[money4me247]

  I know it has been mentioned that K550 have a bright highs, I've never actually thought so myself but now I found a song that really hurts my ears. Could someone take a listen to "Nightwish - Angels fall first", does the flute really pierce your ears as it does mine? Is there anything I could do about that, mod or anything for the headphones?

what is the time of the recording that you have this issue? if you want to keep these headphones, you can always EQ the treble down a bit. that is the easiest free mod to adjust the sound signature.

 

[Whippler]

  I know it has been mentioned that K550 have a bright highs, I've never actually thought so myself but now I found a song that really hurts my ears. Could someone take a listen to "Nightwish - Angels fall first", does the flute really pierce your ears as it does mine? Is there anything I could do about that, mod or anything for the headphones?

Long time Nightwish fan here, sounds good on my AQ Dragonfly -> K550  It is a bit sharp.
Listened trough se535 on my portable setup, it's better. Yah it's bit too sharp on K550 :/
 

 
You want to mod your headphones so you can listen to one song?

 
Here is what you can do:  find the mp3 on your hard drive...right click on it and select Delete...empty your recycle bin. 

I should take you behind the barn for that 

 

 

[Crzomgwtf]

  I know it has been mentioned that K550 have a bright highs, I've never actually thought so myself but now I found a song that really hurts my ears. Could someone take a listen to "Nightwish - Angels fall first", does the flute really pierce your ears as it does mine? Is there anything I could do about that, mod or anything for the headphones?

Flute part is just fine, its just something with ur ears

 

[Hacienda]

   

 
From now on, lay off the bottle while you are listening to music. 

Never!!

 

[Muzzy011]

Is anyone here have both K550 and hifiman he400, or listened to both of them, to give me some insights?
I want to add he400 for home listening, and I want to know how those two compares.
Thanks!

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk

 

[elvergun]

Is anyone here have both K550 and hifiman he400, or listened to both of them, to give me some insights?
I want to add he400 for home listening, and I want to know how those two compares.
Thanks!

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk

 
I listened to a HE400 at a meet recently.  The HE400 is an incredible headphone (in some ways I like it more than the HE500).
 
When I first put on the HE400 I was concentrating on the music (thinking, "very nice"), when suddenly I realized that they were extremely uncomfortable.
 
 
 
Both models are very good, but the K550 walks all over the HE400 when it comes to comfort and isolation (obviously)...and the AKG is cheaper.   I can't really go into details about the sound quality of the HE400 because I only had a quick listen.  I do remember that I though I was going to buy them...until I realized how uncomfortable they were.  

 

[money4me247]

Is anyone here have both K550 and hifiman he400, or listened to both of them, to give me some insights?
I want to add he400 for home listening, and I want to know how those two compares.
Thanks!

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk

I have owned both the k550 and the he400. I personally feel like the he400 is a pretty significant sound quality upgrade if you like dark/warm headphones with amazing clean tight visceral bass (great extension, textures and detail). The he400 bass easily beats the akg k550. I also prefer warm sound sig, the he400 is amazing at edm (which was a genre I felt the k550 was a bit lacking in, so could work out well as complementary headphones). He400 are the entry level ortho headphones so that is kinda cool. Weight & comfort was never an issue for me.

However, note the akg k550 is a great choice as well if you prefer a brighter treble focused pair of headphones. In that case, I would recommend upgrading to the akg k701/702/q701 or the sennheiser hd 600 as those lean towards the brighter side. Akg 550 has really sharp bright treble that really illustrates detail and clarity. Amazing sound for closed headphones.

The closed akg k550 has better isolation and great sound stage for closed headphones, but its sound stage cannot compete with open headphones like the he400, hd600/650, or the k701/702/q701. All those open choices have better sound quality than the akg k550.

I personally think the akg k550 is one of the best closed headphones up to the $400 price range and I think that the he400 is one of the best open headphones up to the $500 price range (you can get em for $300 nowadays). There r a lot of great options out there so it just depends on what sound sig you r looking for.

 

[metaldood]

I have owned both the k550 and the he400. I personally feel like the he400 is a pretty significant sound quality upgrade if you like dark/warm headphones with amazing clean tight visceral bass (great extension, textures and detail). The he400 bass easily beats the akg k550. I also prefer warm sound sig, the he400 is amazing at edm (which was a genre I felt the k550 was a bit lacking in, so could work out well as complementary headphones). He400 are the entry level ortho headphones so that is kinda cool. Weight & comfort was never an issue for me.

However, note the akg k550 is a great choice as well if you prefer a brighter treble focused pair of headphones. In that case, I would recommend upgrading to the akg k701/702/q701 or the sennheiser hd 600 as those lean towards the brighter side. Akg 550 has really sharp bright treble that really illustrates detail and clarity. Amazing sound for closed headphones.

The closed akg k550 has better isolation and great sound stage for closed headphones, but its sound stage cannot compete with open headphones like the he400, hd600/650, or the k701/702/q701. All those open choices have better sound quality than the akg k550.

