Guide for AKG N60NC

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AKG N60NC Wireless review

These have dropped significantly in price, making them among the ANC headphones available.

N60NC

If you're looking for a set of budget active noise-canceling headphones that are actually up to the task, AKG's N60 NC Wireless will get you where you need to go.

It’s been a while since I’ve voluntarily used a set of noise-cancelling headphones in my private life, but I’ve quite enjoyed the AKG N60NC Wireless headset. Sure, it goes against everything I stand for in headphone tech, but in some cases (like flying on planes) my personal cans just don’t cut it. Not only does the N60NC Wireless offer a respectable level of noise cancellation, but it does so while not making too many sacrifices along the way.

Editor’s note: this AKG N60NC review was updated on January 9, 2023, to reflect the product’s end of life.

Who is the AKG N60NC Wireless for?

The AKG N60NC Wireless might be a good fit if you want a cheap pair of on-ear headphones with noise cancelling, but it’s pretty old these days—you might be better off looking at something more current.

What’s it like to use the AKG N60NC?

Like most active noise cancelling headphones, the AKG N60NC Wireless looks fairly nondescript. It’s made of mostly plastic and very few elements are going to make you stick out in a crowd. While there’s definitely a segment of headphones buyers that want to make a statement, not everyone does; and these would be at home in business class. I suppose it only makes sense that Lufthansa chose the N60NC Wireless to use on their flights when these were first released, but good on AKG for providing a model that works as well as this.

As you can imagine, I say this because looks aren’t everything: the real draw to the N60NC Wireless is what it can do.

Bluetooth headphones are a dime a dozen nowadays, but Bluetooth headphones that sound decent are a little more scarce. It’s even more rare that a set of decent Bluetooth headphones is also good at cancelling noise. Which is why I enjoyed using the N60NC Wireless in my travels: they are perfect airline buddies. They do everything they set out to do well, and without the hassle of cables or short battery life. While I’m not sure that the 30 hour battery life listed in the specs is accurate, I can tell you that these headphones will easily last you a cross-continental flight because I did exactly that—twice.

AKG N60NC Wireless review

Wireless noise-cancellation from the mid-range master

The AKG N60NC Wireless offers a surprisingly competent combination of excellent sound quality and noise cancellation. The headphones are well designed and built, and are much better looking than their competitors. All while sitting at a much cheaper price point. The only issue with these headphones is that they're an on-ear design, which means that they can start to feel uncomfortable over longer listening periods. This may be a problem if you intend to use them on flights.

In recent years AKG has dominated the budget and mid-range headphone space. While most other headphones at these price points chase after the bass-addicts, AKG has been content to stick to what it knows best; namely headphones that offer a balanced, refined sound you'd normally find in more expensive cans.

With the AKG N60NC Wireless headphones the company appears to be stepping out of its comfort zone a little. The aluminium accented design is more flashy than AKG’s usual fare, and the noise-cancellation combined with wireless operation pushes the N60NCs to the upper end of the company’s normal price points.

But in spite of these more premium features, the headphones are still comfortably cheaper than their equivalents from Bose and Sony with the QC35 and MDR-1000x headphones respectively.

So, does this difference in price translate to much of a difference in quality? For the most part no. We had a couple of niggling control issues with the N60NC Wireless headphones, but outside of this they offer fantastic value for money - so l