[yrcrazy]

If you are from the UK you can now get these Angle and Curve headphones free from Orange if you buy a PAYG phone for £30 or more.
http://www.angleandcurve.com/shop/index.php/angle-and-curve-classic-headphones-chrome.html

 cant find any reviews from the web on these as they are pretty new , so wondering if you guys know anything about them.Thinking of getting my brother a phone for Christmas and then I wont have to spend £75 on headphones from Amazon.

 

[madkat]

 
Angle & Curve's domain name, angleandcurve.com, belongs to a company called Sefour, a London company who appear to resell various bits of DJ equipment. Sefour only stock one type of headphones, and that's not the "Angle & Curve". That in itself is odd.
 
What's also odd is that when I first visited, angleandcurve.com didn't appear to have any online retail presence. Now it does have a shop, but it's not immediately accessible. The website is one of those that annoyingly plays music at you even though you never asked it to, and fails to stop the music on the page that has a YouTube video. It also looks like there might be a bit of Engrish in there: "Angle & Curve is headphone manufacturer [...]"
One might suspect that the company sprung up in order to satisfy a requirement from Orange to push out a promotion promising high quality headphones but without actually costing very much. If they're really worth £60, how would it be economically viable to give them away with a £40 handset that's not bound to a contract?
 
It may also be a possibility that poor reception (I've not managed to find many reviews of the A&C headphones, but the ones I did find were not favourable) forced Sefour to ditch the whole enterprise. At which point Orange swoop in, and say "Keep the website up at least until we've shifted this lot, yeah?" - Sefour keep offering the headphones at £60, and people believe they're WORTH £60. Buyer beware - if A&C disappear after Christmas (the Orange promotion runs til 24th Dec), who's going to deal with the manufacturer's warranty?
 
Third option is that Sefour cast out the net for brand-awareness building opportunities and Orange got in contact - fine, but the growing awareness is that these things are sent out with cheap phones that are "worth" less than the headphones. And that still doesn't stack up.
 
A&C's "classic" headphones look REMARKABLY similar to the Eskuche 33 1/3 which also retail at £60 - except Amazon sell the A&C at £35 while A&C still sell at £60.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Eskuche-33-Ear-Headphones-Black/dp/B003N1W1A0/ref=cm_cr_pr_sims_t
http://www.muazo.co.uk/Eskuche_Headphones/Eskuche_33_Silver_Headphones
 
That confirms my suspicion that these are probably cheap generic headphones produced in a Chinese factory before being stamped with their client's name & logo.
 
Probably something like (by which I mean "exactly") these:
 
http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/343333970/stereo_headphone_MY_6730_.html
 
 
You might wonder what my point is. Loads of stuff gets made like this. But I do not believe these are worth £60. I do not believe Angle & Curve, or Sefour, employ any staff who have properly scientifically researched headphone technology and come up with what they honestly believe to be The Best headphones for their price bracket. But that's their marketing pitch, and that riles me something rotten. Angle & Curve repeatedly make claims about drivers and style designed in-house. They clearly haven't been.

 

[yrcrazy]

Madkat, it is interesting what you say ,perhaps they will fall apart after a month.what you say about them looking very similar to the Eskuche is also very interesting , they are identical just with a different logo on the side.And looking at the alibaba link it seems that you are completely correct, oh dear.
As I didnt see your post before getting them , I did go to orange.They are pretty good , but rather uncomfortable , I just hope they dont fall apart soon.
Next time I buy a pair of headphones from a small company I will make sure to contact you , as the fact you found this out shows you are probably one of the most reliable people in the world to talk to about headphones.
For anyone interested , here is crappy review.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YlGpXCX7Bk

 

[madkat]

PMSL
 
Thanks - can't help but think you're being a little sarcy, but that's perfectly alright by me
 
I don't expect they'll *fall apart* - I've bought a lot of generic unbranded gear from China which has been exactly what I expect: cheap, but does the job you want them to do.
 
Nice review BTW - I saw another one on YouTube that had a guy (they paid) saying they'd designed the drivers. Which they didn't. Generic unbranded cheap drivers. Nothing special, Not worth £60.
 
