Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #101326 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: AKG
• Model: K26P
• Released on: 2005-09-14
• Dimensions: 6.00" h x 3.00" w x 11.00" l, .16 pounds

Manufacturer's Description
Here today, somewhere else tomorrow. Feel like taking a break? The K 26 P is your featherweight solution for days on the road. Chill out and turn up the volume. These high quality headphones provide fabulous sound and effective attenuation of ambient noise.Using the unique 3D-Axis mechanism, they fold down to a small package that you can take wherever you go.

Box Contents

Customer Reviews

I'm simply amazed
Before I went ahead and purchased this item I knew exactly what to expect; a closed can delivering sharp punchy bass and decent sound isolation. It was a choice between these and the Sennheiser PX100s (the AKG K26Ps main rival), but I chose these as I listen to a lot of rock/electronic music that would put the bass to good use, and I liked the idea of isolating outside sound (something the PX100 don't do.)

When I got my hands on these AKGs I looked at them and thought "Hmmm, like Tom Cruise, a lot smaller in person" and I nearly dismissed all the claims I'd read about them on the Internet.....that was of course until I tried them out.

Now, I knew these cans had good bass definition, but I wasn't expecting quite the level of bass these cans achieve! It really is some kind of witchcraft that headphones this small produce not just perfectly defined bass, but such powerful bass! Honestly, you sometimes forget you are listening to headphones and not your home stereo.

Now, as you may have read elsewhere on the Net, these headphones do have a tight fit, but this is pretty essential to create a good sound seal, as these are closed cans afterall. I've been using them for a few hours now and, although fairly tight (not as tight as I thought though), they are well padded and comfy.

I almost gave these 4 stars instead of 5 as I initially thought that, while the mid range is excellent, the treble and crispness on these phones was somewhat compromised. Now, while I don't think they are quite as sharp as the Creative earbuds which came with my MP3 player, I feel the treble just seems muddy due to the amount of bass these kick out in comparison. The treble is actually very good if you turn the bass output down a bit. I have also heard that these cans take some breaking in time (30 hrs?), so the sound may become a little more balanced all round over time, but it is excellent as it stands.

Now, I use these with my MP3 player and I have found that encoding your music at 192 kbps instead of 128 kbps is well worth it, as these cans offer so much more clarity and definition to higher bitrate music. At 128 kbps, songs sound a bit flat, but at 192, its a different planet all together. I was very surprised when I heard bits in my music I had never heard before, such as percussion and guitar that had been 'brushed over' before by other headphones. Although the bass is overpowering at times, these cans never feel stressed and always feel composed as they deliver every part of a song, not just the most prominant sounds. These goes the bass again! You have to listen to The Prodigy on these.

Overall an excellent pair of headphones, and EASILY worth the cash. If pure clarity for a portable headphone is all you want, then the Sennheiser PX100s are probably your best bet (although I haven't tried them), but the power with which these deliver music to you is superb and probably unbeatable at this price/size of headphone.

PX100s wish they were this good
If you struggle to find closed cans which you can wear whilst commuting coupled with sound quality/bass that really does gives you that nice warm, fuzzy feeling, unlike a certain sennhesier company, then read on!

In my search for the best cans under £30, I decide to splash 26squid for these. They seemed the logical next step from my budget px100s according to audio forums. Bear in mind this review is without my usual 2-day, under the pillow, ear melting volume wear-in session, meaning that the audio quality will improve even more than what ive described! So how did the AKG K26P's stand up to the Prodigy-Smack My B*tch Up & Breathe Test?

Firstly, the best feature of them is the simply INCREDIBLE bass. If you like bassy music(Prodigy, Cypress Hill, Pendulum, Reggae, Rock) then these will blow you away. I read a website saying these have less focus/tightness than their older brother (K81DJ) which maybe they do for 25 extra beer tokens. But I cant see that myself, the bass is the most impressive ive heard in phones since i bought my creative ep630s(when they are canal-sealed correctly-see my other review). The px100 do a fair old job on bass, but these are just on a different level altogether. Its supremely punchy bass with sheer power kicking into your ear just the way music should be. You can actually feel every vibration of the bass on your ears and cheeks with the right music(Dieselboy - Project Human), like having a mini massage, a mini subwoofer on your head - simply amazing! Without any doubt 5/5 for the bass.

The 2nd best aspect is the ambient seal and also AKG's trump card over px100/px200. Despite the fact they they are supra-aural(sit on your ears rather than round them totally) they are terrific. Id go as far as to describe it as the perfect seal level actually because although it closes out the majority of external noise, they havent over done it. So, you can still hear the very loudest noises like car horns, whilst still managing to block attention-seeking idiots shouting their conversations on the bus. I think AKG got this spot on too, another 5/5. Their doing well so far considering I dont give 5stars too easily! The next best aspect is the mids/trebles. Often closed cans like these can suffer to produce a "natural" sound because theres no airflow, but somehow AKG have worked miracles here again. The mids/trebles are not in Grado SR60 league(75squids) but they have just the right amount of genuine-audio engineering quality to satisfy a music enthusiast like me, and you too me thinks. I have previously described px100s as sounding distant/far away and lacking the studio-quality, surround-sound feel. Here again, the K26Ps have come up with the goods and given very near surround sound, studio quality for under £30. A slightly harsh 4/5. They are unstoppable! But, wait a minute.....

The sound quality is terrific, have immense bass, don't leak sound to the person next to you on the train, and block the perfect amount of external sound, so there must be a drawback right? Well they are almost identical to px100s but slightly chunkier in thickness, so stick out a bit off your head. However, they are not even in the same league as some mammoth cans you see around, just not as discreet as px100s either. They are perfect for the train/bus & home situations, and although noticeable in the street, i think they are just discreet enough. If your not sure, just compare pictures on amazon/google and decide. Personally, I think its worth the sacrifice to have a proper built in bass-case which lack on similar cans and am 99% confident wearing them in the street, which is plenty good enough for me.

Finally, the design is the usual can headband design, very good quality build, nothing to complain about. However, AKG have added luxury leather earpads which went missing on the more tight-budget px100s. This is a major reason why you get the extra oomph in the bass. To sum up then, stop giving your cash to bogus companies like sennheiser and buy these beautifully satisfying headphones.

Very very good
For this price this phones are very good.
Some complain that when you take them of they go back to folded position. Well that's quite practical if you use them for commuting. You put them on and when you get to destination you want to quickly fold them up and put them in their bag. So, if they kind of automatially fold when you take them off it makes the process quicker. They fit very nicely in their bug and become very small.
The sound is brillant!! The ear pad are confortable.
Also, I am glad I bought these phone and not the Sennheiser ones as there was something I had not considered. In my commuting I use my bike. So, I need to put my helmet on. The flat metal band of this phones fit quite nicely under the helmet. I am pretty sure that the Sennheiser wouldn't.
I am giving 4 stars and not 5 just due to the noise insulation. I bought this phones due to same reviews that were claiming an outstanding noise insulation. Well, it is very good for phone this size but if it is insulation you really want then I would go for the Koss plugs. They are much worse phones but the noise insulation is better.