[cel4145]

Hmmm... Not to take any sides in this argument but I did ask him specifically why he ranked his 550s a bit low...     From my experience, they're not that different to the Q701s, so for instance, why the Senn Momentums would be ranked between them was a bit confusing (seen the Momentums mentioned in the most disappointing headphone thread...)

All you had to do was read the last few weeks of the his this thread. LOL

With any headphone that has a brighter sound signature, there are always going to be some people for whom the high frequencies of the particular sonic signature are going to be fatiguing. It's the nature of individual preference.

 

[inasafeplace]

  Yeah exactly, same here, but the graphs at headphone.com do show a spike in the treble, and you also see it a bit on the http://en.goldenears.net/ measurements:

Spoiler: graphs

 
 

 
 
http://en.goldenears.net/
 

 
 
 

But to me they sound a lot more like AKGs Q701 rather than the 990s, much more of the AKG in-house sound (which like I said for me is a plus!), so I don't know, if you don't have any issue with say the Q701, I wouldn't think the K550s would be any different, but maybe it also depends on amplification, ears, etc.!

 
I have never had that T1 amp ypu are talking about, I only have T1 Beyerdynamic headphones. Also, I have never tried the AKG Q701. The headphone I'm using is thye K702/65. Looks to me like they are not the same from reading reviews. The headphone amp I have is the Matrix M-Stage, but it doesn't look like to do any real difference unamped.

 

[Pedro Oliveira]

Hi guys.... Sorry to bother but i have to ask.... XD
 
How good are the k550s'?
 
Right now i have a pais of Cal!'s, a pair of sennheiser momentums and i just sold a pair of m50's.
 
I listen to pretty much everything but most of the time pop, indie, rock, house, progressive and trance....
 
Would you guys recomend me the akg's for home use (The cable and the dimension makes them too big for street use right?)?
 
Would the akg's be any improvement to what i already have?
 
I am really curious about them because not only are they beautifull but also they are only costing 135 euros on amazon....
 
 
Cheers...

 

[eliben85]

Hi Pedro,

Quick answer would be yes
The long answer, there are a few things to note for your genres of choice (and generally about the k550), don't expect the same bass emphasis you get from the momentum or m50. The bass is brilliant on these, deep and clean but it's not the center of the show. Also kicks in trance etc are not overwhelmingly exciting.
I gave away my cal's years ago but if I Remember their sound right I would say the k550 is somewhat similar in signature but with a much much bigger and better soundstage.
Oh yes, the soundstage and separation on the k550 would probably wow you for days if your used to cal's and momentum.
I have a pair of hd800's at home and I still give the k550 a lot of head time. They are very special in the way they reproduce music.
Just be warned, fit can be a hassle (this forum is full of solutions to the problem though)

 

[Pedro Oliveira]

Hi Pedro,

Quick answer would be yes
The long answer, there are a few things to note for your genres of choice (and generally about the k550), don't expect the same bass emphasis you get from the momentum or m50. The bass is brilliant on these, deep and clean but it's not the center of the show. Also kicks in trance etc are not overwhelmingly exciting.
I gave away my cal's years ago but if I Remember their sound right I would say the k550 is somewhat similar in signature but with a much much bigger and better soundstage.
Oh yes, the soundstage and separation on the k550 would probably wow you for days if your used to cal's and momentum.
I have a pair of hd800's at home and I still give the k550 a lot of head time. They are very special in the way they reproduce music.
Just be warned, fit can be a hassle (this forum is full of solutions to the problem though)

Thank you eliben.
But do you think they are good all rounders and will perform the genres i just mentioned well?

I heard about the fit, that scares me a little specially when one of the reasons i sold my m50s was because i thought they were too bulky and i did not like the pads.

But what scares me most is reading about variations in sound. And that is visible on the reviews here on head fi since opinions on their sound differ a lot. Although... All the tech websites say they are amazing.

Despite all the flaws mentioned, many people like you also say they are very good, they are beautifull (i just dont like the long cable) and since the price is dropping each day (135 euros right now) it really makes me want to buy a pair...

