There is a basshead in all of us. Most of the time it's on the surface, with all the music nowadays, both local and international playing with variations on the bass time signatures to give birth to Dubstep, Chillstep, House, Deep House and variations of the like. Where the songs of the likes of DJ Snake and Neucleya are on the top of every single playlist. Which is why Bass heavy headphones are some of the most popular out there, and AudioTechnica, makers of fine aural products have given us their new Solid Bass series. We got our hands on the mid ranger, the ATH-WS550iS.
Looks and Build Quality
Full marks in this department for the awe inspiring black headphone with large gold discs emblazoned on each earcup. Made of spun metal, these discs are beautiful to behold. Rather than making the entire headphone feel too "blingy", the whole unit looks very, regal. There are other colors, a complete black with thin red and white accents and a lovely white with a royal red inset on the inner circumference of the silver metal disc.
Everything about the very weirdly named ATH-WS550iS is high quality, it is almost shameful AudioTechnica chose such a arbitrary name for a headphone that looked this good. In fact while walking on the streets listening to music, this pair turned heads, people came up asking about the brand by the dozen.
The plastics are lightweight around the headphone, but not cheap with rough edges. There is a metal spine under the plastic and cushioning of the headband. Which can be extended to fit comfortably on the head. The lightweight plastics are there to compensate for the heavy metal discs. All in all these are a fantastic pair of headphones.
Both the centrepiece and the stabiliser ring within are aluminum, the power controller is top mounted. According to AudioTechnia, the reason for the aluminum was to counter the vibrations cause by the bass, letting the mids and highs sing. The earcups neatly swivel so you can take them around in your bag or rotate them when around your neck.
The ATH-WS550iS are not the most comfortable headphones on the block, but they do the job. They are bulky and do have a bit of weight because of the metal and the large drivers at it's core. The cushioning of the earpads are quality soft memory foam covered in plush leatherette, which does cause a bit of heat on long listening times. Which is the case with all leatherette.
Performance
Deep within those beautiful metal earcups reside powerful 53mm drivers capable of fantastic 8 to 24,000Hz frequency response, meaning it's capable of some amazing lows and some really good high's. To give you perspective the average human hear can hear between 20Hz to 20,000Hz. Down to the performance, the ATH-WS550iS does what it says on the box, power up your music with a big boost of bass with it's big driver and triple vented system. Now there is a cavaet.
Usually to power large drivers above 50mm you need very good power output. Out of the box, the headphones sound great, but when connected to a jack with normal power, the bass sort of drowns everything out, with the mids and treble fighting to compete, with the mid-bass dominating. However, when connected to our text Lenovo phone with a built in Digital to Analog processor as well as Amplifier, everything sort of fell into place. The headphones were a portable Goa party on your head, with ample bass booming but not feeling uncomfortable, they did splash the mids a bit but the treble hit the right happy notes.
The ATH-WS550iS is a feel good headphone, a happy beast that with enough juice, is a lot of fun. From Prodigy's - Narayana's spiritual bass heavy beats hitting home to Neucleya's - Aaja sounding incredible, and the coup de gras was DJ Snake's - Lean On and Turn Down for What. The bass was alive, palpable and it boomed in and out like a large balloon with the mids and treble playing within.
The inclusion of the mic was pretty good and it was on flat tangle free wire which also carried the accents. The sound quality was decent and the other person could hear us clearly.
Final Words
AudioTechnica have created a great pair of headphones, with superb sound quality, perfect for the bass head who wants quality burst of bass. However, these need a bit of power to perform well, so it's best used with a MP3 player or phone with a DAC and Amplifier like the FiiO Players or the Lenovo X3 Vibe or K4 Note. At an asking price of around Rs 5000+ available online, the ATH-WS550iS are worth every paise, however bassheads only need apply, ones with proper powered systems.
Looks and Build Quality
Full marks in this department for the awe inspiring black headphone with large gold discs emblazoned on each earcup. Made of spun metal, these discs are beautiful to behold. Rather than making the entire headphone feel too "blingy", the whole unit looks very, regal. There are other colors, a complete black with thin red and white accents and a lovely white with a royal red inset on the inner circumference of the silver metal disc.
Everything about the very weirdly named ATH-WS550iS is high quality, it is almost shameful AudioTechnica chose such a arbitrary name for a headphone that looked this good. In fact while walking on the streets listening to music, this pair turned heads, people came up asking about the brand by the dozen.
The plastics are lightweight around the headphone, but not cheap with rough edges. There is a metal spine under the plastic and cushioning of the headband. Which can be extended to fit comfortably on the head. The lightweight plastics are there to compensate for the heavy metal discs. All in all these are a fantastic pair of headphones.
Both the centrepiece and the stabiliser ring within are aluminum, the power controller is top mounted. According to AudioTechnia, the reason for the aluminum was to counter the vibrations cause by the bass, letting the mids and highs sing. The earcups neatly swivel so you can take them around in your bag or rotate them when around your neck.
The ATH-WS550iS are not the most comfortable headphones on the block, but they do the job. They are bulky and do have a bit of weight because of the metal and the large drivers at it's core. The cushioning of the earpads are quality soft memory foam covered in plush leatherette, which does cause a bit of heat on long listening times. Which is the case with all leatherette.
Performance
Deep within those beautiful metal earcups reside powerful 53mm drivers capable of fantastic 8 to 24,000Hz frequency response, meaning it's capable of some amazing lows and some really good high's. To give you perspective the average human hear can hear between 20Hz to 20,000Hz. Down to the performance, the ATH-WS550iS does what it says on the box, power up your music with a big boost of bass with it's big driver and triple vented system. Now there is a cavaet.
Usually to power large drivers above 50mm you need very good power output. Out of the box, the headphones sound great, but when connected to a jack with normal power, the bass sort of drowns everything out, with the mids and treble fighting to compete, with the mid-bass dominating. However, when connected to our text Lenovo phone with a built in Digital to Analog processor as well as Amplifier, everything sort of fell into place. The headphones were a portable Goa party on your head, with ample bass booming but not feeling uncomfortable, they did splash the mids a bit but the treble hit the right happy notes.
The ATH-WS550iS is a feel good headphone, a happy beast that with enough juice, is a lot of fun. From Prodigy's - Narayana's spiritual bass heavy beats hitting home to Neucleya's - Aaja sounding incredible, and the coup de gras was DJ Snake's - Lean On and Turn Down for What. The bass was alive, palpable and it boomed in and out like a large balloon with the mids and treble playing within.
The inclusion of the mic was pretty good and it was on flat tangle free wire which also carried the accents. The sound quality was decent and the other person could hear us clearly.
Final Words
AudioTechnica have created a great pair of headphones, with superb sound quality, perfect for the bass head who wants quality burst of bass. However, these need a bit of power to perform well, so it's best used with a MP3 player or phone with a DAC and Amplifier like the FiiO Players or the Lenovo X3 Vibe or K4 Note. At an asking price of around Rs 5000+ available online, the ATH-WS550iS are worth every paise, however bassheads only need apply, ones with proper powered systems.
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