[audioKyle]

Oh no I ordered a pair from a seller "_asd" but then he canceled my order. Then I ordered a pair from audioscape after. I'm guessing your audioscape. Mind telling me how your shipping it? Sorry for the confusion!

 

[shadowox8]

I have a question for all my fellow K550 owners out there on this lovely internet day:

Do the left and right pads on your K550 match?
 
Because mine do not. Not only are mine slightly different sizes, but the look and feel of the material differs as well.
 
Left ("L") and right ("R") pad height comparison, unmodified with sponge still inside:

 
L and R pad height comparison, with sponge removed:

 
 
Material comparison (note that R pad is glossier with more pronounced furrows):

 
 
Material & size / shape comparison:

 
 
I can feel a difference between the two when worn, which is further complicating my attempts to adjust the K550's fit. I prefer the "R" pad, but, frankly, I'd probably be happy so long as the pads matched. Anyone else have mismatched pads? Wanna trade?  
 
P.S.: Second question: If your pads do match, which of my pads do yours most resemble?

 

[elvergun]

Quote:

P.S.: Second question: If your pads do match, which of my pads do yours most resemble?

 
 
Wow.  Both of mine look like the one on the left.

 

[Lorspeaker]

do u think the right pad has been "pulled" and distended?
i know it can be tight at times.

 

[shadowox8]

Quote:

Wow.  Both of mine look like the one on the left.

Thanks for the info.
 
Quote:

do u think the right pad has been "pulled" and distended?
i know it can be tight at times.

I highly doubt it. Granted, I have removed and applied the pads several times from / to the headphones, in addition to removing and replacing the sponge center, and the previous owner applied and removed the cotton stuffing mod, but the difference of the material (not just the size / shape) leads me to believe that this is straight from AKG, not the result of (mis)use. (That is to say: How would stretching / pulling / distention cause the material to become glossier and more deeply furrowed?)

 

[gilsont]

Quote:

^ You actually bought my K550. The same ones I have for sale here on head-fi (check my signature). I'll mark them as sold, don't worry. Forgot I also put them up on Amazon! Haha.

You got a good deal

I actually have been looking at your FS thread for a while now. I always got a curious question... how come in the pictures it looks like there is NO clamping force? Did you make it like that intentionally?

 

[dxanex]

I actually have been looking at your FS thread for a while now. I always got a curious question... how come in the pictures it looks like there is NO clamping force? Did you make it like that intentionally?

That's because the K550 really has no real clamping force. Some people bend the $h** out of the headband in order to get some clamping force. One of the main problems with the K550. It's a great headphone, I maintain it sounds amazing for its price tag, but I grew very tired of messing with the finicky fit.

 

[gilsont]

Quote:

That's because the K550 really has no real clamping force. Some people bend the $h** out of the headband in order to get some clamping force. One of the main problems with the K550. It's a great headphone, I maintain it sounds amazing for its price tag, but I grew very tired of messing with the finicky fit.

I had it for 2 days now.
 
The first day, the fit was laughable. It did not clamp at all!
 
However, by the second day, I decided to bend the headband, now it fits very well...
 
Did you not try to bend it?

 

[Lorspeaker]

Quote:

Thanks for the info.
 
I highly doubt it. Granted, I have removed and applied the pads several times from / to the headphones, in addition to removing and replacing the sponge center, and the previous owner applied and removed the cotton stuffing mod, but the difference of the material (not just the size / shape) leads me to believe that this is straight from AKG, not the result of (mis)use. (That is to say: How would stretching / pulling / distention cause the material to become glossier and more deeply furrowed?)

 
ya...sorry i didnt expand the fotos u put up...gosh it looks DIFFERENT definitely. the one on the right is made from some used sofa.

 

[dxanex]

Quote:

I had it for 2 days now.
 
The first day, the fit was laughable. It did not clamp at all!
 
However, by the second day, I decided to bend the headband, now it fits very well...
 
Did you not try to bend it?

I didn't bend it too much, but I did use the rubber band trick to pucker the pads, which helped. In the end, as much as I like them, I decided to let someone else (possibly with a larger fitting head) enjoy them. Also, I got Mr Speakers Mad Dogs which made the decision a lot easier.

 

[audioKyle]

So i just got them a couple hours ago bought from dxanex and i have some mixed feelings about these. First there is very little clamp force which might be from use but nonetheless these don't clamp very much. I tried bending the headband a bit but it didn't really do anything. I keep these not extended (size 1).

Also the pads are extremely soft but i feel maybe too soft. That's probably again from use from the previous owner but im just pointing some stuff out.

Now the good stuff is that they are very comfortable because of how light they are and low clamp force. Compared to my a900x it's a lot lighter. Although it's not the most breathable.

Sound impressions so far are that they are very open sounding. Definitely more so that the a900x. It does sometimes fool me into thinking i've got an open back pair of headphones on. The timbre is also more accurate as well.

The bass is nice when i get a good or good enough seal. I love the sub bass emphasis that these have since i hate a boomy sound. I do have to play around with the fit a bit though to get it perfect.

The treble isn't harsh whatsoever to my ears and the mids are very nice. The treble however can be a bit fuzzy and indistinct at times.

 

[cel4145]

Be sure to try the headband more forward on your head than you might normally wear headphones. I read that advice in this thread, and made a big difference for me

 

[shadowox8]

Perhaps it is time that I posted my K550 mod. Well, it is not a new mod, really, but a slightly different approach to stuffing the pads. Instead of using cotton rounds or rope, I used felt:
 

 
I am a wee-bit affected by perfectionism, so the idea of stuffing my pads with not-uniform cotton rounds was out of the question (and, frankly, seemed like a lot more effort than this anyway).

For the DYIers out there:

• Remove the pads from your K550.
• Remove the internal sponge from the pads.
• Place the sponge on the felt and trace it with a pen / marker / blood / whatever.
• Cut out your newly traced felt ring.
• Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you have as many felt rings as you want.
• Place the felt rings behind the sponges and replace the sponges (with the felt) into the pads.
• Replace your pads onto your K550.

One additional tip: When cutting out the felt rings, I would err on the side of too small for the outer circle, and too big for the inner circle. That way your ring will never be bigger than than the sponge itself.
 
Hopefully someone finds this useful.

 

[audioKyle]

I don't know which i like better. The k550 or the a900x. There are things i like about both. I love the sub bass on the k550! The soundstage and timbre is more accurate as well when compared to the a900x.

 

[KetchupNinja]

Quote:

I don't know which i like better. The k550 or the a900x. There are things i like about both. I love the sub bass on the k550! The soundstage and timbre is more accurate as well when compared to the a900x.

I liked the sound on the a900x more but the isolation and fit was better on the K550.  I really wished the A900x fit a little better, sent them back because they would always fall off my head.