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Author Topic: AKG K550 Revisited - A WTF moment which may finally stop the arguing  (Read 11568 times)

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Marvey

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AKG K550 Revisited

Background (about one year ago):
  • RD says they have a bad resonance (ringing) - 1st pair
  • I hear HeadRoom's (at THE SHOW) - I jump from the seat in agony
  • Tyll says they are not bad (his pair)
  • HF thread goes downhill, turns into trainwreck, and gets locked
  • I actually get to hear RD's 2nd pair (it still sounds like shit)
  • I hear RD's 1st pair modified (it's even worse than RD's 2nd unmodified pair - RD indicates 1st pair)
  • Some people report to me, either it's good or bad
  • CT says his pair is OK
Today:
Moral of Story:
  • Wildly diverging opinions = strong probability of very different measuring (and hence sounding) headphones for whatever reason (production variances, ongoing improvements, etc.)


^ Yeah - pretty good, huh? Compare to RD's #2 AKG550
« Last Edit: July 14, 2013, 07:32:14 PM by purrin »
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Marvey

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Re: AKG K550 Revisited - A WTF moment which may finally stop the arguing
« Reply #1 on: July 14, 2013, 07:28:46 PM »

CSDs

I don't know what's up with the L driver ringing at 3k. Don't hear anything deleterious, but it could be something loose. (took rig apart and L measurement several times)
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munch

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Re: AKG K550 Revisited - A WTF moment which may finally stop the arguing
« Reply #2 on: July 14, 2013, 09:24:35 PM »

other than strange matching at like 2k? ish? that looks pretty goshing good.
any idea if the K551 sounds the same and has less unit-unit variance? that would make these an OK rec I think?
as I assuuuume the K550 is discontinued because of K551?
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Deep Funk

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Re: AKG K550 Revisited - A WTF moment which may finally stop the arguing
« Reply #3 on: July 14, 2013, 09:35:36 PM »

You have found the tasty chocolate in the box.

Impressive frequency response...
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CEE TEE

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Re: AKG K550 Revisited - A WTF moment which may finally stop the arguing
« Reply #4 on: July 14, 2013, 10:20:04 PM »

Thanks for measuring these, purrin.  I do not plug them into amps, just enjoy them occasionally out of an iDevice.  Two other pairs of K550 that I have heard could easily get annoying for us with that weird peak.  These don't have the same issue the other two did and I like the sound sig.  Very interesting to see the Left side ringing.  Will have to see later if I can pick that out.  (Glad it's on the left rather than the right as I probably attenuate HF in my left ear a bit.)
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AstralStorm

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Re: AKG K550 Revisited - A WTF moment which may finally stop the arguing
« Reply #5 on: July 14, 2013, 11:01:47 PM »

I concur, there are at least three kinds of AKG K550s, I've had both tried in the same shop, which is ran by an AKG fan.

1) Subbass dropped bright shrill one, not really broken but terrible.
2) Subbass dropped but not ringy.
3) One that sounds almost exactly like a good Beyerdynamic DT 1350.

The one here is the third kind, the one in the former thread presumably the first?
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Rabbit

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Re: AKG K550 Revisited - A WTF moment which may finally stop the arguing
« Reply #6 on: July 15, 2013, 02:25:58 PM »

I have found that the K550 works better from 120 ohms output impedance. I know that many think that the effect is very subtle but it does seem more 'natural' in the treble region when the output impedance is higher.

At near zero, I find it a little on the thin, edgy side but put in some resistance and it takes that sharp edge down a tad.

Astralstorm, with those three 'versions' of sound you were getting, were they all produced recently or were any of them the first batch? There are always stories about headphones being quietly modded or whatever, but to have three versions of the same headphone seems to show up poor quality control if they were made around the same time.

Especially seeing the ringing that Purrin has seen in the left cup but not the right.
« Last Edit: July 15, 2013, 02:31:13 PM by Rabbit »
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Marvey

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Re: AKG K550 Revisited - A WTF moment which may finally stop the arguing
« Reply #7 on: July 15, 2013, 04:25:19 PM »

Samples I've heard:
  • HeadRoom: Absolutely horrible. Will destroy your hearing.
  • RD #1: Only heard the modded version, which was still horrible. I assume when unmodded - as horrible as the HeadRoom K550.
  • RD #2: Slightly better than the above, but still horrible.
  • CT: Pretty good.
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Rabbit

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Re: AKG K550 Revisited - A WTF moment which may finally stop the arguing
« Reply #8 on: July 15, 2013, 06:33:48 PM »

Samples I've heard:
  • HeadRoom: Absolutely horrible. Will destroy your hearing.
  • RD #1: Only heard the modded version, which was still horrible. I assume when unmodded - as horrible as the HeadRoom K550.
  • RD #2: Slightly better than the above, but still horrible.
  • CT: Pretty good.

Yes, it's very weird. Looks like the same problem that the Beyer DT1350 seems to have. ie: quality control. Or else, it has been quietly 'developing' as a headphone. (I doubt that though since once they're designed, the companies tend to leave well alone unless there's a real problem)

Mine is one of the first out in the UK. Tomorrow, I'll have a new one so I'll compare the two.

I have my amp set at 100 ohms out and that seems to calm the sting in the top. (It's a valve amp as well)  It still has its lively top end, but not as 'stabbing'.  No bloom on mens' voices and yet it shows some really very deep bass on some recordings too. (So no hump in the mid bass to colour mens' voices)

I guess the K550 is on its way out since it's now being sold quite cheap over here in the UK but if they are so variable, you're not guaranteed a good one.

Mine doesn't seem bad in spite of being one of the first over here.

I tend to have to wear it quite 'high slung' in order to ensure a good seal as well. Higher than my other headphones anyway - so that the bottom of my earlobes are just touching the inside of the pads - I find I get a robust bass in that position.

I wonder whether the CT one is a more recently made headphone?
« Last Edit: July 15, 2013, 06:42:25 PM by Rabbit »
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CEE TEE

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Re: AKG K550 Revisited - A WTF moment which may finally stop the arguing
« Reply #9 on: July 15, 2013, 07:56:44 PM »

I believe it was made around the same time, I have had it for about the same time as the RD ones. 
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