[cel4145]

Via PM?

He's probably talking about my reply to him in post #1519. Which is just my opinion that I don't see the point in hanging out in a thread for a headphone one doesn't like just to say that one doesn't like it.

 

[vaibhavp]

 
I'm not talking about noise floor. I'm talking about that black space, dark void, instruments appearing out of thin air. You know...When the first note hits it is a surprise. I don't know how to explain it properly. Lack of that is not a complain towards k550 actually, even if akg's were sold for full price I don't think I have heard a headphone that can achieve that sensation for 300usd.
 
I don't know what is the cause for that. Maybe it has something to due with the faster decay of notes (that would rule out dx1000 which even has reverbs) or something... Overall lack of transparency. So...just to clarify, it is not a hum, or hissing or anything like that. Just the lack of overall credibility that music is presented from somewhere out there.
 
EDIT: And like I said I did not espect such from K550 but that people seem to compliment it for such performances so I just offer different opinion. K550 is just a fine capable headphone, but IMO just a bit overpriced compared to what it offers.

 
how about fast transient response ? like a planar headphone ? or a clean sound ?

 

[TheGiantHogweed]

It seems to me that quite a lot of people think that the K550s aren't very good value for money. I live in the UK and I paid £129.99 and I think that they are good value. Yes, my open backed Audio Technica ATH-AD700s cost me £87 and they do sound better but they aren't built as well.
If you use the K550s as portable headphones like I do, can you really get much better sound for the price they are available for in some places? I understand that it is the seal on these headphones that lets the sound down for many people on these headphones. It works no problem for me. I don't really notice the bass increase when I push against the ear cups. I do agree that the bass is a bit on the light weight side but not very because if I compare them to my AD700s, it is them that really are bass light. I use my Fiio E10 at my desk and use the bass boost if I am wanting more weight or power to the bass. It does a good job at that. I also find that what you plug these headphones into really makes a difference. If I have them directly into the front of my PC, they do sound quite flat but on the E10 even without the bass boost on, the sound has been improved a huge amount. Must be a very good DAC. When I travel, I use the Fiio X3 and this is when I boost the bass a lot because I notice the bass being drowned out by background noise so I have the bass between 6 and 10 on the X3 depending on the type of music.
 
What makes these headphones much better for me than my AD700s is that they don't leak sound and they are much more portable and its not like the sound quality of the K550s is a huge amount worse than my others.
 
The only thing that actually went wrong with my K550s was a faulty left driver. It just started to distort and rattle every time there was any heavy bass. I sent them back to the store I got them from and they got send back to AKG and got back to the store in just over a week. Very good service.
 
I must have just been a bit unlucky because they have lasted much longer ever since the driver got replaced. 
 
 
 
For me, as I said, I think they are decent value for money.

 

[BeBop Lives]

sound like a happy man........enjoy! You don't need a rubber stamp from anyone.

 

[ratinox]

If you use the K550s as portable headphones like I do, can you really get much better sound for the price they are available for in some places?

Not really. You can get about the same, give or take, but nothing genuinely superior. See my audition list from a few days ago for other headphones in the same general price range and my thoughts about them. You can get good-sounding headphones for less but you're getting something less. Koss ProDJ100 sounds better than K55x (depending on my mood and music), it's durable, but the hinges squeak and I hate the stock pads and cable. Sony MDR-V6 and MDR-7506 don't sound as good but they're comfortable and they are very solidly built. KRK KNS-8400 sounds great, good build quality, and supremely comfortable pads but they're not as enjoyable. I typically describe my KRK's as "clinical".

IMO, the $300 MSRP price point is the effective pinnacle for closed dynamic headphones. You can get incrementally better sound quality but the costs skyrocket. Planar magnetic headphones are a better value from $300 up to whatever an entry level STAX electrostatic kit would cost you and from there, well, STAX.

 

[viralcow]

 
If you use the K550s as portable headphones like I do,

 
How do you even do this?

