Our Verdict
The AKG K490-NC are average everyday mixed usage headphones. They have a compact design and a decent sound. Their noise isolation is not as good for noise canceling headphones but sufficient for moderately loud environments.
- Lightweight build.
- Comfortable "On Ear" design.
- Decent sound quality.
- Many potentially weak joints.
- Poor noise isolation.
- Significant lack of bass.
Mediocre for critical listening. The AKG K490-NC have a decent sound but a poor soundstage. They won't reproduce high-res audio with the clarity and detail of an open back design and they also a lack a bit of bass for fans of bass-heavy music.
Decent for commuting. They're compact and easy to carry around. They also block an above-average amount of noise although they won't be ideal for very loud environments. Unfortunately, they don't have the best control scheme.
Mediocre for sports. They're lightweight and compact. However, they're a little unstable for high-intensity exercises and have poor control scheme.
Decent for office use. They will only reduce a little bit of office chatter, but on the upside, they don't leak much.
Above-average for home theater use. The AKG K490-NC have no latency since they're wired, and they sound decent enough for watching movies although they lack a little bass. Unfortunately, they have a short audio cable, so they won't be the ideal headphones to comfortably watch movies with from you couch unless you have an extension cord.
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Our How We Test Headphones article takes you behind the scenes in our lab. You'll learn how we choose and purchase products and dive into the details of our review philosophy, from testing and scoring to writing and editing.
You can also discover how we produce recommendations like this one so that you can find the best headphones (or earbuds!) for your needs.
Test Results
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