 

[Primetime86]

  Hi guys.... Sorry to bother but i have to ask.... XD
 
How good are the k550s'?
 
Right now i have a pais of Cal!'s, a pair of sennheiser momentums and i just sold a pair of m50's.
 
I listen to pretty much everything but most of the time pop, indie, rock, house, progressive and trance....
 
Would you guys recomend me the akg's for home use (The cable and the dimension makes them too big for street use right?)?
 
Would the akg's be any improvement to what i already have?
 
I am really curious about them because not only are they beautifull but also they are only costing 135 euros on amazon....
 
 
Cheers...

Hello,
 
The K550 are superior to both the M50 and Auravana. However, They are also a much different signature. They are quite balanced with a larger soundstage and kneel towards being a bit dry and lifeless compared to the more energetic CAL. You will hear differences in detail as the k550 are not at all congested like the M50. I would probably put you towards the DT770 as they have a larger soundstage than the K550 but also have the fun factor, It has a syrupy sound with good detail.

 

[Pedro Oliveira]

How would the k550's compare against my over ear momentums?

 

[inasafeplace]

I have both and to me the Momentums are MUCH better than the K550. Better build quality, better comfort, better sound in general. But they are also much different headphones. Momentums are very deep and warm while the K550 and more on the treble side (cold) and very bright. It depends on your personal preference. DO you like the Momentums? If you look around, you will see that it's usually hit or miss with the K550. Treble issue, comfort issue, fit issue. To me and some other people here, their sound is a bit off and sounds artificial. The headband isn't very comfortable as the cushion isn't mellow enough.
 
I do like them very much but I keep on using them in case I change my mind. But overall, I'd say it's not even a fair battle between the Momentums and the K550.

 

[Primetime86]

The momentum are more musical with better bass response. The momentum are more congested so for live recordings and classical it isn't the greatest. The K550 are cleaner sounding with better speration and more sense of distance so it will give you a different experience. To be honest if you want an upgrade because basically the K550 is just a different flavor, Look into the mad dog or something along those lines. If you absolutely really want the K550 it's built well, looks great and sounds very good. The only issue is like I said a lot of your headphones are lively where the K550 sound a tad cold to my ears so it depends. Buy them from amazon and use their excellent return policy if you need it.

 

[inasafeplace]

The momentum are more musical with better bass response. The momentum are more congested so for live recordings and classical it isn't the greatest. The K550 are cleaner sounding with better speration and more sense of distance so it will give you a different experience. To be honest if you want an upgrade because basically the K550 is just a different flavor, Look into the mad dog or something along those lines. If you absolutely really want the K550 it's built well, looks great and sounds very good. The only issue is like I said a lot of your headphones are lively where the K550 sound a tad cold to my ears so it depends. Buy them from amazon and use their excellent return policy if you need it.

I agree with that. A very different flavor. If he likes the Momentums a lot he might be radically dissapointed by the K550....

 

[Pedro Oliveira]

  I have both and to me the Momentums are MUCH better than the K550. Better build quality, better comfort, better sound in general. But they are also much different headphones. Momentums are very deep and warm while the K550 and more on the treble side (cold) and very bright. It depends on your personal preference. DO you like the Momentums? If you look around, you will see that it's usually hit or miss with the K550. Treble issue, comfort issue, fit issue. To me and some other people here, their sound is a bit off and sounds artificial. The headband isn't very comfortable as the cushion isn't mellow enough.
 
I do like them very much but I keep on using them in case I change my mind. But overall, I'd say it's not even a fair battle between the Momentums and the K550.

I love the sound of the momentum, i am a neutral guy i guess but i like good bass slam and good treble. At first i thought i was a bright guy but for example i ended up selling my m50's and giving my v6's to my girlfriend because of the strident treble.
 
(The m50's were not very bad but to me something was missing, great bass (not loose as some say) but also great bass extension. The problem of the m50's to me was the lack of mids. The mids are very good ton the m50s but are very recessed when compared to the bass and the treble and to my ears you had a great slam, good deteil but it missed some body. Too bassy and trebly...)
 
