AKG K323XSi review

AKG, with these £50 K323XSi earphones you’re really spoiling us Tested at £50

What Hi-Fi? Verdict

AKG, with these £50 K323XSi earphones you’re really spoiling us

Pros

  • +

    Tiny, light and comfortable

  • +

    Plenty of punch and attack

  • +

    Decent detail and dynamics for the money

  • +

    Three-button remote and mic

Cons

  • -

    A little hard at times

  • -

    Not as open-sounding as some pricier alternatives

Why you can trust What Hi-Fi? Our expert team reviews products in dedicated test rooms, to help you make the best choice for your budget. Find out more about how we test.

Describing almost anything as a box-ticking exercise tends have a whiff of negativity about it, but in some cases it can be a compliment.

Take the K323XSi earphones, for example – it’s as if AKG wrote a list of everything the average person might want from a pair of in-ears and wouldn’t call the design job done until it had a tick in the box next to every item.

Cheap – tick; Tiny – tick; Light – tick; Mic and remote – tick; Great sound: tick. Unsurprisingly, that adds up to an earphone proposition that’s hard to resist.

Design

AKG K323XSi

AKG K323XSi

Starting with the build, these AKGs are so tiny and light they barely register in this plain of existence.

There’s nothing premium about the materials used, but the K323XSis never give the impression of being poorly put together or anything less than solid.

In the small box, you will find just four pairs of silicon earbuds, but we had little problem achieving a snug fit and noise-isolating seal.

The cable doesn’t have any fancy anti-tangle properties – not a great surprise at the price – and while it’s prone to carry a bit of movement noise up to the ears, there’s nothing to stop you wrapping the cable over your ears before inserting the buds (a classic trick for almost any pair of in-ears) – we didn’t even sense any loss in call quality from the rise in the position of the mic.

AKG K323XSi

AKG K323XSi

Talking of the mic, it’s mounted onto an Apple-spec three-button remote, which allows iPhone, iPad and Mac users to adjust volume, as well as pausing and skipping tracks.

With most Android phones, you will lose the volume control but will be able to use the centre button for pausing and skipping.

Audio issues can occur in some, though, so check compatibility with your specific handset before forking out.

Performance

AKG K323XSi

AKG K323XSi

There are flaws to the sonic performance – a little hardness when really pushed and a lack of openness compared to some pricier alternatives, such as Beyerdynamic’s MMX101IE (£100). But, for the money, these AKGs are impressive.

The balance between bass, mid and treble is pretty much spot-on, with no aspect dominating and all flowing into each other to create a unified, cohesive whole.

AKG K323XSi

AKG K323XSi

There’s lots of attack and more detail than you’d probably expect at this price, too, and that means everything you play is delivered with the excitement it deserves.

Play Arctic Monkey’s Do I Wanna Know? and there’s enough insight to reproduce the sarcasm in the vocals, kick of the drum and edge to the guitars – and when the chorus kicks in the AKGs are capable of delivering the dynamic shift to up the scale of the presentation.

Verdict

All told, while these aren’t entirely perfect, they are about as good as you can reasonably expect for £50. If that’s your limit (and particularly if you’re an iPhone user), you can buy with absolute confidence.

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What Hi-Fi?

What Hi-Fi?, founded in 1976, is the world's leading independent guide to buying and owning hi-fi and home entertainment products. Our comprehensive tests help you buy the very best for your money, with our advice sections giving you step-by-step information on how to get even more from your music and movies. Everything is tested by our dedicated team of in-house reviewers in our custom-built test rooms in London, Reading and Bath. Our coveted five-star rating and Awards are recognised all over the world as the ultimate seal of approval, so you can buy with absolute confidence.

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