Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Update: June 30th 2009 ; Headphones are still working! 4 years strong. Only thing broken is the cushion on the metal band, but a fix and some krazy glue has done the trick. I would caution people that the price now is significantly more than what I bought it for back in the day. You can get the updated?remodel numbered? version(called k414p for less than these old models go for now)
Update: Almost May 2008; Headphones are still working great, no lose parts, jack is fully functional, , no rattles, no problems what so ever. I've had these for almost 2 and a half years and these are probably one of the best investments I've made in portable audio.
Update: Well, here's an update regarding these headphones, back when I wrote the original review below, I had the headphones for about a month, so roughly October of 2005. So, now its July 2006. The problems I occurred so far are as follows. After 5 months of use, the right transducer did come off the metal headband, fixing this wasn't a problem, just a touch of krazy glue and good as new. Another month later (February 2006) the jack wire came a little lose, but it didn't make a difference at all. July 1st, 2006, the jack finally gives way, I send them in for repair that same day. Within 6 days of shipping, AKG repair center honors my warranty with no problems and sends back a brand new pair of headphones. Now I didn't really take care of these cans after Dec. of 2005, in fact, I threw them into my backpack with 40 pounds worth of books. Remarkably, they held up, I used these on a daily basis. I would just like to reinforce that these are truly wonderful headphones, and so is the AKG service dept. There was no holding at the inquiry line for repairs, and they were very prompt in getting the headphones back as soon as possible. I have no doubt that if you actually take care of these headphones, they will certainly last past 2 years. Of course by using my 2 year warranty, I now only have a 90 day warranty on the new pair, but AKG makes it easy to purchase an extended warranty. I still highly recommend these headphones, they sound great, they're durable, and they're certainly backed by their manufacturer.
PS: There is one review that claims these headphones are not warranted in the USA, Obviously not true, just ship them over to the Nashville Center if you run into any problems.
Original Review: Nov. 2005
So I got these headphones to replace my cheapo standard headphones that came with my dne-320blk cd player (sony pysc). By the way, that's a great cd player... The standard earbuds are marginal at best, they go loud but clarity just isnt there along with bass. But anyways, off to the k26 ps. So Akg is a great company, a harman product so it definately is up there quality wise. The cans themselves are made in China which is a letdown but then again, they're designed in Austria.
Sound: These sound great for the price, the bass is a little over pronounced and is a tad muddy, not as tight as I would like it, but then again, that degree of tightness comes in more expensive headphones. Bass is overall good. Highs are flat, not as great, mids are perfect. And by the way, these play really loud, even the puniest little mp3 player won't have any trouble driving these. Coupled with a high sensitivity and low impedance these some extremely efficient headphones which means not only do you get loud music, but you also get to save on batteries for those of us who use standard alkalines.
I've had these for 3 weeks and they're holding up quite well. But they certainly cannot be mistreated (ie. thrown into a backpack full of heavy textbooks. This will certainly break them. The weak point on these is where the transducer housings meat the hinge for the folding mechanism. If you put these in the designated headphone pouch, they'll be fine. I put them in an old tough binocular case just to be safe, the standard cheap zip bag for storage won't do much to protect them.
Build: These have a metal headband with two pieces to adjust size. The hinges themselves are durable tough plastic. The actually part that connects the transducer housings to the hinges are a thin plastic. Otherwise, no annoying rattles that build up or anything like that. Clean sound.
Comfortability: These are reasonably comfortable. More than 45 minutes may cause problems with some people. I have a large head so that might be the problem. These fit tight to seal out the noise nice and good. The pads that stop the metal headband from directly touching the head may cause some irritation as well. Once again, this is pending on your head and sensitivity. For those of you who just bought yours, they will get a little less harsh with usage, either you're getting used to the pain, or they're actually breaking in. Speaking of breaking in...
Breaking In: So new headphones of a higher quality than [...] will usually need a good break in period, or period when you play music at normal listening levels, this shapes the diaphragms accordlingly to the manufacturer's intent. So a good 25 hours with these and the extreme overemphasation with bass should go away and that should tighten up as well. Highs should improve and mids should too.
Value: So overall, there isn't much competition out there for these cans. In this price range probably the px100's and portapros but then again, those are open headphones. These are closed meaning they won't leak sound( good for libraries, study work) They also do a good job at blocking noise out passively, these are not active remember that, akg also offers a version with active noise cancelling but those are nearly impossible to get in the US and are gonna cost you alot more. So value wise these are excellent. They have a 2 year warranty so you're guaranteed that much.
Conclusion: So overall, these are great. Good for the money, they block out noise well, they're good for public transportation, there really isn't much competition out there. Alot of people will say "but no, what about the px200's", but those really are not good, bass is terrible on those. Anyways , if you want a portable, sealed, foldable, semi-durable headphone with great sound quality for the money, buy these. Spend [...] more and your options expand tenfold.
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AKG K 26 P - Headphones ( ear-cup )The K26P is the dynamic companion for your adventures. Let the pristine sound and powerful bass range of the K26P energize your favorite music. These trendy headphones are very comfortable and use the 3D-Axis mechanism to fold down to a small package that you can take wherever you go.
Click here for more information about AKG K 26 P - Headphones ( ear-cup )
