[RockStar2005]

  Whats the bestway to sell these

 
I sold mine on eBay. Someone from Canada bought them. 

 

[NewEinstein]

I just received mine today out of the latest Massdrop round. Listening to them for a few hours now.
 
- For me the comfort is just fine. I dont seem to have a problem with the thin padding on the headband. And also the earcups seem deep enough for my ears not to touch the drivers or the covers. Lets see how that works when the pads age.
 
- The earcup movements are quite tight. So I always need to put a bit of pressure on the earcups so that they adjust themself for a proper fit. that is needed to get enough base out of those cans and the clamping force from the headband is not enough. When they are settled its fine and the cans are also not too loose (I can move my head without them moving or falling down)
 
- In the beginning they seemed very thin and high pitched. It seems they need a few hours of burn in as they already improved drastically in the few hours I am listening to them. (FYI: I am running them out of an Audioengine D1)
 
I mainly bought those cans to listen to music at work. Hence the choice of a closed back headphone. I think they will fullfill that duty very nicely.
 
After the burn-in I will try them on different sources (also directly out of my laptop, phone and powered by a Vali 2). I can compare to my HD650s but those are definitely a different style of sound ...
 
PHILIP

 

[NickyaKillah]

I have had numerous issues with these headphones, and have gone through two pair. The old ones were defective, with a V shaped signature and very muddy, boomy bass. These new ones sound beautiful compared to the old ones, but the lows are near nonexistent. I'm going to try to burn them in for at least the rest of the week, but if the lows don't come out soon, I'm selling them. 
 
Anyone else having/had the same issue, or do I have another defective pair?
 
EDIT: Just stuffed under the earcups with some toilet paper, and sound is well improved. Lows respond now, somewhat boomy, but responsive nonetheless. I find they make the sound better without hurting it too much. the sound stage accuracy took a bit of a blow, but Ill sacrifice it.

 

[B9Scrambler]

Mine have been perfect so far, luckily. I find they're a little lacking in the low end, at least compared to my other main pair of headphones, the UE6000. I found the 553 pretty similar to the 99 Classics, minus the Meze's subbass extension.

 

[Mad Max]

Mine have been perfect as well for the past year.  Even more so now with HM5 pads.  Low end improves a pinch with fiberfill added inside of the cups - more clarity, better texture, better response, but balance remains very accurate, perhaps just slightly lacking, no different from before.

 

[jerrikko]

Which hm5 pads are you using? pix of the fiberfill by any chance? thx

 

[Mad Max]

Regular all-pleather HM5s.
 

 
If it starts sounding muffled, you are using too much fiberfill.
 
*Tip: cover the front of the driver with your hand completely when removing or putting back in each screw so you don't accidentally drop a screw into the driver.  The strength of the magnet is enough for the screw to damage the diaphragm slightly, enough to impact sound permanently.  I learned that the hard way years ago, haha.

 

[Transmaniacon]

So I purchased the knit headband pad from Amazon, it's helped a good with comfort.  The low clamping pressure puts most of the weight on the top headband so I think this is what contributes most to the discomfort.  I will see how this helps for an extended period.

 

[Mad Max]

So far, I haven't been bothered by the compressor effect in K553's bass, but I tried listening to the headphone now without the little rubber cups behind the driver magnets.  Oh wow, those things are what's compressing the bass.  Without them, the bass is much more dynamic and slightly stronger with more extension.
Strongly recommend the fiberfill mod if you decide that you want to try the sound without the rubber cups as you will be increasing cup reverb (bad for the sound in all ways) by removing those rubbers.  The increase in cup reverb may give an impression of "increased coloration", "hollow sound" or so.  Not to imply that the stock sound is free of extra reverb being added by the entire cup assemblies, either.
 
Edit: I'm keeping the rubber cups out.  The bass now being pumped out has articulation, texture, and clarity that effectively blows the stock bass out of the water.  The little bass compressor cups even out the bass more and make it seem flatter, but without them, bass is far better yet still notably balanced.

 

[Dobrescu George]

Why do these keep getting Massdrop promotions? 
 
I keep seeing them, and while I am interested in buying a pair, I really am afraid there is a darker reason for this. 

 

[Kursah]

Well from my understanding, a sale on Massdrop is something the community has to vote on. I have voted every time possible. I'm still using my original K553 Pro's from over a year ago with absolutely no issues...they sound excellent out of my AuneT1 using EQ APO + Peace UI to tune.
 
I purchased a backup pair this year during an earlier drop that are still unopened in the box should the day come I break or wear these ones out, I even ordered some replacement earpads from AKG direct (that was a pain though..not recommended until they finish restructuring their customer service and inventory management departments).
 
I think it is a good thing if these are continually coming up on Massdrop...that means the public keeps requesting them. For $120 I can't beat em, and I no longer care to even try! They sound excellent and are super easy to power and tune to how you like. I like extra bass without loss of detail and I can achieve an excellent middle ground between the two for my ears.
 
They're lightweight and comfy which is attributed to soft pads and easy adjustments, and have great passive isolation. Frankly I feel these are still a killer Massdrop deal and am glad to see that AKG and Massdrop are still able to push these out regularly. I would even consider paying MSRP for these knowing how they sound, how comfy they are and how well they perform.

 

[Dobrescu George]

  Well from my understanding, a sale on Massdrop is something the community has to vote on. I have voted every time possible. I'm still using my original K553 Pro's from over a year ago with absolutely no issues...they sound excellent out of my AuneT1 using EQ APO + Peace UI to tune.
 
I purchased a backup pair this year during an earlier drop that are still unopened in the box should the day come I break or wear these ones out, I even ordered some replacement earpads from AKG direct (that was a pain though..not recommended until they finish restructuring their customer service and inventory management departments).
 
I think it is a good thing if these are continually coming up on Massdrop...that means the public keeps requesting them. For $120 I can't beat em, and I no longer care to even try! They sound excellent and are super easy to power and tune to how you like. I like extra bass without loss of detail and I can achieve an excellent middle ground between the two for my ears.
 
They're lightweight and comfy which is attributed to soft pads and easy adjustments, and have great passive isolation. Frankly I feel these are still a killer Massdrop deal and am glad to see that AKG and Massdrop are still able to push these out regularly. I would even consider paying MSRP for these knowing how they sound, how comfy they are and how well they perform.

 
 
Whoa! I'm happy that you like them so much and found happiness! 
 
I'm using ie800 as my IEMs, which are 700$ IEMs, so... I'm considering that I should look into more expensive headphones, but the deal on K553 is pretty sweet. 
 
BTW, they are on massdrop right now. 

 

[Mad Max]

It sells by the hundreds every time.  It's all the rage.

 

[thesheik137]

Just picked these up off ebay for $75. They really hit the sweet spot in terms of sound signature for me and are exactly what I was looking for, particularly their linear and extended bass. I'd easily pay $200 for these, so no surprise people are buying loads of them on massdrop. The only downside is the headband, it really is uncomfortable and has no padding whatsoever. Does AKG not know how to design headbands or something???

 

[NewEinstein]

The headband works perfectly fine for me. I have these phones at work and often wear them three to four hours nonstop. Never had a problem with any padding.