AKG N5 Hybrid review | Tom’s Guide
The AKG N5 Hybrid earbuds are so brand-new that they’re not even available in the U.S. yet. Fortunately for U.K. audiophiles, though, these earbuds are easy to find. If you’ve not heard of AKG before, don’t fret. It’s a sister brand of JBL, which I’m sure you’ve heard of.
Well, are the AKG N5 Hybrid earbuds good enough to be some of the best earbuds around? That’s a tough question. The simple answer is yes, absolutely. The USB-C dongle for 2.4GHz hi-res playback and range of JBL-aligned features (including Personi-Fi, a personalized hearing test) are fantastic.
So what’s the issue? At £259, these aren’t exactly cheap earbuds, and it’s always going to be hard to compete with flagship options like AirPods, QuietComforts, and WF-1000XM5. But the AKG N5 Hybrid earbuds sound so good, I think they’re definitely worth it. I’ll discuss everything in depth in this AKG NG Hybrid earbuds review.
AKG N5 Hybrid review: Cheat sheet
- What are they? A pair of excellent-sounding earbuds
- Who are they for? People who really care about sound quality
- What do they cost? £249
- What do we like? Ooh, too much. The sound quality, the features, it’s all chef’s kiss
- What don’t we like? They are a little big for my ears (maybe I just have small ears) and the call quality is meh
AKG N5 Hybrid review: Specs
Price | |
Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.3, USB-C dongle for 2.5GHz |
ANC | Yes |
Battery | Up to 10 hours (earbuds), 40 hours (charging case) |
Weight | 1.7 ounces |
Durability | IP54 |
Drivers | 10mm |
Colors | White, black |
Compatibility | iOS, Android, Windows, macOS |
AKG N5 Hybrid review: Price & availability
The AKG N5 Hybrid earbuds are available in the U.K. only. The earbuds are £249 from Amazon U.K. and £229 from Richer Sounds. From AKG direct, they’re £249 but currently out of stock.
Unfortunately, at the time of writing, these earbuds are unavailable in the U.S.. For U.S. readers, I’d recommend the Bose QuietComfort earbuds ($179) instead, which have relatively comparable sound quality (although the AKG N5 Hybrids sound better) and far superior ANC.
£249 makes these earbuds the same price as AirPods Pro 2 and our favorite earbuds, the Sony WF-1000XM5s. As I mentioned above, the Bose QuietComfort earbuds will get you similar-ish quality for a lower price.
That’s not to say the AKG N5 Hybrid earbuds are bad, or overpriced — not at all. These earbuds have robust, dynamic sound that translates well in any genre. There’s a huge range of features and customization capabilities.
If you get on with JBL earbuds, the N5 Hybrids are basically secret (better) JBLs. I just think they’re a little pricier than they should be, and it’s always going to be tricky to compete with the Apple and Sony flagships.
AKG N5 Hybrid review: Design & controls
- Comes in black or white
- Touch controls easy to use
- Earbud itself a little bulky
Disappointingly, the USB-C dongle didn’t fit into my iPhone 16 Pro USB-C port with my case. This isn’t AKG’s fault, but it’s worth noting that if you have a bulky phone case (like Spigen), the dongle won’t fit.
Another slight disappointment is that these earbuds are pretty big. I didn’t think I had small conchas until now, but maybe I do. The actual body of the earbud is quite large and after a few hours started to ache on my cartilage. My cartilage piercings also knocked against the earbuds and prevented the earbuds from fitting deep inside my ear, which isn’t an issue with my AirPods Pro 2, as they’re much slimmer.
Even so, this is just a me issue, and honestly? The N5 Hybrids sound good enough that I think I’ll happily put up with a bit of physical discomfort. Maybe if you have considerably dainty ears, these wouldn’t be the earbuds for you.
However, if you have average size ears, I doubt this would be an issue. In terms of actual appearance, the AKG N5 Hybrid earbuds are pretty conventional. The charging case looks similar to that of the Bose earbud series and the Sony earbud series. It’s bulkier than the AirPods charging case, but smaller than the Final ZE800 MK2 charging case.
The earbuds themselves have silicone ear tips, so if you’re not a fan of those, the N5 Hybrids may not be the earbuds for you. However, I think these tips help create a tight seal for optimal listening.
