AKG Y500
Hello/ Greetings To Everyone, So Today I am going to put my true views on AKG Y500 Review.
When it comes to buying Bluetooth headphones, you can opt for in-ear or on-ear headphones. But some users don’t like earbuds, while others don’t want to wear massive, on-ear headphones. Fortunately, there are headphones out there that are lightweight and comfortable to wear. Today we have the AKG Y500 on-ear headphones with Bluetooth for review. The AKG Y500 headphones offer about 33 hours of battery life and good sound quality.
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They’re available for around 120$ and promise to offer incredible battery life and superb sound quality. After using the headphones for almost a week, here’s my review.
The AKG Y500 wireless on-ear headphones are a logical continuation of the classic AKG Y50 and Y50BT models. The novelty turned out to be interesting, has its advantages and disadvantages. In this review I will share with you my impressions of the Y500 and tell you how they differ from the previous models.
Specifications & Performance
AKG Y500 headphones support Bluetooth 4.2 connection and AAC codec. However, there is no support for aptX, aptX HD or LDAC codecs. In terms of specifications, the headphones have 40mm drivers, a frequency response of 16Hz – 22kHz, and an impedance of 32 ohms. Now, let’s move on to the main part – performance. We tested the headphones in two scenarios – wired and wireless.
Our devices for testing included Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus (wireless testing) and MacBook Air (wired + wireless testing). That being said, we streamed high quality music from Apple Music and Spotify. Thanks to the Bluetooth connection, the headphones provided detailed sound and balanced acoustics, but the bass could have been a little sharper.
It’s not that there is no bass at all, it is present, but it is minimal. The audio output is also maybe a little louder. It depends on the genre of music you are listening to. Samsung AKG Y500 is well suited for watching movies and playing games. The wide sound stage allows you to enjoy the movie, with all its action and background assessment.
With a wired connection, things were a little different. The audio output was a little louder with an analog connection and the bass was slightly more powerful. Otherwise, everything remains the same as with a wireless connection. It’s just that the Ambient Aware function is missing and the buttons on the headphones do not allow you to adjust the volume.
Design and usability
From a design point of view, the changes are small but pleasant. AKG Y500 look more restrained and solid. I never liked the lettering with the brand name in the entire cup in the Y50BT. The 500 model has 4 cups and headband designs: black, blue, blue-green and bronze-pink. Blue, in my opinion, looks the most impressive.
The Y500 wireless is very comfortable in everyday use. The headphones weigh only 230g and fit perfectly to your ears. When the headphones are not in use and hang around the neck, their weight is completely imperceptible, they are so light. The headphone arch is made of aluminum, not steel, and sheathed with soft plastic, which significantly reduces the weight of the product. The assembly of the earphones is very high quality, all parts are made of durable and ergonomic materials. The ear cushions are pleasantly plump and soft.
The ear cups can be folded inward and rotated 90 degrees. AKG Y500 is convenient for use and storage, as it takes up little space. The fit is tight, but the downforce felt insufficient. The earbuds slip off your ears when you move quickly or when running. With prolonged wear, the ears sweat, you have to put up with this. By the way, when the headphones are removed, the playback of media files is automatically paused. When put on, the sound turns on again. During testing, it was found that this function does not always work. Occasionally, the headphones pause the sound during operation when changing settings and do not turn off when removed from the head. For those who prefer the traditional way of switching more, there is an opportunity to do it yourself. The left earphone is equipped with a volume control and a Pause button.
Control : AKG Y500 Review
Moving on to buttons and connectivity, there is a volume slider in the left earpiece. It can be toggled up or down to increase or decrease the volume. Then, you have a play / pause button, which also allows you to receive calls when connected to a Pc or smartphone via Bluetooth.
And when the battery runs out, the earbuds have a 2.5mm input jack that lets you listen to wired music. Samsung includes a 2.5mm to 3.5mm cable. In addition, the headphones are equipped with a built-in microphone and buttons for music control.
On the right earpiece, you will find an on / off button that also allows you to put the earbuds into pairing mode. Samsung AKG Y500 has a microUSB charging port. So if you have an iPhone or Android phone with a USB Type-C port, you’ll also need a microUSB cable.
On the right, there is another button (for the Ambient Aware function). Once activated, it lowers the volume of the music, allowing you to hear your surroundings. And this button works very well. There is also an additional play / pause automation feature that works when connected via Bluetooth.
Basically, music starts playing automatically when you put on your headphones. The music also stops automatically when you remove the headphones.