I personally think the akg k550 is one of the best closed headphones up to the $400 price range and I think that the he400 is one of the best open headphones up to the $500 price range (you can get em for $300 nowadays). There r a lot of great options out there so it just depends on what sound sig you r looking for.

Couldn't agree more. I own both currently and they are great in closed(550)  and open(400) categories for the price. It depends on my mood which headphones I choose to listen.

 

[Muzzy011]

Thank you guys fot the quick answers. From what I hard from you all, seems thay he400 would be fit for what I like.
Only things that I could complain about K550 that it can be sometimes sibilant with specific songs, but on the other side, clarity and detail are the best of all I heard (not much hp's anyway).
But interesting thing is that, what ever I recorded, or some audio footage that I know thats not altered in any way, its never sibilant? Maybe most of recordings have highs extended in post production to sound 'better'?

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk

 

[Muzzy011]

How you all satisfied with he400 comfort? I mean 2+ hours of listening? For k550 I would say its perfect if its not happen that my left ear touching speaker frame, which I start noticing after about 2 hours. Reposition, and can go another hour or two.

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk

 

[dxanex]

2+ hours with the HE-400 on?? No. HE series are heavy, bulky and not the best in the comfort area. They sound great, but comfortable is not a word I would associate with them. I'm talking pleather or velour pads.
 
The K550 was quite comfy, but they did make my ears sweat after the first hour or so (when I had a perfect seal).

 

[TMRaven]

HE-400 is (overall) the most comfortable headphone I've used to date, besides the Audio Technica AD700.  Its weight doesn't bother me, and the very roomy and large earpads with the open-air feeling leaves your ears feeling very natural.  Other headphones like Beyerdynamic DT990 and Sennheiser HD650 I thought were just as good if not slightly better than the HE-400 in short-term comfort, but the lack of size and depth on the earpads for the DT990 and clamp of the 650 made them lose out to the HE-400 for me.
 
So yea, 2 hours for the HE-400 isn't a hard number to imagine.

 

[dxanex]

^ I definitely disagree, except maybe the clamp argument. The HE-400 definitely won't squeeze your head. But everyone has a different shaped head and opinion on what comfortable is...I personally feel that saying they are very comfortable is an overstatement at best, but that's just my opinion. Don't get me wrong, they are not super uncomfortable, but I have a smaller head and the HE-400 constantly shifts around, falls down on my ears and really bugs me after about an hour. I forgave a lot of that up to a point, because they really do sound excellent, but then I ultimately got tired of it and I put them up for sale. They may work out great for you, though.
 
The HE-400i looks to solve a lot of those issues. You could always hold out a month or two and see how they fit. Sound may be precisely what you're looking for too.
 
Just realized I'm in the K550 thread. Don't mean to derail.

 

[TMRaven]

Not really an overstatement at all.
 
Everyone also has a different tolerance for weight as well.  My bro's gf-- who used my M50s while she was going through law school, thought the M50 was heavy on her head and she felt a strain after a while.  The M50s weigh like a whole 200grams less than the HE-400.  The whole shifting around the head thing is a legitimate point, but that doesn't really bother me because I use them while in front of a computer, so I'm very stationary in the first place.
 
Usually heavy-ish headphones have a problem of developing a hotspot on the top of your dome, but the HE-series headband disperses weight very nicely.  I've come across plenty of other headbands that built up a hotspot considerably faster despite those headphones weighing overall less. 
 
The new hifiman headphones look really nice.  As long as the earpad openings remain really roomy and deep, I'm sure they'll be super comfortable.

 

[money4me247]

How you all satisfied with he400 comfort? I mean 2+ hours of listening? For k550 I would say its perfect if its not happen that my left ear touching speaker frame, which I start noticing after about 2 hours. Reposition, and can go another hour or two.

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk

for comfort on over-ear headphones, there is two things that really bother me. one is the dimensions of the earpad (if the earpads are too shallow, that is a deal breaker for me). the second is the weight.
 
for the he-400, the earpads are large and spacious, so if you have normal ears, they shouldn't be a problem at all. will definitely give your ears enough clearance. look at the Size Matters thread for actual dimensions. for weight, these headphones are on the heavier side and they may take a bit of time to get used to. after a few weeks of wearing the he-400, I have no problems wearing them for 8hrs+ (as I need listen to music while I am studying). however, i can see the weight being too heavy slash problematic for other people.
 
luckily, the he-400 headband is wide and even, so it distributes the weight very evenly across the top of your head. the clamping pressure of the he-400 is not too tight either, so no complaints there for me personally. the only time I personally have an issue with the he-400 in terms of comfort is when i am wearing glasses and wear the he-400 for super long 4hr+ sessions, there is a pressure point where the the frame wire part that goes over your ear contacts the earpads, which will get slightly uncomfy after long listening sessions.
 
overall, i personally think the he-400 has excellent comfort once you get used to its weight. i do lots of long 3hr+ listening sessions, so comfort is very important to me personally. however, comfort is a very individual thing, so ymmv