As the title suggests, these were my first upgrade from ibuds. They broke a while back so I'm going from memory but I did have them for a while. First of all, they're super comfortable. The only closed back I've tried on where putting it on actually cooled down my ears instead of the opposite. There is plenty of room for the ears and I literally fell asleep with these on a couple times. They work well right out of an iPod, although they do come with a 1/4" adapter if you want to use them with anything more serious. Isolation is fine, I was comfortable listening to them on airplanes or car rides without turning the volume up too much. Unfortunately, they aren't the best choice for portable use. The all plastic construction is lightweight but not super sturdy and the lack of a protective case means you have to be gentle with these. Mine broke at the point where the earcup attaches to the headband, apparently a weak point because my one of my friends had his break at the same spot as well. The cord is also too long for portable use (9 ft) and tangles easily. Still, relatively minor complaints for a $25 phone that I used as my one and only HP (at home, portable, everything) for well over a year. I like to recommend it to people who want an upgrade from ibuds but don't want to spend a lot. It's great as a gateway drug. Sound-wise, I never found it to be lacking bass, and plenty of detail was there. I don't want to go into much detail because I can't listen to them at the moment, but definitely recommended as an entry level phone for those who who favor a more even presentation. (Read: Bassheads will probably be disappointed)
Reviews by AR Cascade
I've borrowed these as my standard headphones are out of commission for the moment and I couldn't stand my computer speakers any more. They're a decent value, but at $11 they better be. It's quite difficult to get a full seal on my head, the shape doesn't really fit my head. Once you get your seal, however, they isolate fairly well and are comfortable. A little warming around the ear, but nothing truly objectionable. Haven't worn them for more than 2 hours at a time, but even after that time sweating was minimal. I also had no problems comfort-wise, the earcups are pretty large and fit around my ears easily. I don't wear glasses so I can't speak to that. Sound-wise, I'll talk about the HDTracks sampler so that anyone can replicate.
Dance of the Tumblers: Seems quite sterile. Not in the sense of being cold and analytical, it's just that the strings lack a certain fire that really makes the piece sparkle, especially in the opening. The basses, timpani, and low brass really dominate the whole track with a sort of echo effect going on. The tambourine and triangle do come through well, cutting through the otherwise boomy orchestra. I can't really pick out the imaging, almost as though the performance were in an extremely echo prone cathedral.
Lucia: Sounds pretty good, the superbly liquid nature of the song works well with the sound signature of the phones. I can really get caught up in this. My only complaints this time would be that I feel like the recording is trying to be really intimate with her vocals, and the phones can't really keep up with the feel of the performance. The background percussion is very nice however, and comes straight through the mix to give a nice texture.
Big Bad Girl: Vocals seem recessed, guitars are everywhere and have no precision. Can't really place his voice either, it gets spread out all over the place and seems to echo around especially on the shouting bits.
Misery: Not too bad. Drums have far too much echo to them, but the background vocals are set off to the sides which gives a cool effect. I feel like the instrumentals were recorded in an echo chamber but the voices are more controlled. As with before, the overbearing low end really comes into play. No problem with the (female) vocals, as they don't go too low, but anything that even creeps into the low end gets overdone and bounces around in the phones.
Mozart Violin Concerto: Very similar impressions to Dance of the Tumblers. Anything in the low end is favored to an unnatural degree, and the timbre is unrealistic. Especially because it is a violin concerto, I'd like a bit more in the string overtones, and detail in the bowing and fingering. When the orchestra is playing, the soloist is overshadowed by a lot. Woodwinds sound unnaturally liquid and have a weird echo to them. I'd like more articulation there.
Overall, they exaggerate the bass to a great deal and have some echo going on. I suspect they would do well with DnB, new age, or otherwise bassy/echoy music. They practically beg for Enya. (Yup, just listened. Storms in Africa really pulls you in)
My recommendation? Unless you're going for a budget phone for your extensive collection of new age, there are better options. Step up your budget a bit and get the Sennheiser HD201, which in my opinion does a much better job as an all-rounder.
Edit: My preference is for a neutral sound signature, but this eq made them sound much better to my ears
Dance of the Tumblers: Seems quite sterile. Not in the sense of being cold and analytical, it's just that the strings lack a certain fire that really makes the piece sparkle, especially in the opening. The basses, timpani, and low brass really dominate the whole track with a sort of echo effect going on. The tambourine and triangle do come through well, cutting through the otherwise boomy orchestra. I can't really pick out the imaging, almost as though the performance were in an extremely echo prone cathedral.
Lucia: Sounds pretty good, the superbly liquid nature of the song works well with the sound signature of the phones. I can really get caught up in this. My only complaints this time would be that I feel like the recording is trying to be really intimate with her vocals, and the phones can't really keep up with the feel of the performance. The background percussion is very nice however, and comes straight through the mix to give a nice texture.
Big Bad Girl: Vocals seem recessed, guitars are everywhere and have no precision. Can't really place his voice either, it gets spread out all over the place and seems to echo around especially on the shouting bits.
Misery: Not too bad. Drums have far too much echo to them, but the background vocals are set off to the sides which gives a cool effect. I feel like the instrumentals were recorded in an echo chamber but the voices are more controlled. As with before, the overbearing low end really comes into play. No problem with the (female) vocals, as they don't go too low, but anything that even creeps into the low end gets overdone and bounces around in the phones.
Mozart Violin Concerto: Very similar impressions to Dance of the Tumblers. Anything in the low end is favored to an unnatural degree, and the timbre is unrealistic. Especially because it is a violin concerto, I'd like a bit more in the string overtones, and detail in the bowing and fingering. When the orchestra is playing, the soloist is overshadowed by a lot. Woodwinds sound unnaturally liquid and have a weird echo to them. I'd like more articulation there.
Overall, they exaggerate the bass to a great deal and have some echo going on. I suspect they would do well with DnB, new age, or otherwise bassy/echoy music. They practically beg for Enya. (Yup, just listened. Storms in Africa really pulls you in)
My recommendation? Unless you're going for a budget phone for your extensive collection of new age, there are better options. Step up your budget a bit and get the Sennheiser HD201, which in my opinion does a much better job as an all-rounder.
Edit: My preference is for a neutral sound signature, but this eq made them sound much better to my ears
