<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[The Journeyman&#039;s Toolbox]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[http://journeymantoolbox.pt]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[Journey (Rafa)]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://journeymantoolbox.pt/author/journeymanpt/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[AKG &#8211; Y20 Mini&nbsp;Review.]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[
<p>I bought the AKG for 25€ on Amazon.es (Amazon&#8217;s own stock just in case you think I bought a fake). I’ll try my best to give an honest opinion about the gear. <strong>Let me save you some time, the Y20 sounds like shit&#8230;there, review done.</strong><br />
<strong><br />
Introduction<br />
</strong>AKG is an old company known for many high-end headphones and other professional gear, they shouldn&#8217;t be proud of the Y20 even if it sells like crazy mostly due to a Wirecutter review. These in-ears sound bad compared with anything on their 25€ price range, stay away from them, you have been warned!</p>



<p><strong>Testing rig<br />
</strong>I tested the Y20 with my Creative Labs E5 because it sounded so bad on my Sony L1 that I had to be sure what was going on.</p>



<p><strong>Built quality &amp; specifications</strong><br />
The overall build quality feels cheap for the price, they have a nice design.<br />
You can&#8217;t change the cable and there are no strain reliefs, this cable isn&#8217;t going to last very much of that you can be sure. The 3.5mm plug is a puny thing.</p>



<p>Everyone likes specifications so here are some I could find:<br />
&#8211; Dynamic driver<br />
&#8211; Frequency response: 20Hz &#8211; 20KHz<br />
&#8211;&nbsp;<span class="propery-title">Sensitivity: 111dB SPL/V</span><span class="propery-des" title="106dB"><br />
</span>&#8211; Impedance: 32Ω (My Sony L1 had to be maxed out to have decent volume with these ones)</p>



<p><strong>Daily use<br /> </strong>These are so lightweight and comfortable, environment isolation is almost ok. I must admit I didn&#8217;t use them outside very much.</p>



<p><strong>Sound</strong><br />
Bass, well there&#8217;s some bass but there&#8217;s no slam whatsoever, forget sub-bass.<br />
The mids are good enough to hear the voice and some instruments but there are no layers or detail, it&#8217;s a shitty forward mess, not helped by some sibilance and very aggressive treble that lacks finesse or detail. KZ in-ears in this price range are aggressive but you got details.<br />
These sound fine if you want to watch a movie or some youtube video, forget them for Hi-Fi, even the worst sounding KZ is better than these AKG&#8217;s.</p>



<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>So to make it clear, AVOID the Y20 at all costs! Do not buy these earbuds, 25€ can buy you better headphones from Sony, Philips, Sennheiser or any other mainstream brand.<br />
</strong></span>For you to have an idea, I got 20-year-old Sony earbuds which sound better!</p>



<p>If you need to find out what <a href="https://journeymantoolbox.pt/about/music/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)">songs I used to make this review please visit this page.</a></p>



<p><strong>The good &amp; the ugly<br /> </strong>The in-ear shells have a nice design&#8230;.The little AKG bag looks cool.<br />Cheap construction, awful sound&#8230;it&#8217;s a <del>shitty</del> muddy mess.<br /> I don&#8217;t believe I bought this piece of crap for 25€. There are 5€ Chi-Fi earbuds that sound better.<br /> Glad I bought this in-ear so anyone who trusts my opinion can save some bucks.<br /></p>



<p><strong>Notes</strong><br />
<a href="http://journeymantoolbox.pt/2018/10/12/why-i-dont-write-about-imaging/">Yes, I don&#8217;t write about &#8220;soundstage&#8221; or imaging, refer to this entry for more explanations on that.</a></p>



<p>This is a mini-review with less than 600 words when possible, I have lot&#8217;s of cheap in-ears I want to review but I don&#8217;t want to lose lot&#8217;s of time with them, plus I don&#8217;t have the original boxes or accessories.</p>
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