AKG K52 High Performance Lightweight Closed-Back Monitoring Headphones

Product Information

The AKG K Series is one of our best selling headphones ranges. They represent outstanding value for money, combining a durable, comfortable design with a clear, detailed sound that works well for casual listening and music creation applications. We have all had that pair of headphones that just never sits right on your head. The band is either too large or two small and never finds that right place that just hugs your head properly. That is why AKG came up with this self adjusting headband that fits itselves to your head instantly. No more adjusting as you change cans between band members. Here's what AKG say about the K52 Studio Headphones: The mixing engineer will apply autotune, special effects and all the industry-secret formulas to make your song sound like a major hit. There's very little between these wired N60NC and their wireless counterparts (above). That's a good thing, though. Both perform with panache, serving up superb noise-cancelling and an open, musical sound stage. They're great travel buddies, too, with a collapsable headband that ups the portability factor. If you appreciate life's simple pleasures, you'll be won over by the pared-down K52: comfortable, budget headphones don't get much better. Given the price, they're fantastically constructed and surprisingly expensive-looking. The solid metal frame is nice and light, and the cushioned headband cradles your head.

Most "enhanced bass" headphones produce thudding, booming bass, however these headphones produce natural sounding bass. Cannot be referred to as a powerful though.

The cable is non-detachable, features an industry-standard 3.5mm plug, and is longer than usual at 2.5m. The design is extremely tangle-prone, as is the length itself, so it's best to keep the cable bundled up. Also included is a 3.5mm-to-6.3mm adapter pin, but no carry case. With the ear cushions the comfort looks a little different. For the first moment, it's not bad at all, as they cover the whole ear and find a good mix of padding and stability. However, the pads are quite flat and therefore the ear bumps against the inside. This can cause unpleasant pressure in the long run. I find the bass to be quite qualitative, even if it convinces me a bit more in the low frequencies than in the mid and upper bass, where it doesn't always have the desired firmness and sometimes sounds a bit hollow. K52 is built to last, with a lightweight but tough construction, high-quality components, and replaceable earpads. AKG is known for making professional-grade gear that can stand the test of time, and the K52 headphones are no exception. We put them through extreme testing and abuse to ensure they’ll handle anything you throw at them: Our regimen of drop-tests simulates exaggerated falls. 80,000 cable bend cycles at both end points ensure the cable won’t break or underperform. And intensive driver testing - a prolonged series of 3W bursts each half second - means that the drivers won’t fail when you really need them.

AKG's premium, wireless and noise-cancelling headphones are solid performers. Hinged for portability, they deliver effortless timing and a healthy dose of musicality, making them an easy, elegant listen. Battery life is 23 hours with Bluetooth and noise cancelling on, rising to 36 hours if you switch to a wired connection.The fixed cable (3.5mm) measures a good 3m and an included adapter allows us to use a 6.3mm output. The cable looks robust, but is too long for mobile use.

We are always impartial and do our best to make sure we're hearing every product at their very best, so we'll try plenty of different types of music and give them plenty of listening time (and time to run in), while the wired headphones that might warrant being used with a DAC are tested with a suitable one. It's not just about sound quality, of course. If a pair has active noise cancellation – increasingly the case these days – we'll ensure part of our testing involves using them in different environments. Guitars sound crunchy and have a nice amount of weight and muscle underpinning each strum. The instruments don’t overcrowd the vocals, either. The headband is self-adjusting and therefore adapts to the shape of the head. Even large skulls should not be a problem for the AKG K52. The wearing comfort on the head is therefore good, even if the headband does not offer any significant additional padding. With Remind Me and the Chord Mojo, we noticed a significant improvement in detail thanks to the specialised DAC, but the increased amplification was a bit too much for the headphones at the highest levels. Turning the volume down to reasonable levels made these Rs. 2,900 headphones sound like headphones that cost five times as much, and showed that the headphones do in fact have some pedigree even in a studio. The general openness and airy nature of the sound was fantastic, and a breath of fresh air compared to most of the headphones we've reviewed in this price range. The K52 headphones are no exception to AKG's reputation for providing high-quality equipment that stands the test of time. To ensure that the headphones can endure whatever is thrown at them, they were put through rigorous testing and abuse. Exaggerated drips are used in their drop testing. The cable is guaranteed to not break or underperform after 80,000 cycles of bending at both ends.The headband is self-adjusting and therefore adapts to the shape of the head. Even large skulls should not have any problems with the AKG K92. The wearing comfort on the head is therefore good and if the headband does not offer any significant additional padding. It's rare to find a pair of Bluetooth headphones that match their wired counterparts for performance, but the Y50BT rise to that challenge. They're the wireless version of the Y50 that sit at number one in this list. They have the dynamic power to shift effortlessly between frequencies which makes them seriously entertaining. The mids together with the highs are actually a worsening of the K52. The not fast enough bass dropping leads to an unnatural emphasis of the lower mids, but around 1-2 kHz they fall even lower than those of the little brother. This hollows them out even more and causes more obfuscation. What the sonic upgrade to the K52 should represent here is a mystery to me. The triplets are mainstream listeners, which can be fun to listen to and are also suitable for on the go (except for the cable lengths), but do not meet the professional demands of the marketing department. The winner is the cheapest model, but this is a close but unexpected choice. The K52 manages to sound most natural, as far as possible, and is somewhat more harmonious in its sound presentation than the more highly bred V-signatures of its big siblings. I like to listen to music with the K52 and it is a good alternative in this price segment for me, or rather can stand out positively here. The AKG 52 is already for favorable 28 € (Thomann.de - time of the review) to have. Thus it is probably the most favorable AKG at present on the market, but would like to be noticed according to marketing nevertheless as professional tool. Well, a fun factor when listening to music is not to be denied to the K52, due to the potent and generous bass, which allows the mids and highs still enough air to breathe. But for critical listening the K52 is less suitable. It may work as a monitor for monitoring and recording, but for other professional applications it is not neutral and accurate enough.