to severe weather up north.
 
And...
 

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

[size=1em]... the left driver is defective... AGAIN! No driver crinkling issues, this time, however... just significantly uneven volume compared to the right driver.[/size]
 
This is extremely odd because Brian said he tested these out before shipping. It seems that these headphones may not respond well to cold weather environments during shipment. This is the only theory I can think of....

 

[Scotshner]

   
Finally got my K545 replacement, today, after two days of delayed shipment due to severe weather up north.
 
And...
 

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

[size=1em]... the left driver is defective... AGAIN! No driver crinkling issues, this time, however... just significantly uneven volume compared to the right driver.[/size]
 
This is extremely odd because Brian said he tested these out before shipping. It seems that these headphones may not respond well to cold weather environments during shipment. This is the only theory I can think of....

Bummer!!! Hmm that's a weird one. Maybe something in the housing came loose during transit. I wonder how many of the dodgy ones are floating about.....................
Grizzlybeast has put us onto the Yamaha HPH MT220, so gonna try them out before my return period us up. 
Will you order another pair then?

 

[Beasleyd2]

.
 
FINALLY, I got the HM5 pads. Wow what a difference. My ears barely touch the driver and I am  able to enjoy these cans so much more. Easier to get a nice seal and I noticed a big difference in isolation. I did not notice a difference in sound. Do they look as sleek/portable as the stock pads? Nope. Are they comfier now? You bet.
 
I also did a close up of the driver, just in case anyone cared to see.

 

[Painful Chafe]

Thanks for the opinion on the HM5 pads, .Beasley
 
So what is the verdict on these pads? Any sound change. I don't want to mess with the sound. Possibly a slight decrease in treble energy would be ok, but nothing else.
 
Does anyone else have any input?

 

[Beasleyd2]

  Thanks for the opinion on the HM5 pads, .Beasley
 
So what is the verdict on these pads? Any sound change. I don't want to mess with the sound. Possibly a slight decrease in treble energy would be ok, but nothing else.
 
Does anyone else have any input?

I was very nervous changing the pads because, like you, I did not want to ruin their sound just for comfort. I've been using them for a solid 5 hours with them today and noticed a slight sibilance/increases brightness (oddly enough?) when i first had the pads on when they were vertical. I then angled the pads as Sennheiser prefers their sets and the sound returned the good ole K545 sound. Bass has more punch but no increase in its overall presence. Mids and treble still have their signature. Everything else has remained the same. Hopefully that helped!

 

[389095]

.

 

[Change is Good]

I don't believe that the cold weather environment during shipping has anything to do with it. I ordered the AKG K551 during late December when we had very cold and bitter temperatures and I have not experienced similar issues. During shipment and packaging though the headphones are also protected by several layers from sudden changes in temperature usually with styrofoam and bubble wrap and finally the box packaging/box itself.

I agree it doesn't make any sense but perhaps there is a certain amount of defective units from early serial production. Considering that it was only announced late last year and is only currently in the early stages of production there might well be perhaps a few defective or problematic headphones that were shipped to customers.

I would like to get an AKG K545 to complement my K551 but at this point I may just hold-off and give the production line some time to mature and for any kind of issues to be caught and fixed/modified half-way through production or later in production. I'm sure that within 6-9 months the production line should be stable and the early production issues would likely be fixed.

Reason why I said cold environment may be the cause is because he tested the replacement before shipping... and everything was fine. When they arrived, however, the left driver was out (same as the first defective pair).

So, if it didn't happen during shipment... when did it happen?

 

[tinyman392]

Reason why I said cold environment may be the cause is because he tested the replacement before shipping... and everything was fine. When they arrived, however, the left driver was out (same as the first defective pair).

So, if it didn't happen during shipment... when did it happen?

I'm still thinking it is the same issue Focal had with their original Spirit One. It's not the cold weather that's doing it, but the pressure created by the box and the pads that cause the driver to crinkle and uncrinkle. Except, it hits a point where it uncrinkles. If it was the cold, my 845 would be toast right now as I've had them out in the darn solar vortex (20 below WITHOUT wind chill; there was a 30 degree wind chill).

 

[Stuff Jones]

There seem to be mixed reports on the mids on these. To me mids are by far the most important for conveying musicality, but some call these warm and musical and others say thin. Do they convey realistic midrange weight and timbre?

 

[tinyman392]

  There seem to be mixed reports on the mids on these. To me mids are by far the most important for conveying musicality, but some call these warm and musical and others say thin. Do they convey realistic midrange weight and timbre?

 
A bit of both actually, but tilting towards the warmer side IMO in contrast to a neutral sound.