(anyway...) The resolution on the momentums is amazing. For example listening to the new biffy clyro album on them is amazing. Although being a laidback headphone the resolution is so good that the guitars for example sound really full and powerfull.... its amazing...
 
i have to complains with the momentums though... Soundstage.... Almost unexistent, but beareable. But my main complain and the one that is still making me think if i should keep them or not is the fit. a bit tight. My ears fit but a tiny bit stays out. I get the over ear effect (but my ears touch the inside of the pads) but with some movement seems like i loose a bit of isolation sometimes when they moove and that reflects a bit on the sound, specially on the bass.
 
Also sonsidered the amperior or the hd25's but i dont know (as a home/portable option)....
 
For home use only i also considered the hd598, but i dont have an amp and many say that i am going to be disapointed with the bass for edm....

 

[GirgleMirt]

Well vs the Momentums:
 

Spoiler: graph

 

 
The momentums seem to have a 10dB drop around the mids and treble, so the AKGs will definitely seem much brighter, but that doesn't mean that the sound bright.  They sound bright in comparison to the Senns because the Senns have a severe lack of upper mids/treble it looks like ...  If you look at the above graph, the brightest of them all, the AKG Q701, isn't even considered a bright headphone, I own both, as well as Grados SR80s and Sony V6s, Etymotics HF5 I think it is, the 550s to me they do not sound bright.  They have much more of an 'AKG' flavor sound which I'd qualify as pretty neutral.  If you read a few pages back, I was asking about their potential brightness issues, I heard none...
 
Also the bass of the K550 is strong.  It's not excessive but definitely more present than on the Q701s and quite solid bass (more so than Beyer 990s???), not a bass monster or pure basshead headphone, but I'd definitely qualify them as a warm sounding headphone with solid bass rather than a bright one.  Definitely more of a warm inclination rather than bright imho.  To say that they sound cold to me is rather incomprehensible... 
 
As for the Momentums, before buying the 550s I did a little research and went 550 over the Momentums, seems like the Momentums are 350$ at amazon.com, and given the AKGs were almost half that price (paid 180$cdn for mine...), plus posts like these helped the decision become a really easy one:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/109756/rank-the-headphones-that-you-own/3225#post_9659760
http://www.head-fi.org/t/109756/rank-the-headphones-that-you-own/2610#post_9085066
http://www.head-fi.org/t/109756/rank-the-headphones-that-you-own/2475#post_8932059
http://www.head-fi.org/t/109756/rank-the-headphones-that-you-own/2445#post_8852286
http://www.head-fi.org/t/109756/rank-the-headphones-that-you-own/2175#post_8451388
 
But anyhow, these are positive 550s 'reviews', it depends what you're after.  I was after an affordable neutral pair of closed headphones which would be an upgrade to the Sony V6 I've had for 10 years, and that they were...  [edit] I see you had the V6s.  To me the V6s are great, and they even give a decent run for their money to the 550s, and I'd say both are good buys at their relative prices (100$ for V6 & 200$ for 550s).  But if you think the V6s have excessive treble, maybe you just prefer a sound with less treble...  If that's the case, then yeah I think sticking to Sennheiser might be a good idea!

 

[Pedro Oliveira]

Well vs the Momentums:

Spoiler: graph

The momentums seem to have a 10dB drop around the mids and treble, so the AKGs will definitely seem much brighter, but that doesn't mean that the sound bright.  They sound bright in comparison to the Senns because the Senns have a severe lack of upper mids/treble it looks like ...  If you look at the above graph, the brightest of them all, the AKG Q701, isn't even considered a bright headphone, I own both, as well as Grados SR80s and Sony V6s, Etymotics HF5 I think it is, the 550s to me they do not sound bright.  They have much more of an 'AKG' flavor sound which I'd qualify as pretty neutral.  If you read a few pages back, I was asking about their potential brightness issues, I heard none...

