Udonitron
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- May 26, 2013
- Posts
- 27
- Likes
- 12
My first can review here folks so go easy on me eh!
So I hummed and ahhh'ed over these headphones since they were announced months ago.
I begged and waited for reviews but all the reviews were on their site only and I suspect may be a little bias since the cans had not been released and yet so many had them already.
I loved the idea that they gave back to the hearing impaired community with each purchase, that the used reclaimed wood on the ear pieces, and that they had an all metal minimalist design.
While the Skullcandy cans are not great I have always liked their Aviator design and the cups fit well over the ears and were comfy so these, following that same design style, appealed to me thus I had to give em a shot.
Build Quality:
They arrived last night and the packaging is nicely done.
They included a return slip and accept a full refund if not totally happy with them.
Also a 1 year no questions asked replacement policy, which kicks ass!
Onto the nitpicking lol.
As soon as I took them out of the box I was immediately disappointed.
Why? Well they sell them as "over the ear" cans and they are so tiny that unless you have ears the size of a small egg these are not going to sit over your ears!
On their site there is nothing to give them scale so I figured they were just like the Aviators in size and shape but no sir!
They sit on my ears and with me wearing glasses and having a shaved head these are a no go but more on that later in the Comfort section.
The chrome around the wood and black plugs in the headband ratchet area is pretty poorly done...I mean the quality control allowed this to pass which kind of makes me wonder 'WHY?'.
It is full of dust particles, a chip, and poorly prepped plastic which just cheapens their looks IMO.
The wood is gorgeous no doubt but even the wood has some dust under the finish which shows under the light and once again makes you wonder why?
They are $150 plus shipping so for that price they SHOULD be a little more consistent and top of 'fit and finish' honestly.
The ratchet system is nice and solid and they stay put wherever you fix them.
Also the stainless hinges and headband are a nice touch I might add.
I dig the matching removable wood left and right audio plugs as well as the cloth braided cord but that seems to be a standard on most cans now.
Comfort Quality:
Well this is where these nice looking cans fail miserably for me.
They sit on top of your ears and unless you are a child they are not going to be sitting over your ears at all. The inner portion is the size of a very small chicken egg and with their shape you cannot avoid them sitting on your ears.
Secondly, the nicely made aesethically pleasing headband is one of the most uncomfortable bands I have ever used.
There are nothing more than two 2mm thick rubber strips, one on each stainless band, for the padding factor.
Now this mightbe OK for someone wearing a had all the time or a hefty head of hair however for us folks who have their hair buzzed or shaved you are gonna have painful ridges in your head within 5 minutes of use.
I could not wear them for any more than 5-10 minutes without them really digging into my skull and leaving 2 nice channels travelling across my skull?
Function before fashion guys, always.
I managed to wear them, with a baseball hat on to prevent skull damage lol, for the past 1.5 hours and folks who wear glasses such as myself you are gonna suffer since these sit on your ears and push them over your glasses arms.
Just cannot do it...they are painful everywhere IMO.
So if you have really short hair, a shaved head, or wear glasses you are not going to be a slap happy camper here folks.
I.E up poop creek floating on a fart bubble without a paddle.
Sound Quality:
This is where these cans are quite decent.
Nice overall general sound and with some EQ tweaking they can really shine.
Bass can be heavy on them however not overly potent and domineering.
It is creamy and blends well with the mids and highs.
I find the highs are not incredibly prevelant but some EQ adjusting and they are much better.
Mids are nice...not boomy but smooth without any shrill spikes.
I would say they are as good as my Denon AH-D1100's, which also shine with some EQ adjustments.
The Denon's of course put these to shame on comfort but not build quality I think since they are quite plasticy.
Conclusion:
For the price I would say the sound is on point however the comfort is so poor for my smooth head and 4 eyes that I have to send em back.
They look beautiful and the design is super cool however getting up close, the finish flaws jump out and were very noticbile immediately after taking them out of the box...not acceptable on a $170 cans after shipping IMO.
That paired with the poorly designed headband and classified as "over the ear" cans when they are clearly not left me sad, flesh grooved, and overall sore.
So for those with a thick head of hair, no glasses, and looking for a cool retro style set of "on ear" cans these are for you!
Side note: the company to talk and deal with is amazing!
Customer service and replies are top notch and on time and they do come across like they care and honestly want to help you out.
