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AKG K 450
by DanB7290
I got these as I am very particular about sound quality. The folks over at What Hi-fi? gave these such high praise, they were voted as "Product of the Year 2012". So, I decided that I must have some. When What Hi-fi? tested them, they were at a reasonably expensive £130, about on par with the RRP of the Bose in ear headphones I ... have been using for the past few months, but still cheaper than the frankly hideous Beats by Dre Solo HDs. However, they are currently available from Amazon for £60, which, while being the most I've ever paid for a pair of headphones (my Bose pairs were eBay bargains), is terrific value for money for something which has been labelled as "Product of the Year".
First off, let's look at the build quality. While the construction is mostly plastic, it's a premium plastic, and feels very durable. The ear pads are made of pleather, and do not feel like they're going to fall off a la Beats Solo HD. That said, I do believe that if they do, AKG do sell spares. The only thing that struck me as potentially being problematic was that the cable is quite thin. That said it is detachable, and barring any extreme use, it should fare reasonably well, time will tell. Again, if it does go wrong, you can get a replacement cable, so no need to throw the headphones in the drawer and forget about them if/when the cable dies, as I have done all too often in recent years. The in-line remote on the cable feels sturdy enough, and is made from high quality, premium plastic. Certainly feels a lot more substantial than the Bose mic/remote on my old in ears.
Now let's look at comfort. It did concern me that, under Amazon's reviews, there were a few that criticized the K451s for being too tight, with a 'clamping' effect. I have a larger than normal head, so this was a slight worry, but that said, the same was said in the reviews of my £30 JVC HA-M750s, and once I got them, they were actually a little too big. Back to the K451s, they are a perfect size for me, albeit with the headband extended as far as it will go. But there is no clamping effect at all. I can only assume that the complainants on Amazon have alien sized heads.
They are of an on ear design, similar to the Beats Solo HD, but they feel much more comfortable in comparison. The ear pads/cushions feel softer, but as I mentioned previously, more durable than the Solos. In general, the K451s are extremely light, to the point where you can forget you're wearing them.
Now, the biggest part; sound quality. Having spent 2012 in pursuit of a perfect sounding headphone, I can now say I am becoming an audiophile. Where previously my Bose in ears seemed to be as good as you could possibly get, now I see them as the overpriced, overhyped product they really are. A lot of the frequency range of most high end headphones is not available with the Bose headphones, and the range that is is exaggerated greatly. Not so much with the K451s. The frequency response is quite broad, although I can't remember it off the top of my head. The bass is very much present, and very clear, and yet unlike the Beats Solo HDs, it doesn't dominate or drown out the mids or trebles. The trebles are perfect; every crash of the hi-hats are clearly audible, and the mids are perfectly balanced.
I listen primarily to classic rock, and the K451s are perfect for the genre. The instrument separation is great, and overall it creates a fantastic sound stage, which doesn't feel sealed inside your head, like many headphones do, and the K451s pass my simple test of good headphones; the tambourine in Led Zep's Whole Lotta Love is clearly audible alongside that main riff, bass and drums. The "hissing" sound that poor quality headphones provide when a word with a letter S in it is sung, is not at all present here; even before the burn in phase began. I have also tried the K451s with a variety of other genres, and they excel everywhere. While overall, I thought Beats by Dre were awful for most applications, it must be said they did fit the hip-hop/r&b/rap genre quite well, as you'd expect. But the K451s have them seriously outgunned. The bass is plentiful, but yet doesn't distract from the overall listening experience as per Solo HD. Using my girlfriend as a guinea pig, I can say that sound leakage is minimal. I couldn't hear her Disney music at reasonably loud volume from a few feet away, and she couldn't hear me rocking out to Fleetwood Mac from even closer. So that makes these ideal for when I'm working in the University library.
My conclusion then? The What Hi-fi? folks were bang on; these really are worthy of Product of the Year. They offer clarity which nothing short of the Bowers & Wilkins P5, which cost 4 times as much, can rival, and even then the K451s run them close.
I have compared the K451s to Beats Solo HD quite a lot in this review, as they are both on ear, portable headphones aimed at the iGeneration. I cannot fault Beats marketing; thanks to the Dr Dre endorsement, they sell in the millions. However, all things considered, if you really care about sound quality, they just don't stack up. I'm not saying they're dreadful, even though I did return mine fairly swiftly. My opinion of Beats Solo HDs is they would be great if they cost <£80, but they are not worth the £180 asking price. The K451s are worth the asking price of Solo HDs, and yet they are far cheaper. What Hi-Fi? tested them at £130, and they would have been a bargain at the price. But I paid less than half that; just £60. And all things considered, that makes them the ultimate headphones.
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AKG K 311
by PaoloWang
I love music, so much that i always bring with me my trusty mp3, and a pair of earphones in my poket, and because of this i have destroyed countless pairs of earphones.
I have tried tons of different types and brands (sony, bose, sennheiser...), and till now, these are the best one i have found, especially because of they're price ... to quality ratio.
I have brought them everywhere, even under the rain, but a year later, they still work perfectly, and the sound is still like the first day.
The quality of the sound is also great, is not at a professional level, but for the price, you probably won't find anything better.
They're not perfect, the shape of the earphones can be sometimes a problem, especially if you use them to listen to some music before falling asleep, but it's hardly a big issue, especially considering the quality and the price.
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