 

[TheGiantHogweed]

   
How do you even do this?

They are a bit on the big side but I just have to use two pockets. One for the cable and one for my Fiio X3. I find it helpful that the headphones fold flat which quite a lot this size don't seem to. I bought a small laptop bag that fits the K550s in perfectly with the X3 and a few other accessories. I even once got off a bus while it was throwing it down with rain and just put my hud over my K550s and kept listening to music

. I do sometimes feel that people will wonder what I am wearing but AKG do say that they are for home listening or for on the move. I just wish the cable was detachable!

 

[cehowardNote3]

Via PM?

No, it was straight out.
Post #1500, I gave my first impression of auditioning the AKG 550s.
Post #1502, I posted a little more, getting more flac files, and my impressions are changing.
Post #1509, I really get into using the 02+ODAC with the K550 listening to flac. However, my Sony MK2
really started showing me what it is cable of, so I reported that the Sony MK2 the bluetooth one, bested
the AKG K550 in all areas including comfort, and it did it on bluetooth and the K550 was hooked to the amp/dac.
Also, I stated I was returning the AKG K550s
Post# 1519, is the one that ask me to leave.. Here it is below..
 

Originally Posted by cel4145 /img/forum/go_quote.gif


Yep. Every headphone is like that. Once you recognize that, not much point in hanging out in discussion/appreciation threads for headphones one doesn't care for.

 

 

[GirgleMirt]

The persecution syndrome and martyrdom is strong in this thread! I beg of you, less whining and crying and more 550 appreciating!

It really kinda sucks that audio is so subjective and even for something like headphones, there are so many factors which can influence someone's opinion... For example, lack of proper amplification for said headphone... And then this issue is presented as a performance issue of the headphones.. Even if the chain is perfect, as mentioned, subjectivity is a bane.. "I don't like like these headphones because I like very bass heavy headphones!" Become: "these headphones suck they have no bass!" Or "I'm used to bright headphones and these don't sound bright" becomes "these severely lack treble detail!"... Much sadness! //end rant

 

[x RELIC x]

^^ This ^^

 

[Crzomgwtf]

Its only good headphones, why u have to be mad?

 

[ratinox]

It really kinda sucks that audio is so subjective and even for something like headphones, there are so many factors which can influence someone's opinion...

Actually, audio isn't subjective at all. It's a well defined, well understood science. Much of the problem lies in the ambiguity and hyperbole of audiophile jargon. I've had people here on head-fi insist that a firmware change on iBasso DX50 sounded "completely different" from the prior version. I didn't measure it but I figured it was a half dB increase from around 100Hz to around 1kHz. But a half dB change is "completely different". Nonsense. But that's how some audiophiles are: any perceptible change no matter how small is "like night and day" or "completely different".

 

[bonfirehay]

Actually, audio isn't subjective at all. It's a well defined, well understood science. Much of the problem lies in the ambiguity and hyperbole of audiophile jargon. I've had people here on head-fi insist that a firmware change on iBasso DX50 sounded "completely different" from the prior version. I didn't measure it but I figured it was a half dB increase from around 100Hz to around 1kHz. But a half dB change is "completely different". Nonsense. But that's how some audiophiles are: any perceptible change no matter how small is "like night and day" or "completely different".

 
Because audiophiles are used to hear differences where they don't exist (placebo),
whenever there actually is a difference, it's night and day

 

[ampair]

I just checked out your sig. A true AKG fan

 
yup. guilty as charged...
those vintage cans are, in a way, part of austrian history. one of the better parts, that is

 

[panxut2004]

Today arrived my new brand new K550. Firsts impressions. While not so huge soundstage nor so great instrument separation like my HD650, I' m enjoying the K550 like if they were the 1st audiophile Cans i've ever heard. No seal issues. I guess I have a such a big melon . Good fit since the 1st time. Good bass and good evrything. It's a a joy the way they isolate from the outside world. Willi come back later with a few more hours of burn-in.