AKG K550 need an upgrade

Get the hifimans, they are better than the 650's in nearly all circumstances. Wider sound stage, deeper bass, less treble roll off and overall more detailed. The 650's are better if you want a more relaxed listening session with a tube amp.
 
If you like punchy bass with lots of detail I would recommend the Sennheiser HD 8 DJ headphones. I myself have just bought a pair and coming from headphones such as Sennheiser HD 595 then HD 600 and then AKG 702s. I find the HD 8 DJ much more fun and enjoyable to listen to.

They are certainly a much different sounding headphone that all the above but I think they sound great.
 
I had the older version the HE-400 and IMO they are oversized and not really practical to use.

They are HUGE and by HUGE I mean they look ridiculous on you unless your 8 foot tall.

They are cumbersome and not really comfortable compared with smaller headphones.


If you like bass get the X2, if you want a neutral headphone get the HD600 or HD650.

Just because the 650 has a higher price and higher model number doesn't mean it's any better. Both use the same drivers, the HD650's are a slightly tweaked HD600. It depends on what you prefer as to which is the better of the 2. The HD600 is more neutral and the 650 is a darker version of the 600.
 
Key word there is "older"... Not pertinent to the 400is. They're also not designed as portables so their size shouldnt be held as a con...
 
Psycho Sonny said:
Just because the 650 has a higher price and higher model number doesn't mean it's any better. Both use the same drivers, the HD650's are a slightly tweaked HD600. It depends on what you prefer as to which is the better of the 2. The HD600 is more neutral and the 650 is a darker version of the 600.
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Actually you are wrong:

HD600 Driver part No. 091570

HD650 Driver part No. 092855
 
rids57 said:
Actually you are wrong:

HD600 Driver part No. 091570

HD650 Driver part No. 092855
Click to expand...

got the 580 and 600 mixed up with 600 and 650

http://www.headfonia.com/the-sennheiser-trio-hd580-hd600-hd650/2/

however even they state that it isn't clear what is the better headphone


http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/very-important-sennheiser-hd-580-hd-600-and-hd-650-page-3

he says the HD600 is better

Cookeh said:
Key word there is "older"... Not pertinent to the 400is. They're also not designed as portables so their size shouldnt be held as a con...
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so if someone is looking for a smartphone and someone suggests a Note 4 size shouldn't be mentioned?

I doubt I'd be able to put a Note 4 into some pockets meaning that size does indeed matter, it effects how easily you can move about with them on, how comfortable they are, etc, etc.

i never listen to music sitting perfectly still for hours at a time, i will do other things whilst listening. so size is a con if you plan on moving at all whilst using them.
 
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With the HD600 and HD650 it isn't a case of which is better, they are just subtly different and cater to different tastes.

I think the HE-400i may be slightly smaller than the HE-400, though it is definitely a lot lighter.

I do tend to sit still for hours while listening to music through headphones, I would have thought a pair of lighter on-ears would be more suitable for mobile use. That's mobile as in moving around not the phone type. :D
 
They are different flavours. The HD650 is technically a tad better. It images a little better and sounds a bit more refined but not overly so. I had both and switching between them I didn't get the sense that one was clearly better than the other. The 650 is a specialised headphone in the mids. The HD600 is a bit more balanced and closer to bright although still pretty laid back.

The HE-400i are a joy to wear.
 
Psycho Sonny said:
so if someone is looking for a smartphone and someone suggests a Note 4 size shouldn't be mentioned?

I doubt I'd be able to put a Note 4 into some pockets meaning that size does indeed matter, it effects how easily you can move about with them on, how comfortable they are, etc, etc.

i never listen to music sitting perfectly still for hours at a time, i will do other things whilst listening. so size is a con if you plan on moving at all whilst using them.
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They are also smaller and more comfortable than the 400s. One is also perfectly capable of moving around whilst using any headphone - I had no issues with the 400's at all, wondering (dancing :eek:) around the store for an hour on their demo so I highly doubt OP will have an issue with the 400is.

They're also in a different league to the HD650s/X2s.
 
When you post an upgrade to K550 you will unleash hell

Personally speaking I love my AKG K550s, I researched so much to find better Closed headphones then those, but found not many there are some models like the hifiman and HP 100/150s etc but they are all very similar to the AKG K550s.

Open headphones are going to be better but also leak noise quite badly, if you are the kind of person that needs to respect privacy and quiet or you watch tv and films at 3am it may not be ideal.

Ill be enjoying my K550s for a long time yet, so far can't find anything that beats it in noise isolation and performance yet and at 99 quid hard to beat, look forward to AKGs next upgrade if they ever come out :)
 
Chances are they won't. They really, IMO should focus on open headphones or at least spend a lot of time creating a closed. The K550 just didn't sound right to me and neither did the original K701. Eventually when they released the Q701 they finally made a headphone that is closer to natural. The Annie was probably the first AKG that eas fully complete for music.

The K545 was only moderately better than the K550. I'm glad you like them, I hated them. They look the sex though!

Try the Mrspeakers Mad Dogs they sound fantastic.
 
Yup I spotted those closed headphones mad dogs and alpha primes, see they got the mad dog pros even now they would be the next upgrades to K550s or closed/isolated headphones but obviously at a big cost.

I think If I had 1K to spare those alpha primes and a decent headphone amp....
 
R3X said:
When you post an upgrade to K550 you will unleash hell

Personally speaking I love my AKG K550s, I researched so much to find better Closed headphones then those, but found not many there are some models like the hifiman and HP 100/150s etc but they are all very similar to the AKG K550s.

Open headphones are going to be better but also leak noise quite badly, if you are the kind of person that needs to respect privacy and quiet or you watch tv and films at 3am it may not be ideal.

Ill be enjoying my K550s for a long time yet, so far can't find anything that beats it in noise isolation and performance yet and at 99 quid hard to beat, look forward to AKGs next upgrade if they ever come out :)
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The next thing is the amp dac to go along with them..

the ehp-02d or i will do the trick because both sound clean and clear but mainly on ehp-o2d.

Makes my dt 990 premium 600 ohm sound much more like the k550 in the sence of a clear sound by quite a bit i think and also remembering the k550 sounds exactly that but different.

So out of collection i like the dt990 with this ehp-02d amp and hoping the k550 will replace head time from dt990 to k550.

Even though they are 2 different beasts it sounds great atm with this amp with 990 and also k550 sounds great but didnt have an amp dac to match the way the k550 sounds but now do or at least knowing the amp dac gives a clear sound of sound quality it is called.

Knowing its my amp dac causeing this the dt990 gives the impression of sounding more clear/sq and out of about 5 different amps and dacs.

I think the most likely circumstance is i will be sticking with dt 990 before i give up because i am in some way addicted to them.
 
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