 "AKG Q460 Headphones - Quincy Jones Stands By it, Can You?")
There are musicians, and then there’s Quincy Jones. You might not have heard of him, but the track “We Are the World” will definitely ring a bell. Quincy Jones also has his own signature line of headphones now, which we checked out.
Design
The Q460 has a very sleek look, especially the white with black ear pads and leather cushion at the top, and provides you a comfortable feel for long-time usage. The sides are extendable to fit the size of your head, and they go up to a good length. They don’t weigh a ton either, so you can carry them around without straining your neck.
Hey, good looking
The wire is thin at a length of 2m. One thing that I liked about the wire was that it was detachable, which means that you bundle the wire, fold the headphones (yes, it folds from the sides) put it in the case that comes along with, and you have a perfect traveling partner! Of course, there are risks that come with it being detachable. What if there’s a sudden tug to the wire and it comes off? That is prevented by the fact that you can lock the end of the wire going to the headphones securely. There’s also a small volume control which doubles up as a microphone. The design on the whole is quite appealing to the eyes and easy to carry.
Specifications
Frequency range: 18 Hz - 24 kHz
Input impedance: (ohms) 30
Sensitivity: (dB SPL/V) 126
Colours: White, black and lime
Max. input power: 30 mW
Cable Length: 2m
Plug Type: 3.5mm
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Performance
Quincy Jones would not promote average stuff now, would he? Yes the headphones sound good, but here’s a breakdown. The high and mid tones are very audible and even the slightest presence of these notes can be identified. The treble can be heard very well, and the bass has that depth and also provides quite a thump. Of course it won’t drill your ears, but you can feel your ear vibrate. On the other hand, the low tones will sound quite average especially if you haven’t maxed out the volume and have a noisy environment. The noise cancellation wasn’t great either; and is pretty much useless if you stay in a crowded, bustling city.
We are a world , if not “the” world
A couple of other problems I had were with the headphones being open-ear, which means there is a certain level of isolation which it loses, and with the volume which is very hit-or-miss. You cannot max it out, because the sound starts to distort and the music starts screeching through your ears, increasing the chances of hearing loss substantially.
Verdict
At the end of the day, you have to ask if you really want to buy it. Performance-wise it works well, but you expect something more when Quincy Jones is endorsing it. And to top it off, the price at Rs. 7,990 is ridiculous. You expect signature lines to be more expensive, but these are more expensive than even the
AKG GHS1s. Buy this pair of headphones if you’re a Quincy Jones fan, but don’t expect QJ to be present “inside” the headphones though.
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