Samsung AKG N700NC Over-Ear Foldable Wireless Bluetooth Headphones, Active Noise Cancelling Headphones - Silver (US Version)

After a bit over a week of use I can describe these so that others can evaluate them as an option vs. comparable headphones.FeaturesThe AKG N700NC may be used wireless via bluetooth or with a line. The provided line has a mic and may be used with a smartphone headphone jack. The package also comes with a USB to micro-USB charging cable, an airplane headphone jack adapter, and a travel case. There is an app that may be downloaded to Apple and Android devices. The app is helpful as it provides dynamic assignment of a function button on the headphone, permits EQ customization, and toggles on/off an auto-off feature.Whether the headphones are used with or without the line there is a mic available in both modes. When the line is inserted in the headphone it seems to disable the bluetooth, which was a handy feature on a recent flight that did not permit the use of bluetooth headphones. My wife was not able to use her noise canceling Bose earbuds on that flight.There are buttons to control volume, take & hang up on calls, play/pause playback, and skip forward back tracks. A dynamic button allows either to toggle between normal ANC and "Ambient Aware" or "TalkThru". It seems to me the difference is that Ambient Aware turns off the active noise canceling, while TalkThru uses the mics to modestly amplify the outside, which could be helpful to counteract the noise isolation the ear phones provide. A long press on the dynamic button activates the TruNote feature, which purportedly discerns the ears shape via ultrasonic imaging of some sort.Sound QualityTo my ears these produce a flat perceived sound spectrum from ~300 Hz - 10 kHz. There is some drop off in lower frequencies, esp. from ~ 100 Hz towards 40 Hz; however, this is less pronounced than in any other closed back headphone or in ear monitor I own. Plus the EQ adjustments in the app are able to counteract the fall off so that I can have a flat perceived response across the frequency spectrum. I could not tell a difference from using the TruNote feature, but some of you sound engineers out there might be able to.Isolation & Active Noise CancelingWith active noise canceling on I estimated a reduction of ~20 - 23 db of environmental sound. Walking down a busy street with construction, traffic and sirens the loudest noises are still audible, but reduced so that music or spoken word can be played at lower levels while preserving detail to the sound. Turning off the noise canceling feature still provides ~ 11 - 17 db of noise reduction from passive isolation.BluetoothPairing was simple. Bluetooth range has proved strong, where I can leave my phone in one room and wander several rooms away while maintaining a signal. On the street there can be some stuttering of playback as other bluetooth devices are discovered and discarded by my phone, though I suspect this is not a fault of the headphones so much as the phone. For that reason though, I tend to use the line when listening to music in public.Fit & ComfortThe headphones fit snugly on my head. The headband is adjustable and lengthens or shortens with enough effort so that it won't adjust on it's own. The ear cups are small for my big ears and my ears barely fit, requiring some small adjustments. Once on, they are comfortable, though not very breathable, so after some wear they can feel warm. The padding on the headband is thin, but adequate given the light weight and snug fit.MicIn a quite room both the line mic and the mic for bluetooth operation are fine. But on the street with some traffic & a light breeze and the mics tend to pick up so much intrusive environmental noise to make a normal spoken voice patchy & difficult to discern. I would not recommend placing work calls on this. Your friends and family might tolerate it, but your clients might prefer you call back from a clearer line. The mic quality can be improved by holding the line mic in front of the mouth.ControlsWhen worn the buttons are small & difficult to distinguish. On the right side both buttons are round. On the left the play/pause / pick up/hang up button is small and hard for my fat fingers to find and press quickly. The volume up & down are the same shape, without any braille-like bumps or divots to help.Ambient Aware & TalkThruUsing the app you can switch one of the buttons to either activate Ambient Aware or TalkThru. This enables you to leave the headphones on, leave the bluetooth connection active, but either deactivate the active noise canceling to allow you to better hear alerts and announcements in the environment (Ambient Aware), or use the external mics to pipe some environmental sound in so that you could carry on a conversation with someone talking in a normal voice (Talk Thru).ConclusionThese sound great! The EQ app allows me to listen with my preferred sound profile. They're light. The battery purportedly lasts 23 - 36 hours depending on if you use the line and/or bluetooth, and can be used with no battery power. The bluetooth is easy to use and has good range. The headband has metal components and so doesn't look prone to snap, like some comparable headphones. I only wish that the engineers that came up with all these features had figured out how to make clearer calls from noisy/windy environments.

I just tried a lot of noise cancelling headphones, and think the reviews don't do them justice.Pros:Phenomenal Bass and Midrange presentationIndustry-leading noise cancellation (on par with Bose and Sony)Very high value (At 190 USD)The AKG app has a great equalizer.Quality materialsGreat designCons:Overdone treble, especially in the presence to sibilant range.Poor soundstage (common with other high-performing noise cancelling sets)Sound like noise cancelling headphones (like Bose)Not as comfortable as Bose or SonyI just reluctantly returned these to keep a set of Sony 1000XM3 instead.SoundThese headphones have the best sound out of the box of other high-performing noise cancelling headphones. The bass is spot on, and the midrange is outstanding. Their treble in the presence and sibilance range is overdone, but the AKG app has a very nice equalizer that does wonders. I had to reduce the treble in the 3.5k range by about 8 db for them to not become fatiguing. Soundstage is poor compared to the Plantronics Backbeat Pro 2 and any other well designed headphone. These have the most neutral (to me) sonic signature of any noise cancelling headphones I've tried out of the box. The Sonys come with about +6db more bass than neutral out of the box, but after tweaks sound a little more "natural". See Noise Cancelling, below.Noise CancellingI think their noise cancelling is near or equal to Bose's and Sony's top offerings. If music is playing i cannot tell if people 6 feet away from me are talking at me. However, they still "sound" like noise cancelling headphones. I don't have quite the right language to describe it, but they feel like they exert pressure on your ears, especially in noisier environments on bass notes. It also makes it seem like they lose dynamic range in the base and lower midrange when noise cancelling is on. This effect is not as pronounced as it is with Bose QC35s, but it still is noticeable.ComfortComfort is good but not great. The pads are very plush but tend to make your ears hot. The headband is padded but not quite wide enough for how heavy the cans are.Design/BuildThe design is excellent. They look very premium and feel well constructed in the hand. However, the case is not as small as it could be. Build quality appears good. However, after trying them on a few times, I found the headband mechanism was already loosening. Not sure how well they would hold up over time due to how heavy the cups are but how light the headband mechanism is.I think these are great phones, and would recommend these highly. They just weren't quite right for me.

Had some AKG K60s back in the day and these are even better. Great comfort, great sound. What more could you want?

muy buenos los audifonos, lo unico es que no se ajustan adecuadamente a la forma de la cabeza

+ Comfort+ Build quality+ Noise cancellation has only slight negative effect on quality of music+ Perfect for classical music. One can hear the full richness and depth of the orchestras/symphonies, smaller groups or solos- Aesthetics and materials: these are not high-end materials e.g. there is no leather; it is all plastic.- The quality of all other forms of music and singing/voice (esp. operas) is lacking and may be rated at 4/5 at the most.

Good buy works well

Great value NC headphones which are very will built. Perfect for on the bus or train where you can drift into your own world listening to your favourite tunes without the outside world disturbing you.