AKG N5 Hybrid review: hi-fi, latency-free wireless earbuds for gaming

Part of the N Series range, the AKG N5 Hybrid wireless earbuds are designed to combine the worlds of hi-fi and gaming. Like the AKG N9 Hybrid Bluetooth headphones, these earbuds come with a 2.4GHz USB-C dongle for compression and latency-free wireless sound. Whether you want to listen to music, watch movies or play video games, are these new AKG IEMs up to the task?

Included accessories

The AKG N5 Hybrid wireless earbuds come with their charging case and a USB-C to USB-A cable. Three pairs of different sized ear tips are also included to ensure the perfect fit for all users. Like the AKG N9 Hybrid headphones, these in-ear monitors feature dual Bluetooth 5.3 and Wi-Fi connectivity via a small USB-C dongle. A USB-C to USB-A adapter provides greater compatibility with a wide range of devices. Last but not least, a quick start guide makes it easy to get to grips with the main features of these earbuds.

Presenting the AKG N5 Hybrid wireless earbuds

Audio design, active noise cancelling and microphone

The AKG N5 Hybrid wireless earbuds offer a wide frequency response from 20Hz to 40kHz. Although they don’t benefit from the Hi-Res logo, they still allow you to enjoy music in high resolution. What’s more, the active noise cancelling is highly effective, filtering out noisy environments such as public transport or the sound of keyboards in an office. It can be deactivated or used in TalkThru mode, allowing only voices to pass through, ideal for hearing a conversation without removing the earbuds.

A built-in microphone ensures these conversations are perfectly clear. Whether you’re answering a call on a smartphone or on a computer, it does its job perfectly. For multiplayer gamers, however, this microphone shows its limitations, although it’s perfectly capable of helping out when you’re on the go, for example.

Bluetooth connectivity, 2.4GHz USB dongle

The special feature of AKG’s N Series is the USB-C dongle that provides access to uncompressed audio transmission. This is a real bonus, all the more so as its reduced size means it can be used on a wide range of devices: smartphones, games consoles, TVs and computers. The USB-C to USB-A adapter also extends this compatibility. Of course, Bluetooth 5.3 is available for simplified connection thanks to support for Fast Pair and Swift Pair functionalities. The earbuds are immediately recognized on smartphones, PCs and Macs.

This dual connection also allows you to switch from one device to another with 3 taps on the left earbud. This way, you can listen to music on a computer and quickly switch sources to take a call on a smartphone, for example.

All-day battery life

As for autonomy, the manufacturer claims around ten hours with Bluetooth and noise reduction. In practice, the battery lasts just over 7 hours at fairly high volume. With the USB-C dongle, AKG claims 5 hours of autonomy, which enabled us to play video games for an entire afternoon, confirming the figures given by the manufacturer.

A very fine performance, all the more so as the case offers up to 3 full charges of the earbuds AKG N5 Hybrid. With normal use, taking breaks, it’s quite possible for them to last a whole day. In this respect, their promise is kept: these earbuds can be used to watch a full-length film, or for long music playback or gaming sessions.

Comfortable and secure

With their three sizes of ear tips, the AKG N5 Hybrid wireless earbuds are suitable for most ears. During our test, the default ear tips were perfect for us. There’s no revolution here, but the oval-tube design adapts perfectly to the ear. The IP54 rating protects them from water splashes in the event of rain.

After several hours of use, these wireless earbuds are easy to forget. No particular discomfort to report. The very soft material of the ear-tips, and their well thought-out shape, make them particularly comfortable. Whether you’re working, gaming or watching a movie, they’re a pleasure to wear.

Touch controls

By default, the AKG N5 Hybrid wireless earbuds offers these touch-sensitive controls:

Left earbud

• 1 tap: activate transparent mode or ANC
• 2 taps: switch between the dongle and Bluetooth mode
• 3 taps: activate TalkThru mode (only lets voices through)
• Long press: activates voice assistant (Gemini, Siri, Bixby, etc.)

Right earbud:

• 1 tap: play/pause
• 2 taps: next track
• 3 taps: previous track
• Long press: activates voice assistant (Gemini, Siri, Bixby, etc.)

During a call, new commands are available on both earbuds:

• 2 taps: answer / hang up
• Long press: reject call, mute/activate microphone

These controls can be customized on the left and right earbuds, using three distinct modes: Playback Controls, Ambient Sound Controls, Volume Controls. Shortcuts can be defined according to use, or if the volume is often adjusted using the touch controls.

AKG Headphones: a comprehensive app

The AKG Headphones app offers a wide range of options. For example, you can adjust the noise reduction, balance and voice volume during calls (Voice Aware). A tab dedicated to sound lets you adjust numerous parameters such as support for high-resolution audio, virtual spatialization and equalization. You can even set a volume limiter to protect your hearing.