Also the bass of the K550 is strong.  It's not excessive but definitely more present than on the Q701s and quite solid bass (more so than Beyer 990s???), not a bass monster or pure basshead headphone, but I'd definitely qualify them as a warm sounding headphone with solid bass rather than a bright one.  Definitely more of a warm inclination rather than bright imho.  To say that they sound cold to me is rather incomprehensible... 

As for the Momentums, before buying the 550s I did a little research and went 550 over the Momentums, seems like the Momentums are 350$ at amazon.com, and given the AKGs were almost half that price (paid 180$cdn for mine...), plus posts like these helped the decision become a really easy one:

http://www.head-fi.org/t/109756/rank-the-headphones-that-you-own/3225#post_9659760
http://www.head-fi.org/t/109756/rank-the-headphones-that-you-own/2610#post_9085066
http://www.head-fi.org/t/109756/rank-the-headphones-that-you-own/2475#post_8932059
http://www.head-fi.org/t/109756/rank-the-headphones-that-you-own/2445#post_8852286
http://www.head-fi.org/t/109756/rank-the-headphones-that-you-own/2175#post_8451388

But anyhow, these are positive 550s 'reviews', it depends what you're after.  I was after an affordable neutral pair of closed headphones which would be an upgrade to the Sony V6 I've had for 10 years, and that they were...  [edit] I see you had the V6s.  To me the V6s are great, and they even give a decent run for their money to the 550s, and I'd say both are good buys at their relative prices (100$ for V6 & 200$ for 550s).  But if you think the V6s have excessive treble, maybe you just prefer a sound with less treble...  If that's the case, then yeah I think sticking to Sennheiser might be a good idea!

Actually it is funny. The v6 sounded a bit steryle with no eq, but with some equing they were amazing for edm. To me the major problem of the v6s is that they sound a tad grainy. But for example i thought the m50s were worse balanced than the v6. On the v6s you havê a bit of bass, a bit of mids and emphasizwd treble but overall the balance was okay. On the m50s, to be honest the m50s for edm are amazing because they sound Like a pair of equed v6s(their original sound).the problem with the m50s is that for example when listening to Biffy Clyro, the mids were a bit too recessed. The guitars on the m50s for example sound much more thin in the m50s than on the momentums because the transition from mids to Highs is much smoother on the momentums. On the m50s the sound is litterally a V. Great for edm, for everything else they just sounded bassy And Tiny at the same time.

The m6 are more accurate than The cals!s for exameple, they distort much lesa no higher volumes, but at médium sound levels, although not as accurate the sound no the cals is more involving AMD better for most genres.


Actually the momentums cost 160 euros in Portugal right now, thats why i got mine, The k550s 135 on amazon.

 

[elvergun]

  I have both and to me the Momentums are MUCH better than the K550. Better build quality, better comfort, better sound in general. But they are also much different headphones. Momentums are very deep and warm while the K550 and more on the treble side (cold) and very bright. It depends on your personal preference. DO you like the Momentums? If you look around, you will see that it's usually hit or miss with the K550. Treble issue, comfort issue, fit issue. To me and some other people here, their sound is a bit off and sounds artificial. The headband isn't very comfortable as the cushion isn't mellow enough.
 
I do like them very much but I keep on using them in case I change my mind. But overall, I'd say it's not even a fair battle between the Momentums and the K550.

 
I also have both and I think the K550 are better than the Momentums.   If I had to sell one it would be the Momentum. 
 
I don't have any treble, comfort or fit issues with my K550...I suppose that is why I love them so much.

 

[elvergun]

To be honest if you want an upgrade because basically the K550 is just a different flavor, Look into the mad dog or something along those lines.

 
I bought a pair of Mad Dogs and then I picked up my K550s a week later - I needed a closed full size headphone and these two models seemed to be the best options at the time.   I eventually traded the Mad Dogs, but I still have the K550, so in my case, the Mad Dog was not upgrade.    I don't think one is superior to the other...they are about the same quality, but with different signatures.