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I love the AKG K550s for music it's so clear and clean. The comfort is nice too since I bend the headband inward, The isolation is not what it seems unless you have them above 75 percent.

 

[john53]

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So what are the overall feelings people have about the treble on the K550? Tyll at Innerfidelity describes the highs as somewhat "zazzy and indistinct." Then, there are people who think the highs are great, like Mike at Headfonia. Personally, from my experience with K271, 272 and a whole bunch of other closed back headphones, I found that pretty much all of them have some issues with the treble that are uncommon in open backs. I found that open back headphones tend to offer a fuller, crisper, more refined, smoother and airier treble than closed backs. $ for $ I find that open backs tend to do much better in the highs than closed cans. HD555 has a more natural treble than D2000 and DT880 has much nicer highs than T5p for example IMO, even though the open headphones cost a lot less. I also found AKGs K271 and 272HD to have somewhat harsh, peaky unnatural highs that just didn't sound quite right compared to a well designed open headphone.

 
I had K550 for two days,and they were not burn in properly,but I found their sound signature to be very well balanced.Treble was fine for me,except a little peak somewhere in the highs(I'm not sure which frequensies),that I found a little strange.This treble peak seemed to my ears that didn't match so well the overall balanced sound signature,but it was not a deal breaker for me.
Sometimes they sounded a bit sharp in some passages,compared to my srh840,but otherwise I can't really say that K550 has more treble quantity compared to shures for example.And treble in general was natural to my ears,and this little harshness I detected sometimes was not that bad actually,it didn't hurt my ears,and it was not a problem at all when listening to normal volume.
 
I also didn't find them to be unnatural or strong/echoing in the mid-highs as some people have experience here.For me the K550 was a nice step up from the shure srh 840,with not a so much big difference overall,but fixing some small issues,like a more balanced performance from lows to mid lows,and a bit more musical midrange overall.

 

[Okamoto]

I'm interested in getting these ones.
 
Does anyone here use it for gaming? How well they do in that regard?
 
And by the way, i consider my head to be pretty gigantic. So i guess i'll have no problem with bass or anything else at all?

 

[Beagle]

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The upper mids and lower treble of the K550 are very weird.  Not natural.  It's a plasticy, echo-like feeling.  They're not the most harsh of headphones, but the top-end isn't really that clean either.

 
Odd. Don't hear that at all..

 

[dxanex]

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Odd. Don't hear that at all..

 
Neither do I. Definitely not even close as plasticky as K702. 

 

[dweaver]

I don't hear this in my K550 either.

 

[Okamoto]

Quote:

I'm interested in getting these ones.
 
Does anyone here use it for gaming? How well they do in that regard?
 
And by the way, i consider my head to be pretty gigantic. So i guess i'll have no problem with bass or anything else at all?

 
Anybody?
 
I'm trying to decide between these and the HD558.

 

[dxanex]

Anybody?

I'm trying to decide between these and the HD558.

Never listened to HD558, but the K550 is made for large heads it seems. Soundstage is quite large for a closed headphone so that will benefit you a lot for gaming especially. Sennheiser makes great higher end headphones, but there mid-to-lower end is sort of meh (maybe HD558 is better I dunno). Go with the K550 I know you won't be disappointed especially if you have a huge head. Senns have a much harder clamp. K550 is pretty damn comfy.

 

[Okamoto]

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Never listened to HD558, but the K550 is made for large heads it seems. Soundstage is quite large for a closed headphone so that will benefit you a lot for gaming especially. Sennheiser makes great higher end headphones, but there mid-to-lower end is sort of meh (maybe HD558 is better I dunno). Go with the K550 I know you won't be disappointed especially if you have a huge head. Senns have a much harder clamp. K550 is pretty damn comfy.

Well, if it's made for large heads, them it suits me very well

 
Can you describe me better how it sounds?
 
How are the mids like? Are they more forward or recessed? Do they have a decent amount of bass? how's the treble? Do they feel like open hp's?

 

[dxanex]

Well, if it's made for large heads, them it suits me very well

Can you describe me better how it sounds?

How are the mids like? Are they more forward or recessed? Do they have a decent amount of bass? how's the treble? Do they feel like open hp's?

Well it could vary slightly from amp to amp but you can be sure it is very clean sounding, very quiet background. Treble is sparkly with good extension. Mids are slightly recessed but not too much. Bass is decent but it's not a bass head can. I'd say the soundstage is definitely above average for closed back design and does sound more like an open set. I thing it's fair to say the K550 sounds like a newer, more refined K702.

Hope that helps you!

 

[Okamoto]

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Well it could vary slightly from amp to amp but you can be sure it is very clean sounding, very quiet background. Treble is sparkly with good extension. Mids are slightly recessed but not too much. Bass is decent but it's not a bass head can. I'd say the soundstage is definitely above average for closed back design and does sound more like an open set. I thing it's fair to say the K550 sounds like a newer, more refined K702.
Hope that helps you!

