[Gwarmi]

 
Here's another publicity collaboration between Phillips and surfwear label O'Neill.
 
Reportedly a heap of recognized surfers are now being ask to promote these
'a la Beats' in the media spotlight.
 
They've just hit the shelves here in Australia at $99.95AUD.
 
Here's an excerpt from some gadget site :-
 
 

 
"In what amounts to yet another co-branding marketing kerfuffle, Philips and O'Neill have teamed up on a foursome of so-called durable headphones. The Stretch headphones (pictured) are the toughest of the bunch, constructed from an ultra-durable, temperature-resistant, and awesome-sounding material called TR 55LX that boasts a surface hardness six times greater than the polycarbonate stuff found in most headphones. The Snug series boasts "bold graphics" and can fold flat, while the in-ear Covert buds brings an iPhone controller. Last, and apparently least, is the "stylish" Specked with tangle free cord. Amazing. All are said to have been tested by the "toughest O'Neill team riders." As proof, O'Neill is trotting out Jeremy Jones, Mark Mathews, and Ane Enderud to promote its new gear, presumably because they want to and not because they are contractually obligated under the terms of their respective high-paying sponsorships. Needless to say, these headphones aren't for you if you don't know who these people are or you lack the fragile hipster ego required to wear them. No prices were announced, but you can expect them to match the "premium" description when these arrive for retail in Europe and the US sometime this month.

We did give Stretch a go for a quickie ears-on, and honestly, while the cloth cord was a nice touch and they do seem to be super rugged, we'd prefer that the team paid a bit more attention to the sound quality than the finish."

 

[jjinh]

I saw these when I was at Dick's. No, do not want.

 

[swaffleman]

The sounds quality is way unbalanced. The mids are muddy and the bass overpowering. And I got that from a mere 20 seconds of listening at a best buy. 

 

[Amarphael]

A mere 20 seconds you say,  is just worthless for evalueating a piece of audio gear. can't agree with anything you said either, I found them to be actually quite nice. some observations from a previous topic:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/559729/philips-o-neill-stretch-over-ear-headphones-question#post_7702626

 

[Ishcabible]

I agree with Amarphael. With a little bit of incredibly basic modding and some power, these are actually quite good. I didn't feel that the bass was that overpowering ever. I felt they were a bit undefined in the bass, but overpowering never was what I heard. With some modding (damping the housing, added polyfil, poked 2 holes in the drivers for more defined bass) they're my go-to portable headphones. However, unamped, they sound a bit incoherent. They're a bit like a refined AE1 with less midrange coloration. The drivers are actually angled, so soundstage is quite decent.

 

[EvilMime]

I've had these for a few months. They can sound a bit muffled but are probably the most comfortable pair I own (they isolate pretty good too). I use them more often then my arguably better Aurvanas due to that. Amping them does help; though I only ever do that at home. The super stretchiness is pretty nice too; they fit my 5 year old with no adjusting.
 
I've seen them being sold between $40 and $65 USD. They do not seem very popular. Possibly since the black and hot pink version are one of the ugliest things I have seen since the 80s. Just my two cents

   ....

 

[sky777]

Overall I have to agree with EvilMime. I too feel like the headphone is the most comfortable ones I own or ever worn. They are light and have very soft and nice padding. The depth of the driver is deep. For the sound quality I too think its a bit muddy. They have a "deep sound effect". Sounds like like a speaker system down below a well. The mids on here are lacking and not as crisp. The highs sound better than the mids but can be better. Bass is good. Overall I thought this headphone was worth the price of $70 at which I bought it at but its priced as $40 now which is more than reasonable to me. With its durability and comfort I think the price of $40 is worth it overall. However, I would not buy these for sound quality but more for portable use. 
 
Btw EvilMine when I used an amp "fiio e11" it didn't sound any better to me. Just more bass.

 

[darkswordsman17]

I saw these on Amazon and they caught my interest for modding. 
 
If you check the Philips website they have a lot more color combinations and the cups seem to be able to be scratched (with the under being the contrasting color of the main, so for the black and magenta ones it is magenta under the black). Kinda silly and I wonder how well they'll hold up if you don't want that (i.e. will they scratch and scuff and show the undercolor badly).
 
I actually like the black and (at least to me looks like) magenta, but its not one I'd wear.

 

[phamkl]

You know I think the Best Buy listening test is a pretty bad test. I say this because I heard the same headphones twice at Best Buy at two different stations and they sounded completely different. I was looking at the Skullcandy Roc Nation and they sounded pretty good - far better than I expected from the company - so when I saw them again, I tried them on again and I got the EXACT impression that Swaffleman's 20s listening. Mids were muddy, the treble was tinny at best, and the bass was bloaty and spilling into the other parts of the spectrum. It was so bad that I only lasted about 20-30s. 
 
I thought that maybe my first impression was off, that the phones were actually unbalanced and sloppy, but after hearing Swaffleman's impression on these phones that others are saying are pretty good, I'm thinking the phones must've been pretty good (my first impression) and that it's the display rig that was messed up. 
 
