In terms of headphones, the final consensus is that you just very a lot get what you pay for. Go for a budget earbuds packed in together with your cellphone and your music goes to sound tinny, flat, and missing in any form of musical pleasure.
Transfer as much as some high-end $1,000 cans reminiscent of the wonderful Sennheiser HD800, in the meantime, and also you music sounds nearly unrecognisable. It is obtained dynamism, expression, and particular person devices that you may truly inform aside moderately than having all of them merge collectively into a multitude of noise.
AKG in the meantime has all the time been an organization keen to thumb its nostril on the concept of ‘getting what you pay for’. Its Ok451 headphones provide a degree of sound high quality that far outstrip their funds price ticket, whereas its Y50 handle to supply a really trendy set of cans that really feel much more premium than their worth implies.
That mentioned, at simply $60 (£58.80) the Ok92’s are a really fairly priced set of headphones that in some methods match the options of cans double their worth, however in different methods fall prey to lots of the issues of a funds set of ‘telephones.
[Replace: We have reviewed a variety of headphones because the launch of the AKG Ok92 two years in the past, and but it stays one in every of our favourite pair of low-cost over-ear headphones. With wonderful sound and comfy ear pads, the Ok92 has every part a headphone must compete – and win – in 2018.]
Design
The Ok92’s are an enormous pair of headphones. With their giant flat design AKG seems to be making a pair of headphones that it desires folks to make use of within the studio or at dwelling moderately than whereas out and about.
Their measurement means you are unlikely to need to put on these headphones whereas out and about. They are much higher suited to getting used at dwelling, at a desk, or on an extended journey reminiscent of a airplane experience.
In these situations their measurement is an asset moderately than a disadvantage, because it means the headphones sit properly over, moderately than on, your ears.
This does have the draw back of constructing the headphones nearly unattainable to put on round your neck, however this should not be an excessive amount of of an issue until you are utilizing them whereas on the go.
The flatness of the Ok92’s does introduce the issue of the material contained in the headphone cup touching your ears. This may not hassle you, however it all the time felt a bit of bit bizarre to me, like my ears had been touching a little bit of the headphones that wasn’t meant to be touched.
Exterior of the cups themselves, the band that connects them each has a well-made help strap meaning the load of the headphones sits on the highest of your head moderately than in your ears themselves.
When mixed with their measurement, this headband meant I used to be in a position to make use of the Ok92’s for hours at a time with out feeling any discomfort, which bodes effectively for utilizing them for marathon music or gaming classes.
When it comes to total construct high quality the Ok92’s each feel and look like their worth would counsel. Their solely plastic development is not something particular, and I wasn’t personally a fan of the gold accents. I might think about they’re meant to counsel a high-end audio expertise, however I wasn’t personally a fan.
At the least the AKG branding on every earcup is fairly tasteful.
Cable-wise the AKG’s choose to have a single cable connecting to the left earcup which I favored, since two cables usually ends in extra tangling. Sadly this cable is non-detachable, though at this worth level a removable cable is far much less frequent.
Then once more AKG did characteristic a removable cable on its Ok451, which is even cheaper than the Ok92s.
AKG giveth and AKG taketh away, I suppose.
General I used to be pleased with the development of the AKG Ok92s. The all-plastic physique and non-detachable cable is totally applicable given the worth level, and finally forgivable provided that these headphones are snug to put on.
Efficiency
If I needed to guess, I would say that the marginally cheaper plastic development has been chosen by AKG with the intention to permit it to maximise the efficiency of the internals of the headphones, and it is laborious to not agree with its resolution.
The AKG Ok92’s 40mm drivers provide an important frequency response of 16Hz-22kHz. For reference the usual for many headphones is 20Hz-20kHz, since that is usually accepted because the audible frequency vary of the human ear.
An expanded frequency vary doesn’t routinely imply a pair of headphones will sound higher, however the additional headroom is useful all the identical.
Listening to a Scar Tissue by the Purple Sizzling Chili Peppers via Tidal’s lossless streaming high quality reveals the Ok92’s to have a properly balanced sound. Chad Smith’s bass drum manages to have kick with out overwhelming the remainder of the observe, and separation between the remainder of the devices is sweet, however not wonderful.
The soundstage on these headphone is barely squashed in comparison with dearer fashions. After I listened to a recording of Mozart’s Violin Concerto in D main it wasn’t particularly simple to get a way of the bodily house the recording occurred in.
These aren’t meant as outright criticisms. The AKG Ok92’s carry out excellently for a pair of ‘telephones at their worth level, however we have been spoiled by AKG prior to now with fashions which have managed to sound nearly as good as headphones double their worth.
The ultimate observe I attempted was the sonically complicated Shackler’s Revenge by Weapons N’ Roses. There’s so much occurring within the observe, a number of layers of guitars, vocal and synths, and the Ok92’s handled all of them effectively with out letting the observe really feel muddled.
The observe managed to really feel properly separated and balanced, and was very satisfying to take heed to.
We favored
The AKG Ok92’s are a great sounding pair of headphones which might be exceptionally snug to put on for lengthy listening durations. For this worth the sound they provide is evident and crisp, they usually’re finally a really satisfying pair of headphones to take heed to.
We disliked
Their plastic development cannot actually be faulted at this worth, however the Ok92’s do really feel like a funds pair of cans. The truth that the material inside the earcups rested on my ears was a minor annoyance, however hardly a deal breaker.
Last verdict
At effectively below $100 the AKG Ok92’s carry out admirably for his or her worth worth level. They won’t really feel like a premium pair of headphones within the hand, however they make a great effort at sounding prefer it. Spending a bit of extra could ship incremental enhancements in construct and sound high quality, however at this worth level the Ok92’s are a strong, if not revolutionary, buy.