 
It sure helped me a lot! Thanks!

 

[cRazYee]

New member to join K550
was choosing between K619 (mainly my brother plan to use for DJing), HD 598 (highest value for it price), then K550
 
I came across this pair on UK superfi website, doing £138 with that day 10% off, can't say no for this great deal.
 
Just got it yesterday, first run with cMoy, very impressed as Alessandro MS1i user.
 
need sometimes to run it

 

[SursumCorda]

New member to join K550
was choosing between K619 (mainly my brother plan to use for DJing), HD 598 (highest value for it price), then K550

I came across this pair on UK superfi website, doing £138 with that day 10% off, can't say no for this great deal.

Just got it yesterday, first run with cMoy, very impressed as Alessandro MS1i user.

need sometimes to run it

IMO it really improves after quite a bit of burn in time.
If you like it now, it only gets better. ^^

 

[Bulb]

i completely agree with you. When i first got my K550 they were very sharp to my ears especially with jazz or even some rock with loud crash symbols. However after a few weeks of some solid listening time they, mellowed out quite a bit and was very please at how their tone changed. not dramatically but just enough to make them a great headphone in my collection.

 

[breizh]

Here are my impressions about the AKG K550, that I bought about 2 months ago.
 
I have to mention that I also own 2 other headphones: a Beyer DT880 32 ohms, and a Sennheiser PX-100 II.
To feed my headphone, I use either a standalone sansa clip+ (rockboxed), or a dac/amp Yulong U100 or the combination of HRT Streamer II+ dac with a Schiit Asgard amp.
When I use a dac/amp, the player on the PC is Foobar 2000.
 
I mainly listen to classic rock (from Elvis to the white stripes) and classical (especially orchestral music), and first of all, I find that the K550 is better for classical than for electric guitars based music.
The sound is very very clean, maybe too much to give the best of, let’s say, the dirty Keith Richards guitar when it rocks like on “Brown sugar”. I feel it’s missing the “crunchy” effect. For this kind of music I prefer the DT880 which is more grainy.
 
But it’s ok with many well recorded Pop/rock music albums such as “Abbey road” or “Rubber soul”.
This morning I was listening to “Blonde on blonde” through my sansa clip+ and it was really great.
 
On the other side, I think that the K550 really shines with acoustic guitars !
And I feel it’s really better with relatively slow paced or even a bit laid back music than with fast punk/rock (not a nice pairing with the sex pistols “Nevermind…” for example)
Few examples of songs that are really great with the K550: “Hotel California” (Eagles), “Moondance” (Van Morrison), “Out on the weekend” (Neil Young), “For a spanish guitar” (Gene Clark), “Earth and water song” (Humble Pie), “Here comes the sun” (Beatles)
 
I also find the K550 to be very good for voices and absolutely wonderful with classical music ! Vivaldi “four seasons”, Schubert “Trio for piano” or even the 9^th of Beethoven are fantastic through the AKG, since the soundstage is wide and the separation between the instruments is very accurate.
 
I have to mention I find the bass very tight and full on the K550, more present than with the DT880, while a little less precise.
In my opinion the mids are great and the highs are very clean and present, while the level of details is a bit lower than on the Beyer.
The highs are much more present, without any equalization, than with the PX100-II.
 
Now, let’s say a word about the sources:
 

1. With the sansa clip+, it’s really good and it gives enough power for every kind of music – there is practically no ”sibilance” in the highs even with relatively badly recorded contents (as it’s often the case for 70’s rock music, unfortunately) – the soundstage is decent and the bass is sufficient
2. With the Yulong U100, I find it’s not the best combination – actually, it’s a bit too bright with many recordings – it’s a bit astonishing I find the Beyer to be a better pairing than the AKG with this dac/amp combo, while the Beyer is also very present in the highs ! But that’s the way it is.
3. With the HRT + Schiit, it’s wonderful ! Full of juice, wider soundstage, much deeper bass, every part of the sound quality is improved ! As it is with the Beyer I must say, and even with the small Sennheiser.

 
So, to sum up this short review, I would say the K550 is very impressive with “clean” and well recorded music.
If you exclusively listen to rough rock music, I think it’s not the best way to go.
A good dac/amp is a huge benefit, but it’s however very listenable through a decent mp3 player (such as the sansa clip+).
 
It’s more sensitive than my Beyer 32 ohms, and less than my Sennheiser.
It’s very comfortable and I didn’t meet any issue with the seal.
One important thing: I can listen to it at quite loud volume, when I’m close to my wife watching TV or sleeping, whithout disturbing her !
 
All in all, in the sound quality department, it’s on the same level as the Beyer, while this one has more “air” since it’s an open headphones.
 
In my opinion, it’s a wonderful closed headphones.
 
Hope it helps…
 
P.S: sorry for my English, I’m a poor french head-fi reader.