Pro Audio 3280H00130 K553 MKII, Black, Standard Size

I decided to go ahead and purchase the AKG K553s to see if what some people are saying about them being superior to the more expensive Oppo PM-3 headphones is true or not. Before I continue, I must say that everyone's specific sound signature preferences can vary from one to another; i.e., some people like more bass, some prefer more neutral. So I advise anyone reading this to try out BOTH headphones and then decide for themselves which one they like more. After receiving the K553s, I listened to them vs. my Oppo PM-3s over SEVERAL listening sessions spanning about 10 days. I listened to various song clips on BOTH headphones, one after the other. Each session lasted roughly 1-2 hours. So why did it take 10 days for me to pick a winner? Well, despite the two having some variance in their sound signature, to ME, both headphones sounded very similar actually. It wasn't until the 3rd or 4th session that I really could hear SOME difference between the two. My impressions of the K553s: Build & Design: The K553s come with a very beautiful & durable premium look, with plenty of metal parts to make them worthy of my attention. The earcups rotate for easy storage on a table, in a case, or even on your shoulders. I appreciate the machined metallic outer edges of the earcups....... looks really nice! The headphones include written measurements on the outside headband adjuster for an easier experience in finding the right fit for your head. They are an updated & improved version of the famous K550s, and look almost exactly alike except for the headband (see below). The headphones come with a permanently attached 10-foot cable (which I keep mostly tied up) ending with a 3.5mm connector, and a larger screw-on connector which fits into most stereo and guitar amplifier systems. The box it comes in is not as premium looking as the K550s' box, but since these are cheaper (and better) than the K550s in terms of sound quality, I can't complain! lol Also, the interior earcups feature a GIANT "L" and "R" right on them so it's basically impossible to put them on wrong. Very cool! Comfort: I found these headphones to be more comfortable overall than even my PM-3s were! And this was AFTER I'd stretched the PM-3s out over 4 photo albums a few times. They were comfortable to me, but it still felt like they pressed just a bit on my sides (but again, I would still say they were comfortable even over long periods). The K553s' earcup leatherette cushions are VERY plush and fit quite comfortably over my ears, while still providing a great seal too. I could definitely wear these things for hours on end! The headband however, while still comfortable too, was not as cushioned as the PM-3's headband was. The K550s' headband had more cushioning under it, and therefore were more comfortable up top than the K553s. Why AKG decided to go this route, I don't know! Sometimes when I put them on, they seem fine. Other times, maybe not as much. I would've preferred they charged a bit more and gave us the nicer K550 box AND more importantly, kept the headband as it was before. I did find TWO remedies for the headband issue. One was found here on Head-Fi ([...]), while the other is a matching upgrade leatherette headband with snap locks that I found on Amazon for a good price (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00862522A?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00). I tried the first remedy (the headband part anyway), and I think it DID help a little. I just ordered the upgrade headband last night, so I'll have to wait to see how that looks and works out. I don't know if I really NEED the upgrade headband, but would a little extra comfort hurt? Probably not. lol Sound Quality (vs. the PM-3s): (Note: I'd burned-in the K553s for about 2 days before using them.) The sound quality of the K553s to me is very similar to the PM-3s. I did notice certain differences after a while. The first was soundstage. Even though the PM-3 has a 55mm speaker driver, and the K553 a 50mm one, the K553 still has the bigger soundstage! And with these both being "closed-back headphones with an open-back sound", any extra soundstage will ALWAYS be welcome! I would even go as far as to say that the extra soundstage even lends itself to giving the listener a bit more instrument sound separation, which is an added bonus! (If you disagree, please let me know how and why). So I guess just because you have planar magnetic headphones, that doesn't always mean they will sound better than the traditional (dynamic) speakers do. It just depends. The second difference I noticed was in clarity. It seems like the PM-3s have slightly more bass in their sound signature than the K553s do. When playing acoustic guitar & vocal songs (I played a wide range of rock in each session), I seemed to notice that sometimes the PM-3's bass sound from the acoustic guitar would steal just a bit of the clarity from the vocals, where with the K553s, I did not notice this. I even made sure to play the songs at about the same volume too, so I could be certain I was accurately judging the two headphones. On a couple songs I thought the PM-3s might've been better, but as time went on, the K553s just kept winning out. So I don't know now if those couple songs would still be better on the PM-3s or not. Perhaps as I was using them more (the K553s), I was simply becoming more accustomed to their sound signature? The K553s, like most headphones, benefit greatly from a good amp/DAC (or amp if you're using a high-quality DAP already!) as they need the extra juice to get loud enough, and also to give you a solid quality sound too in my opinion (even more so than the PM-3s need this as they are more sensitive). But I mean, why anyone would listen to headphones without a quality amp/DAC setup is beyond me! I use the Oppo HA-2 portable amp/DAC, and highly recommend it to everyone! Not only is it sleek and beautiful (I like the rotating volume knob), but it has a rapid charge feature and also serves as a battery pack as well! The genuine (stitched) leather casing is an added bonus! However, if $300 is too much, then just get the Cozoy Astrapi portable/amp DAC, which is much cheaper (eBay has the best price, around $100), still offers great sound (and a nice metallic build quality), and is so tiny you could easily mistake it for an-line remote! lol It uses about 5% of your smartphone battery per hour, which is nothing really (the HA-2 has its own battery). DEFINITELY do not use the K553s without one! Conclusion: I was shocked to realize that I liked the K553s more. Not THAT shocked, but shocked, considering the K553s cost about $170, which is less than half of the PM-3s usual $399 asking price. Both headphones have been said to be the best closed-back ones for under $400, and that either could rival even those headphones priced at around $1000! Perhaps the fact that the AKG K550s (which I owned briefly about a year ago), being the first headphones I ever owned that I really loved, had something to do with it? Probably. But when I'd considered the facts above, it became clear to me what I had to do. The price, the bigger soundstage, the clearer sound, and extra comfort of the K553s make them a very worthy buy for all music lovers!

