[canthearyou]

These sound great for the price! I'm using them for gaming.

 

[money4me247]

  Thank you for the in depth analysis. I would never have been able to do a side by side comparison like this. This may be totally out of left field, but how much would you conjecture the pleather of the hm5 pads be responsible for the sound? For ex, was thinking of reskinning a pair of the angled versions with real leather, perhaps like the lambskin of the alpha pads (which by themselves are more to purchase than the hm5 pads shipped + leather; labor of course is free ; ). Also, if not the angled ones, this pair (although if they work as is, may just stick it out)
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/261886607985?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&var=560727066822&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
 
What do you think they might do? Increase in soundstage seems likely, more extension &/or definition? In any case, thanks a bunch. Very helpful

@jerrikko, I think that really the size of the earpads and the seal makes the largest difference.
 
So I think that the reason that the rest of the earpad swaps deviate so much in sound signature compared to the stock is likely due to the fact that they are smaller in overall inner dimensions compared to the stock earpads. Using angled earpads for these headphones may not always work out to great reasons.
 
I would also personally recommend avoiding the velour earpads for these headphones as it really makes the treble too overly pronounced.
 
That earpad does look quite promising for the K553. I don't think reskinning the leather would make too large of an overall impact. If wanting to try modding an earpad, I would personally go towards the direction of trying to fit different foam type material into the original earpads to a deeper fit.
 
Always hard to predict how the sound signature will change with different mods/earpads. I would recommend trying to get your own measuring system if looking to pursue lots of modding trials. can give you a good reference point and confirmation what you are changing is in the right direction for your tastes.
 
Good luck!
 
ps: I do think the K553 stock is quite competitive and doesn't really need any mods or earpad swaps to improve its sound signature. Really just a matter of more depth for the earpads from a comfort perspective for me personally.

 

[Jacorby]

I just got in on this drop!!  Heck, I just registered myself here..  Anyhow, how wonderful!  But I have a few questions, fellows
Here's my story.. The struggle, and my purchase..  For thread enrichment.  I don't register, or post, at much places,
 
Long time ago, there was a guy, he might have been, and might still be, and audio noob.  But is a person, who is just looking for safe, satisfactory audio
equipment, to employ, enjoy, and get by with.  I started out back in the day, with 20 dollar ear buds, and the like, when i was just a teenager.  I used whatever
money I had, everything was expensive, and i probably only worked like, one or two shifts a week, and i had lots to buy.. I probably listened to em too loudly,
from my portable cd player, or minidisc player..  Anyhow those buds died all the time.. it was disappointing.. They didn't cost a whole lot.. but
enough..  I didn't think it was an impressive exercise..
 
Then, as I was pc gaming years later right, I cross graded, and probably, majorly upgraded, from a stock 2 computer satellite speaker pair, the type they used to include with systems,to a Logitech Z4, a 2.1 computer speaker system..  It was great too me! For gaming, The sub!  It rattled the floor!  Finally.  The hand control panel.. was handy. 
 
I had a fair bit of money, at the time, and I figure i wanted a headset, too! For privacy, and, directional sense, or what have you.  I got this Logitech
headset.. it must have put me back, $80 bucks, i think, no less..  And there wasn't much selections back then...  Really, i think it was before turtle beaches, and
Razer..  These companies didn't exist, more or less.  Mid 2000's.  There I found a very short supply of consumer headsets at the shop, and the half decent ones were costly!!
 
Some time after, a can popped off, lol,. of the band fixture, on the one side.  For a little while i could click it back in, I try to be a conservative guy.  
But it wasnt right.. It would pop off, sometimes, and then the wire would get in the way.  One day clamp fully broke, and i didnt get it to stick back in..
and i gave up on it..  Now .. the cable is broken, too, but I still have the unit..  to fix on the day im bored.  Anyhow, suddenly not only was I out
spending money on something I alrady had(a mic), which was still functional, and i also had to spend time, and attention, shopping for said item, which I
already had, which was still functional.  I found it a distateful and wasteful experience.   And i swore, in the future on i``ll consider the headphone market, and the separate mic market, for purchases.  Cause when that headset broke, i lost and gotset back on two things, both the mic, and the headphone! Plus I always had a feeling people were getting a better deal, listening to music on their portables, when they were using decent around ear cans, then I was getting with my headset...  
 
So I bought a desktop mic, after that, I figured at least I likely wont have to go out of commission on two items at once again...  I dont know what i did after that.. probably just 2.1 z4'd it for awhile.  I`m pretty sure that 80 dollar headset had a insufficient build quality for the product.  It might have been the  "Logitech Premium Stereo Headset with Noise-Canceling Microphone".  It was usb plug, with a volume control that always got in the way.. I had no sound card at the time..  Maybe I under
appreciated the product, but I was always looking at others, using over ear headphones, plugged into devices, and felt a bit ripped off..   not that on-ears imo are less good, definitely a cross-grade, i just felt shorted in the experience.  I did in a way get two for 1.. though, but of course, not really, cause when 1 broke I lost the other..
and im sure compromises were made for the price-point.  They're still presently listed on amazon for 69 bucks, now, maybe nearly a decade later..
www.amazon.com/Logitech-Premium-Headset-Noise-Canceling-Microphone/dp/B0007N33IQ#customerReviews, at the same time theyre used on ebay for 5 bucks buy it now..  maybe it was the Logitech clear chat premium headset.  I believe this was before the Razer gaming company even existed.. okay.,  And i might have
bought that big one after, im not sure...  Anyhow, thats ancient history, as far as im concerned.

