AKG N200A Wireless Earphone Review

AKG were founded some 70 years ago and when I last checked, still at the top of their game. AKG now exists just as a brand, since they are now owned by electronics giant Samsung and managed by Harman. They have just released a fresh set / revision to their N200 series wireless earphones and we’ve been fortunate enough to get a pair sent to us to try out.

Now we didn‘t get a chance to try the original N200 earphones but from the looks of things, it looks like Samsung has taken on board some previous concerns customers had and improved upon the design & performance. The new N200a model includes a new look to the earbud, a new rubber ear support and a new in-line remote.

Features include:
– Ambient aware & talkthru technology
– Audio codecs: UHQ/AAC/SBC
– 8.6mm driver / 10Hz-22kHz freq. res / 24Ohms / 96dB sensitivity
– IPx7 (waterproof & splashproof)
– Charge time 2hrs / 8hr total playback
– Quick charge, 10minutes = 1hour playback
– 4 Button universal remote with microphone

Look & Feel

I am instantly impressed by how these earphones are presented. They come within a foam-lined cardboard box and includes the earphones, a USB cable, hard case, 3 sizes of ear support, 3 sizes of earbud, a cleaning tool and instructions. That’s a good selection of accessories and it’s great to see they’ve included the hard case. I get that premium feel when unboxing these.

The earphones themselves are quite small when compared to something similar on the market. Colour scheme for the pair we got is black, white and pale green, which I really like. The earphones have a rubber earbud as standard, plus a larger additional rubber support that sits within the ear but on the outer part. The earphones are connected together via a braided fabric cable, which is roughly 60cm in length. Within this cable and closer to the left hand earbud is the in-line remote, which also houses the battery & microphone. The remote has a number of push buttons which allows you to control your content and underneath a small rubber flap, is the micro USB port for charging the internal battery. Both earbuds are magnetic, so you can connect them together and store them easily in the case provided.

These will be available in a number of finishes.

Perforomance

Audio performance is excellent and I’ve been enjoying them on my daily commute for over a week now. The sound is well mixed and versatile, suitable for many different types of music. It can also get rather loud, too loud for me in some instances but at the higher volumes, the quality remains. Thanks to the rubber support arm, they fit easily and comfortably within my ear and they are secure, very secure. At no point did they fall out or I felt the need to reposition them. A result of that snug fit, is they offer a good level of noise isolation, allowing you to really get away from it all. I charged these twice and can confirm the suggested 8hr playback is accurate.

These earphones come with ‘Ambient aware & talkthru‘. Talkthru allows you to hear others for quick conversations without removing headphones and ambient aware allows you to hear your surroundings. These options are selected via the button on the side of the remote and as you toggle through (talk/ambient/off) you will notice immediately the decrease in volume and change in sound quality. It’s quite a nice feature and I think it works well. It’s useful for quick chats if you don’t want to remove your earphones and ideal for commuting, as it allows for you to hear the people & vehicles around you.

The remote works well, it’s easy to locate when the earphones are in and the buttons are easy to find & push. The fabric cable is great and as the earphones are magnetic, it really helps against tangles. There is also a little divider within the cable, which allows you to pull the cable tight for a more secure fit around your neck.

Verdict

I’m impressed with the N200a’s, their performance, build quality, the accessories included and how they are presented is fantastic. We got these early and I’m unsure on release date & price but the embargo is lifted today, so availability will be soon and I imagine they will cost £129.99 like their previous model.

For more info, head over to the Samsung website.