Open Box AKG K553 MKII Closed Back Studio Headphones Level 1 Black

I was curious as to what high end headphones are about. Since the AKG K553 mkII was on sale, I felt these would be a fair candidate. I have the K92s that I got used and I like those. As for sound, it seems to be about balance. In other words, be warned of some things. If you like "heavy loud bass" then you won't like these. Instead of the bass being excessively LOUD, the bass goes deep…..very awesomely deep from my standpoint. The midrange is great, but very dependent on the recording. There is plenty of treble WITHOUT being ear splintering excessive. If you like loud highs, you won't like these. The K553 mkII perform best with a home receiver/amplifier. They like lots of power and - as a result - don't play nice with phones. It'll work, but not very well. You will need to experiment with the fit. These seem to be a little finicky about that. I also feel that the provided cord is too short. I would recommend getting a longer cord from AKG (or using some kind of extension with the existing one). Overall, I'm very pleased with what the K553 mkII has to offer. But be aware of the bass and treble issue the power hungry nature of these.

I demo'd the AKG553mkII in Guitar center, sounded good on the canned tracks that I listened to, felt solid. However, I am using this for recording and mixing tracks, and there were problems. (1) not as comfortable as I thought (too heavy) (2) Sound quality: nice & loud, but NOT a good representation of what the music should sound like (3) the coiled cord is REALLY SHORT, less than 36", so unless you are sitting right next to your device, the cord is pulling your head to the side, even expanded (4) Closed back design is NOT good for my purposes, couldn't hear myself sing or play. This headphone is good for listening to recorded music, especially in noisy environments, and not good for recording and mixing. Returned it for AKG240mkII, still waiting for that delivery. Well made product, not for my purposes.

These sound good BUT. After opening I was disappointed they were too loose. When I lean forward the headband slides down. Ear cups don't press nicely against my ears. I really wanted to return them because of this. Perhaps this is their way of making them "feel comfortable." Last, while they sounded great when mixing I was disappointed with how song sounded in my car. Half of the instruments were too low and the bass was too boomy. However when using directly with my keyboard they sounded great and for that reason I decided to keep them. I am now looking for a different pair to use on the studio. Bottom line I would not buy again.

The best uses are for recording music. Which I am a producer, i use this for recording vocals and drumkits. The sound quality is insane for this price range. Pristine clarity. Highs , Mids and lows are balance and not one is more pronounced than another. I went in GC uncertain on which headphones to buy, the beyerdynamic dt770, audio technica mx50 or sennheiser 300 pro. The akg 553 blew all those away. My decision was made easy.

I just got this headphone to replace my pioneer DJ headphone. I tried out all the demo headphones priced between $100-$200+ in GC. This headphone has the most open and detailed sound. Response is a bit flat but good for monitoring in my case. It looks bulky but feel light and comfortable with good shield of background noise. It has low impedance so it works well with my MacBook Pro for recording and monitoring. The only thing I don't like is that the coiled cable being too short. The box said it is 5M / 16.4 ft. But it seems only 3 feet long unstressed. It is hard to believe it would stretch out to over 6 feet without pulling my laptop off the floor. So I would have to purchase a longer cable if I want to record my guitar playing.

I haven't had them long, but the sound is exceptional, they're comfortable, and they block most ambient noise.