Then, I put myself in college.  In the second year I wanted phones' for outside the home office, for working on media projects at the school labs, and to
improve my portable music device, occasional gaming, (an activity i chose to give up for the time, to focus on going to school but would induge during
holidays. And still spend time with the guys on vent,  You might know how it is)..  But just not game myself, except small gigs on holidays..  A major personal
sacrifice, for me, I made for personal reasons.  Heck a gamer like me in school, so it was an item for a multi purpose gig, and I was willing to invest
more then even last headset!  I paid something over 100 bucks for the decent Shure shr440's, which was considered, by many reviewers and internet fellow
shoppers, an excellent deal, and a great line of headphones, at the time, i understand,.. http://www.head-fi.org/products/shure-srh-440-professional-studio-
headphones.  
 
We'll, I'm not saying there was, but i personally suspect there may have been a planned obsolescence of models belonging to this line, by the group responsible, or they were just designed irresponsibly, or by the untrained.  Both the 440`s and some others in the line share this defect where the band is prone to breakage, in the extender.  I understand I'm not the only one who feels this way.  I was sitting there, one day, i took of my headset(headphones), off of my head, and put em' on my desk, and the adjustment band cracked in half, as it did for other customers...  insert link  And i was once again out of headphones.. but not a mic.  
 
Anyhow, i got Bose ie2 ear bud models, for commuting, and listening, before the Shure's broke, and later, a new stereo system.  So i put the Shures aside for a later repair..  the 2.1 system is now lost in possession.  We'll, the ie2's didnt last long, either, apparently, they had a known defect where the cables sheds, from the wire, and breaks here and there, insert link and guess what, mine also shedded cable jacket, and basically broke connection by the jack, an all too common problem...  And i paid I think over 100 bucks for those, EARBUDS.  Thats, in my books, a pretty serious investment into earbuds from
a mainstream company.. this was before the Shures broke btw.  I would have expected a product which would hold up..  It broke faster then a $5 pair might.  I
wasn't looking for hi-fi, they wernt hi fi.  They were good, comfy, but not hi-fi, so I just expected a quality item i could rely on..  The unit, broke well within warranty, but i had misplaced the reciept, and found it 2 months after the warranty finished..  Infact, i didn't even think they made it halfway through the warranty period..  Retailer wouldn't help, either.  Terrible experiences, wasteful, what  let down..

Later i employed the band from an old vintage headphone to support the shr440`s cans.. which worked for awhile, a year or so, but in the fix i ended up
breaking a cable connection point of the vintage cans.  On the shr440 can fix i planned to move the exposed cable, into the band padding,  and restitch it,
but i became so busy i kept off-putting the job.. and now(this year) the break.  The cable line between the cans is no longer connecting.  One day, once i
get some time, i`ll probably investigate matters and fix em up.. new cable, solder, whatever, into some kind of working condition.  As spares, for guests, or backups..  
But right now i`m just to busy to venture such an endeavor..
 
Anyhow my stereo amp needs service, the speaker wire got chewed up, this fall, and I have no currently functioning headphones. I've been living without headphones for awhile.  I just continue to wear these things to block out environmental noise while i work, in conjunction with ear plugs.  Now, I got a small audio job to do, just
cleaning up recordings done in a studio, with a squeaky chair... fun easy stuff  And i'd like to listen to entertainment again..  I'm tiered of reading
captions/subtitles, for when i do take a break and watch some video.  heh heh
 
A few months back i saw this akg 550 listed locally, on a listings site named Kijiji.  It was a used model, for 125 bucks, and this is where I began to read about and investigate the akg's. I also saw a vintage pioneer se-6 open backed headphone models listed, with a 1/4 inch plug.   I guess another very nice set of cans too (any info fellows?), from the late 70's i believe.  I did my researching on the akg's, and by the time i committed
to contact the poster, the listing was gone..  and the se-6 poster didn't accept my offer, which was nearly as much as i was willing to put into em myself.. at this
time, Since i'd need to get em recabled, and re-padding, and he was firm on price.  Which was reasonable, but just gambley for me at this time.  In other cirucmstances i would have picked them up, im sure.  I'm big on recycling you see..

