[squyzz]

Actually i made à mistake. Mine is a K551 but i don't think it makes any différence.

Just ordered a pair of brainwavz pads

 

[cheesecakeFTW]

So I'm considering getting these headphones as an upgrade from my ms1i since there is currently a very good deal on them in Sweden (~$120). What I'm looking for is the same clear and beautiful sound but with a better soundstage and more bass impact. I have a few questions:
 
What do you think about the reviews stating that there is a resonance in the upper midds that destroys the listening experience?
 
I plan to use my nexus 6 as a source and opinions seem to differ widely about wether or not the k550 sounds good unamped or not, will I be better of with, say, the m50x?
 
Can anyone compare the sound off the k550 to the ms1/ms1i? What are the differences in clarity, soundstage, bass etc?
 
Thank you for any help!

 

[Arttt]

unamped k550 sounds dull. Thin, grainy with poor dynamics and muddy weak  bass.  Drivers barely moving ....
if umped properly its sound very open and specious , detailed. Good separation between instruments and WIDE soundstage.
 
However its not all arounder, suits best for classical music , acoustics , jazz...
 
i do not recommend getting k550 without proper desktop amp ( no portable stuff...)
 
if you thinking about a headphone like m50x , then you should know k550 is very different from m50x.
m50x has LOTS of bass , colored mids and "in your face" type of sound , when k550 is more elegant more refine with much bigger soundstage , more air , you can hear the room where singer sings , how singer takes breath before singing , stuff like that with k550.
 
with m50x its more about attack , punch, and bass.
 
and m50x will be driven better without amp than k550 ...
however if you need a headphone like m50x i recommend you check out Yamaha mt220 , its an allrounder.  
works fine with all type of music , and sound good without amp.  Its very dynamic , detailed , with strong lowend and smooth liquid mids!
 
i doubt theres a better headphone than yamaha mt220 for all kind of music (that could be driven fine without amp)  under 500$

 

[cheesecakeFTW]

Thank you for the response!
 
What confuses me is that some people (like you) say that the k550 sounds awful without an amp and others say the opposite.
The same goes for the dt770 aswell.
 
The mt220 sounds very interesting, I hadn't heard about it before. It is a bit more expensive though(considering the deal on the k550) but maybe it's worth it. How is the soundstage and the clarity?

 

[TheGiantHogweed]

unamped k550 sounds dull. Thin, grainy with poor dynamics and muddy weak  bass.  Drivers barely moving ....
if umped properly its sound very open and specious , detailed. Good separation between instruments and WIDE soundstage.

However its not all arounder, suits best for classical music , acoustics , jazz...

i do not recommend getting k550 without proper desktop amp ( no portable stuff...)

if you thinking about a headphone like m50x , then you should know k550 is very different from m50x.
m50x has LOTS of bass , colored mids and "in your face" type of sound , when k550 is more elegant more refine with much bigger soundstage , more air , you can hear the room where singer sings , how singer takes breath before singing , stuff like that with k550.

with m50x its more about attack , punch, and bass.

and m50x will be driven better without amp than k550 ...
however if you need a headphone like m50x i recommend you check out Yamaha mt220 , its an allrounder.  
works fine with all type of music , and sound good without amp.  Its very dynamic , detailed , with strong lowend and smooth liquid mids!

i doubt theres a better headphone than yamaha mt220 for all kind of music (that could be driven fine without amp)  under 500$

When you say the K550s sound poor unamped, what eactly do you mean meanby unamped. I use mine with my FiiO X3 through the headphone out. When listening at home, I can quite easily hear all the bass and also feel it a lot of the time. What I love about the K550s is how clean and deep the bass is. I do boost the bass by quite a lot with my X3 when travelling as it is less noticeable then.
I could not call the bass muddy at all. The X3 is pretty much exactly the same amplifier as the E17. Both are very powerful. I am just trying to work out what you mean by unamped.

