I was responsible for Industrial Design, Cary Zhou - for mechanical engineering and Helen Chen - for acoustic engineering. Thanks to our close collaboration we were able to deliver a product that is very durable, looks awesome and sounds amazing -  recently what Hi-Fi UK awarded Y50s with 5 stars review!
Great start for Y-SERIES!

 

AKG Y50 is a hero product of new Y-SEREIS line which is targeting wider spectrum of consumers - in general young creatives, who want to be associated with professional brand and treating music as a source of their inspiration. It was crucial for us, that with the new look, we won`t loose any other qualities AKG is known for - exceptional sound performance and durability. Together with ME and AE we were working hard on that.

 

As for new looks - if you are asking why AKG logo is so big - my answer would be: Because AKG is awesome! :D No, seriously - this brand have all it needs to justyfi such a bold move. Almost 70 years of history in music business, Grammy awards (for contribution to music industry!), respect among professional users (like Quincy Jones - Michael Jacksons and Frank Sinatra producer). So, if any other brand did that (big logo :)) it might be like..."yeahhh, do you even lift?" - and as it turned out AKG lifted the whole industry :)

 

I`m especially pleased with the materials we managed to use in final product - stainless steel (headband), aluminum (earcups), zinc-alloy (hinge rotators), polycarbonate reinforced with glass fiber (hinges), memory foam (ear and head cushions). I dare anyone to find other headphones with $99 price tag that are using similar materials :D 

The leagcy logo (three overalping "hearts") is a drawing of dynamic cardioid microphone polar pattern, which was introduced in iconic D12 microphone, that made AKG super famous in early `50s. Every radio station and recording studio wanted one.
The Y-SERIES logo is based on the cardroid geometry as a starting point. Since the headphones are emitting sound, not capturing, the "Y" logo was thought as an inversion of legacy logo (those heart tips are pointing to the center, while "Y" shape is pointing to the outside).

We`ve showed and demoed new Y50s to european technology and lifestyle journalists and bloggers - the reception was extremely positive.

 

Of course the question "are you trying to be like Beats?" was asked...  :)

The answer was: Just put Y50s and listen to them. The sound signature is different - it`s more balanced, more detailed, you can hear singers breath, guitar string texture and every other sound, that musicians are working on very hard before they release the track.  So yes, we`re targeting young audience too - but it`s this part of the audience that`s enjoying the music as a whole experience, with every detail of it.

 

Anyway, take a look at few photos from the event!