Like you said - if you need a phone, go to Orange and get some generic unbranded gear with a sticker on for nothing

 

[madkat]

Oh, to follow up... I don't know a great deal about headphones. I do know they won't be worth £60 if you can get a free pair with a £30 POS phone. I paid £50 for my Sennheiser headphones and would say they're worth the money. Not sure which I prefer out of the Sennheiser, Sony & Skullcandy earphones, but I'm fairly sure it helps if you buy ones manufactured by a company whose name begins with an S...

 

[yrcrazy]

Thought it may have been to really push promoting products of theres and that they were an up and coming company.
Btw Wasn't being sarcy ,didnt see your post count and thought if you are able to find stuff like that out so easily you must be some kind of headphone genius.

 

[yrcrazy]

spent ages wanting some sennheisers and would have bought them if I hadn't of seen the offer.Oh well, they seem alright.

 

[madkat]

If they work for you, that's great. Even if they are a bit uncomfortable. Be glad you didn't spend £60 on them. The Amazon listing has got to be a real kick in the nuts for anyone who paid that.
 
If you're not using the Orange handset, you could maybe flog both on eBay for £25 & £30 and get your Sennies for £55 less? Mind you, that takes time.
 
I don't mind criticism - but happy to hear you weren't being sarcy Didn't take a great deal of work (30 minutes spent on Google and Alibaba) - actually I didn't realise they were the same as the Eskuche until after I'd written everything up til that point. Don't even remember how I came across them. The similarity was what prompted me to check Alibaba and ultimately find the generic unbranded version.
 
I'm glad for people that like them, but I'd hope they shopped around before hitting the "Buy" button on the A&C website. Even if you don't want a phone, £30 on a crap handset you can eBay or send directly on to Envirofone is better than half price and Amazon is nearly half price.
 
I don't think A&C are going to be able to make a name for themselves if their first stab was this bad.

 

[Ulti]

I've actually got a pair of these and just tested them for a bit. Although the sound isn't bad, it's definitely not worth the £60 RRP on them.
 
The build quality is very poor and plasticky with a poor finish. They're very light and don't feel solid at all. Due to their lightness, they feel very loose on the head and the clamping force is quite weak. As they're on ears, isolation is terrible.
 
In terms of sound, the overall sound is similar to the CX300 (IEMs). They've got an emphasized low end that is rather muddy and vocals are slightly upfront but the rest of the midrange is full. Detail is there but laid back. Overall clarity is lacking.

 

[madkat]

You're in London, maybe you could pop a suit on and drop by, telling them you're looking to invest and then ask to see their manufacturing environment - and R&D office?

 

[Ulti]

Haha I actually go to uni very close to them, apparently their "office" or whatever is in Covent Garden and my uni (LSE) is in Holborn; a 5 minute walk. Unfortunately I probably won't be able to pull it off as drama or acting was never one of my strengths lol.
 
Here's what Google Street View shows: (I've only walked down this street a couple of times)

 

[madkat]

Sefour - Angle & Curve's "parent company", if Angle & Curve isn't simply a trading name of Sefour - have a shop at the exact same address as Angle & Curve, as illustrated:
http://www.sefour.com/store/
 
Anyone heard of Sefour? They resell their DJ stands & storage units through other web stores as well as on their own shop floor and web store. I'm not about to start guessing whether this hardware is rebranded generic kit though, and I don't have the time right now (it's midnight ***) to trawl through Alibaba.

 

[madkat]

Looking at Street View I think you were right on the building - but it doesn't look anything like the photo on their website! Bok Bar is #20, Sefour are #17-19, and the street does appear to have numbers up one side and then down the other (Tesco Extra is #22-25 and #30 is on the other side after HSBC)
 
So does the site have a photo of a shop that doesn't (or no longer) exist(s)?
 
MLS (on the plaque on the building) is a Meeting & Conference centre. Possibly also a mail forwarding service for people who want a London address for their business. (Doing a Google search for 17-19 Bedford Street is interesting and even throws up a video!) The AngleAndCurve.com domain whois points to what appears to be a flat in Solihull. Which would also be Sefour's actual physical address.
 
The plot thickens!