[god-bluff]

New 'reference class' whatever that means, in ear from AKG. With universal 3 button remote ie that rare thing:full android control.
http://uk.akg.com/akg-product-detail_uk/akg-n20-black.html

 

[jant71]

Nice find! Hey, the "ultimate, uncompromised sound quality" must mean it is even better than the K3003 and much cheaper

. They wouldn't say it if it wasn't true right =]

 

[god-bluff]

Agree If its the 'ultimate' must render everything else obsolete. Will save people thousands.

 

[mochill]

Looks nice

 

[Slaphead]

Has anybody actually heard these yet? I keep looking for reviews on these and there's nothing whatsoever.

I'm kind of interested in these as I've got used to IEMs with my Senny CX 5.00 (previously I hated IEMs but the hot summer this year forced me into buying a pair because it was just to hot for headphones), and while the sound is quite nice it's a bit artificial and lacking in certain areas.

 

[Dritto]

I'm planning on buying these, but I've not heard anything about them. I've not had any iem's since my Monster Turbines broke a year ago, and these might just be the replacements. I'm not a audiophile, but I don't care to pay a high price if they're durable and sound good. These have a semi-closed design, will they then leak a lot of sound? Can anyone provide a little review of them? They just came back in stock today. 

 

[swilder988]

These look very similar to the audiofly a73

 

[jant71]

I think you mean AF78. A73 is Fidue

 
I agree it has the AF vibe.

 

[Slaphead]

Well I now own the N20. I bought them together with the Beyerdynamic iDX160 IE - I'm sure to like one or the other.

Will report back later, possibly with a comparative review of the N20, IDX 160 IE and the Sennheiser CX 5.00i when I've had a chance to really listen to them.

 

[jant71]

Hearing the other two, I hope the N20 are better than those two as they are pretty good but nothing special. No offense if you like them though but AKG talk up the N20 and they really need to. What's weird is that it seems the CX1.00 is really good and better than the 3.00 and 5.00  

 

[Slaphead]

Hearing the other two, I hope the N20 are better than those two as they are pretty good but nothing special. No offense if you like them though but AKG talk up the N20 and they really need to. What's weird is that it seems the CX1.00 is really good and better than the 3.00 and 5.00  

Now you've got me interested. WIthout derailing this thread too much what is it you find about the CX 1.00 that betters the CX 5.00?

By the way the N20 and the iDX 160 IE were purely impulse buys - I won't lose sleep over it if they turn out to be rubbish.

Edited to add - I'm not expecting the hyped "reference class" description from the N20 as the 130 bucks or so I paid for them does not put them in the high end category.

 

[jant71]

Never heard them myself but read the reviews on Amazon US. Kjk1281 did get a pair and wrote me this...
 
"If you still have the CX3.00 and CX5.00, you may want to "trade" one of them in for the CX1.00. I snatched a pair off Amazon after cashing in some credit card points for a gift card. Listening to them dissolves any desire I had to buy the 3, 5, or Momentum In-Ear, and reminds me of how long-in-tooth the IE60/80 are."
 
I do have a 10mm, 28ohm driver, that coincidentally came out near the same time, in the ATH-Sport2 and it is indeed a capable driver though not tuned correctly in the AT phone. Still up to the near Soundmagic E80 level technically and the E80 is better than the 160 and CX5.00. Sport 2 is very bright but is better than the CX5.00 as far as ability goes. Not hard to think this comes from the same maker and if tuned right will live up to the impressions it is getting so far.
 
Unfortunately, kjk1281 is in Japan atm, and doubtful has both his CX1.00 and 160 with him or he could compare the two directly for you.
 
 
So, to bring it back OT, with E80's and CX1.00(if they are really good), the new RHA S500 also impressing so far etc. So, the N20, being much pricier better be a real performer and not just marketing hype.

 

[Slaphead]

OK, I've spent about an hour with the N20 doing some very basic comparisons.

One thing I can say is that these are not for bassheads. The bass is still present and digs deep into the sub-bass region without problems. However compared to my other portable IEMs and haedphones they are certainly lighter in the bass region - I compared them not only to the iDX 160 IM and the CX 5.00 IEMs previously mentioned, but also to my Beyer DT1350 and my HD 25s on ears. In every case the bass was stronger than on the N20s.

Compared to the headphones I tested the treble dominates with the N20, but in a quite pleasant way, also the midrange is clear, if a little dry-ish.

In fact the headphones they reminded me most of are the Beyerdynamic DT880s, albeit with a touch more bass, but I'm going to have to do a one to one comparision to see if this opinion holds. If it does then I can see these being a good portable alternative for basic mixing.

These are just first opinons, and the N20s haven't had a chance to burn in - or if your like me and don't really believe in burn-in, then my brain hasn't had enough time to "burn-in". I will however use these more over the next week.

Tracks I use for this first impression are:

Fink - Perfect Darkness
Fink - Biscuits for Breakfast

Other Lives - E Minor

A D&B podcast from Ambispheric - I listen to a lot of D&B and really like this DJ.

And finally Biostarter - a crappy trance track penned by yours truly a couple of weeks ago. A bit narcessistic I guess, but you never know a track as well as one that you've produced.

 

[Kolapso]

Any new impressions of these? How are they for classical music? Do they need an amp to shine?

 

[Slaphead]

Not yet - I've been mostly evaluating the beyer iDX 160 IM over the past week.

They do, however, come out to play today.

I can answer a couple of your questions already though. I'll probably never know how they are for classical as I never listen to classical through portables, and I'll not be able to comment on the external amp thing as I just don't buy into external amps for portable use - I already carry enough tech rubbish with me as it is.