CONS: -Chord is shortish and, since I have my audio interface set up on my right, it runs across my mouse, annoying. Coil part sits in middle of chord and an extra foot of straight chord above jack would have solved the issue. Still I cannot remove stars for this, cans sound that good and I'm not even done with burn. -The bass below around 50 Hz drops to zilch and unaffected by EQ adjustments. That being said, as I type this, Pat Metheny's guitar sounds phenomenally full, low and detailed. Unless you are a bass addict into Dubstep, not a problem. Also in fairness I have only listened to these cans for 4 hours and already bass has opened up slightly, so I assume the bass will improve with burn in time. Sound was really tight at first. Also, these are monitors for hearing details not pumping bass; mids balance is epic. -I must have a slightly pointy head because if I rest the band across the very top of my noggin, I do feel pressure there as another reviewer noted. I ended up moving the band slightly forward (after adjusting proper length) and they're comfy now. So, I took one star off in honor of us Coneheads ;-) PROS: -Detailed and balanced as heck for price. Mids are superb, rich, no mud here in any frequency. Highs are perfect and are not fatiguing like Beyerdynamic DT 880s were for me. In fact, to me these cans have a similar sound signature (and then some) to my worn out and broken ATH M80s. And as a bonus, the K553s have more instrument separation and a wider soundstage. -Built to last with plenty of ear cup rotation for DJs. Ear pads are generous and comfy and not too hot. -Better highs than the Meze 99 Classics which I also own. They are different animals and both great. The bass is deeper on the 99s but mids are comparable and imaging great (though different) for both. The 99s are 100 bucks more. To quote another reviewer: It's insane to me that these headphones are not more popular. These are the definition of studio monitors.

Like other's have said, out of the box these cans need some work, mainly in terms of comfort. Everyone has different heads and different ears and I know that some people have found these super comfortable. Out of the box, I didn't; the pads would be deep enough if they had been filled with anything other than the softest of memory foams, but as is, they melted onto my head and left my ears touching the drivers which got pretty painful after about an hour. The clamp is light enough that the headband holds most of the weight, and with the extremely minimal padding, this also grows pretty uncomfortable quite quickly. Both these problems I solved by switching out the stock pads for brainwavz pads (if you want to try this yourself it's essential that you stretch those pads beforehand because the k553's are large and in charge). After switching to hm5 pads, the extra distance you get between the drivers and your head increases the clamp force enough that the headband is perfectly comfortable for several hours of use, although I imagine you'd notice it over 8 hour gaming sessions. In terms of sound, out of the box they sounded pretty tinny and boring, but they did warm up a bit with some use. Mids are very detailed, and are on par if not better than my sennheiser m2's but I've noticed that they seem to have a slightly smoky quality,– which I really enjoy by the way, it makes vocals sound a touch huskier or breathier than they would on another pair of cans. Highs are really good, they have great extension and detail without being too bright (however I did notice that using hm5 pads does seem to push the highs up a touch, which I'm not a fan of). Bass. I'm not a basshead by any means but I do listen to a lot of electronica and dance music, I need bass, not mountains but it needs to be there. The bass on these cans sits below the "neutral" line and thus is just not enough for me. However, these headphones work very well with an EQ because their frequency response is fairly neutral and even though the bass is slightly lacking, it is incredibly flat so pushing it up with an EQ doesn't muddy anything. I usually have the bass around one or two db above that of my m2's and it is absolutely spectacular. The bass extension is incredible, the sub bass doesn't tail away like it does with the m2's and it's really clean and detailed, not as tight as the m2's but it sounds a lot bigger and fuller (which I think could just be because the cups are enormous). To close out, as everyone has said before; fantastic build, very handsome and attached wire booooo. If you are willing to find ways to fix their problems, they are truly incredible headphones for the price but as they are they are maybe incredible headphones depending on your head/ear size/shape and musical taste. P.S. - Brainwavz pads stretch to fit around the bracket but they are honestly too small and look a little odd from some angles, I'm thinking of trying the foam insert technique if anything just to restore their looks