And before anyone writes off the Roc Nation Aviators, give them a try. I felt they were on par with the similarly priced Klipsch Image Ones in quality and sound signature, but well surpassed the Klipsch in comfort and obviously, style. I'm an audio-noob but I'm pretty confident in saying this. 

 

[keanex]

Quote:

I thought that maybe my first impression was off, that the phones were actually unbalanced and sloppy, but after hearing Swaffleman's impression on these phones that others are saying are pretty good, I'm thinking the phones must've been pretty good (my first impression) and that it's the display rig that was messed up. 

Or that the people who reviewed them prefer different types of sound. The review I read of the O'Neill Stretch all sound terrible and it sounds like the reviewers are trying to find something good about them. Overpowering bass, recessed mids, and "average" treble as ishcabibbles review states essentially, only being decent with an amp. How is this considered a decent headphone then? There are many headphones with an MSRP of under $50 that don't suffer these problems without an amp or modding, look at any Superlux offering for an example. In addition, to even consider these as worthy of buying to mod when Fostex T50RP are under $100 as well is silly. There's a multitude of headphones brand new as cheap as these new that are better. The reviews are "polishing a turd" so to speak, sure they are built well and are comfortable, but why does that even matter if the sound is totally unbalanced and "bad" without an amp?
 
Why even consider buying these to mod when you can buy Grado SR60i, or Fostex T50RP and have two headphones with huge modding communities for them? Silly.

 

[phamkl]

That part of my post I was referring to Aviators. It was to illustrate that listening at Best Buy could give an inaccurate presentation of the headphone in question. I don't have any experience with the Stretch and they're not really what I'm looking for. I mainly just chimed in because HPs shouldn't be discounted after a few seconds of listening and especially not after one listen at a big dept. store. 
 
Why consider them for modding? IMO they look a hell of a lot nicer than Grados. If you can get a good look with the sound you want, that's a win all around. 

 

[keanex]

Quote:

That part of my post I was referring to Aviators. It was to illustrate that listening at Best Buy could give an inaccurate presentation of the headphone in question. I don't have any experience with the Stretch and they're not really what I'm looking for. I mainly just chimed in because HPs shouldn't be discounted after a few seconds of listening and especially not after one listen at a big dept. store. 
 
Why consider them for modding? IMO they look a hell of a lot nicer than Grados. If you can get a good look with the sound you want, that's a win all around. 

My point is that you read reviews, heard different in the store, and are blaming it on the demo. While it may be part of the blame (overly bass music), the fact of the matter is everyone hear's things differently and just because one person says a headphone is good, it doesn't mean it will be good for you.
 
As for the Grado's, what I meant about modding them is that essentially you can change almost anything about their looks. From wood housings to leather headbands/etc. Fostex T50RP are also known as one of the best headphones to mod of all time, if you're going to spend money to mod something, get something that's worth the price.

 

[Ishcabible]

Well they're $20 (occasionally $15) on Amazon so...yeah. But if you're planning on paying anything north of $50, don't. They don't have too much modding potential (aww crap I forgot to respond to the person asking about how to mod them) and even after I've tried to eek out that last bit, they still aren't any better than the Image One's, which aren't spectacular to begin with. For what they are, a durable, nice looking headphone, they're excellent. Soundwise, I'd look elsewhere. 
 
And I've noticed that the headphones at different demo sections sound a bit different too. Bad QC? I've had the same impressions as swaffleman with the pair lf Aviators my local Best Buy, but one at another store sounded like a completely different headphone with a good bit more body and less shrillness. That's what makes me really hesitant to get a pair (I have a broken pair of Skullcandies and can get a 50% off coupon.)

 

[kalita]

Pardon the bump to a really old thread bit I am chiming in with a pair. I don't know much about modding and how much mods should I be able to put on a pair of headphones but I've done a few to these. I've had a pair of these since 2012 when they were on sale from best buy. At the time I thought good headphones and sound meant having a lot of bass and nothing else. I've come aways a way to find that is not true at all. I have a roommate that frequents this website and I have come to appreciate sound more because of him. So I picked these headphones back up from my storage and decided to see what I could do to them now that I had a slightly better understanding of sound.

The first thing I did to them was to remove the cloth covering the drivers. Removing said cloth did in fact released the mids and highs a bit, there is still some hump regardless. To fix this hump I decided that I was gonna remove the ear cups it came with, I added some from an old sony headset that I had laying around. I forgot the model number but they weren't very good or known! The cups however were filled with something that felt like plastic or silicone beads. This, to me at least, reduced some more of that hump I was talking about. Just yesterday I decided to open the cans up, the back of it is empty. I asked my roommate what I could do and he suggested padding it with some felt or something to reduce the back wave.

Now this is my first modding experience with headphones and my first true dive into real sound understanding. Later one I am looking to buy something else but for now this works as i wouldn't wanna mod and destroy a nicer pair in the future.

If possible and if anyone is interested i can keep a separate thread for updates or i can simply update here. Also I'd supply photos but I am not allowed to do that just yet, haha. i do however have a picture of my portable set up as my avatar.