Review of the KLM Earpads
Unboxing.
Design
The KLM headset has an earmuff design, consisting of two individual earpieces to be attached behind the ears with a plastic placeholder, similar to sunglasses. The material is a white, marginally flexible plastic, with the KLM logo printed in blue on the outside. The soft padding of the earphones ensures a comfortable fit for a lengthy period of time, although it should be noted that the over-ear design does not allow for a significant amount of isolation.
Timeless design.
Sound impressions
Presentation
The KLM Earpads have a brighter than neutral signature, characterised by an upper midrange peak and laidback mid-bass. Although its stage might be considered intimate, the distant position of the mid-bass and its laidback quantity results in sufficient clarity with moderate airiness, and even adequate layering ability within its price tier. While the Earpads create airiness on the stage by enhancing the upper midrange, the air surrounding instruments and vocals is not very clean, and instruments lack definition as a result of the rolled up mid to upper treble. As much as I hate to say it, the resolution is simply not very great; some work needs to be done here. Suffice to say, Beercap AEP-17 performs better in this regard.
Bass
Overall, the bass is lighter than neutral in its quantity. In addition, the lower end extension is not very impressive, resulting in shallow hits that can be heard as taps in the background, but not felt. In addition, by attenuating the mid-bass, the warmth of the bass cannot compensate for the upper midrange peak, resulting in an overall brighter tone.
Midrange
The lower midrange is recessed, resulting in a leaner note structure. Accordingly, midrange notes do not carry a lot of weight. Due to the prominent 5 Khz peak, the vocal presentation is laidback, thin, and rather diffused; the KLM earpads struggle to form a solid center image. In addition, the tone of the midrange is not completely natural. The upper midrange peak puts stress on the note release, resulting in harshness in the presentation.
Treble
The Earpads gently start rolling off after the upper midrange peak, and increasingly more so after roughly 7 KHz. Accordingly, the treble tone is not as bright as the upper midrange, and the treble quantity can be considered roughly neutral. The downside is that the KLM earpads are not very upfront in their detail; especially finer elements tend to get lost.
Select comparisons
KLM Earpads vs. Non-stop crying baby behind me
The crying baby contrasts the KLM Earpads with a midcentric signature, and main energy in the 3-4 KHz region. Similar to the Earpads, the mid-bass presentation is laidback, resulting in a brighter than neutral tone. However, due to better treble extension, crying baby has greater transparency and resolution. In addition, its imaging is more pinpoint precise - the tone is more easily localised in space. Notes have more focus in comparison to the fuzzy and diffused presentation of the Earpads. It betters the Earpads in its ability to form a solid, and dare I say, 3D vocal presentation. It still doesn’t produce very dense or warm vocals, so it tends to favor female over male vocals – this isn’t something you’d use to put on to kick back with some Frank Sinatra or Leonard Cohen. While its tone is not as bright as the Earpads, I would be hesitant to describe it as completely natural, due to the lack of bass and accordingly warmth in the tone. In both cases, the tone is not completely accurate, and there is a tendency towards harshness when played at louder volumes.