Controls are, too, very conventional. They’re easily adjustable in the app, and I found the earbuds weren’t overly sensitive to my taps, but sensitive enough to respond quickly. The controls are basically identical to any other earbuds, but instead of being on the stem, they’re on the earbud body.
AKG N5 Hybrid review: Features & connectivity
- USB-C dongle and Bluetooth
- Easy, fast pairing
- Custom EQ and Personi-Fi (you might recognize from JBL)
Considering these earbuds are priced at the higher end of mid-range, it’s nice that there’s a vast range of features to back up this cost. Not only are these earbuds Bluetooth, they also have a USB-C dongle for hi-res 2.4GHz playback. I’ll discuss this more in the ‘Audio quality’ section, but I would definitely recommend listening via this dongle over Bluetooth when possible.
Even so, when I listened via Bluetooth I didn’t notice an inferior sound quality. For most of my listening, I used the ‘Bass’ and ‘Extreme bass’ EQ presets. Don’t worry, each EQ preset is completely customizable too. I adjusted the ‘Extreme bass’ EQ to suit my personal tastes and the mixing style of each album I listened to during testing.
Obviously, different EQ settings will suit your personal tastes, so it’s good that the AKG app has completely customizable settings.
As AKG is owned by Harman — the same company that owns JBL — you might recognise the range of features. As found on JBL’s headphones and earbuds, there’s a ‘Personi-Fi’ feature. This basically acts as a non-medically-accurate hearing test that generates a custom sound based on your personal hearing ability. This did change my playback a little, but not considerably enough to be a fantastic, must-have feature.
As standard with most earbuds now, the N5 Hybrid earbuds have IP54 durability rating, which means they’re mostly dustproof and can withstand water sprays. This rating is better than the Apple AirPods Pro 2’s and the Sony WF-1000XM5’s IPX4 ratings.
AKG N5 Hybrid review: ANC
- Mediocre ANC
- Adaptive or talk through
- ‘Auto Compensation’ — adjusts ANC in real time
When I was testing these at my desk, I could still hear myself typing away even with ANC enabled. With my AirPods Pro 2, the ANC is robust enough to block out typing noises.
Then, when I was testing the ANC around the city, I could still hear traffic noise and people talking around me. If you want a pair of earbuds with really excellent ANC, these are not the buds for you. In that case, I’d recommend Bose QuietComforts, which are renowned for their excellent ANC.
However, if you’re more interested in a pair of buds that have amazing sound quality and a huge range of features, then the AKG N5 Hybrid earbuds might be better suited for you.
AKG N5 Hybrid review: Audio quality
- Excellent treble
- USB-C playback is fantastic
- Booming bass without being muffled
To test the N5’s sound quality, I listened to a range of genres on Qobuz, our best streaming service for audiophiles. To give the N5 Hybrids the best start, I listened to only hi-res tracks with the USB-C dongle. I will discuss Bluetooth playback later.
First, I listened to songs I know like the back of my hand. I put on ‘Supermassive Black Hole’ by Muse using both the ‘Bass’ and ‘Extreme bass’ EQ presets. The guitars were groovy, insistent, and rampaged across the track like a starving wolf. I don’t think I’ve ever heard that song sound so enraged before.
As I couldn’t get over how good that song sounded, I just listened to the rest of the album. Either ‘Black Holes and Revelations’ has a production style that married perfectly with AKG’s ‘Extreme bass’ EQ, or these earbuds just really suited this music style, I wasn’t sure. But I was determined to find out.
Throughout the course of the record, I was hearing new pieces of sound I never have before. In ‘Map of the Problematique’, the scratchy guitar riffs were rugged and raw, and the UFO synth notes of ‘Knights of Cydonia’ made me feel like I was being abducted by aliens. The stereo separation in the buds is second-to-none, too, and I didn’t even have spatial audio on, yet I was immersed in the music.
Cue gasp — it sounded better than my AirPods Pro 2 (I just wish the N5 Hybrids weren’t so uncomfortable, as I discussed earlier). I’ve listened to that album hundreds of times, and it’s never sounded this good before.
To switch up the genre, I listened to ‘Sinnerman’ by Nina Simone. The bass reverberated in my ears without being overpowering, and Simone’s iconic soulful vocal wove in harmoniously with the percussion and layers of piano. I could focus on each instrument easily, which I often can’t with lower-quality earbuds that compress tracks.