That is a dying paradigm in this day and age and while they are in their infancy I do appreciate and love them for that so do not EVER change that LSTN peeps!
So I hummed and ahhh'ed over these headphones since they were announced months ago.
I begged and waited for reviews but all the reviews were on their site only and I suspect may be a little bias since the cans had not been released and yet so many had them already.
I loved the idea that they gave back to the hearing impaired community with each purchase, that the used reclaimed wood on the ear pieces, and that they had an all metal minimalist design.
While the Skullcandy cans are not great I have always liked their Aviator design and the cups fit well over the ears and were comfy so these, following that same design style, appealed to me thus I had to give em a shot.
Build Quality:
They arrived last night and the packaging is nicely done.
They included a return slip and accept a full refund if not totally happy with them.
Also a 1 year no questions asked replacement policy, which kicks ass!
Onto the nitpicking lol.
As soon as I took them out of the box I was immediately disappointed.
Why? Well they sell them as "over the ear" cans and they are so tiny that unless you have ears the size of a small egg these are not going to sit over your ears!
On their site there is nothing to give them scale so I figured they were just like the Aviators in size and shape but no sir!
They sit on my ears and with me wearing glasses and having a shaved head these are a no go but more on that later in the Comfort section.
The chrome around the wood and black plugs in the headband ratchet area is pretty poorly done...I mean the quality control allowed this to pass which kind of makes me wonder 'WHY?'.
It is full of dust particles, a chip, and poorly prepped plastic which just cheapens their looks IMO.
The wood is gorgeous no doubt but even the wood has some dust under the finish which shows under the light and once again makes you wonder why?
They are $150 plus shipping so for that price they SHOULD be a little more consistent and top of 'fit and finish' honestly.
The ratchet system is nice and solid and they stay put wherever you fix them.
Also the stainless hinges and headband are a nice touch I might add.
I dig the matching removable wood left and right audio plugs as well as the cloth braided cord but that seems to be a standard on most cans now.
Comfort Quality:
Well this is where these nice looking cans fail miserably for me.
They sit on top of your ears and unless you are a child they are not going to be sitting over your ears at all. The inner portion is the size of a very small chicken egg and with their shape you cannot avoid them sitting on your ears.
Secondly, the nicely made aesethically pleasing headband is one of the most uncomfortable bands I have ever used.
There are nothing more than two 2mm thick rubber strips, one on each stainless band, for the padding factor.
Now this mightbe OK for someone wearing a had all the time or a hefty head of hair however for us folks who have their hair buzzed or shaved you are gonna have painful ridges in your head within 5 minutes of use.
I could not wear them for any more than 5-10 minutes without them really digging into my skull and leaving 2 nice channels travelling across my skull?
Function before fashion guys, always.
I managed to wear them, with a baseball hat on to prevent skull damage lol, for the past 1.5 hours and folks who wear glasses such as myself you are gonna suffer since these sit on your ears and push them over your glasses arms.
Just cannot do it...they are painful everywhere IMO.
So if you have really short hair, a shaved head, or wear glasses you are not going to be a slap happy camper here folks.
I.E up poop creek floating on a fart bubble without a paddle.
Sound Quality:
This is where these cans are quite decent.
Nice overall general sound and with some EQ tweaking they can really shine.
Bass can be heavy on them however not overly potent and domineering.
It is creamy and blends well with the mids and highs.
I find the highs are not incredibly prevelant but some EQ adjusting and they are much better.
Mids are nice...not boomy but smooth without any shrill spikes.
I would say they are as good as my Denon AH-D1100's, which also shine with some EQ adjustments.
The Denon's of course put these to shame on comfort but not build quality I think since they are quite plasticy.
Conclusion:
For the price I would say the sound is on point however the comfort is so poor for my smooth head and 4 eyes that I have to send em back.
They look beautiful and the design is super cool however getting up close, the finish flaws jump out and were very noticbile immediately after taking them out of the box...not acceptable on a $170 cans after shipping IMO.
That paired with the poorly designed headband and classified as "over the ear" cans when they are clearly not left me sad, flesh grooved, and overall sore.
So for those with a thick head of hair, no glasses, and looking for a cool retro style set of "on ear" cans these are for you!
Side note: the company to talk and deal with is amazing!
Customer service and replies are top notch and on time and they do come across like they care and honestly want to help you out.
That is a dying paradigm in this day and age and while they are in their infancy I do appreciate and love them for that so do not EVER change that LSTN peeps!
