AKGPro Audio K553 MKII Over-Ear, Closed-Back, Foldable Studio Headphones,Black

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. lolSound 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!

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.