My take on the AKG 550

[presentnow]

Hi guys,

New to this forum, and am by no means an audiophile. Back when I lived in a bigger home I did have a nice seperates system which included floorstanders but now living in an apartment I don't have that luxury, so, headphones for me!.

I have previously purchased a pair of AKG 451 headphones and what a punch they pack especially given their portability and price but alas I seem to have damaged them so, I was scouring for a new pair.

I will admit that I purchased these headphones blind and therefore can only compare them to said previous purchase but did do my diligence in terms of thorough reading from the likes of what hi fi as well as many other alternate reviewers. So without dropping any unneeded hyperbole into the mix I want to give you an honest take on these.

Firstly if you intend to use these for portable use, you are going to be quite disappointed by the volume. For example the 451's go much louder on my 451's than these do. They are really intended for home use but that's not a problem for me as I have recently discarded with the idea of always having headphones on as you get to a point where you don't appreciate the music as much anymore. However, that is just my personal take on it and of course there are many who do love portability, so if that is your thing, then you might want to give these a miss.

When I took these out of the box I was struck by just how big they are, they are, as some have described more akin to construction ear protectors but that is not an issue for me because they sit extremely comfortably on the head you can of course adjust the size of them too so fitting shouldn't be an issue. Now, I am no expert certainly but initially these did not seem as bassy as the 451's and so was a little disappointed in this regard. Moving it to more vocally rich music and the clarity is just stunning, crystal clear vocals and instrumental definition.

I have heard some people say they have no bass and indeed, if you move the headband back, you will lose the bass, but that is easily corrected. The more time I spent listening to these headphones the more I realised that said lack of bass, really wasn't lack of bass at all. Instead, they don't overly accentuate the low end if the recording didn't have it and therefore you get a really nicely balanced sound instead. Furthermore, if you are using youtube then a headphone like this will greatly pick up the poor quality of the recording leading you to judge that it sounds "thin". If you get a 320 kbs version of that same song however you will appreciate that it is certainly not thin.

These headphones go extremely loud without distorting which really lead to an immersive listening session, really strikinglyseperating the low sounds from the high sounds. The bass issue comes down to this....you don't "feel" the lows as much as some headphones this is true but I wonder at what price this "feeling" is distorting the overall sound. You can certainly appreciate the basslines and a striking bass moment is definitely picked up.

Overall, the more I listen to these the more I appreciate what damn good headphones they really are. I am just using the pc by the way, not using a headphone amp so I can't give you any insight into that and for the purpose of context I listen to dance, trance, rock music, hip hop, as well as some classical, some pop music, metal music.

These come highly recommended.

 

[Gray]

Hi presentnow,

I too bought the K550s blind (naughty) and agree with your comments, especially about their bass quality, which some others have described as non-existent*, certainly not the case.

They live up to their description as 'reference' headphones when used to monitor the sound from a JVC semi-pro camcorder, giving a very natural sound from a flat (Sennheiser condenser mic) source.

I compared the 550s quite extensively with a pair of Sennheiser HD590 (that I'd previously given away due to not quite getting on with their sound) Opposite to most expectations, the closed back AKGs gave considerably wider sound than the open Sennheisers.

However, good though the AKGs undoubtedly are, I ultimately (only just) preferred the HD590s for music reproduction, but source differences could easily reverse the preference. This may also have been the result of a lifetime of Sennheiser open backs - perhaps the 550s need more getting used to*

Though I haven't heard them, I think that the AKG K92 could be a bargain, especially when they drop back down to the £39 I saw them for last week.

*As we all know, subjective sound quality differences are a matter of taste, very personal and sometimes maybe even change over time. (e.g. the Amazon review I read where one bloke had tried 30 odd pairs of headphones before arriving at his ultimate pair of Oppo's)

 

[presentnow]

What we like, what we don't like is absolutely subjective but evidently given the reference aspect of these headphones a bad recording or encoding is going to be heavily exposed for what it is. 30 pairs of headphones....is the downside of consumerism, instead of appreciating what we have....we become consumed and immersed in "something better".

That beings said, what do I know? I can only give you my opinion, these are really excellent headphones but would absolutely agree that if you have to hear bass punching through then these aren't the headphones to do that. However to suggest that there is no bass extension, is also as you have acknowledged, is hightly misleading.

