Akg K-495nc Noise-Cancelling Headphones

AKG K-495NC Noise-Cancelling Headphones

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• Frequency Response - 18Hz-20kHz and Impedance - 26 Ohms

Buy Now : AKG K-495NC Noise-Cancelling Headphones

Brand : AKG
Category : Electronics,Headphones, Earbuds & Accessories,Headphones & Earbuds,On-Ear Headphones
Rating : 3.3
Review Count : 74
SalesRank : 0

AKG K-495NC Noise-Cancelling Headphones

• I purchased these headphones for travel, using with the computer, and meditation. I have worn them nearly every day for several months, and for two long plane rides. Prior to these I owned a very inexpensive set of Panasonics--more on that later.The AKG headphones are designed to flatly press (smoosh?) on your entire ear; this can get uncomfortable for extended periods (say over an hour). They adjust to fit the largest of heads. The switch to activate the noise cancellation is an odd design; one has to twist the entire outer edge of the left ear piece, like turning the lid of a jar. The battery has yet to go dead--I generally charge it when I remember, about once every two weeks.The noise cancellation is quite good even without the feature turned on, and excellent when activated. With no input the AKG\'s do not block voices as much as I thought they would, but with sound playing through them you are in your own world. When I wore them on two 8 hour flights they were a great aid in sleeping, and superb for watching the in-flight movie.With my I-Phone -- and only with my I-Phone -- I have experienced the Snap/Crackle/Pop static others have mentioned. I know this is an I-Phone problem because it was the reason I tossed my previous Panasonics--I thought they were shorting out. With the AKG\'s I have never experienced this phenomenon while connected to an I-Pad, IPod, or computer.The left ear piece does rattle if I turn my head just so. Fortunately, I rarely turn my head just so, and so it\'s not been a deal breaker.The storage case is also an eccentric design--it took me about a month to realize I have to retract the earpieces fully and fold them into the case headband-first to get everything to fit. The case will not hold the included charger or plug adapters, but it does hold the airplane adapter just fine.I did try on a pair of Bose at the local store. The main differences were the \'cup\' fit, which probably does increase the sound isolation, and the materials. The AKG are heavy, solid feeling headphones with a lot of metal compared to the Bose; time will tell if this has anything to do with durability.A substantial investment that took some getting used to, but I\'m satisfied for now.
• I have some in ear high quality earbuds that have custom ear molds that were made just for me. I was trying to do better, and the Bose NC15 didn\'t do it, nor the B&Ws. I thought I would give these a try, and I bought it on Amazon so I could easily send them back as I expected to be unhappy. Wowwww! That word describes these headphones the best. I now think there is a difference between playing/ listening to music and hearing music. I heard instruments and sounds I never knew where even in my most favorite song. I like K-Pop (no laughing) where they blend Orchestra, violin, rap, trumpet, electric guitar and ballads all into one seamless song. These headsets cover it all. Also the A/C compressor is pretty close to my left ear when at my desk. Not any more. One final note. Maybe there is something better made, but I never saw it. Every component, wire, clip and plug is of a quality just not seen today. Ok review is over I have to listen to music now. :-))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))I wanted to add something that might help others. I read a bad review about Quality Control and a rattle in the left earphone. So when I also experienced the rattle I was so disappointed. I determined it was not a rattle but the cord not completely plugged into the iPhone. Now let me say it felt plugged in but the case surrounding the earphone jack was impeding the plug from being plugged in 100% thus giving a rattle sound.So far my only complaint is that when in the case the metal parts can rub possibly leaving scratches. A small microfiber cleaning cloth seems to take care of that concern. This quality reminds me of the olden days when Germans made cameras solid as a rock. This looks like one obsessive guy with all his heart and soul paid attention to every aspect of this product and went overboard design wise. Little details have a super big cool factor you just do not see in electronics today.
• The first one I ordered had a loose part in the left ear cup that caused a rattling noise, so I had to return it. The second one arrived last week, and that one\'s going back too. Sound quality is excellent, much better than the Bose QC-15. As others have noted, noise-canceling is good, but not as good as Bose. My big problem is that I bought these for use on ground transportation (buses and trains) and they proved to be unusable on a recent 2.5-hour bus ride from the Berkeley area to Santa Rosa in Northern California. Every time the bus hit a bump or a rough patch of road, the mike in the headphone seemed to amplify the effect, causing a thumping sound that was like a bass drum playing against my ear. My ears were still sore a day later.I don\'t expect the noise-canceling to eliminate all environmental noise -- even the Bose doesn\'t do that. But something about these headphones actually amplified the vibrations of the bus ride and made them worse.I\'ve tried three other NC headphones (Bose, Panasonic and Sennheiser), none of which caused this effect. I\'ve seen lots of glowing reviews of this product, but none apparently tested it under these conditions.A few other observations:- The over-the-ear design can be a bit uncomfortable, but it\'s not bad once you get used to it.- They are solidly built.- You switch on the noise canceling by turning a dial on the left earpiece, sort of like turning a lid. It\'s difficult to do this with the headphones on your head -- a switch would be much easier.- They fold up nicely, but it\'s not as big a space-saving advantage as I had hoped -- the case is about 10-20 percent smaller than the Bose case.- $350 is a lot to pay given the QC problems I\'ve noted.Given the excellent sound quality and decent NC, this might be a good purchase if you just plan to use it for air travel. But if you plan to use them on a bus or train, stay away.

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