[AriGibson]

After some improved Craigslist searching (you da best mega)...

A wild pair of AKG K550 ($30, needs new earpads) has appeared!

Would make a new thread, but I'm lazy and I don't need the whole world's opinion. You guys, especially @Redcarmoose , have been extremely helpful so I thought I'd ask here.

Same question... thoughts? I was really looking forward to open-back cans, but I'll take what I can get. And hey, I have a friend willing to long-term lend me some Audio Technica ATH-700. I really want to have my own pair of entry (approaching) mid level cans anyway. They have a 5/5 on What HiFi, and an 8/10 on TrustedReviews. Figured it was worth running by you guys though.

Or, I'm debating getting the previous Sennheiser HD589 and these, but while still under $100, there are more important things that I need it for. Let me know what you think about that too, and what you would do.

Again, thank you so much for everything!

 

[megabigeye]

Hey, glad those search tricks worked for you!

I don't have any experience with the K550, but I was interested in them when they came out a few years ago, so I've read a bit about them. As I recall, people (maybe Tyll at Inner Fidelity?) were saying that they were closer to a perfected tonality from AKG (i.e., more bass than their preview offerings). I also remember that people were saying they were very comfortable and that there's not much clamping pressure, but also that they can tend to be a bit too loose.
$30 certainly seems like a bargain, but you should do a little research first. Just from about two minutes of searching, it looks like official pads may not exist (or they didn't a couple of years ago), but who knows if there are other options.
Here's the Inner Fidelity review.
If I were you I'd probably ask if I could try them out and research pad replacement in the mean time.

And I have even less experience with the HD 598, unfortunately.

 

[Redcarmoose]

Sorry no history with the AKG 550? Still your going to have to figure in new ear pads. So?

The whole hobby is about finding what your sound is. Everyone here has slowly found what headphone they could live with from trial and error.

It’s personal trial and error. So other people are going to have a hard time helping you know what is a good purchase. Though the descriptions can help, you never know till a week of ownership. That is why you can find people who purchased the same headphone two times, or three times; as they were never sure during ownership.

The mystery is the best part of this hobby. There are let downs and successful areas at hand. These conquests result from a member being in any economic level. One guy with 4 $100 headphones has the same feeling about them as a guy with 4 $3000 headphones. They both have pairs they like and headphones they love. They had to purchase to get to know the headphones; they had to take a risk.

All the headphones for sale in the sale section have a story but some where try-outs which didn’t work. They mystery was solved.

You could simply get a pair of Koss Portapro headphones and be perfectly happy if you liked the sound. I had a pair of $199 Sony headphones for 10 years; I never wanted anything else. There are stories of people finding one headphone and keeping it.

 

[AriGibson]

Hey, glad those search tricks worked for you!

I don't have any experience with the K550, but I was interested in them when they came out a few years ago, so I've read a bit about them. As I recall, people (maybe Tyll at Inner Fidelity?) were saying that they were closer to a perfected tonality from AKG (i.e., more bass than their preview offerings). I also remember that people were saying they were very comfortable and that there's not much clamping pressure, but also that they can tend to be a bit too loose.
$30 certainly seems like a bargain, but you should do a little research first. Just from about two minutes of searching, it looks like official pads may not exist (or they didn't a couple of years ago), but who knows if there are other options.
Here's the Inner Fidelity review.
If I were you I'd probably ask if I could try them out and research pad replacement in the mean time.

I did do some looking at replacement pads, until I had an idea... originally I wanted open back headphones. Why not just peel off the rest (60%) of the flaking pleather? Think that's one of the smartest things I've thought of in a while. There's still pleather on the side, so they aren't completely bassless. There's almost no bass anyway.

I did buy them. See below for my thoughts, in case you still have some interest in them.

And I have even less experience with the HD 598, unfortunately.

Sorry no history with the AKG 550? Still your going to have to figure in new ear pads. So?

The whole hobby is about finding what your sound is. Everyone here has slowly found what headphone they could live with from trial and error.

It’s personal trial and error. So other people are going to have a hard time helping you know what is a good purchase. Though the descriptions can help, you never know till a week of ownership. That is why you can find people who purchased the same headphone two times, or three times; as they were never sure during ownership.

The mystery is the best part of this hobby. There are let downs and successful areas at hand. These conquests result from a member being in any economic level. One guy with 4 $100 headphones has the same feeling about them as a guy with 4 $3000 headphones. They both have pairs they like and headphones they love. They had to purchase to get to know the headphones; they had to take a risk.

