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Noise cancellation technology is ideal in situations where there is a
lot of ambient noise. Ambient noise is basically the surrounding noise
of the environment. This is can be easily associated to the situation
of inside an airplane. In an airplane, you hear the loud grumbling of
the wind and possibly the engine noise as well. Although there are existing noise cancelling headphone products on the
market, there always comes a product that is more innovative than the
previous. AKG has released their own set of noise cancelling
headphones. These foldable headphones are compact and don't sacrifice
much in sound quality. Although the headphones may feel somewhat
brittle in its folded position, these headphones overcome many of the
weaknesses seen in other existing noise cancelling headphone products. |
The product is composed of the headphones and the noise cancelling unit. As you can see, the headphones are foldable so that they take up the least space possible in your bag. The headphones are connected to a small noise cancelling unit no larger than a large pack of gum.
In it's folded position, one earpiece faces up and the other side faces down. The edges of the earpiece are against each other near the center of the headband. The earpieces are bent with the small hinges at each side of the headband.
Right above the hinge is a small piece of black foam sticking out that serves more than one purpose. One purpose is allow some cushioning against the head. It is also used as a sort of grip to expand the length of the headband. This is done by grabbing the foam on both sides and pushing it upward to extend the length of the headband. At full length, the foam pieces will meet at the centre of the headband. The extension of the headband does require two hands because you will need to keep hold of the moving foam pieces.
The headband is made of a durable and flexible metal that is able to resist a lot of bending and twisting.
One important thing I noticed about the headphones is the material of the pads intended to go against the ear. These pads are comfortable, yet resistant if you have oily oil or sweat a lot. Unlike softer materials that I have seen, these ear cushions will not soften too much over time.
The noise cancelling unit is a very simple unit. It only has an on/off switch on the side. When the switch is turned on, an LED at the front of the unit will light up. The back of the unit has a nice little clip that will allow you to clip this onto your belt, pants, or even your shirt.
Amazingly, these noise cancelling headphones only require a single AAA battery and claim up to 40 hours of battery life. I was able to claim close to that advertised 40 hours at around 35 hours of continuous use. When using it through a real-world situation where the unit is turned on or off when needed, I was able to get a little less than my initial 35 hours.
Included with the product is a small carrying bag that allows you to fit the headphones inside. The bag is stretchable because the headphones will go beyond the size of the carrying bag sometimes. The bag isn't of the greatest quality, but I am glad that is was included with the product.
Because AKG expects many to use this on an airplane, they have included an adapter that will allow you to use it on an airplane. Another adapter is included with will allow you to use the headphones with Hi-Fi equipment or devices.
Unlike the Bose QuietComfort 2 noise cancelling headphones, you do not have to enable the noise cancelling ability in order to hear sound from the headphones. With these headphones, you can hear sound whether the noise cancelling technology is on or off. When trying the noise cancelling properties in a large noisy library room filled with people, I noticed that the noise cancelling was able to lower the overall sound of the ambient noise of people talking, shuffling their papers, etc. The noise cancelling does not really cancel out someone's voice at all if they are near you and talking.
Overall, I was impressed with the sound quality that these headphones have to offer. The strong bass in these headphones were unexpected, yet pleasant and enjoyable with music. Because these headphones are light, you will be able to get used to these headphones quite easily for long periods of time.
Conclusion
The AKG K 28 NC noise cancelling headphones have a lot to offer at an affordable price. These typically retail at around $149. These headphones are great to use whether it be in an airplane or in a large noise room. The noise cancelling abilities will help deaden the ambient noise and allow you to focus better on the music, but will not suppress all ambient noise. The sound quality of these headphones also do offer a lot to the listener allowing you to hear even the low frequencies well. It would have been better if AKG made the headphones fold into a resting position.
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