A final tab provides access to settings for touch control shortcuts, the power saver, assistant language selection and earbuds update tool. The latter requires the use of the USB-C dongle to ensure fast and reliable data transfer. In addition, the app also updates the USB-C dongle. Overall, this setup and configuration interface is beyond reproach.

Key specifications

• Bluetooth earbuds, wireless
• 10mm dynamic transducer
• Frequency response: 20Hz to 40kHz
• Earbuds IP protection rating: IP54
• Charging case IP protection rating: IP52
• Bluetooth 5.3: LDAC
• Noise cancelling, TalkThru
• Autonomy: up to 40 hours (with case), 10 hours (earbuds alone)
• Weight: 6g (earbuds), 48.4g (case + earbuds)

Listening conditions

To take full advantage of the performance of the AKG N5 Hybrid wireless earbuds, we tested their music playback abilities on PC and smartphone, using both the USB-C dongle and the Bluetooth connection. For gaming, the dongle was connected to a PlayStation 5 and a gaming PC. The games Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II and Cyberpunk 2077 were used to evaluate sound reproduction in binaural audio and with Dolby Atmos for Headphones. For high-resolution music, Qobuz was used on a daily basis. Netflix and YouTube were also used to test movies and other videos.

Listening impressions

After a few hours’ running-in, the AKG N5 Hybrid wireless earbuds revealed their full potential. On Imminence’s God Fearing Man, the generous bass perfectly accompanied the violin, without overpowering it. The sound was balanced, allowing all the instruments to be enjoyed to the full, including the saturated electric guitars. On a softer track like Vines’ I Am My Home, the synthesizer strings had a strong presence, but still allowed the accompanying vocals to shine. However, on Dead Pony’s Everything Burns, the highs were a little too bright. The punk recording emphasized this frequency range, which is very present. However, we were able to correct this by quickly adjusting the equalization.

With the dongle connected directly to an Android Smart TV, it wa possible to enjoy movies and series with these latest-generation wireless earbuds. Thanks to their excellent battery life, we were able to watch The Electric State in its entirety. With the ANC activated, immersion was ideal and dialogue perfectly audible. On YouTube, despite the different mixing qualities of the videos, the sound was also very pleasant. The AKG N5 Hybrid earbuds were suitable for most situations, whether we watched entertainment videos, podcasts or stream replays.

One of the key features of the AKG N5 Hybrid wireless earbuds is the USB-C dongle, which not only allows you to enjoy uncompressed sound, but also zero latency. An ideal feature for video games. What’s more, the spatialization ensures that sound events are precisely localized. Although not certified, with Dolby Atmos for Headphones in Cyberpunk 2077, it was easy to localize the presence of enemies, police sirens and even the movements of flying vehicles. In Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, the binaural effect was impressive and the voices in the heroine’s head seemed to move around us.

As for Bluetooth, the AKG N5 Hybrid earbuds offer compatibility with SBC, AAC and LDAC codecs. The latter allows you to enjoy high-resolution sound. Whether with a PC, TV or smartphone, this connection mode may be suitable, but does not allow you to enjoy the full capabilities of these earbuds. In addition, some latency is present and can be annoying when watching films, series or videos. Furthermore, this protocol can’t be used for gaming, due to the time delay between the sound and picture. However, the simplicity of switching from one device to another means that you can quickly take a Bluetooth call on a smartphone while playing on a PlayStation 5 with the USB-C dongle, for example. In concrete terms, the 2.4GHz connection should be preferred, with Bluetooth remaining useful for all undemanding tasks.

AKG N5 Hybrid compared to Technics EAH-AZ100

It’s hard to compare the AKG N5 Hybrid with other models, given their design, which takes the best of the worlds of wireless music and gaming. However, the Technics EAH-AZ100 Bluetooth earbuds could be a good challenger. Indeed, with support for SBC, AAC, LDAC and LC3 Bluetooth codecs, they offer broad compatibility with many devices. Dolby Atmos and Hi-Res Audio certified, they guarantee perfect spatialization, as well as playback of high-resolution files. However, if you’re going to be gaming, the AKG N5 Hybrid earbuds are more relevant thanks to the USB-C dongle connection, eliminating any latency.

Read: EAH-AZ100 wireless earbuds review: Technics celebrates 60 years in style

Who should use the AKG N5 Hybrid wireless earbuds?

Whether you want to listen to music wirelessly in the best possible conditions or enjoy gaming without latency, the AKG N5 Hybrid earbuds are an excellent solution for all types of entertainment. They benefit from Wi-Fi technology, previously confined to gaming headphones and earbuds. These wireless IEMs are ideal for music lovers, movie buffs and gamers alike.

Frequently asked questions