 

[drummerman]

Listened briefly to them at RS. Perhaps I didn't give them enough time but I quickly lost interest and settled for Grado.

 

[dalethorn]

Listened briefly to them at RS. Perhaps I didn't give them enough time but I quickly lost interest and settled for Grado.

Understandable. But, the K553 is better than the K550, and not expensive.

 

[drummerman]

Listened briefly to them at RS. Perhaps I didn't give them enough time but I quickly lost interest and settled for Grado.

Understandable.  But, the K553 is better than the K550, and not expensive.

I haven't heard the 553 unfortunately.

 

[dalethorn]

Listened briefly to them at RS. Perhaps I didn't give them enough time but I quickly lost interest and settled for Grado.

Understandable. But, the K553 is better than the K550, and not expensive.

I haven't heard the 553 unfortunately.

Got it from Massdrop.

 

[Smarty]

Listened briefly to them at RS. Perhaps I didn't give them enough time but I quickly lost interest and settled for Grado.

Understandable. But, the K553 is better than the K550, and not expensive.

How were they better? More bass?

 

[ID.]

I found the original 550 a bit light on bass, but it seems to have more punch and body in the MKII.

They have good detail, and sound very open for closed back headphones. I attribute this in part their size. It may be partly psychological, but I find closed back headphones with small cups to sound relatively closed in, and the bigger cup (more space and larger driver?) help make the sound more expansive.

 

[dalethorn]

Listened briefly to them at RS. Perhaps I didn't give them enough time but I quickly lost interest and settled for Grado.

Understandable. But, the K553 is better than the K550, and not expensive.

How were they better? More bass?

Mostly just more neutral in a good way - the 553 delivers the most music for the money.

 

[Matte]

I find this interesting. I own several pairs of headphones and can only speak for the MK 1's.

I bought them on offer after reading good reviews and really liking the look of them, also,I had a specific need for their use.

Firstly I find them uncomfortable the band seems to sit on the top of my head exerting too much pressure and feels like it has too little padding.

The sound is disappointing and does lack bass, vocals come through well though so they are used to listen to speech on the radio.

I leant most of my cans to a friend and gave him no guidance on their characteristics, he also disliked the 550's for identical reasons.

It's interesting when companies produce a MK2, when some cans have been out there for years and still sell well, if has to tell you the limitations of the first model.

 

[ID.]

I find this interesting. I own several pairs of headphones and can only speak for the MK 1's.

I bought them on offer after reading good reviews and really liking the look of them, also,I had a specific need for their use.

Firstly I find them uncomfortable the band seems to sit on the top of my head exerting too much pressure and feels like it has too little padding.

The sound is disappointing and does lack bass, vocals come through well though so they are used to listen to speech on the radio.

I leant most of my cans to a friend and gave him no guidance on their characteristics, he also disliked the 550's for identical reasons.

It's interesting when companies produce a MK2, when some cans have been out there for years and still sell well, if has to tell you the limitations of the first model.

What equipment did you use them with? I tested them in store and with an iPod and iPhone, and those were my impressions of the MKI, but I always wondered whether they'd improve those shortcomings when used with a decent amp and DAC.

 

[Matte]

It's true that they were only compared with an iPhone source but they were compared to other headphones with the same source and came out the clear losers.

And still uncomfortable!

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100000759563588]

....not for bassheads. However, I don't consider myself a basshead but just don't like the *to my ears - lean-sounding AKG 'house sound'. Some would call that neutral. I prefer my Beyer DT990 250 Ohms instead.

 

[Matte]

....not for bassheads. However, I don't consider myself a basshead but just don't like the *to my ears - lean-sounding AKG 'house sound'. Some would call that neutral. I prefer my Beyer DT990 250 Ohms instead.

I'm not a bass head either but like low end detail which also seems to add warmth to deep voices.

And I cant get over how uncomfortable I find the K550's on the top of my head.

I do own another pair of of closed back AKG's but they are more for monitoring on my electronic drum kit, I cant off hand remember the model, K271 Mk11 I think.

My Sennh HD600 are still my go to cans for listening, unless background sound is bothersome, where I use a pair of Sennh M2's. over ears.

This isnt a ' look what I've got post' its more of the example that different cans suit different requirements (and I've never paid full price for any of them).

My favourite headphones though, were a pair of Jeckin Floats, unfortunately now falling to pieces.