AKG Y500 Wireless Headphones Review

Not too long ago we tried the revamped N200A earphones and were impressed by both appearance and performance. We’ve now got a pair of headphones, the Y500’s to be exact and I’m keen to find out how well they perform. Lets open the box and find out.

The AKG Y500 are on the ear headphones, they sit on, not over your ear and do not fully cover it either. That’s not a bad thing at all, it usually means they are more compact and easier to carry around but I just wanted to make that clear. These are wireless Bluetooth headphones, include a rechargeable battery and come complete with a charging cable, aux cable in case said battery runs out, all within in a thick fabric carry bag.

They come in four different colours, black, blue, green and pink. All of which look really good, the colours are subtle, not too bold and in your face. Each ear cup has a chrome rim around it and the inside of the headband matches your chosen colour. The headband is adjustable and nicely padded with a soft rubber section at the top. Each ear cup rotates and folds down to help with portability. There is plenty of flex and adjustment in the band, so you can achieve a comfy fit. Each ear cup is nicely cushioned, with a perforated faux leather covering.

To the right ear is the power on and ‘ambiance aware’ buttons. To the left is a up/down toggle switch, which tapped up or down adjusts the volume, hold up or down changes track, plus a play/pause button.

Performance

The overall audio performance of the Y500’s is positive and I very much enjoyed my time with them. They offer a very rich and punchy sound at this price point. Battery life seemed good, I didn’t quite get to 33 hours as advertised but 6 or 7 in and they showed no sign of tiring. They do have this speed charge feature, which offers upto an hour of playback with just a 5 minute charge. You can also pair two Bluetooth devices together and the headphones will automatically switch between them if for example you receive a phone call on the second device. The controls work well, they are comfortable to wear and there is a decent amount of support while wearing them, so they didn’t feel like they were falling off.

Now, there is an auto play/pause feature, so when you take the headphones off, they pause the music, put them back on and it resumes. This is based on your movement and in a couple of cases, unless the movement of you taking the headphones off is exaggerated, it doesn’t always work.

There is also the Ambient Awareness feature, which once pressed, reduces the volume and adjusts the headphones to allow you to hear the outside world. This works to a degree, you can defiantly hear a difference when switching the feature on and off but I didn’t find it made that much difference when walking through London and someone spoken to me.

These do have a built in microphone, so you can use these for voice & video calls.

Verdict

The Y500’s audio performance is excellent for the price, they look the part and paired with the provided carry bag, it’s a premium outfit. A couple of minor issues, not deal breakers for me and with an RRP £129, they offer good value for money vs performance.

For more information, head over to the AKG Y500 webpage.