[dfnj123]

AKG Y500

https://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/audio/headphones/akg-y500-wireless-black-gp-y500hahhcad/

Making a thread because I could not find an existing thread covering it before purchasing it, and figured people may appreciate one existing for future owners of the set or people seeking buying advice.

I was searching the web yesterday for a $100-200 on or over ear wireless headphones for portable usage while commuting around. I've considered the Beyerdynamic's Aventho Wireless in the past because I was a fan of their T51i/p line, but couldn't justify that $350+ price range for a pair of headphones that are going to be frequently used while walking around outside. Came across a review of the Y50 online, and realized it was generally what I was looking for price and sound wise.

Anyway... I went on AKG's website, and saw a new model - the Y500 - was now available that functions very similar to the Y50 except with a more appealing design (in my opinion). I tried to find any reviews online before purchasing, but all I could find were a What Hi-Fi preview from IFA 2018. Kind of concluded that these must be a successor to the Y50 wireless even if AKG/Samsung haven't explicitly said so. Figured I'd take the plunge and order it on Amazon. Worst case scenario I just end up returning the pair.

So I’ve been using the Y500 for about an hour or two, and I'm pretty satisfied so far. Sounds rather balanced with more of an enjoyable/fun sound profiles instead of being accurate. Sound about what I would expect from something in the $150 price range. It's not the type of sound that impresses, but I've been consistently satisfied so far. Exactly the type of sound I was looking for portable usage. Based on what I've read online this seems to be in line with the sound qualities attributed to prior AKG models.

Headband is a bit tight, and starts to become a little bit uncomfortable when wearing for extended periods of time (got this slight pinching feeling on the top from these headphones' band as I type this), but these are issues I've universally experienced with on-ear headphones (including the Beyerdynamic T51i). Hope the headband just needs to be worn in a little. Otherwise I think the build quality is solid.

If I have anything else to report - or if I run into any issues - I'll come back to share. Nonetheless my first impressions are really positive. A huge step up from when I tried to find wireless portable headphones in this price range 3 or so years ago. I am really looking forward to wearing these a couple times through subways, busses and long walks outside to see how they'll hold up.

 

[dfnj123]

Noise isolation isn't great on these, but they're about what you'd expect from on-ear headphones with no active noise cancellation. One of the reasons I got the Y500 is because I knew I wouldn't use any noise cancelling features, and I didn't want to pay extra for it.

The Ambient Aware feature is pretty awful. If you haven't liked these type of features before you won't like it here. I guess it could be helpful in a pinch, but I'm really waiting for a brand to figure out how to better mimic the way outside sound would enter in an open ear cup with these features. They're something really artificial about the way the Y500 does it. Not a big deal, and I imagine most people on head-fi couldn't care less about extras like this.

After a few days build quality and sound quality for casual listening while commuting seem to be holding up. Still pretty satisfied.

 

[dfnj123]

I realize "What Hi-Fi?" isn't the be-all-end-all of headphone reviews, but I just noticed they gave the Y500 a 5/5 a few days ago:

https://www.whathifi.com/reviews/akg-y500-wireless-review

Got to say that I pretty much agree with everything mentioned in their review. These are currently the bluetooth headphones to beat in this price range imo.

 

[rll953]

I had also purchased a pair in the blue color from Amazon. I wanted them for gym use( perspiration is not an issue for me). However, they felt top heavy and would easily slide off if I looked up or looked down. I really regretted sending them back. The sound was more than acceptable and above average build quality, imo. I also noted while they were a pleasant listening experience they did not get too loud.... at least for my ears. I would have kept them for in house pc listening but I have a new pair of Oppo pm3's that I have never used, plus a new pair of AKG k240's that I bought forty years ago that are new an still in the box!!

 

[Pat the dog]

Picked up a pair of these from the local equivalent of craigslist - they're being bundled with some Samsung phones so there are plenty of unwanted sets being sold off, new, sealed for as little as 50 euro.

I must say the sound is wonderful paired to an iPhone playing 256kbps AACs. These AKGs sound better than the Bose Soundlinks to my ears - more bass extension and none of the boxy sound that I find common with closed-back phones.