All the headphones for sale in the sale section have a story but some where try-outs which didn’t work. They mystery was solved.

You could simply get a pair of Koss Portapro headphones and be perfectly happy if you liked the sound. I had a pair of $199 Sony headphones for 10 years; I never wanted anything else. There are stories of people finding one headphone and keeping it.

Good points. I'm still discovering my sound preferences, but I was mainly looking for the clarity, soundstage, and general sound improvements. I went from almost not wanting them to appreciated the vastly different sound from all other headphones I've used. I still have to learn what I actually like, and right now I'm loving the sound of these...

Post-purchase Thoughts
They're pretty great! Super comfy, and I really enjoy over-ear compared to on-ear. The pads are pretty thick, so there's a lot of soundstage, further enhanced by removing the pleather. The mids are kind of tinny, which brings out the light but crisp bass. I used to (on the fence now) prefer richer sound with mids and highs. But, I love how distant and high-pitched this sound is. In the end, great purchase! Definitely didn't know how much I needed the upgrade.

 

[megabigeye]

Glad you're enjoying them! I bet that if you put some new pads on them that they'd sound a lot different, even compared to how they were with all of the flaking pleather on them. Generally bass is one of the first things to go when a good seal is broken. I'd imagine there's an official thread on them somewhere, if you want to ask about pads. Maybe the Brainwavz pads would fit? I don't know, but it might be worth checking out.

 

[AriGibson]

Glad you're enjoying them! I bet that if you put some new pads on them that they'd sound a lot different, even compared to how they were with all of the flaking pleather on them. Generally bass is one of the first things to go when a good seal is broken. I'd imagine there's an official thread on them somewhere, if you want to ask about pads. Maybe the Brainwavz pads would fit? I don't know, but it might be worth checking out.

Brainwavz XL do. I've been looking. And yes there are other ways, but I think I need need an external DAC, so I'm going back to the previously mentioned FiiO E18. Has a bass boost feature, so I'm not too worried. I do like a good soundstage though, so I think this is what I want.

Or, the sketchier route. eBay generic pleather ear pads. Cost as much as Brainwavz, but hear me out. They're 2.5x thicker than the stock pads, so there'll be some good soundstage from driver-to-head distance. And, the closed leather will add in a good amount of bass, and create a richer sound in general. Either that or probably velour from Brainwavz. Heard velour is open enough create lots of good soundstage, and enhances sound in general. Heard p/leather gives more bass, but makes it muddier. Thoughts?

 

[megabigeye]

I don't know, but I think the Braiwavz pads are pretty thick. Looking at pictures on Amazon, it seems like they're significantly thicker than the ones they're replacing (mostly M50x). ANyway, if it were me, I'd be inclined to get the trusted name brand one.

 

[headchiq]

I have a pair of these headphones that I bought over a decade ago for about $30.

I think the reason these are so expensive is because they are discontinued. the 600 to $900 pairs you see on the internet are brand new in box. You just can't find them brand new in box anymore.

These headphones have been through hell and back and they still perform like the day they came out of the box. I think that's why they are so highly regarded.

As far as sound goes, my other pair of headphones are LCD X.

The Sony's actually have more thumpy base than the lcd, but way less detail all around.

The Sony's are a great pair of headphones for professional work such as monitoring while recording vocals. They can get beat up to hell and they will still perform like the day you got them, and they are really lightweight.

 

[ds9kicks]

Not familiar with them, but a quick Google search turns up many negative reviews. Personally, I'd pass.

The Sony MDR-V600 is in my opinion (and I'm not alone in this) the flattest most natural-sounding headphones ever made. Their only drawback (sonically) is that the low-bass response (below 70 Hz?) is significantly attenuated, though it is still present. Not an issue for me. I am not made of money, so it was a bit of a sacrifice what I just did: after ordering a brand-new pair (they haven't been manufactured for about 15+ years) for a terrific price on eBay of about $600, I noticed that there was still another brand-new pair for sale at this steal of a price (different packaging reminiscent of the packaging-style I was once familiar with in the '90s) also for only $625. I broke-down and splurged for this second pair because presumably you won't be able to find these new for much longer. The only other (two) brand-new pairs listed on eBay are for closer to $900, which seems like a more-representative price to me (hence my splurging for the cheaper, but still unopened, pairs)

I have tried several other Sony sets such as MDR-V900, MDR-7509 and MDR-7506; they are no match to the incredibly flat and natural sound of the V600. I guess they didn't retain strong popularity because of the issue with low-bass response (but to me the more-important and pleasing bass range is from roughly 60 - 120 Hz, and they do a fantastic job with this range except for a dropping-off below perhaps 70 Hz). But the important thing to me about the "poor" low-bass response is that it is still reproduced, so you still hear it.

