AKG N200

These Bluetooth earphones come equipped with short, ergonomic earhooks that help relieve pressure on the ear canal itself, while ensuring a good overall fit in the long run. In short, you shouldn’t need to worry too much about pressure problems down the line to deter you from your listening pleasure. While the stability of the fit is pushed to its limits given big enough a vibration during sporting activity, there’s enough support to be had here that you’re able to move around freely with your favourite playlists pumping away more or less uninterrupted. A very practical advantage here is that magnets are integrated into the metal housing of the headphones, meaning that the model can be worn around the neck much like a chain when not in use as a listening aid. Both the in-ears themselves and the included accessories bundle, which consists of a transport case, cleaning tool, USB charging cable and ear moulds in four different sizes, convey a feeling of robustness and good quality. This positive overall impression only becomes clouded when interference courtesy of the fabric cable weighs in. This disturbance tends to happen when the area of cable around the neck comes into contact with clothing for example.

In our practice test, these in-ears reached a running time of almost seen hours when playback was set at a higher listening volume. This is quite respectable when you consider the low weight of the model, weighing in at just 16 grams. In fact, it’s particularly noteworthy considering the quick-charge functionality proved to be pleasingly swift and powerful in what it delivered. After just ten minutes charging, the battery yielded enough juice to operate for more than 100 minutes. A complete charging process of the inbuilt lithium polymer battery, which has a capacity of 110 mAh, will take approximately two hours.

Device Control

This wireless headphone model supports Bluetooth standard 4.1 and, in combination with certain Android and iOS devices, delivered reliable ranges of between seven and eight metres, with stability of signal at this distances. Connection problems didn’t factor into play at all, with pairing initiated by holding down the central remote button. If the radio connection is, in fact, active the button controls the start/stop functionality of the device and can also be used to accept and terminate phone calls. Your individual virtual assistant can be called upon at any time with nothing more than a double click. Separate plus and minus buttons are available for making adjustments to volume, while these buttons can also be used to further assist in title selection, with the user free to jump back and forth in a playlist by pressing and holding down these volume buttons. The buttons in question have clear pressure points, while the remote itself acts without any marked delay. Speech intelligibility is good in itself, but the reproduction of the user’s voice can be swamped by background noise.

Sound

The N200 has a high output power with good reserves, with an impressive bass foundation that extends deep down to the lowest frequencies. The basses don’t seem overloaded or dominant in the slightest, but rather shine with real precision and definition, making them sound wonderfully natural in character. This is a rare feat for a headphone model in this price range. The detailed, yet slightly reserved mid-range reproduces things like vocals and lead instruments well enough, but there’s a struggle to reproduce the frequency response in the upper registers without any noticeable drop. In my opinion, the highs seemed a little overrepresented and unbalanced, which can, in turn, lead to situations where there’s a clear hardness or harshness. At the same time, the overall sound profile is an extremely clear one, with real brightness rather than a dark streak, while there’s a well-staggered stage that shines despite its compactness. As such, there’s a real sense of three-dimensionality with these in-ears. Those who enjoy listening to bass-heavy productions will probably enjoy the strong, convincing bass reproduction that’s courtesy of the high-quality codecs. Those seeking to listen to tracks with bass-centric signatures will be able to do so with these headphones, with convincing bass reproduction at the higher sound levels. However, thanks to the support of premium audio codecs, a good resolution and a fairly neutral approach to tuning, these Bluetooth headphones are versatile in their set-up, right from the off.