Hello!
It is becoming increasingly difficult to surprise the modern consumer. Various tricks are used, ranging from unexpected designs (with which many vendors have obvious problems) to generous sets of accessories. One of these ways to lure the audience has become the fashion to equip smartphones with good quality headphones. For those who love listening to music, this trend is good news.
Samsung also decided to follow this path, and put AKG headphones in the set with the flagship S8 and S8 +.
Let's see what came of it.
Materials, design, construction
My headphones from the S8 kit were packed in a transparent film, inside which were the headphones themselves and a set of replacement ear pads in two sizes – large and small. The ear pads are wrapped in a separate black bag. It looks unusual.
The set of separately sold headphones also includes a cool case for carrying headphones (in my case, there is no such case included with the phone).
I will not bore you with a detailed description of the appearance. This is clearly seen in the photos of the device. Let's better talk about the design features and its convenience.
In the hands, the headphones feel like a solid, high-quality thing. Good materials and workmanship flawlessly.
The plug is straight, in the style of the company's previous solutions.
Wire braided fabric up to the split point.
After the bifurcation point, the cables leading to the headphones are silicone, no braid. A strange decision. Because of this feature, the headphones get confused very easily – it's inconvenient.
The cable itself has practically no memory effect, and when taken out of the box, it fully straightens out within a couple of hours. After that, it doesn't remember the curves.
One of the biggest drawbacks of the cable for me was its love of looping. Whenever possible, the cable forms a loop, which often creates a not very useful bend when trying to straighten. If this continues, it is not known how long the cable will live.
Unlike the main part of the cable, the bare sections have a noticeable microphone effect. Why it was necessary to save on such trifles is not clear, but the savings came out sideways – I did not like the cable. The flat one was better.
In general, the cable is unsuccessful. It gets confused and wrinkled, and also 'microphone'.
I would like to say a few words about the remote control. This is where I can't help but praise – bravo Samsung, you finally realized that the buttons on the remote control should be placed symmetrically. Above and below the volume buttons, and in the middle is the button for receiving and ending a call. And it's the same, the start / stop button for playback. Hurrah. This is much more convenient than the previous layout.
The remote control itself has rounded ends and does not cling to clothing. A clear, pleasant click and tough, high-quality plastic. Everything is fine with the remote control.
I really liked the color of the headphones – dark gray with a metallic sheen (the company calls it 'titanium gray'). In my opinion, a very pleasant, neutral color, which will suit both men and women.
However, there is another color option – 'burgundy'. If you don't try to fight stereotypes, then we can say that this color is more suitable for women, although it looks cool. And although I am far from a woman, I also liked the 'burgundy'.
There are several minor complaints about the design of the headphones themselves.
The angle at which the leg is located to the sound guide is not the best. Due to this geometry of the body, this very leg presses on the ear, which can cause discomfort and pain. The solution is simple – the leg bends to the side, since it is made of silicone and therefore does not break. After that, the discomfort disappeared. Keep this in mind.
Another disadvantage is not the most convenient designations of the sides of the headphones – they are hard to see. However, if you remember that the remote is on the right side, this shouldn't be a problem.
Ear cushions made of dense, translucent gray silicone.
Provides a comfortable fit, but my ears are slightly lacking in length, so I had to use longer Sony ear pads. The fit was better with them.
And finally, let's talk about why this whole review was started – about sound.
Sound
After reading a variety of reviews, from enthusiastic to negative, I expected to hear anything.
As a result, at first glance, the sound turned out to be ordinary, devoid of any individual coloration. The inexpressive low frequencies, as well as deliberate brightness, confused a little. At first I thought that Samsung, despite the AKG nameplate on the case, once again made complete headphones with insipid sound.
It took me several hours to figure out what the salt is. Realism turned out to be the main feature of these headphones. They try to reproduce the music as it was when it was recorded, without embellishing or concealing it. The sound is very clear and even, without any distortions in high or low. And the sound also seems transparent and weightless. A deceptive feeling is created that there is not enough strength and elasticity, pressure.
At first it seems that there are a lot of tall ones. But after listening, it becomes clear that I have simply lost the habit of sounding realism.
Modern fashion has taught manufacturers that people like to 'bomb' and 'pump', and for the sake of this, most headphones receive settings with initially lowered low frequencies.
At first, I even experimented with closing the pressure compensation holes.
As a result, there was more bass, but the sound also became kind of flat, booming, and the depth was lost. I had to open these very holes again. And by the evening of the same day, I already began to enjoy listening to music that was close to reality.
To summarize the above:
- The high frequencies are bright, transparent, but there is a little lack of detail.
- The middle frequencies are well-developed, pronounced, detailed.
- Low frequencies are accurate and clearly defined. I liked very much that the 'bass' does not overwhelm other frequencies. However, for those who like to pump, it may seem that the bass is lacking.
Headphones sensitive to the source and quality of the content.
The most appropriate definition that characterizes these headphones is 'precise'.
Conclusion
Samsung Earphones tuned by AKG turned out. And they turned out to be very balanced.
There are a number of shortcomings that may become critical for someone, but this does not change the fact that of all the previously listened to complete headphones, these made the best impression on me.
At the moment, the EO-IG955 is my favorite among the bundled headphones. Let's see how far Samsung can advance as a musical accessory, the main thing is that the motion vector is set correctly.