If I plug my K550s into my cheap tablet, they are pretty quiet and muddy. My E11 is then useful and that seems to make the sound cleaner and louder.

 

[Arttt]

@cheesecakeFTW 
 
mt220 is a studio headphone and has studio like neutrality , its very clear and true to the recording. Its not analytical and its not warm , yet very detailed smooth and musical. But for people who prefer "colored" sound it may sound too neutral...
 
if you give it a try , your ears will adjust and you will notice how "annoying"   colored headphones sound compared to neutral studio sound ...
 
you can listen to mt220 for 8-10 hours straight without getting fatigue.
soundstage on mt220 is smaller than on k550 but sounds has more body more weight more punch , its very agile and exciting.
k550 sounds thin comparing to mt220.
 
@TheGiantHogweed 
 
by unmapped i mean running it without amp.
portable dac/amps combos dont do k550 justice.  but to know what i mean you must hear k550 from something like Meridian Prime or beyerdynamic A1 with a high end source, only then k550 sound relaxed , lush and dynamic , with huge open soundstage , sound spacious and airy...  mids warm and intimate.
 
with mid fi amps and source it sound ...less good... but still dynamic , as long as amp has enough juice to shake those drivers.
and straight out of laptop or tablet it sound simply boring ...
 
now we all have our own standards and i won't argue whats "good enough" for you , but in my opinion k550 needs powerful amp . Not to make headphone sound louder , no , but to make it sound good , with good dynamics and authority , add a good source and detail level , soundstage , separation will scale ....

 

[TheGiantHogweed]

  @TheGiantHogweed 
 
by unmapped i mean running it without amp.
portable dac/amps combos dont do k550 justice.  but to know what i mean you must hear k550 from something like Meridian Prime or beyerdynamic A1 with a high end source, only then k550 sound relaxed , lush and dynamic , with huge open soundstage , sound spacious and airy...  mids warm and intimate.
 
with mid fi amps and source it sound ...less good... but still dynamic , as long as amp has enough juice to shake those drivers.
and straight out of laptop or tablet it sound simply boring ...
 
now we all have our own standards and i won't argue whats "good enough" for you , but in my opinion k550 needs powerful amp . Not to make headphone sound louder , no , but to make it sound good , with good dynamics and authority , add a good source and detail level , soundstage , separation will scale ....

I listen to my K550s at home with my E11 or E10 but much more of the time, with my X3 alone when on the move.
 
If I compare the headphone out on the front of my PC to when using the E10, there is a small difference in levels of bass. It is improved. It is cleaner and just a little more powerful. When listening to Reggae, If I put my hands on the back of the ear cups when listening fairly loud, I can feel them vibrating. There must be a fair amount of bass. If I am after more, I plug my E11 into the line out of the E10 and use the bass boost switch on that. The E11 seems to boost the lower end of the bass and it goes quite well with the K550s.
 
Most of the time though, I use my Audio Technica ATH-AD700s which are open back. They have a lot less bass than the K550s do without being amped. But they sound so clean and spacious as they are fully open. I only really use the K550s at home if I don't want to disturb anyone or am after more powerful bass.
 
The main thing I think could get improved is the midrange. It sounds very clear but a little too thin. The treble to me also sounds a little artificial at times. However with the X3, that treble sound better. The X3 is known to have a slightly darker and warmer soundstage. Other people have said the X3 and K550 is a pretty good combination.
 
I still do think that as you have said, the K550s can improve if you get even better amplifiers.

 

[cheesecakeFTW]

Would the k550 benefit from a fiio e6?

 

[TheGiantHogweed]

Would the k550 benefit from a fiio e6?

If all you are after is a little more volume or a very small amount of bass boost then yes. But it won't change the sound much. I have the FiiO E5 which is what got replaced by the E6. They are quite similar. Bass boost and volume is about all the difference I think it will make. If the sound is pretty poor in the first place, then it could maybe improve it a little bit.

