AKG K550 need an upgrade

Supa Koopa · 13 Mar 2015 at 14:57

Hi,

I've got a pair of AKG K550's that I bought roughly 12 months ago and while they appear to have decent clarity I need an upgrade as the bass is just a little too weak for my liking.

I need something that can be an all rounder of sorts, now I know that is not possible as you will always have some sort of compromise but still. I listen to a fairly wide selection of music but is more modern stuff like coldplay, snow patrol, adele, sam smith and aviici to hip hop. I don't really listen to clasical or any audiophile kind of stuff if I'm honest. So I would like something that has clarity but also a deeper much punchier bass. I have a Ibasso DX90 that I use as the source but is not the deciding factor. I have a Yamaha amp but can't remember the model number for the life of me, but it is old and was expensive around £1,500 but could be 20 years old by now. The pc has a creative labs ZX soundcard but I'm not opposed to buying a amp and dac if needs be later on (maybe a vali + modi).

The reason for a jack of all trades is I want them to work well watching movies as well. We have a neighbour from hell, who is in his 70's and deaf but can still hear my TV from our 4 bed detached house that's 20 feet from his house at 2am. This is obviously crap, but I can't fuel the fire anymore at the moment.

More realistically I have a family in the house and don't want to wake them. I use the 550's now but find the lack of strong bass a little disappointing in movies and also for some reason I find them quite tiring. After watching a 2 hour film I really look foward to taking them off. The sound is very closed in and can be quite shrill at times. Because of this I tend to not wear them and they have sat on a shelf more than they should have. I'm hoping that if I find a pair I like more then I'll use them more. Watching a decent film with the audio barely audible is no fun at all.

So budget!!! I was looking at around the £200-250 mark but I'm happy to spend a bit more if it's worth it. The 550's cost me £120 and while it was a good price, it has been mostly wasted as they haven't had much use. So my logic is I don't want to waste more money by trying to go cheap, I'd rather spend a little now and have them last me a long time.

I was all set with a pair of X2's but they seem to split opinions, some absolutely love them and others think they are okay for a mid range.

So options are;

Philips X2
Hifiman HE400i
Sennheiser HD650

Any others I should consider? I have looked and have been for the last few weeks but it seems to be a minefield and unfortunately I don't have money to throw away trying different sets.

Any help is appreciated.

Cookeh · 13 Mar 2015 at 15:13

400i.

Ryanr1987 · 13 Mar 2015 at 15:15

HE-400i without worry.

Supa Koopa · 13 Mar 2015 at 15:48

Lol. So that's that sorted then....! Now then I just need to save another £100 to buy them.

monkentage · 13 Mar 2015 at 23:08

B&W P7. Open phones spill a lot of noise.

Cookeh · 14 Mar 2015 at 12:14

Open does spill a bit of noise, but not enough to be heard through two exterior walls and 20ft away... :rolleyes:

Besides the P7 was designed and marketed as a portable headphone through and through, possessing a short cable that might not be long enough for OPs uses and some really peculiar mid responses. Outright peculiar sound, my 30 minutes demo lasted about two minutes, couldn't get on with them at all, really thin mids, boosted treble - sounded so artificial.

Supa Koopa · 16 Mar 2015 at 13:32

Thanks Cookeh.

I keep hearing about sound leakage which is obvious for open back headphones, but just how loud is it. Could someone in a room next door hear them. This is in the same house, so a usual internal wall seperating them.

Cookeh · 16 Mar 2015 at 13:47

No, not a chance. I have the Q701s, which are very much open back and even when my music is blaring my roommates can't hear it - in the same way I can't hear my roommates Grado's from anything more than 5ft away and certainly not through the internal walls (which are paper thin, I can hear everything he does at night :eek:

)!

Supa Koopa · 16 Mar 2015 at 14:40

Cheers and urrrgghhh!

danoliver1 · 16 Mar 2015 at 20:25

Supa Koopa said:
Thanks Cookeh.

I keep hearing about sound leakage which is obvious for open back headphones, but just how loud is it. Could someone in a room next door hear them. This is in the same house, so a usual internal wall seperating them.

My girlfriend could hear my hd595 when i was in the back bedroom and she was downstairs in the livingroom watching tv, but we do keep door ajar for the cat.

rids57 · 16 Mar 2015 at 22:03

when you had them on your head?

I find I can hear my HD650s or AKG K702s quite clearly from a couple of rooms away but as soon as I fit them on something, so that the sound just comes out the backs, the volume falls dramatically.

Cookeh · 16 Mar 2015 at 22:04

That's quite impressive! Ive never heard the HD595s but they must have zero insulation whatsoever to have that much leak! Rids also has a decent point.

Supa Koopa · 20 Apr 2015 at 15:01

Just noticed the HD650's are a bit cheaper now at £250, are the Hifiman HE-400I's worth the extra £120? Birthday is coming up and I need to choose.

Cookeh · 20 Apr 2015 at 15:05

I would say so, but then Im not a massive fan of the 650s, they sound too lazy and rich for my liking

foster grant · 20 Apr 2015 at 15:22

I have those 550s and with a little tweaking on my sound card UI the base is pretty good

Supa Koopa · 20 Apr 2015 at 16:06

Thanks Cookah. I'm still keen on the Hifman's as they are something different as well. JUst wanted to check that there would be some return on the extra amount. I'd rather buy once but in the same way I'd rather not spend more than I have to. A bit more saving to be done then.

Foster - I'd rather steer clear of any tweaking of the sound if at all possible and just listen to them as they were designed. The other problem is then when listening to them through the main amp there is no eq'ing at all so I want them to be equal among sources as much as is possible.

Ryanr1987 · 20 Apr 2015 at 16:35

The older HD650 fit cookeh's description. The current HD650 have more pronounced upper mids and a decrease in mid bass. I would now describe them as neutral with a hint of dryness.

The HE400i is basically an entry into high end. Get them.

Supa Koopa · 20 Apr 2015 at 16:52

Thank you. Exactly the type of answer I was looking for.

Cookeh · 20 Apr 2015 at 17:54

Ryanr1987 said:
The older HD650 fit cookeh's description. The current HD650 have more pronounced upper mids and a decrease in mid bass. I would now describe them as neutral with a hint of dryness.

The HE400i is basically an entry into high end. Get them.

I might need to demo the newer HD650s then, though I doubt they'll ever cause me to move away from the Qs (only something like the HE400i or something substantially more costly would do that!)

Ryanr1987 · 21 Apr 2015 at 10:58

Give them a go man you may like them. I didn't as they lost that glow I enjoyed. The changes are subtle but pretty effective. I also enjoyed the Q701. I couldn't really listen to the K701 or K702 for music but the Q's had a more smooth and natural response.

I think the K712 and HE-400i are the top picks to get that taste of high end at a cheaper price.