AKG K 430 Foldable Mini Headphone - Silver

 
I didn't need these headphones. Not at all. But they were cheap, real cheap. They set me back €16,99. And that's cheap.

The form factor reminds of the AKG K450. The build is identical. The shells are different and these come in a bright shiny silver.
Apart from that the headband cushion is missing on the K420 and the cable is not detachable. You do get an inline volume control however.
Also, it comes with a semi-rigid case. So, it's a complete package.
 
Because it's so similar to the 450 the fit is the same. The headband is missing, but you won't really notice that. I only noticed it when I hung the phones for storage.
So is it all good? Well, no. It's a cheaper headphone and for that you pay the price. Or you payed the price. Anyhow, it's not as good as the K450.
 
The headphone is nice and fast. The bass is there, but not in abundance like more 'fashionable' headphones out there. Mid are okay and highs are good in detail.
That's what you'd expect from AKG, a more or less realistic presentation of the music. The main problem with the headphones is when the music gets 'big'.
When you play S&M from Metallica (maybe not the best example for a record) it is a real treat to listen to. But when the orchestra plays and the music swells the headphones loose track and the music get's to crowded. They just aren't able to reproduce. Same goes with better recoded classical pieces. It just doesn't cut it.
 
So should you get it? If you tent to use it as a low-cost commuting headphone then by all means, get one. just don't pay top dollar for these headphones.
Don't get me wrong, I don't regret this purchase, they are great on the train where the noise interferes with the music anyway. They are also very nice to use with portable game systems as the Nintendo 3DS.

Bass: The bass on the K430 is there. Nice "uuds" and "thuds" at times but somewhat light.
 
 
Highs: The highs on these are just. . .amazing! They are clear and can go somewhat high with the volume before it pierces the ear.


Mids: The mids on these are pushed out a fair bit, which makes the highs and lows at time sound very bad. It is detailed in a way, but a little bit grainy?


Lows: Awful (compared to MS1i's). They are so muddy and crap. You can hear the lows, but it's so...so...muddy! If you compare the lows to apple earphones than they are great!


Comfort: 2 out of 5 stars. Sorry for being mean, but they are not comfortable! After 30 minutes - 1 hour, my outer ears starts to hurt. It might be me, but it hurts! T__T


Design: Very good, love the design and that it has an integrated volume control.


Value: $40 on eBay? HECK GET IT!

 

I picked these up from eBay for about £27 they were £40 on amazon so i saved £13 pound. Nice one.
 
These headphones sounded Good straight from the box but im no audiophile so im easily pleased.
 
They come with volume control but it does not ajust ipod volume which i think is a bit of a pain.
 
The bass on these are ok but i dont like bass overwelliming so thats fine
 
the highs and mids and lows are all good well to me they are.
 
I got them in white and they look nice.
 
Verdict:
These are Good headphones for the budget but if the cable was a bit longer and the cans were comfyier it would of been 5 stars.
 

Considering the price for a pair of AKG headphones, they're not bad, very comfortable and good sound quality, except the really too trebles in comparison to the bass, and the cable too much thin.

I dont know why many are complaining about the bass... i have sennheiser hd 202, cx300, cx200, hd 205, hd 212 pro etc.. i can surely say that these dont lack any bass.. i'm totally satisfied with the type of controlled bass and the clarity it gives and specially at this price range you cant go wrong

I got it off a clearance sale for around $16 and the sound quality i get is worth 5x more.. it is even comparable to sennheiser hd 212 pro which was my primary driver but now im moving to these mainly because of the portability.. this thing is seriously light weight. and the included case is a bonus.