If you are in the market for two hundred shekels’ worth of the best headphones you can buy, prop up those feet and rest a bit:  your quest is finally over.  Now bear witness to the AKG K533 Pro, the best bang for your headphone bucks.

If you go to your local headphone store, or more likely, Amazon, you’ll notice tons of choices for headphones at or around or under the $200 price mark.  What do you buy?  Audio Technica?  Sony?  Panasonic?  Beats?*  Sennheiser?  Bose?  WRONG.  Based on sheer accuracy of sound, get the AKG K553 Pro.

The AKG K553 Pro is surprisingly well-built.  I say surprisingly because most headphones from other manufacturers are less-solid, but then AKG is known for the quality build of their headphones.  The earcups are perhaps the most comfortable on any headphone under $500.  Seriously.  Round, oversized black holes designed to swallow up your ears and never let go.

The cable is thick and robust, maybe just a tad bit too long.

The materials used are a mix of brushed aluminum, plastic, and pleather.  All in all, a snazzy looking soundbeast.

So, then, how is that sound quality?  Beautifully accurate.  I mean, it’s the “flat” sound you generally look for in a pair of monitoring headphones, but the flatness doesn’t seem as dull as it might on other headphones.  Which is odd to me, because I don’t quite understand how AKG has done this.  Still, there it is – (seemingly) as clear as day to my ears.  Every note is as it should be.  The separation is decent, but to get anything better would require another $300 and the headphone would be an open-back model.  The frequency range 12-28000 hertz, which doesn’t seem as dynamic as some other headphones in a similar price range.  However, with a low 32 ohm impedance, accessing that slightly modest range is more than easy.

Are there any reasons to not spend $200 on this headphone?  Sure.  If you want lots of bass, look elsewhere.  If you think you might want a little more bass, still consider this model, because the low end is more detailed with less distortion that any other model at this price.  I really cannot think of another reason why you shouldn’t buy these babies.  The AKG K553 Pro is just that sweet.