[LazBro123]

Quote:

What's good for the goose is good for the gander. If that's your requirement, you need to retract your statement that the K550s don't benefit from an amp, unless you have an ABX test to support that. Can't have it both ways.

The thing is, is that I auditioned my friend's K550 for a while, and with my FiiO E11 (I sold it), and there was a slight difference. I heard the slightly tighter bass and slightly more (hardly noticeable) detail in the mids. I don't need an ABX test to prove it, I just heard it.

 

[dablues]

Well, thanks for the compliment regarding teaching. I don't feel I work too hard, because I like the work I do, and I'm sure your wife feels the same.

I'm afraid it's a bit too late to get the Grados, as I expect the K550s to come in today, but I do plan on getting some SR80s at some point. They're a good place to start with Grados, right?

 

[dablues]

Oh, and for some reason, IEMs never seem comfortable to me, no matter the brand or tips. I have very strange ears, almost Vulcan-shaped (no joke), and it never seems right. But maybe I just haven't found the right ones.

 

[bonfirehay]

Quote:

What's good for the goose is good for the gander. If that's your requirement, you need to retract your statement that the K550s don't benefit from an amp, unless you have an ABX test to support that. Can't have it both ways.

 
No one passed the amplifier ABX test so far.
http://www.tom-morrow-land.com/tests/ampchall/index.htm

 

[bonfirehay]

Quote:

The thing is, is that I auditioned my friend's K550 for a while, and with my FiiO E11 (I sold it), and there was a slight difference. I heard the slightly tighter bass and slightly more (hardly noticeable) detail in the mids. I don't need an ABX test to prove it, I just heard it.

 
The problem is that what you perceive is not exactly the sound entering your ears. It's often called placebo effect and it's influenced by your other senses and your whole brain. Unless you do a proper double blind test, or ABX you can't tell with certainty if the sound is different.
Besides, as the chalenge demonstrates, even if the sound is different, it can be rectified or reproduced with equalizers which are less expensive or even free in the software case.

 

[cel4145]

No one passed the amplifier ABX test so far.
http://www.tom-morrow-land.com/tests/ampchall/index.htm

So?

There is a reason why the K550 can benefit from better amplification. Has to do with dynamic headroom and heavy bass output. Bass sound waves take a lot of energy to produce. So if you have a headphone like the K550 that has good linear sub bass output, and you are listening to bass heavy music with deep bass extension, it can benefit from the additional power of what a headphone amp can supply over stock headphone output on a computer. Of course some computers are better than others, and some headphone amps are better than others. But this is the audio science explanation as to why people like LazBro123 may say that the bass is tighter. The headphone amp has not reached its limits, whereas the stock amp may, and especially if one is giving the source any bass EQ boost.

Next, the K550s do have some impedance fluctuation across the frequency spectrum. If the laptop's low output impedance isn't 4 ohms or less, according to the 1/8 impedance rule, there would be some frequency response fluctuation compared to an amp that has sufficient low output impedance. This could affect how it would sound between the two different amplifiers.

 

[dablues]

Well, I got them - the K550's and the E17. And...
 
WOW.
 
Super detailed sound, very smooth across the spectrum, with a bass that's present but not in-your-face. The bass is tight, like a 10" speaker for all those bass players out there. The high ends will benefit from burn in, I can tell, but they're niiiiice. Mid is good, too. Using Queen and Steely Dan for my first little test run. They lend themselves to older music, but the new Daft Punk does sound tight on them. They're much more analytical than I was expecting - in a good way. Not "banging" headphones, like my crap V-Moda's, but a little more "Grado"-ish, perhaps? Fast decay and attack. Beautiful and TOTALLY UNFORGIVING of bad source music. I'll write a full review in a separate post later this weekend - a lot of grading to do.
 
I can't thank you all enough for your help. You were kind and knowledgeable, and all had good things to say. I would ask that the amp/no-amp skirmish stop, though - I'm happy to have an amp, even if it is placebo. It works for me and makes be happy, and although it may not matter objectively, I feel happier. But then again, I can totally hear the difference amp and sans-amp. It makes me happy. That's all I want.
 
Oh, and I got SR80i's coming in, because I feel bad for my wallet. It's an addiction, isn't it? Darn it.

