[HTSkywalker]

Are Brainwavz XL worth you think?

​

I have few BW items and I like the quality

 

[TheGiantHogweed]

Are Brainwavz XL worth you think?

​

If you have a good fit with the original pads, then I certainly wouldn't get the Brainwavz pads. I've had 3 different sets of them and all have a significant impact on the sound. They are far thicker than the original pads, which results in more space between the driver and your ear. A lot of the bass is lost due to the large volume of space inside the ear cup and it makes treble sound very harsh. If you do have a very poor fit with the originals, then the brianwavs pads will still be worth it. But many will find out that if they have a poor fit with the originals, putting pressure on the cups will still sound better than brainwavs pads - but that obviously is not ideal at all.

I've managed to find 2 places in the UK that sold pads exactly like the originals, but not sure if they still will. After trying other pads, nothing is better than the originals if you have a good fit in the first place.

 

[Deckard001]

If you have a good fit with the original pads, then I certainly wouldn't get the Brainwavz pads. I've had 3 different sets of them and all have a significant impact on the sound. They are far thicker than the original pads, which results in more space between the driver and your ear. A lot of the bass is lost due to the large volume of space inside the ear cup and it makes treble sound very harsh. If you do have a very poor fit with the originals, then the brianwavs pads will still be worth it. But many will find out that if they have a poor fit with the originals, putting pressure on the cups will still sound better than brainwavs pads - but that obviously is not ideal at all.

I've managed to find 2 places in the UK that sold pads exactly like the originals, but not sure if they still will. After trying other pads, nothing is better than the originals if you have a good fit in the first place.

I just try to find if there is somewhere any pads similar the original. Hope to find any

 

[forestitalia]

I got a pair of K550 to use for on line meetings in the office (in place of mmx300), but boy, those are amazing! With classic music and Opera are top, like an hd800 with more bass and less piercing, best airiness in a closed back headphones I ever heard, really not far from Stax system, but cost 10 times less and I can drive them with my mobile.
Very sensitive to pad change, my best for the moment is a pair of well worn Audeze, fantastic headstage.

 

[forestitalia]

I was so happy with the K550 that I bought a pair of MKIII thinking to have the same sound with a detachable cable, but is not, they sound different.
Why Akg want us to believe are the same? Even the volume is different, clearly not same drivers. MKIII for me sounds similar to K7xx, but with less air, overall is ok, but not near the excellence of the original K550.
Quite disappointed, I'll keep for commuting.

 

[HTSkywalker]

I was so happy with the K550 that I bought a pair of MKIII thinking to have the same sound with a detachable cable, but is not, they sound different.
Why Akg want us to believe are the same? Even the volume is different, clearly not same drivers. MKIII for me sounds similar to K7xx, but with less air, overall is ok, but not near the excellence of the original K550.
Quite disappointed, I'll keep for commuting.

Sadly the new ones are made in China......

 

[Pesado]

an hd800 with more bass and less piercing, best airiness in a closed back headphones I ever heard

Funny that i'm listening to it now and that's my exact impression. Maybe this is the most open closed back headphone ever?

Wondering why AKG discontinued this forgotten gem.

 

[TheGiantHogweed]

I was so happy with the K550 that I bought a pair of MKIII thinking to have the same sound with a detachable cable, but is not, they sound different.
Why Akg want us to believe are the same? Even the volume is different, clearly not same drivers. MKIII for me sounds similar to K7xx, but with less air, overall is ok, but not near the excellence of the original K550.
Quite disappointed, I'll keep for commuting.

This is strange, but you should make sure you check a few things.

The ear pads make a massive difference to the sound. The white rings surrounding the driver also make a big difference. If say the old one has them slightly loose, that can make them sound really different. If you try putting your old original ear pads on your new ones, as well as assessing the drivers and the surroundings by looking at both pairs, you may well find that you can get them to sound identical.

I have both the original K550s as well as the K550 MKIIIs. I found the new ones to sound pretty different until I realised it was related to the ear pads and the white ring I mentioned being loose on my old ones. I've now removed those rings on both and modified them with some tape like some mods on this thread have shown.

They do both use the same drivers. Since I started having some very slight channel imbalence on my old K550 that I have had for 11 years, I actually swapped just one of the drivers out with the new MKIIIs. my. Although one of my K550s is still slightly unbalenced, it is better than before and one is totally balenced - and it is using 1 driver from the original K550 and one from the MKIII. So to cut it short - they are very clearly the same drivers.

The only thing that can change the sound is related to the other things I have discussed.

 

[TheGiantHogweed]

Sadly the new ones are made in China......

As were all of them as far as I'm aware.

You can see here that they state that they are "Designed in Austria"


But.....

Excuse my horrid editing to show which K550s is which. But you can clearly see in the picture that they both say that they are actually made in China. And it is much harder to find as it is basically hidden from view as it is behind the ear cup and in smaller text.

 

[TheGiantHogweed]

Funny that i'm listening to it now and that's my exact impression. Maybe this is the most open closed back headphone ever?

Wondering why AKG discontinued this forgotten gem.

As Mink posted about 6 months ago, the K553s are still being produced:
https://www.akg.com/headphones/professional-headphones/K553MkII.html
It is basically a supposedly upgraded model of the K550s. From the reviews I've read, they are quite an improvement, and actually fix some of the issues the current K550s have all had on all 3 versions.

Such as the shrill treble peak and the lack of bass impact. They apparently are more laid back in the treble and make for a more pleasent listening experience with harsher recordings and certainly have more impact to the bass.


As your location is somewhere ,I don't know if this is relevent, but they are available new from amazon.co.uk:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/AKG-K553-M...mzn1.fos.d7e5a2de-8759-4da3-993c-d11b6e3d217f​

 

[RuslanG]

Funny that i'm listening to it now and that's my exact impression. Maybe this is the most open closed back headphone ever?

Wondering why AKG discontinued this forgotten gem.

I can to suggest, because old Austrian company no longer exists. I can also suggest, soon this gem soon no longer exist.

 

[Deckard001]

Are the K371 an improved version of K550?

Also has anyone found any aftermarket pads for K550? So difficult to find and these cans are very matched with their pads, so when (will happened soon) loose their fresh feel then they are not usable.

 

[TheGiantHogweed]

Are the K371 an improved version of K550?

Also has anyone found any aftermarket pads for K550? So difficult to find and these cans are very matched with their pads, so when (will happened soon) loose their fresh feel then they are not usable.

scan back through the past few pages. There has been a lot of discussion about earpads that are available.

 

[HTSkywalker]

As were all of them as far as I'm aware.

You can see here that they state that they are "Designed in Austria"


But.....


Excuse my horrid editing to show which K550s is which. But you can clearly see in the picture that they both say that they are actually made in China. And it is much harder to find as it is basically hidden from view as it is behind the ear cup and in smaller text.

Probably mine too and I thought it was made in Austria