AKG M220 Semi-Open Studio Headphones

is it possible to send in a defective pair for replacement/repair? Mine came in a few days ago and had significant distortion on the left side out of the box.

To be honest I got these specifically to mod out of curiosity. I haven't modded anything yet but I'm used to much more expensive gear, so here's my perspective on them. Fairly neutral, bass rollof could be a little lower but overall pretty good for $50. Excellent treble for price range, good extention without sibilance, and not tiring. midrange is good, not perfect, but it's smooth and full sounding. Imaging is kinda meh, I played some video games with them and I found it hard to distinguish exactly where sounds were coming from, it wasn't bad by any means, and far better than others in the price range. Soundstage Is on the intimate side, better than most headphones in this price range but still sounds like it's coming from the speaker just next to your ear, it just doesn't have the width. Comfort - Needs pads. Pads aren't bad but too shallow and my ear touches the inside foam against the driver, not uncomfortable but could've been improved with slightly thicker pads, I'm going to find some velour ones and try them out. Build is not the best, it uses mostly good materials but I dont know how long the plastic slider is going to last. Overall I give it an 8 out of 10, deductions are for cable, (not the length, it just kinks easily) the build, and the comfort. Also if you're looking for cheap headphone stands, get some AmazonBasics yoga blocks 2 for $9.99 with free shipping. They work great.

Arrived today! First impressions, the most noticeable negative about these headphones are the pads. My head doesn't quite max out the band, but it comes pretty close. The leather pads and fit were just uncomfortable enough I decided to swap them out. I'm using the memory foam/microfiber pads from my Corsair Vengeance 1500 which happen to fit perfectly. I plugged them into my Schitt Fulla 2 and tried to be objective. My daily driver is the AKG 7xx so that's what I'm comparing to. Going directly from one set to the other, its clear that the M220 is missing some of the soundstage of the 7xx. There's definitely less clarity in the mids and the bass seems to lose some life to the smaller soundstage. That said, the listening experience is very pleasant and smooth. The reproduction seems pretty neutral. My K7xx flexes its muscles with a much larger soundstage, more comfortable fit, and more clarity across the board. Is it 4 times the quality? I don't think so. I would be happy with the M220s as a my daily driver if need be. They're much better headphones than I expected for $50. The biggest drawbacks are definitely the ear pads and the resistance. These fair a similar fate to my K7xx without an amp. My phone (Nexus 6p) has just enough juice to drive them to a nice volume, but nothing more. The Schitt Fulla 2 definitely brings out the best in them, and their best is way better than I expected!