Finally, I listened to the house-and-samba-tinged track ‘Bread’ by Sofi Tukker. The pulsating bass was fantastic and each lick of modulated vocal and produced texture was clear and congruous.
I would wholeheartedly recommend listening via the USB-C dongle to a hi-res stream like Qobuz or Tidal. Ditch Spotify for these buds — they demand it.
As these are primarily Bluetooth buds, I switched out the USB-C dongle for Bluetooth playback for the second half of my listening tests.
I listened to the same tracks again — ‘Bread’, ‘Sinnerman’, and ‘Supermassive Black Hole’ — for fairness. Yes, the difference in quality was noticeable, but in no way did the Bluetooth tracks sound lackluster. In ‘Bread’, the bass was still pulsating and frenetic, but the vocal was a tiny bit quieter.
‘Supermassive Black Hole’ was a little more muffled in the kick drum, but, again, in no way did this sound bad or even thin. The song was just as deep and layered than it was with the USB-C dongle.
Overall, these are a pretty powerful pair of earbuds. Every song I played was incredible, from the bassy tracks to the softer jazz tracks. I wouldn’t forget about these earbuds when considering (nearly) audiophile-quality playback.
AKG N5 Hybrid review: Call quality
- 6 mics
- A little fuzzy
- Not massively adept at ambient noise reduction
To test the call quality of the AKG N5 Hybrid, I called my boyfriend. By this point, that’s the only way I can analyze call quality now — he’s had the pleasure of being the guinea pig for every pair of earbuds I’ve tested.
He said that my voice was a little fuzzy and hummed when I spoke. Unfortunately, he also remarked that the call quality was considerably inferior to that of my AirPods Pro 2. On top of that, he also reported that he could still hear the traffic noise around me very clearly, which interfered with the intelligibility of my voice.
As a result, I think the call quality of these earbuds is pretty disappointing. I suppose earbuds can’t excel in every area — but this is something I’d willingly put up with for sound quality this good.
AKG N5 Hybrid review: App
- Almost identical to JBL app
- Easy to navigate
- Huge range of options including SilentNow
If you’re familiar with JBL apps, then you’ll find the AKG app really easy to master. The AKG app has a huge range of features, including something called SilentNow. SilentNow basically creates a pillow of silence around your ears when you want to sleep. You can easily set this to activate any time between immediately – 90 minutes, and set it to run from 15 minutes – 8 hours.
SilentNow effectively activates ANC without playing music so you can sleep or relax on public transport or in noisy environments. I had fun playing around with this, although as I mentioned earlier, I’m not sure how I’d be able to sleep wearing these earbuds as they’re a little big for my ears.
As you can see from above, there’s a huge range of features in the AKG app. You can customize EQs across a 10-band frequency range, although I honestly think ‘Bass’ and ‘Extreme bass’ are pretty perfect as default.
AKG N5 Hybrid review: Battery
- 10 hours in each bud
- 40 hours in charging case
- USB-C dongle
Without ANC, the AKG N5 Hybrid earbuds have 10 hours of playback in the buds and 40 hours in the charging case. If you use the dongle, it’s just 18 hours of playback on one charge, so the dongle uses considerably more battery.
As with most earbuds, you can get an additional 4 hours of battery after just 15 minutes of quick charging in a pinch.
This battery life is far superior to the 6 hours (buds) and 24 hours (charging case) of the AirPods Pro 2, and the 8 hours (buds) and 24 hours (charging case) of the Sony WF-1000MX5, but still leaves something to be desired. I’d love to see some earbuds that can last for 12 hours one day.
AKG N5 Hybrid review: Verdict
Considering that a few of JBL’s flagship earbuds aren’t actually that impressive, I was super excited when I pressed play on the AKG N5 Hybrids and they were actually incredible. Thanks to the USB-C dongle, the hi-res playback might even impress the most stubborn audiophiles.
Yes, they’re not perfect, especially for those with small ears, and I think the call quality leaves something to be desired. However, if you mostly care about excellent sound quality — which is the most important feature of earbuds in my opinion — then I have no reservations about recommending the AKG N5 Hybrids wholeheartedly.