 

[Voxel-1]

I got a used akg K550 from someone. The pads were damaged, so it seemed like that was the reason why the left channel sounded more "open" and had less subbass than the right channel. I just got replacement pads from Harmon, but the issue is still there. Can someone help me? From 250 hz to 2000 hz, the right side is quieter than the left side.

 

[MikePio]

I purchased the AKG K550 here in the UK at a second hand store for 55 pounds in pretty good general condition. At home (Canada) I have my full set-up which includes the K701 which I had a love/hate relationship with over the years. I found the K701 to be very thin sounding and generally lacking in bass but with amazing sound stage and imaging. It has been about two weeks now and I am thoroughly impressed with the K550, basically a much more complete and enjoying headphone compared to the K701, no doubt about it, this is a keeper.  Detailed and clear sound with improved bass and surprisingly stunning soundstage for a closed headphone.
 
My current set up is the K550 >Fiio mont blanc e12 (0db, no bass boost and no crossfeed) > JDS labs ODAC > Cplay (ASIO4ALL). I find that AKG really put together a solid headphone here. The mids and treble have a natural sound quality with incredible clarity, soundstage is very wide and imaging precise and bass is just about perfect for my preference. I also really enjoy the looks and feel as a general headphone I will keep coming back to this one. I would love to see how these sound on my full home set-up in Canada running the Audio Technica HA-5000 mosfet amplifier and sourced with the Marantz cd6005. In conclusion, if you can get a pair of these headphones for a good price, don't hesitate and go for it. When it comes to middle-end headphones, this one ranks near the top. Cheers. 

 

[Hixs]

Check your sounds settings to make sure each driver is outputting 50% each side. If it is, then the driver is probably damaged. 
 
Check also any cables, settings etc just be sure. Maybe use another pair of earphones to see if it isn't an amp/dac issue.

 

[RockStar2005]

Lawrecedent, 
 
The headband on the K553 is a little thinner, but everything else is the same. Not sure why they would make it thinner. Dumb move. I have it though and it's still pretty comfortable, though K550s were probably more so. 

 

[Rainmaker91]

So... I'm well aware this is a k550 thread, but considering the only real difference between the K551 (which I have) is the colour and cable I figure I'll post here. So, I finally got around to swaping out the cable on this pair (I had done a less desirable cheap jack swap earlier) to get around the annoying extention cord I always had to use and prity up the pair with a niceer looking jack plug. While all that is less important really, I noticed a significant difference between the bass levels of these headphones with the new cable. I always found them to be rather lacking in the lower ends of the soundstage, but now they actually sound quite decent.
 
Is it possible that the factory cable on the 551 is limited when it comes to power to the drives (swaped it out with a nice microphone cable that's at least 3 times as thick), or am I simply imagining things (could be since it's been a while since I was able to use them properly)?

 

[sludgeogre]

  So... I'm well aware this is a k550 thread, but considering the only real difference between the K551 (which I have) is the colour and cable I figure I'll post here. So, I finally got around to swaping out the cable on this pair (I had done a less desirable cheap jack swap earlier) to get around the annoying extention cord I always had to use and prity up the pair with a niceer looking jack plug. While all that is less important really, I noticed a significant difference between the bass levels of these headphones with the new cable. I always found them to be rather lacking in the lower ends of the soundstage, but now they actually sound quite decent.
 
Is it possible that the factory cable on the 551 is limited when it comes to power to the drives (swaped it out with a nice microphone cable that's at least 3 times as thick), or am I simply imagining things (could be since it's been a while since I was able to use them properly)?

I put a super thick cable on my LCD-2 and everything tightened up and there was a lot more detail. Every other cable swap I've done (RCA, USB, etc) except for speaker wire has made no impact. I think there's something about the wires that lead from an amp to a transducer that actually makes a real difference when you bulk them up. Or I might be crazy, I don't know. I do know that a lot of great headphones come with crappy cables that really hold them back, though.