Inspired by its traditional competitor Sennheiser, AKG has decided to update its collection of headphones, leaving it with no fewer than six pairs of 'traditional' headphones and three in-ear options.  These K319s come at the top of the range of traditional headphones.

A Surprising Design
For these headphones, AKG has moved away from conventional forms and the K319s have a most unusual profile.  They pull it off, though, and the matte plastics give a classy look.  The choice of dark, neutral colours is a welcome change from some of the other products in the range which are rather bright.

Suppplied with a long extension cable, a case, and an aeroplane adapter, these are certainly luxury headphones.  One criticism remains though, and it's that the semi-rigid case, although great at protecting the headphones themselves, takes up a lot of space.  It could easily have been half the size and still kept the K319s safe.

Useful Volume Control
The sound is clear, well-defined and very dynamic.  Thanks to some smart design from AKG, the inline volume control on the headphone cable is easier to access than on some other models we've tested.

Our only gripe is that because of the extra plastic around the outside of the earbud, they aren't very tight in your ear.  You're better off checking that they're nice and snug in your ears before you set off.  At the end of the day, the K319s are a safe choice, even if a few details remain to be tweaked.