Functionality: AKG Y500 Review
The undoubted advantage of the headphones is the ability to work for a long time in stand-alone mode without recharging. According to the manufacturer’s promises, the Y500 headphones can work autonomously for 33 hours. This is 13 hours more than the earlier version. According to my observations, the AKG Y500 has enough charge for a week of daily use. The headphones can also be connected via a wired connection to a smartphone and a laptop, they sound more interesting. Includes a 1.2m cable with 3.5mm rectangular plug.
A USB cable is used for charging. Although the AKG Y500 was released this year, the connection uses the outdated Bluetooth 4.2 protocol. It was surprising to me to find that the headphones do not support higher resolution audio codecs such as ACC or APTx. In the AKG Y100 review, I already wrote about the Multipoint function, AKG Y500 also knows how to connect to 2 wireless sources at the same time. The controls are located on the sides of the left and right bowls. It is worth noting the very successful design of the volume control. Next to the USB port there is a button “ambient aware”, which allows you to turn off playback and, at the same time, the recording is not paused. The benefit of the function, in my opinion, is dubious, since I often listen to audio books, I prefer the usual pause.
Comfort : AKG Y500 Review
A 33-hour battery life sure sounds grand, yet this develops superfluous exceptionally quick, if the earphones are a torment to wear.
Fortunately, the Y500 doesn’t experience the ill effects of this issue. Certainly, it’s as yet a couple of on-ear earphones – the solace level won’t coordinate that over-ear models – yet they’re still rather comfortable. As we’ve stated, the opportunity of development that the ear cups are given helps ensure everybody can locate the correct fit.
The earphones are likewise super-lightweight, which assists with this colossally. And keeping in mind that the rubber treated cushioning on the headband may look dangerous in light of the fact that elastic is customarily not an agreeable material and there’s not a ton of it, this shockingly isn’t an issue here. The lightweight idea of the earphones helps, sure, yet it’s more the way that the earphones put a bigger accentuation on the bracing power of the ear cups for solidness than the headband.
Is this something worth being thankful for?
Indeed, we prefer not to sound extremely repetitive, however on ear-earphones are as of now bound to be more awkward than their opposition, so when you improve the clipping compel it’s anything but difficult to perceive how things could get muddled. The society at AKG know this better than anybody, so they didn’t fall prey to such a snare.
Accordingly these earphones actually utilize the typical cinching power without profiting a great deal from the headband for dependability. The adaptive padding ear pads additionally offer a liberal measure of cushioning, which is greatly valued. To state that the Y500 lays awkwardly on the head would be a barefaced falsehood, but since of this, they’re additionally not the most steady earphones. Add to this the elusive impact that can be brought about by ear perspiring and you have yourself a couple of earphones that vibe like they could tumble off if you somehow happened to get influenced into moving by your music.
Is this better than a couple of earphones that are somewhat less agreeable yet lay on your head all the more immovably? That is for you to choose. Our own is simply to bring up the possible issue.
Sound quality : AKG Y500
Unlike the AKG Y100, the 500 sounds more lively and dynamic, but this is not enough. The bass of the AKG Y500 is perceived imposingly, softly and slightly muffled.
This can cause rhythm damage in fast and dynamic compositions, but in melodic tracks this effect can add warmth and help create a pleasant atmosphere. In the area of the middle bass and at the junction with the mid-frequency range, the situation is slightly better, the sound acquires a velvety hue, is perceived unobtrusively and comfortably.
Due to the nature of the bass and midrange range, AKG Y500 reproduce female vocals better than male ones. Women’s voices are significantly ahead of musical instruments, due to this, a more voluminous musical scene is formed. Against the general background, the upper frequency range looks quite confident. For its price range, the AKG Y500 has enough airy sound.
HF is moderately soft and comfortable. Separation of instruments can sometimes suffer, especially in the low frequency spectrum. The volume of the music scene is at an acceptable level, the music performed by AKG Y500 cannot be called flat.
Battery
The claimed battery life of the Samsung AKG Y500 is very good. The AKG headphones promise up to 33 hours of battery life on a single charge.
While this may sound like a bold statement, we were able to verify that the earbuds last a little over 33 hours. There is also a quick charge function, where five minutes of charging provides one hour of playtime.
During our testing, it took about 52 minutes before the battery ran out. A full charge takes about two and a half hours. The battery life of the AKG Y500 makes them ideal for people who travel on long haul flights. The only thing you will be missing is the active noise canceling feature.
Conclusion
I liked the AKG Y500 model more than the AKG Y100 wireless earbuds. The earbuds are comfortable to use, lightweight and compact and keep charging for a long time – this is their main advantage. The restrained character of the sound will appeal to lovers of calm music. AKG Y500 can be considered as everyday comfortable headphones for inexperienced users.
Thank You!!!
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