The Billionaires have arrived!
They're even tackier looking in person, although I have had people laugh and say that they're steampunky and need matching goggles and a duster. The brown-and-gold is highlighted by a very yellow somewhat short cable, and an orange mesh on the inside of the headband.
Despite this, I find them hilarious in their awfulness, and keep giggling at the very concept of them. The best part about wearing them is that I don't have to look at them, and just incidentally look silly. But I appreciate that kind of humor.
They came packaged in a plastic clamshell thing. I don't see any 1/8" to 1/4" adapter or instructions or anything. To give the packaging credit, I was able to open it easily. It wasn't one of those completely impervious ones that requires a crowbar to open. It appears to all be recyclable, which is nice.
The headphones are quite stiff everywhere. The headband feels solid plastic, but adjusts to a fairly wide range. The ear cups swing widely and adjust pretty well. They fold up. They are not very comfortable, as the plastic headband sits on my head, and the pads aren't very soft; they're quite hard. They are foam, but it isn't very flexible. They're also not quite fully circumaural for me, and getting them on right is tricky. They slop all over the place and don't want to stay fixed in any one position. Very light clamping force. I prefer the larger, better padded ear cups on the UR-20, but the Billionaire is tolerable. Doing anything active, I think it might fall off. They've got a normal 1/8" stereo plug.
They are closed headphones, but do not clamp tightly or seal well and provide poor isolation. They do not leak sound much, though.
First impression is that they sound like they look: loud and colored!
I've got the Billionaires and a pair of Koss UR-20's plugged in to the jacks of a Total Bithead, being driven off my laptop. All the music is q6 Ogg Vorbis files. The Billionaires are very easy to drive, coming out of the amp much louder than the UR-20's. At first listen, they have somewhat pronounced mids, and may be bassy - I haven't tried any tracks that would be very bassy yet.
The sound is definitely colored, and when I turned it up louder the bass got quite pronounced. I think the word I've seen used is "flabby" and I understand why. There's a lot of it, but it just sort of flops all over the sound down there without much real clarity.
The banjo in "Journey of the Sorcerer" sounds funny, being weak in the upper end and melody, with the lower notes of the song and even the stronger banjo surging in to drown it out. The plucking of the strings is sometimes quite clear, but the higher, softer strings are simply lost.
So, they like bass, do they? Let's throw some Pink at them and see what they do... Yes, they like that. The UR-20's sound thin and reedy in comparison, and surprisingly quiet. Too much for my taste in "Get The Party Started", but Respect sounded okay.
Random play picks "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" next. Paul's voice seems emphasized, making the song sound quite different. At first listen, it's a big, rich sound, but it gets old quickly, at least for me.
The female singer "History Repeating" from the Propellorheads, on the other hand sounds thinner than it usually does, leaving her sounding washed out. That's not good, as she has a beautiful, rich voice in good headphones. (She sounds better in the UR-20's, when she isn't buried by the bass line.)
Find some more female vocals... the Spice Girls are female vocals. They're almost indistinguishable on the Billionares, and lost in the mad thumping of the bass. In contrast, the UR-20's lose much of the bass and leave the singers clear.
Now I need something to get "Wannabe" out of my head, or it'll be there all night...
"The Real Slim Shady" might pull that off. Oddly, the whole song just sounds loud in the Billionaires. I turned it down. Everything is audible, even the harpsichord-like melody line and his rapping. The bass boomps along in the background, like it always does. It's just loud in these headphones.
Duran Duran's "Reflex" came on after Eminem, and sounds tolerable. The direct comparison between the UR-20 and the Billionaires makes the coloration of the Billionaires sound very clear. It might be a coloration that a lot of people like, though; it's warm and bassy and picks up a lot of vocals.
I'll let them run overnight and see if they burn in. Over the weekend, I'll try to get my Headroom Millet Hybrid plugged in and see if a bigger amp changes them much. If I remember, I'll bring home my Senn HD555's from the office and compare them. Not really fair, considering the Senn's are 3x the price. (Comparing them to the DT990's would be even less fair!)
I've got some of the Phillips HP170's I can try too. If I care that much.
(One of my housemates has realized how many headphones are here. He's looking at me funny.)
As I finish this post, "Ponderous" by 2nu comes on. The speaker/singer's voice is clear, but many of the interesting sound effects that drive the word-story of the song are nearly lost. It's missing so much of it's usual interest and richness because of that. The same song on the UR-20's is much more engaging because all the depth of sound is presented better.
So, no surprises: Loud and bassy. It's like having the loudness war built right in to your headphones! With plastic bling!
I'd suggest PortaPros or the UR-20 instead. They'll let you hear your music and look less like an idiot. And that's saying something for the PortaPros!