The ambient awareness is pretty subtle, it doesn't give you superhuman hearing like the Sony WH1000, but the stereo passthrough is quite convincing and without any perceivable latency. Unfortunately the microphones also pick up wind noise, so using this feature while cycling is a no go.

I like the idea of automatic pause/resume, but it doesn't work 100% reliably. Also the headphones turn themselves off after about 30 minutes, so they turn out to be less convenient than my Sennheiser MM100's that can stay for hours on standby and then resume with a single click.

I guess the main downside is the on-ear design - my ears are literally glowing red after 30+ minutes and if I wear them while walking, my footsteps resonate through the ear cups (which in my experience so far has been the case for all on-ear closed back designs).

Construction seems solid and they sit nicely round the neck when not being used (unlike the Bose Soundlink on ear that rubs against my chin). The ear cups are rather deep and look a little silly, but who cares.

So, in general I'm impressed by the sound, but haven't really found a use case for them. For desk listening, I'll stick to my comfortable BeyerDynamics DT770's. For walking and cycling, my open-back Sennheisser PX100-II's still rule for music, and the MM100's for audiobooks and podcasts. I'll keep the Y500's around and they'll probably get some use on public transport.

 

[Pat the dog]

Update: I sold my Y500. Despite enjoying the audio quality, I couldn't deal with compromises in comfort (sore ears) and usability (unreliable automatic pause/resume and inconvenient 30 minute auto-off).

I've found my almost perfect pair of headphones in the Sound Blaster Jam. Decent sound, open back, lightweight, solid Bluetooth.

 

[thomaslmusic55]

I recently picked up the akg y500s for $50 during the christmas sale season. Harman also had the JBL Duet on ears on sale for $40 and i bought those as well. Both had an MSRP of $150 which seems excessive.

My impressions of the akg y500s is that they are decently built and look nice. The logo is tastefully done as opposed to the y50s. Comfort is a bit of a mixed bag. I like on ears so that isnt a problem for me. I can wear these for a few hours before my right ear starts to hurt. The Duets are better in this regard. The y500s due tend to slide if you tilt your head. I had to put some industrial strength velcro on the headband to give it a bit of traction. I always wear them with a hat so this works nicely for me.

Features: The ambient aware feature works OK but not as well as the one on the plantronics Backbeat sense that i have used. The auto pause works most of the time correctly but i could live without it. Also they do have a loud beep/submarine noise when turning on and when activating the ambient aware feature. This may annoy some people.

Sound: for me it was not good out of the box. I found the mid range to be forward and enhanced making things sound harsh and boxed in for lack of a better term. So when i use them i need to use the Re-EQ app on my phone to lower the 650hz and 1khz bands by 8 db. This evens things out for me and they sound much better. Unfortunately rtings.com nor anyone else has measured these as far as i know because I'd be in interested to know if they have a mid bump or if my ears have one. i did find one "expert" review that mentioned the same thng about the mids so it may not just be me.

Overall: for $50 they are a good deal and i have been using them as my secondary pair for exercise walking and commuting when over ears are just too warm on the train.

Interesting that someone mentioned the px100 IIs. I used two pairs of those for 7 years and the px100 before them. When my last pair finally broke i decided to switch to bluetooth wireless for my portable headphones. Compared to all those models - plantronics backbeat sense, jbl duets and y500s - i now remember the px100 IIs as being darker and bass heavy. But they were great for their purpose.


Cheers.

 

[thomaslmusic55]

Update for anyone who comes across this thread.

I "solved" my mid range frequency issue. These headphones are very sensitive - as many on ears are - to placement when it comes to frequency response. The most comfortable position for me is to wear them a bit forward onto the cheek bone but this is not the optimal sonic position. Once I slid them back a 1/4 inch or so so they resting solely on my ear lobes (the cushion lines up parallel with the back of my ear lobe), the sound really filled in. I still sense things are a bit forward in the mid-mids but it no longer bothers me since things sound much more balanced and full. The trade off is that after an hour or two, my ears will get sore. So, currently, I'm using these when outside doing exercise/walks which is usually no more than an hour at a time.