Lastnight, i learned about this akg k553 product!  I found reviews indicating comparable in-class performance with the k550's, like the shr 840's, at an shr440 price tag
(Canadian, me) and in some ways even prefferable, for some, to the k550's, which I had read about so recently, and was shopping for at the time...  Now, i just came here,a few hours ago, just in the nick of time, eh?!  Awee, lucky me! with 65/70 sold. I feel like im getting a steal of a deal.  I was wondering fellows, i
enjoyed those Shure shr440`s audio sound, I was happy with them, until they broke.. how would this model compare?  Heck, I pampered those 440`s too.. you
know. Well, as far as i pamper things, i just put them down on the desk, and they cracked in half.. Shure, they might had been subjected to previous shock(s)
in the past.. Ahh, anyhow, now, `
 
 
I understand i can expect a favorable audio experience with this headphone, so glad i found it! And i think these cans will last me awhile...  Maybe, as an
audio noob, im finally getting spoiled.  Soon as i get some more disposable cash, and some time, ill go out and get a headphone amp, of some kind. But for now they'll be driving lossless local media via a computer drive, likely plugged into and itself driven by a Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Champion Series Sound Card (thats a mouthful, of my ubers, hey man, audio noob maybe, but in-game slouch: not in a long shot), since it`s probably the best dac i`ve got..  Either in a computer with a hard drive, or not.  Cause i got em, networks. 
 
But, how is this phone' experience going to compare with my experience using the shr440`s,
currently sound carded,  and later if amped, in terms of clarity, bass, musicality and whatnot?  I`m going to use this set for everything, dvd's, music, voice chat, gaming
(some day), editing (occasionally), the gamut. I rarely leave my studio.  And what sort of amp might i look for, inbetween these devices, or even to move around
devices..?  Say by a reciever, or just the sound card, i understand a dedicated headphone amp would be better than stereo. If you like to share some info  on the application specific nature.  Like i say, im just looking for enjoyment of my equipment, without lots of commitment. 
 
I`m "stoked"  already.  I don`t make many purchases, im ready for it, hype me up!!  I hear that the soundstage is great with these cans!  And i'll pamper that cord connection point!  I like sound stage, but, going out on a limb, in the event of other shoppers, like me, how would these compare, keeping in mind the customers of shure cans, to the 440's I had, which are well enjoyed when not broken.  I recently started building a music library, just before my stereo's speaker cord got chewed up..
it was less than perfect cause of the amp needing work...  I got this sweet girl here named, mariah carey, i want to hear her voice.  whoops, maybe thats too
personal, or how about that nelly furtado.  These are two recently discs i picked up.  Maybe i`ll go buy some classical. Maybe i`ll put on the fantastic 4 dvd movie..  or something hd.
I avoided this place for so long in terms of keyboards..  now I`ve come, for something, for this, and I feel like i finally might not be getting the short end of the
stick here.  I dont think i've ever, chosen to retire any of my purchased audio equipment, voluntarily, within the past decade, everything has just broke in use,
typically due to "known issues".  You see, i'm buying the metal one now..

 

[Transmaniacon]

Joined the K553 club after a long hunt for an upgrade to my Sony MDR-7506.  These offer a similar neutral sound, but with a much more airy top end that doesn't have the harshness of the Sonys, and a more impactful low end.  Compared to the DT770, these aren't as bright and the mid-range isn't recessed, I keep coming back to "balanced" when describing these.  This is my first pair of AKGs, and the comfort is fantastic, I have a bigger head and my ears always got sore from the shallow cups of the Sonys, these have been a welcomed change and I am enjoying them a lot!  Would have loved a removable cable, but I can live with it (I use them at a desk).

 

[chenjy9]

Does anyone know what the white film ring on the K553 under the pads are for? Mine fell off when putting on new pads.

 

[Mad Max]

It tunes the sound. Probably also eliminates some of the reverb from the cups' interiors.

 

[chenjy9]

  It tunes the sound. Probably also eliminates some of the reverb from the cups' interiors.

hmm didn't really notice a difference with it off. I wonder if I should contact AKG to try and get it fixed...

 

[Mad Max]

You could just superglue it back on.

 

[chenjy9]

  You could just superglue it back on.

I ended up losing one

 

[Mewp]

Has anyone replaced the headband cushion with one that fits on a sennheiser hd600?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00XBOM9QU
 
Thinking about going this route as the stock cushion is killing my head.

 

[T.R.A.N.C.E.]

nvm

 

[mdowling]

I used small, sticky velcro tabs to attach a HD600 headband pad to my AKG 550's headband. It worked great. Your head shape and milage may vary! (I would recommend the official Sennheiser one - I bought a cheap copy off Amazon and it was too firm.) 

 

[dakanao]

Are the earcups of these headphones big and deep enough for larger ears?

 

[ElysiumAB]

The inside/hole of the ear pad is about 2 inches wide and .5 inch deep.

 

[dakanao]

  The inside/hole of the ear pad is about 2 inches wide and .5 inch deep.

I like a neutral bass with neutral/slightly forward vocals with very clear treble and as little harshness as possible. Would these fit my taste soundwise?
 
For reference, my perfect headphone soundwise is the Philips Fidelio L2, I just can't get a proper seal with them so that's why I can't use them.