We were eager to try AKG's latest noise cancelers—they're compact, light, and cool-looking, and they fold up small. The noise reduction is built into a belt clip, and the supraural pads are comfortable for the long haul. The K28NCs are very sensitive and can play loudly even from weak sources. We measured an ear-busting 111 dB on our standard rock track. The noise-reduction circuitry reduces external sound effectively. Bass response is very strong—maybe too strong for purists. _A sharp peak at 2.5 kHz emphasizes the high midrange more than we'd like, and there's a slightly muffled quality to the sound, but overall, these are listenable phones.