These headphones are a great combination for both general fun listening and for mixing. The only headphones that I’ve had to reference from is the Sony mdr7506 and the audio technica ath40. The Sony’s are very flat… extremely flat, so much so that they are underwhelming and not very fun to listen to, but great for mixing. The ath40’s definitely have a higher amped up eq to them, as some put it a V signal - with increased bass and treble and low to mid everywhere else, which is fun to listen to immediately but I found not as good for mixing since the V signal when pushed would produce a lot of harmonic distortion in those areas resulting in listening fatigue. These akg’s have the best of both worlds. They are relatively flat with a good hz range to get the job done and the low ohms gives that range a good overall boost without being fatiguing. Akg does have a reputation for having the bass on the low side though and unfortunately these feel similar, although it is more along the lines that the bass doesn’t feel wet but more dry (less sub bass/spatial). But! The good thing about these headphones is that they scale very well, they can be pushed with any eq settings and they respond appropriately without any harmonic distortion or distortion in general and are clearly more than capable of producing anything else you would need, whether it’d be to push the bass up a bit higher to compensate or to push it with crazy sub bass spatial surround sound for fun. Despite the dry bass, these are universally more pleasant to listen to, the bass is still prevalent with the rest of the eq being balanced but also enhanced and pushed forward by the decent soundstage these headphones create, which is a surprise considering they are closed. Only complaints is 1. the coiled cord is short and not the softest rubber so it is not very elastic, 2. the head band does not have much foam to it which can be uncomfortable and 3. They are not the most portable, with only being able to swivel to the their sides, but as a result of having less moving parts these feel solidly built.

These headphones do everything right - except bass. Bass drops off precipitously below about 50 hz and deep bass is MIA. Midrange is gorgeous, and highs are very good. Unfortunately, the bass can't even be EQ'd to bring it up much, at least on my Ibasso DX80, which has enough power to drive most any cans. Some headphones, especially open-backed headphones can't be EQ'd to bring up the bass, and these headphones are in the same category. Other than that, there are some fantastic qualities to these headphones. They're built like a tank, the earpads are ginormous and very comfy, and instrument separation is excellent. If you're a basshead, these 'phones are definitely not for you, and even if you want a fairly good amount of bass, steer clear. If you're only interested in midrange and highs (with a subdued bass) these are your 'phones, but not mine!

It's insane to me that these headphones are not more popular. These are the definition of studio monitors. They have an insanely flat sound signature. You do not have to EQ a thing. Just because it is flat does not mean it doesn't have character. Everything sounds fantastic just the way the music creators intended. Some bassheads might crave more oomph, but just boost that when you really want it. Here's what's really crazy about these headphones. The soundstage is better than any other closed-back headphone under $400. The first song (Jazz) had so much instrument separation that I thought that the left and right channels had a volume imbalance. In gaming, you can clearly pinpoint where enemies are better than most open-back headphones. That is a serious triumph for a closed-back. The impedance on these headphones is only 32 ohms, so you can run it on just about anything (without an amp), but this is where my criticism comes in. You are stuck with it's long cable without doing some serious tinkering/modding. Additionally, the pads are quite large so if style and/or sweating is a concern on the go, you might want to get something else with more portability/looks. I would recommend the V-moda m-100 if you're willing to spend an extra $100. My last criticism is that the top headband doesn't support very well. If you have a larger head, the clamping force might mitigate this, but I have a smaller/medium size head and a lot of pressure is put on one spot at the top. I just readjust or take a break every hour. To sum it up, these are THE BEST neutral/flat closed-back headphones under $350 for home use. For their price (right now $130), it is an absolute steal. I would still consider this a steal up to around $200 and it is a serious contender in the $200-$300 bracket. Their shortcomings are small portability issues combined with the headband discomfort, but do not let these issues eclipse the fact that these are a fantastic set of cans.

Sound, aesthetics, and durability are all great except one issue makes this product unusable. Comfort - The ear pads are not very thick which combined with the strong head clamping pressure means that your ears press directly against the drivers. They really need some thicker padding as the entire time I wear them I am constantly aware of the fact that my ears are being pressed on. It is a constant annoyance and some decent padding would have fixed it. There is no excuse to skimp on some memory foam in a $200+ product. On top of that the ear pads are a non standard size so you can't buy replacements for them. Do not get these headphones.

The headphones sound great and fit fairly comfortably (though they are very big on my head). In general I'm content with them BUT, the build quality of the connector between the head band and the cans themselves is AWFUL! The connectors between the headphones and band consists of 4 components: a post in the headband, a shaped metal washer to allow the headphones to rotate, a metal nut, and a plastic "washer" which again allows for rotation. This plastic washer is absolutely insufficient and broke down entirely within a few weeks. The first photo above shows this washer from the left ear mostly destroyed. The right also broke. I've been able to kludge together a workaround to continue using the headphones, but I am _very_ disappointed in the build quality of these.