Headphones
AKG K550 Balanced Fat Pipe Upgrade 10ft
MSRP $549.00
Stock Status: 1 to 2 Weeks.
Yes, email me when this item is in stock.
NEW! The K550 are AKG's best new sealed headphones, released in North America in early 2012. This exclusive HeadRoom recable job with 10ft of our own Cardas 'Fat Pipe' headphone cord makes them ready for our groundbreaking HeadRoom BUDA balanced-drive headphone amp. Painstakingly re-wired by our best HeadRoom techs right here in Bozeman, Montana, the already stellar K550 accuracy is taken to brand-new levels of openness and musical precision under the controlled, robust drive of balanced amplification. Audiophiles who have fallen in love with the AKG K550's terrific sense of musical engagement will be wowed by audibly improved dynamic extension and the more expansive soundstage imaging delivered by the BUDA amp.
add to wishlist |
email to a friend
Product Features:
- Re-cabled sealed audiophile headphones prepared for balanced-drive amplification
- Improved soundstage depth, dynamics and detail
- Offers amongst very best sound quality available at this price!
- Employs HeadRoom-exclusive Cardas 'Fat Pipe' headphone cord
- 10ft length; Neutrik XLR stereo [left/right] connectors
- Limited Lifetime warranty on HeadRoom recable and/or cord workmanship
What's In The Box:
- (1) AKG K550 headphones with Balanced 'Fat Pipe' upgrade; 10ft length/balanced XLR connectors
Applications:
The most important headphone release for AKG Acoustics in 2012 is the K550 sealed headphone. Coming in at a stunningly affordable price given its performance, the K550 design is a full-size closed-back construction that is (allegedly! -ed.) efficient enough to be properly driven from portables like an iPad, iPod or laptop computer while delivering the accuracy of the famous AKG K701 (semi) open-back reference headphones, but with an audibly fuller bass presence. Finally, a well-priced circumaural 'closed' headphone that rivals top cans in the category in sound quality and is built to withstand the rigors of portable use. But the K550 is also good enough to sound even better and more amazingly musical with a great dedicated headphone amp behind it. Engineered strictly for serious audiophiles, our HeadRoom techs re-wire the K550 headphones for stereo XLR plug balanced connections. Once placed under the defined control of a killer balanced-drive headphone amp, the K550's sound becomes ultra-refined and clearly transparent with much faster dynamic range extension and vastly open soundstage elements superior to standard single-ended operation. Even right out of the box, HeadRoom jaws dropped at the smoothness and resolution power of the AKG K550 Balanced midranges all the way into the extreme uppermost frequencies without any evidence of timbral sharpness or grain, all riding atop a perfectly balanced bass unlike any other AKG headphone we've heard. Indeed, the bass presentation sounds as tight and well-textured as we've experienced from AKG with a welcome low-end fullness that rivals lauded competitor Denon AH-D2000, perhaps only lacking in extreme sub-bass extension. The AKG K550 Balanced mid-ranges stay focused and centered, and while the highs ring crisp and articulate, they never hit the point of harshness even at loud listening levels. We found the soundstage imaging of the K550 Balanced highly impressive -- perhaps the best in closed-back headphones -- with very well-delineated sense of 'room space' that easily surpasses the spatial dimensionality of any other closed-back AKG headphone.
The AKG K550 Balanced really feels exceedingly well built and durable with very solid earcup-to-headband connections -- which are often the weak point of other closed-back headphones. Mobile or portable listeners should have no worries toting these around campus, taking them on airline flights or commuting from home to office. The K550 Balanced wearing comfort is also exceptional and the only quibble we had with the fit is it merely takes a bump of the earcup to break the flush 'seal' of the earpads against the earlobes. But it's a quick thing to correctly re-adjust the fit and bring the proper bass response back to full fruition. We find the AKG K550 Balanced aesthetics appealing with an elemental but modern design and cool matte-black finish. As another minor quibble, we'd like to see a detachable cord in a top-level headphone at this price. The K550 Balanced will serve well in many varied applications and is a great upgrade in the studio or in the club for DJs and recordists seeking superior musical detail and tonal clarity. Audiophile listeners at home, office or on the move will delight hearing your old music made new again through the K550 Balanced cans. Excitement is amazingly high for the AKG K550 Balanced amongst our HeadRoom headphone freaks; all of us concur it is a great candidate for any listener seeking a tonally accurate sealed headphone with an uber-tight bass and accurate musical precision at all frequencies.
AKG K550 'Balanced' XLR Recabling at HeadRoom
How do we get it even better? Custom recabling on your AKG K550 will offer even richer detail and a more spacious sound. How do we do it at HeadRoom? We start with a custom fabricated, highly upgraded 10-foot Cardas Fat Pipe cable completely exclusive to HeadRoom, specifically designed, trimmed, tinned and finished for AKG K550 headphones. Then we carefully disassemble the K550 and completely remove the stock cable and connectors. Stereo left/right 3-pin Neutrik connectors for balanced amplifiers are then painstakingly wedded. The end result is a completely professional and fully warranteed upgrade that will long serve your balanced listening pleasure.
Balanced Headphone Amplifiers & DACs
Of course, you'll need a terrific balanced XLR-output headphone amp and, ideally, an excellent balanced source. We currently offer our superb made-in-Montana HeadRoom Balanced Ultra Desktop Amp ['The BUDA'] delivering world-class audiophile listening pleasure that remains unsurpassed in the headphone industry in our humble estimation.
More About HeadRoom Cabling Our HeadRoom connector cables are hand-crafted in our Bozeman, Montana plant by highly skilled technicians using only the very best materials available. No cheapo, noisy wiring here! The Cardas 'Fat Pipe' geometry is a four-conductor with braided shield cable featuring Golden Ratio, oxygen-free, pure copper Litz wire with pure teflon dialectrics just like the boutique stuff costing hundreds more. Connectors are terminated by hand at HeadRoom using Cardas Ultra Pure Quadeutectic solder. All connectors are mechanically inert, isolated from electrical noise and completely resonance-free, producing a very quiet, musical and superbly accurate cable capable of beautiful sound reproduction.
OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES:
Don't forget about our optional (sold separately) HeadRoom-fabricated XLR-to-1/4" Dongle Adapter suitable for using these or any other XLR-terminated balanced headphones with any standard [single-ended] 1/4" headphone amp or audio source.
*The additional costs on this headphone are comprised of our in-house HeadRoom labor charges for disassembling the AKG K550 [hard wired] headphones, replacing with new Cardas Fat-Pipe headphone cord, and restoring the 'phones to brand-new condition. It's a professionally finished & fully warranteed cable upgrade done by skilled HeadRoom technicians in Bozeman Montana USA
Specifications:
- Driver Type: Dynamic
- Acoustic Seal: Closed
- Ear Coupler Type: Full-Size
- Coupler Size: Large
- Cord Type: Straight Y
- Cord Length: 9.5ft
- Detachable Cable: No
- Impedance @ 1kHz: 62 Ohms
- Isolation: -12db ~ 18dB
- Connector Type: Balanced XLR
- Headphone Type: Full Size
- Manufacturer Warranty: 2 Years
- Warranty: Lifetime on Cable Defects & Workmanship
- Balanced: Yes