 

[ds9kicks]

The Sony MDR-V600 is in my opinion (and I'm not alone in this) the flattest most natural-sounding headphones ever made. Their only drawback (sonically) is that the low-bass response (below 70 Hz?) is significantly attenuated, though it is still present. Not an issue for me. I am not made of money, so it was a bit of a sacrifice what I just did: after ordering a brand-new pair (they haven't been manufactured for about 15+ years) for a terrific price on eBay of about $600, I noticed that there was still another brand-new pair for sale at this steal of a price (different packaging reminiscent of the packaging-style I was once familiar with in the '90s) also for only $625. I broke-down and splurged for this second pair because presumably you won't be able to find these new for much longer. The only other (two) brand-new pairs listed on eBay are for closer to $900, which seems like a more-representative price to me (hence my splurging for the cheaper, but still unopened, pairs)

I have tried several other Sony sets such as MDR-V900, MDR-7509 and MDR-7506; they are no match to the incredibly flat and natural sound of the V600. I guess they didn't retain strong popularity because of the issue with low-bass response (but to me the more-important and pleasing bass range is from roughly 60 - 120 Hz, and they do a fantastic job with this range except for a dropping-off below perhaps 70 Hz). But the important thing to me about the "poor" low-bass response is that it is still reproduced, so you still hear it.

A note about these headphones: I made the mistake of letting the ear pads deteriorate over-time and assuming that the sound quality was still the same as it always was. After finally replacing the pads with a new pair which restored the "sound stage" including proper distance from the driver to the ear, I realized what I had been missing.

 

[DigitalJust]

I forgot i own a pair of these. Put on new pads a few years ago and forgot about them. They are indeed tanks. Had them since new. Definitely need to be put back in rotation

 

[ds9kicks]

I have a pair of these headphones that I bought over a decade ago for about $30.

I think the reason these are so expensive is because they are discontinued. the 600 to $900 pairs you see on the internet are brand new in box. You just can't find them brand new in box anymore.

These headphones have been through hell and back and they still perform like the day they came out of the box. I think that's why they are so highly regarded.

As far as sound goes, my other pair of headphones are LCD X.

The Sony's actually have more thumpy base than the lcd, but way less detail all around.

The Sony's are a great pair of headphones for professional work such as monitoring while recording vocals. They can get beat up to hell and they will still perform like the day you got them, and they are really lightweight.

Try one of the brand-new pairs still available (on eBay at time of writing this), or replace the pads on your set. Your pads likely have deteriorated, adversely altering the "sound stage", particularly by moving the driver closer to the ear than it was intended to be. I experienced this problem with my older pair before finally replacing the pads (and the sound quality was restored quite a lot).

 

[ds9kicks]

Scratch a lot of what I said in a recent post (in this thread). I bought a new pair of 7506s thinking they would be an improvement over my V600s. They are not; the upper-mids are emphasized beyond belief. I found that what I needed was different eq settings for my V600s, which are now sounding fantastic driven by my Schiit Magni Heresy. But they need substantial eq: -8 dB at 95 Hz (2-octave bandwidth), +4 dB at 11.5k (1.5-octave bandwidth). I can finally crank my music without any listening fatigue. Very flat sounding after these adjustments, a far cry from the horribly-colored 7506s (formerly V6).

I'm using a brand-new pair I got on eBay for a substantial price due to them having been discontinued for quite a few years now (to replace my 20+-year-old pair)

In this screenshot of Equalizer APO, you might notice I have "mono" enabled. Yes, indeed! (Go ahead and call me names; I find mono to be quite pleasing once the sound quality is decent with proper equipment, uncompressed source material, and flat frequency response; stereo to be irritating even with a filter to attempt to smooth out the imaging problem inherent to headphones)

 

[ds9kicks]

I got tired of the mid-range sounding unnatural in my beloved V600's, and gave the Sennheiser HD-650's I had ordered a try (driven by Schiit Magni Heresy). At first they took some getting used to. Now that I have, I'm not going back to the V600's. The sound of these is neutral and I'm hearing details I never-before heard. However, I still can't keep the volume even up to a moderate level (keep wanting to turn it down), so I'm going to try the HifiMan HE-400i which I saw recommended several times in posts about the Sennheiser's...