[Mactire]

I'm a bit upset right now.
Half way through januari I got myself a AKG K450. Was (still am) really content with the sound quality.
The thing is, when I got it out of the hard shell case (that came with the headphones) the right driver unit was completely broken and now hangs on it's wire!
I'm super carefull with my gear. It's always stored in it's case, I put it on and off with two hands etc. etc.
 
My problem is that I lost the receipt. So, warranty at AKG is sort of out of the question.
 
I decided to try and fix the hinge myself, screwed the phones open and..... ?!
The wires that run pas the adjustable head band are stripped past the outer shell, the white wire is stripped to the core!
I got curious and opend the left side... same issue, just not stripped to the core, yet.
 
As you might understand I'm a bit (no, a BIT) upset right now. Does AKG really make such crappy headphones?
 
I've had set of K313 in-ears that died after half a year so is this an AKG thing? Or am I having bad luck. Cause if it's an AKG thing than I have something waiting, I've got another two new AKG headphones at home...
 
Is anyone samiliar woth these build issues? Or build issues with AKG in general?

 

[francisco2013]

Hi, 
 
I got the same issue. I head this pair for less than a year. The cable that run along the arch just got cut on the folded earphone and I lost hearing on the right ear. I tried attaching an image, but the server refuse to let me, so there it is: http://imgur.com/IlAdZB7. 
 
So what was supposed to be portable ear phones is actually not.. After several months of usage - I took it to work each day in the case so it's two folding per day - it just stopped working when I was in Thailand. So I was stuck with no music and  had to buy a pair of ****ty headphones for the rest of the trip. 
 
VERY POOR build quality. STAY away! Even first year engineer knows not to run a cable on a folding part that should endure (or not???? there's the k451 to upgrade, isn't it?) thousands of folding events through the life span of the product.  
 
I just ordered Audio Technica M50.I hope they'll be better... 
 
This is where I blogged my trip (http://tipter.com), and this is my blog http://tipter.com/trips/railay-beach-koh-phi-phi-and-koh-chang-in-15-days . Enjoy my trip if not the K450.

 

[julian67]

VERY POOR build quality. STAY away! Even first year engineer knows not to run a cable on a folding part that should endure (or not???? there's the k451 to upgrade, isn't it?) thousands of folding events through the life span of the product.

I had much the same fault on my Sony ZX700, the very thin cable routed in a hinge where it got pinched until it cut. They lasted one year. I opened them up to have a look and could hardly believe the lousy design and materials. I did briefly own some AKG 450 but didn't like them, got a refund and bought the Sonys instead. I guess either way I was going to lose. I replaced the Sony with some $15 Koss which sound nicer imo and have a lifetime warranty but don't isolate or look as nice.

I think maybe "tried and true" is a better recipe than "latest and greatest" for portable gear. I used to travel a lot, often by bicycle for months, and generally portable+electronic="it will break".

 

[francisco2013]

I have a dedicated head phones for biking - from Sennheiser+Adidias (now that I'm waiting for the AT M50 I'm using them at home, what a poor sound quality... I guess it doesn't matter when you hear the wind while biking)...
 
My point is, I treated the AKG very nicely. Folded them gently when packing/unpacking them. No justification to this build quality at this price range. 

 

[julian67]

....No justification to this build quality at this price range.

They are very firmly in the low budget market now. 18 months ago in UK these cost between £75 and £100. They were heavily promoted and won the kind of hi-fi magazine awards which are enormously widely read but which tell you about advertising budget and freebies for journos more than sound quality. These days they are on amazon uk (real, not market place) for less than £40, which is really the right price range.

But agreed, even if they cost $25 they should not be so badly designed that they fail due to normal unremarkable use.

 

[Mactire]

If they are near the £40,- mark I might consider buying a new pair. Knowing the risk... I know. But I still haven't found a proper replacement for the K450's I really liked the sound.

I mailed AKG several times concearning this problem but did not get a songle reply. In the end I even send a letter to them, without response.
They have a very questionable attitude towards their customers.