Yeah, great spot!!  As the review says ...

"Originally the AKG K450 headphones cost £150, and even at that price they were a five-star buy and vying for class-leading status. The major price drop to just £100 (or less) makes these a clear winner."

Now where am i gonna find £50 from?  LoL!! 

So, given the price point that both were given stars... which is better.... the AKG450 or the Goldring NS 1000  ? (the Goldring can be bought for only £10 more)           

Just purchased some AKG450s (impulse purchase at RS and must say that I'm enjoying them greatly.  A little Pig Radio on the iPad and away I go.  Great deal for £50 - as you get two cords, two adaptors, and a carry case included.  The carry case for my Grado SR60s was £22 on its own!  Will see if the sound changes over time (they are only two hours in).

Hi,

I was asking about a comparison between the Grado SR60's and these on the headphone forum - was wondering if the AKG450's were better ? Can you let me know please.

Cheers

Haven't done a side by side comparison yet of listening quality (can't say the "environment" I live in would be conducive to such experimentation) but will see if I get the chance in coming weeks.  The driver for the AKG's was mainly for a) in-bed listening as the SR60s being open backed would disturb the little lady and b) interim, for travel - as again the SR60s are open backed; and both my sets of in-ears get uncomfortable after a while (although have just put Comply tips on the CX300IIs, so will see what that difference makes).  I will eventually purchase some modern noise cancelling headphones (to replace my late-90s Sony NCs) as I travel long distances on planes too often.

For £50, I don't see how you can go wrong - that is 1/3rd of the price at which they got a five-star review.  At the moment, I can't fault the AKG's, and the Grados have been boxed up in anticipation of a move to a bigger house, where I might be able to have the space for a headphone set up.  One advantage the AKGs have over the Grados is the inclusion of two lengths of  cord - as opposed to the fixed, and very long, cord of the Grados.  As such, the AKGs plugged via short cord into the Fiio, and then into the iDevice is very managable.  I doubt I will ever use the longer cord.

In retrospect, even though I only paid US$60 for the Grados, if I was currently having to choose, I'd probably take the AKGs as they are more functional and possibly "better bang for the buck" if you take sound quality to be about even. 

Realise that isn't much of an A/B comparison, and I'm lucky that the £50 for the AKGs is an "affordable luxury".  That said, if you push me to start again, I'd be buying the AKGs first.  However, if you set me up with a dedicated study, and some personal time, I'm also going to buy a set of the Grados.

Hope that helps, and apologies for what is a bit of a ramble.

I got some AKG's for christmas  - moving from Shure SE110s.

First impressions is that they are good, but maybe a little warmer than I'd like. Also, (and perhaps I've been spoilt with proper in-ears), they let in a LOT of background noise.  Good for walking around, but the rumble of the Tube this morning was a bit of a pain.

Thanks for this - really helpful and not a ramble at all.

It really is a bit of a no brainer now - for 50 squid - I cant really go wrong.

The Grados are my mates - on a loan, which I think he has forgotten about, hence the question. Plus they irrate my wife so these tick all the boxes.

I did also notice that Richer Sounds are also doing the noise cancelling http://www.richersounds.com/product/headphones/akg/k480-nc/akg-k480 480's for the best part of £90. Taking into account Big Aura's comments above - could these be the better option / bargain ? And does anyone know if they are essentially the same headphones as the 450's please ?

AKG450 vs Goldring NS1000?

I have owned both. For what its worth Goldrings were not as well built at all. Fell to bits after a couple of weeks. So took em back to Superfi (which have been doing the AKG's for £50 for ages) and much prefer the AKG's. Nicely made, excellent carry case etc etc. Can't go wrong for £50. Have owned all sorts, Bose on ear etc and like the AKG's. Problem is wife has purloined them for the gym so I use Jays V Jays now. Great phones much not much fun if someone is sat next to you as they leak like a sieve. Also look like they've come out of a 50p lucky bag but believe me they sound seriously good

Re: Goldring NS1000s vs AKG450. I've owned both and needless to say, I've kept the AKGs. Far superior sound, build and quality generally, echoing the other poster on here.

Anyone ?

Is NC worth £40 to you?  Is spending £40 "irrelevant" or a "bank breaker"?  Do you need NC for your intended use?

Probably not if Im honest - I have got Richer Sounds Maidstone contacting me when the 450's are back in stock.

Tried buying them yesterday but they are out of stock - which was dissapointing but will hopefully be well worth the wait.

I am not a rail or tube traveller, so £40 seems to be an over the top luxury when £49.95 will do.

Cheers for all your help. 

I  bought the 480's a while ago because I wanted NC. However, with no demo pair available in the local RS, I heard the 450s instead and quite liked them and then bought the 480s because I was told they were the same. That may well be, but they don't sound the same then! Although it is by no means unsalvageable by means of the ipod EQ if you need the active NC, the 450s sounded much better to me.

/U.

Thanks for the help guys, I'm going for the AKG 450's then      

OUT OF STOCK ON RS,

However, just found another place doing them:

http://www.superfi.co.uk/p-2870-akg-k450-headphones.aspx?gclid=CK-GtbbK0...