Thanks to iDance again for the review sample!
Now, you might be thinking to yourself right now, 'Why would a company name their headphones 'Kiss Me?"
Or possibly, "They look strange, and probably sound worse."
Surprisingly, the iDance Kiss Me is not bad.
Unlike some other iDance headphones I have reviewed, these have proven to be surprisingly decent.
These come with a voucher for two softwares: PCDJ 3DEX LE (a DJ software) and Magix Mufin (a music player)
Build and Design - While the Kiss Me headphones look blatantly flashy and toy-ish, they actually feel quite well made- at least compared to the other iDance headphones I've tried. While they are completely made out of plastic, I don't believe that they are prone to any kind of build problems. Headband is pretty flexible, and features a decent amount of padding on the underside. The earpads on the cups have a good amount of foam inside of them, however, they are somewhat stiff.
The cable is of a flat variant, and features a unique headphone splitter on it with two extra jacks. Cable terminates to a standard 90 degree 3.5mm jack.
Comfort and isolation - The Kiss Me headphones are quite tight on the ears, so prolonged usage may become uncomfortable. I do have a somewhat large head, so the clamping force may vary.
Isolation is somewhat sub-par for a closed back headphone. I can easily hear outside noises protruding into tracks. I would even consider the isolation to be around the same level of some semi-open headphones, like the V-Moda Crossfade series.
Sound - I certainly wasn't expecting too much from these, but I was pleasantly surprised when I plugged them in and started playing some of my favorite tunes. The sound is much more balanced than I expected. Sure, the bass is still somewhat emphasized, but certainly not as much as a lot of other fashion headphones in this price range.
Bass - Like I said, the bass is still accentuated, but it is much more clean than a lot of other fashion headphones that I've tried. It's got some warmth to it as well. It's a little bloated, but not to the extent that I've commonly heard with other fashion headphones.
Mids - Like a lot of these headphones aimed at fashion, mids tend to be non-existent. That's somewhat true here, but I can easily hear more mids with the Kiss Me than something like the EarPollution Mogul, which is also in the fashion headphone realm.
Highs - I would consider the highs on the Kiss Me to be laid back for certain. There is a lot more treble presence on these than so many fashion headphones that I've tried. No, I wouldn't really call them something to write home about, but definitely worth mentioning.
Soundstage - Everything sounds so congested with these headphones. Practically no real width or depth to the sound.
Overall - I'm quite impressed with these, for sure. I wouldn't generally recommend them to the average consumer, nor Head-Fi'er (for obvious reasons). If there's something about the appearance that you might find appealing, these would possibly be 'okay'.
One can certainly get better value for the price of $50, but, like I said, if the appearance is what you're after, then go for it.