 

[lltfdaniel]

You made a good choice.
 
My preferred cans for gaming and music etc out of..
 
I can tell the direction of sound much easier with these k550 than all of my other headphones.
 
(dt 48, dt 150, dr 770, dt 880, dt 990, k 701, q 701,akg dj 81 k240 mk2, k242, hd 555, hd 650, t50rp, ath m 50, hd 25 ii, hfi 580, pro 900, ultrasone proline 2500, he 4).
 
The k550 belong to the great sounding cans category it is love or hate with this headphone for people, when you play a game you will find it easy to pinpoint where the sound comes from and when the recording calls for it, it sticks out like a sore thumb where as 99% i think don't do this and were it should be i think so it grabs my attention in games with where the sound comes from and anyways these sound 3d with the soundstage.

 

[dablues]

Litfdaniel, how do they compare to your Beyers? I've always wanted to hear that make, but have always used Sennheisers, Sonys, and AKGs in music studios.

 

[dablues]

Jeez, I've been A/Bing the K550's with the E17 and without, and even my wife, who has a good ear but is not as into the technical aspect of things, can totally tell the difference. I'm sorry - it may be placebo, but it must be a pretty powerful one if it is. They were blind tests, too. The lows are much richer, and, most of all, the sound is MUCH smoother - the highs are somehow tamed or more silky, if that makes sense. I'm using a MacBook Air, by the way.

 

[cel4145]

Awesome! Sounds like new headphone and amp day was a happy day

Now you'll have to do an SR80i and K550 comparison when you get the Grados. Factoring in price/performance, for my listening tastes, the SR80i are the best headphones I've heard. I got them for my son, and every time I listen to them, my amazement is always renewed at how good they sound for the money.

As far as how revealing and unforgiving they are, just try to listen past the flaws in the recording. It's easy to get caught up in listening to the equipment and quality of the recording through the music, instead of the other way around.

BTW: Fun 1966 recording which sounds great on a good pair of headphones: Junior Wells It's My Life, Baby!

 

[dablues]

Good call on the Junior Wells. He's a favorite, and the stuff he did with Buddy Guy is killer. I'm also a huge Magic Sam fan, and Peter Green Fleetwood Mac sounds AWESOME on these cans...
 
I'm excited to hear the Grados! I wonder how the sound is going to be different, and if they'll benefit more or less from amplification?

 

[cel4145]

The highs on the Grados are a little different. More mid presence. No sub bass. The Grados tend to have the bass/midbass frequency response range of a pair of monitors, whereas the K550s are more like tower speakers that can dig deeper in their bass response. And I personally like the Grado imaging and soundstage better, but that's more of a preference thing. They are different enough in sound that I think you might have to let your ears adjust for a couple songs when switching back and forth.

Be sure to try the L-Cush pads with the SR80i at some point when you want a change. They will make the SR80is more like the SR225i. You can see from these graphs at innerfidelity how switching the pads (the comfy are the ones on the SR80i) slightly changes the frequency response.

http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/GradoSR225i.pdf
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/GradoSR225iComfyPads.pdf

 

[dablues]

Aw, man, now I can't decide which I like better: the K550s or the SR-80is. Darn it!
 
The SR-80s are more immediately impressive, more "in-your-face". My wife said that as well. But then some of the details aren't quite there. The K550s are just a little bit more immersive, even if they do sound a little more distant. I'll put it this way - the K550s sound like the best stereo system in the best room you can think of (yes, I know there's even better, but it's good enough for me for now). The Grados beam the sound directly into your skull, and you can't escape it. And gripes about bass? Really? Plenty for me. I don't want my teeth to rattle out of my skull.
 
Any thoughts? Should I return one? I mean, I'll clearly prefer one in the long run, so can I really justify spending either $100 or $270 for cans I don't use that much?

 

[cel4145]

I only recently got the K550s, but I can say that I like the Grados better for classic rock and hard rock. I like the K550s for bass heavy music (EDM, chill, trip hop, house), mainly vocal music, and when I need better isolation than the Grados provide. I haven't tried much classical with them yet, but I suspect I might like the K550s a little better for that and certain types of jazz.

So it could be you may find that one serves some genres better, and the other different ones. And maybe you might want to have a pair around for when your wife wants to listen to headphones, too