AKG N60 Noise Cancelling headphone review: Comfortable with a great sound

When I travelled to Las Vegas a few weeks ago I left my Sony and Bose noise cancelling over-ear headphones behind and put my faith in a whole new pair – the AKG N60 NC’s – and I wasn’t disappointed.

AKG is a brand I’ve known for a very long time – many, or most radio stations I’ve worked at use them as the in-studio headphones so with the audiophiles I know working in radio engineering departments they must be good.

These N60’s are a bit different to the Bose and Sony options in the market, they are more an on-ear product than over ear, but offer many of the same features like noise cancelling, Bluetooth wireless connectivity and on-ear controls like volume and track skipping.

I was a bit wary of them because I prefer an earphone that goes over and around the ear, instead of on it – I often feel my ears pushing in and uncomfortable, especially with extended usage.

But these were something special, very very soft to touch, very very soft on the ear.  I wore them on the plane for longer than normal. I would normally switch from over the ear QC35 or MDR-1000X style to the in ear style headphone for when I want to have a nap, but I actually drifted off quite well wearing these, perhaps because they are a lot smaller overall.

Quality was exceptional, the music was defined and clear – no doubt more than good enough to please the pickiest among us.

Noise cancelling did it’s job well on the plane, switching me from the dull moaning of the 747 and A380 engines to a soft breeze behind my music.  Though I have to say I don’t think its likely a match for Bose and Sony in a lab test, I was certainly never left damning myself for not packing a backup pair.

Quite simply my only complaint would be that I had to take the in-flight airline adaptor (the two pronged headphone socket) from my Sony’s because the AKG didn’t have one – until I returned and realised it was there, but buried at the bottom of the box – so keep an eye out for that one (A bloody nice little adaptor too, the slimmest and best looking I’ve seen).

At $449 they are cheaper than both the Sony and Bose alternatives, but they are also something different.  Every man and his dog have the Bose, I always opt for the Sony just to stand out – perhaps now the AKG is a better option again.

In reality, you will not be disappointed by the performance of the AKG N60 NC’s, they are a great choice and won’t leave you looking over your shoulder for something better.

Available at AKG online or Harvey Norman.

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