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The AKG K550 Impressions and Discussion Thread!
Dec 2, 2012 at 5:31 PM Post #167 of 2,842
curly21029 said:
...could I be confusing it with the P3? (auditioned both back-to-back, liked neither... pretty looking, though)
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Might be. I seem to recall them being brighter. Yea they are really nicely made agreed, real leather and all that. I guess after a while they must get a bit heavy on the head with all that metal. Didn't use them long.
 
Dec 2, 2012 at 5:58 PM Post #168 of 2,842
Quote:
moonshake said:
Could someone post some impressions about their synergy with a desktop amp like Solo, Canamp, GS-X, Burson...?
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Synergy is a very subjective thing, IMO. I've never tried the K550 on my canamp (that was before the K550 was released), but for what it's worth, I did use my K702's on them (I find the K550 and K702 to be very similar sounding) and the K702 sounded very nice on it, except for very busy passages the canamp simply couldn't keep up. But you wouldn't have that problem on the K550 since it is far less power-gluttonous.
 
Dec 3, 2012 at 9:52 AM Post #169 of 2,842
Yeah, the k702 sings with the Canamp, also (and even better for my ears) the closed k271 is a golden match for that amp. I own both and the k271 are my reference cans for mixing except for measuring very deep bass freqs -from 40 - 80hz- where the k701 becomes a more precise tool.
Both cans require a lot of current, especially the K701, and there is where the Canamp shines at.
I didn´t try the k550, but as they are very efficient cans, I believe that plugging them to the Canamp is a no go. That´s why I was wondering what would be the perfect desktop amp for these puppies 
 
Dec 3, 2012 at 10:20 AM Post #170 of 2,842
Quote:
moonshake said:
Yeah, the k702 sings with the Canamp, also (and even better for my ears) the closed k271 is a golden match for that amp. I own both and the k271 are my reference cans for mixing except for measuring very deep bass freqs -from 40 - 80hz- where the k701 becomes a more precise tool.
Both cans require a lot of current, especially the K701, and there is where the Canamp shines at.
I didn´t try the k550, but as they are very efficient cans, I believe that plugging them to the Canamp is a no go. That´s why I was wondering what would be the perfect desktop amp for these puppies 
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Can I ask why you concluded that the Canamp would not be a good match for the K550? I'm just curious why you think that a very efficient headphone would not do well on it (I don't know the precise science of driving headphones, I just know what sounds good to me)
 
Also, I don't know if you've considered tube amps, but I find the Little Dot MKIII is a very good match for the K550 especially with better tubes (not the stock Chinese duds) which do a nice job of rolling off the sometimes shrill high end and smooth out the mids beautifully.
 
Dec 3, 2012 at 1:41 PM Post #171 of 2,842
well mine were supposed to come in today, but i missed the delivery truck!
mad.gif
i can pick them up tomorrow, but still, after waiting a week, i'm ready to give these things their moneys worth.
 
Dec 3, 2012 at 3:42 PM Post #172 of 2,842
Quote:
dxanex said:
Can I ask why you concluded that the Canamp would not be a good match for the K550? I'm just curious why you think that a very efficient headphone would not do well on it (I don't know the precise science of driving headphones, I just know what sounds good to me)
 
Also, I don't know if you've considered tube amps, but I find the Little Dot MKIII is a very good match for the K550 especially with better tubes (not the stock Chinese duds) which do a nice job of rolling off the sometimes shrill high end and smooth out the mids beautifully.
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Sure...I´ve tested the Canamp with a bunch of efficient cans (especially Grados/Alessandros) and the pairing could not be worse. To my ears, I´ve found this amp very picky but amazing with current hungry headphones like the K701
 
Thanks for the recommendation about the Little Dot. Still looking for some impressions pairing them with the Burson, Gilmore, Shiit and other popular desktop amps 
 
Dec 4, 2012 at 11:43 AM Post #174 of 2,842
j-lieb said:
Anyone have experience with both these and MrSpeakers Mad Dogs?
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I had the K550s and now have the Mad Dogs with dog pads. Very different sound signatures. I had trouble getting a good seal with the K550. But even when I did, I found them a bit bright for my liking. Occasional sibilance. The Mad Dogs are much more laid back - all the definition of the K550, but fuller bass response and no sibilance. The Mad Dogs have proven to be a better fit for my head and my listening preferences.
 
Dec 4, 2012 at 6:17 PM Post #175 of 2,842
Quote:
glow fish said:
I had the K550s and now have the Mad Dogs with dog pads. Very different sound signatures. I had trouble getting a good seal with the K550. But even when I did, I found them a bit bright for my liking. Occasional sibilance. The Mad Dogs are much more laid back - all the definition of the K550, but fuller bass response and no sibilance. The Mad Dogs have proven to be a better fit for my head and my listening preferences.
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How does the soundstage (airyness) and outside noise isolation compare between these?
 
Dec 5, 2012 at 10:34 AM Post #178 of 2,842
I got mine yesterday and finally got around to do some listening this morning and I love them. They rest very comfortably on my head and I haven't done any modding so far, the seal is quite good aswell. Bass is kind of lacking with some songs, but overall my first impression is excellent. As a source I use either my iMac with the FiiO E17 or the iPod Classic with the K550 usually plugged in directly. I also really love the soundstage on those, very impressive for closed headphones
 
Dec 7, 2012 at 6:10 PM Post #179 of 2,842
Hello guys,
 
I got mine the day before this post. I use them mostly at work. There are the best closed headhones i heard until now. Unfortunately the design is flawed. They are too damn big. I have a normal head. Did not have any problems with any other headphone, EVER :p. 
I have made the adjusted suggested in the first post, thanks for that! It is better, but still I feel that it is not perfectly sealed. If i press just a little bit, I feel the sound better. This is annoying. Some pay hundreds of dolars for 10% upgrade, and I have it there at a push of a finger :)) . I gave the headphone to a female colleague at work to test it with a song. The headphones were falling off her head even at the lowest setting :)) .
 
What heads did AKG have as reference???
 
I imagine all guys from AKG are reaally big headed! :)) 


 
 
 
 
 
 
Aside from that, I love the sound of these headphones. For work and situations that require closed headphones, they are perfect. 
 
P.S. At work I use them with fiio e17 and it sounds great!
 
Dec 7, 2012 at 9:25 PM Post #180 of 2,842
^ lol @ pic.
 
Yeah, I agree they are fundamentally flawed in the clamp design, but they sound so damn good...so good, for their price bracket...I have learned to completely ignore the loose seal (I did a cheap mod to fix that mostly, anyway)
 
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