AKG advertises the K 326 as a high-performance sports headset review. This earbud type in-ear headphone has an earhook that should keep things in place whether your jogging, cycling, rollerblading or whatever it is you’re doing with it on, well except swimming or anything that involves water that is.
The AKG K 326 comes in two sporty colors, we got the gray/bright yellow combination and there’s also the dark grey/red color which should blend nicely with your sports apparel.
It also comes with in-line controls with mic on its bright yellow cable but only functions completely with iOS devices. For my Android phone, I can only do pause, play, and answer calls. The volume buttons don’t work at all for non-iOS devices.
The light and rubbery earhook itself works as advertised although it takes a bit of time flexing and bending it to have a good fit over your ear. The earbud has a rubber ring for that added snugness which you can replace with foam pads. My ears are not a fan of earbuds headphones and using the AKG K 326 is no exception. After an hour’s worth of use, the outside of my ear canals are already hurting from the stress. That’s just me though but I still suggest you audition the fit at least before getting one.
Since this is an earbud type, I was not expecting superb sound reproduction but was surprised at the quality I got here. It was like I was using an in-ear pair of canalphones having those crisp and clear mids and highs that do not overpower but complements. Don’t expect thumping bass here but you will still get solid lows under right conditions if you can drown out your surrounding by cranking the volume up.
Sound isolation is almost non-existent here unless you set the volume high enough to overpower ambient noise. Tried it in the gym and there was no way to eliminate the gym’s own music without turning the volume on my player to headache-inducing levels.
Sound leakage is also handled poorly but again, that’s expected from earbuds. Folks at the office learned about my propensity to BeeGees hits which I was thoroughly enjoying with this AKG K 326. Just something of note in case you’ll be using this in quiet rooms.
Verdict
For one, the AKG K 326 is one of the better-sounding on-ear earphones I’ve used and it retails for Php3,299. It’s clearly made for sporty people who don’t want complete sound isolation but still hear good quality non-bassy music while doing their thing. While I have nothing to complain about the sound, the fit of the earbud is not for everyone, not me at least. Also keep in mind that you must use iOS devices to be able to maximize your purchase.
