[money4me247]

  Heard them at Canjam.  Wouldn't pay $120 for em.

lol why not? the k550 are worth $200 in my opinion, and the k553 should be at least as good. interested in more detailed impressions. did you have issues getting a good seal?

 

[money4me247]

  You guys think we may see an Audeze sale on massdrop that is actually good (not 15% off)?

nope. not happening.

 

[RedJohn456]

  My choice for a closed headphone around $200 is the SoundMAGIC HP100.  It's a bit more than the $120 K553, but I think it's easily worth the price difference.  Especially if you can get your hands on a refurb for a fraction of the price.  I've been looking for a suitable upgrade for it and honestly, I haven't heard anything under $400 that I'd replace it with.
 
Just my $0.02.  You're right, if you like the K551, the K553 at that price is probably pretty sweet.  I suspect I wouldn't like the K551 after hearing the 553, tho.  And I say this as someone who owns a Q701 and likes the AKG house sound.

I have a chance to get an open box HP150 at 200 CAD, which is currently the cheapest I have found. I haven't heard a lot of really good over ears but will they be a big step up from my logitech UE6000 (bassy pos) and Brainwavz HM5?
 
Its either that or I go for something like the mad dogs

 

[osiris1]

 
I have a chance to get an open box HP150 at 200 CAD, which is currently the cheapest I have found. I haven't heard a lot of really good over ears but will they be a big step up from my logitech UE6000 (bassy pos) and Brainwavz HM5?
 
Its either that or I go for something like the mad dogs

I happen to test the HP150 alongside a MSR7 last week and thought the MSR7 was quite a bit ahead in sound and comfort for about the same price. YMMV. 

 

[ericr]

Tomorrow is (April 1 in the USA) is the last chance to get these CanJam deals.
.

Some pretty good deals during CanJam from Musica Acoustics, including the Earsonics Velet Crystal a $599.  You'll need to send them an email to get these prices.

 

[Stillhart]

  I happen to test the HP150 alongside a MSR7 last week and thought the MSR7 was quite a bit ahead in sound and comfort for about the same price. YMMV. 

I tested the MSR7 against my HP100 (with Shure 1540 pads) at Canjam specifically because I was looking at it as an upgrade.  The HP100 was bassier, but otherwise I found the sound to be about on par.  The MSR7 is certainly significantly better built and looks like you could run it over with your car and it'd survive.  Very nice.  But not an upgrade, more of a sidegrade IMO.  If you prefer a brighter sound, it's a nice option.
 
And it's not fair to compare much of anything to the Shure 1540 pads.  Those things are crazy comfy!  lol

 

[osiris1]

  I tested the MSR7 against my HP100 (with Shure 1540 pads) at Canjam specifically because I was looking at it as an upgrade.  The HP100 was bassier, but otherwise I found the sound to be about on par.  The MSR7 is certainly significantly better built and looks like you could run it over with your car and it'd survive.  Very nice.  But not an upgrade, more of a sidegrade IMO.  If you prefer a brighter sound, it's a nice option.
 
And it's not fair to compare much of anything to the Shure 1540 pads.  Those things are crazy comfy!  lol

could be the pads... I found the HP150 pads to be thin and uncomfortable and didn't particularly isolate well. MSR7 was indeed much brighter. 
I didn't go for either though. 

 

[thedude22]

Klipsch X7 $54 w/ code REF7 at Buydig.  http://www.buydig.com/shop/product.aspx?sdtid=7767521&sku=KLPSIMAGEX7&omid=200&ref=cj&utm_source=CJ&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_placement=4485850

 

[KG Jag]

BuySonic has the Beyerdynamic A-2 for $1,200:
 
https://www.buysonic.com/products/beyerdynamic-a2/
 
and an open box A-20 for $399:
 
https://www.buysonic.com/products/beyerdynamic-a-20/

 

[Stillhart]

  lol why not? the k550 are worth $200 in my opinion, and the k553 should be at least as good. interested in more detailed impressions. did you have issues getting a good seal?

I felt super cheap, pads were really thin so my ears touched the felt (hate!), it didn't sit on the head well so it was nearly impossible to get a seal, etc.  Between those factors, I wasn't super interested in trying to get a good seal and see if the sound was better than just okay otherwise.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

I've heard the k550 (not 553) and not sure how much they share in traits despite being identical but the k550 modded just stuffing pads to create a thicker pad sounded decent to me. I asked the headphone owner (at the Jan 2014 Seattle meet) and he claims the padding mod creates a big difference in sound, particularly soundstage and bass. It was a fun sound iirc but it was decent from IPad > fiio line-out cable from the internal DAC > to an E09K. Definitely not reference or close but it was enjoyable

Enjoyable enough that I did search for it to try/mod but my headphone ADD took me somewhere else.

 

[DreamKing]

I put LCD-3 pads I got for a good price on my K550 and they're a completely different headphone. More forward but wider soundstage, bass is much more punchier and weighty because of the better seal. Probably not practical for the average owner of the k550 lol considering the pads are a fourth (at MSRP) to almost half (dealer price/used) its price but it tells you that finding correct pads matters for it. I reckon there's a lot more options for thicker pads that could fit and at more cost-effective prices.
 
Most people would buy other headphones though and I don't blame them, few people are willing to improve on design flaws. The reality is that isn't anyone's but the headphone maker's job, nevertheless it can be rewarding. Seriously, the stock pleather pads' material deteriorated after less than 2 years (how does this happen with a headphone at $350 MSRP) and made the 550 sound brittle, lean and boring.

 

[cocolinho]

  My choice for a closed headphone around $200 is the SoundMAGIC HP100.  It's a bit more than the $120 K553, but I think it's easily worth the price difference.  Especially if you can get your hands on a refurb for a fraction of the price.  I've been looking for a suitable upgrade for it and honestly, I haven't heard anything under $400 that I'd replace it with.
 

I had HP100/150 and I really loved them but I like my K551 just a little bit more but while HP100/150 are clearly portable, K550/551 are clearly not.
Actually first time I heard K550 in an electronic shop I was vastly disappointed : it sounded thin, no bass, sharp treble but yes quite a good soundstage for a closed headphones and yes they were comfortable. Then I red some comments on tellementnomade.org saying K551 was quite different than K550 so I jumped on a great deal for K551 and let me say I enjoy them. Still I prefer my Titan 1 for some genres like hip-hop.
I believe my bad experience with K550 was due to the very bad source.

 

[money4me247]

or bad fit/seal. the k550 were a bit picky abt that from what i rmb

 

[episiarch]

Originally Posted by cocolinho /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
 first time I heard K550 in an electronic shop I was vastly disappointed : it sounded thin, no bass, sharp treble but yes quite a good soundstage for a closed headphones and yes they were comfortable. Then I red some comments on tellementnomade.org saying K551 was quite different than K550 so I jumped on a great deal for K551 and let me say I like them a lot.
I believe my bad experience with K550 was due to the very bad source.

 
I suspect you're right. I have both a K550 and a K551 (and have bent the headbands enough on both to get a personalized good fit), and to my ears when driven the same they sound the same.