AKG N700NC headphones
SOLID NOISE-CANCELLING HEADPHONES THAT FALL JUST SHORT OF GREATNESS.
ON PAPER THE N700NC is a solid competitor, offering 20 hours of battery life, the ability to let ambient noise in and an expertly built exterior. It offers AKG’s signature sound quality and you won’t be disappointed by its reference tonal balance and strong ability to reproduce detail.
Overall, that makes it a solid pair of travel headphones for the audiophile crowd. Too bad its competitors are still simply doing some things better.
The AKG N700NC are a handsome pair of headphones that utilize metal, plastic, and leather throughout. The earcups have a nice chamfered edge that give the headphones a premium look and feel, plus the leather used for the earcups feels luxurious, but do make your ears slightly steamy after extended listening periods.
The left earcup has music playback controls while the right earcup features a power/pairing slider as well as a “Smart Ambient” button. That button can be programmed to either adjust how much ambient noise to let in, or to pause your music and let all of the ambient noise in so you can hold a conversation without taking off your headphones. That said, to do any sort of re-programming, you’ll need to download the AKG app for iOS or Android.
While the ultra-soft suede that covers the headband feels luxurious, it may not hold up as well as the leather on the earpads. Worse, though, is the fact that the AKG N700NC causes some discomfort on the top of your head after long listening sessions thanks to the combination of its weight and clamping force. The Bose QC35 II feels lighter and doesn’t have this problem.
In terms of sound, bass is rich and digs deep, mids are natural and offer a nice representation of texture and highs are never harsh but still features a nice energy. Soundstage is about average with sound not constrained to inside your head but they also aren’t as spacious as the Sony WH-1000XM3.
Noise cancelling of the AKG N700NC is good, but slightly bested by both the Bose and Sony. Bose and Sony are neck and neck with their ability to block out noise and AKG is just slightly behind its competitors.
That’s not to say that the AKG’s ANC is bad, however. As far as noise-cancellation is concerned it’s up there with the best and doesn’t put any pressure on our ears as some ANC headphones do.
After spending several weeks with the AKG N700NC, we came away impressed. They offer a good balance of design, build quality, sound quality, and features for the price. While the Sony WH-1000XM3 remain the king in the travel headphone quality, the AKG N700NC is a formidable foe for the Bose QC35 II. The latter offers unrivaled comfort and excellent noise cancelling, but those who don’t like the soft sound quality of the Bose will enjoy the AKG’s tuning.