[keanex]

 
Pros: Comfort, build quality, removable cable, inline mic/remote, fun energetic sound.
Cons: Lacking detail and clarity, mid-bass is muddy, sound leaks too much for portable use
Style: Closed circumaural
Tonal Balance: Bass heavy
Listening Set-Up: MusicBee -> Oppo HA-1
Cost at Time of Review: $300
 

Reviewing Process

During the time that I’ve had these I have burned in the drivers for at least 40 hours by having music play through them at normal volumes while at work. I have also put roughly 20 hours head time with the bass function as well as without while at home or on walks in a quiet neighborhood. I feel that I have enough experience with the Alpine Over Ear, to which I will refer to as AOE from now on, to fairly assess them. Despite that, I encourage the reader to always seek out other reviews and to try out any headphones (when able to) before making a purchase.
 
I would like to thank Alpine for the review sample. The review will be written as experienced from my Oppo HA-1, though I find that they sound just as good when paired with my Sansa Clip Zip.
 

Headphone Background

Alpine may not be a familiar name in the headphone world, but I think most people would be hard pressed to have not at least heard the name. Alpine has been a big name in the car audio world for many years, I and many friends have had their head units installed in our cars and have been very happy with them.
 
The AOE are their first foray into the headphone and include haptic feedback into the headband. The haptic feedback is powered by a centered driver in the headband that creates a subwoofer-esque experience by sending the vibrations through the headband. They are not the first company to implement a driver solely for simulating a subwoofers rumble, but as far as I know they are the first to implement it within the headband.
 

Build & Fit

 


 
 
 
Build
The AOE seem to be aimed at competing with the Beats crowd, creating a fashion conscious design that will definitely draw attention in a crowd. The AOE have a solid feel about them from top to bottom, though I admit that Beats have a better feel to them. The headband is solid with the moving parts being the earcups themselves which slide upwards and downwards with some motion in every angle to help with comfort. The AOE also allow for the earcups to be rotated 90 degrees back 90 degrees which, I assume, is to allow for better comfort when worn around the neck.
 
Nothing feels cheap about these even if they may look a little gaudy. The one cause for concern is the method in which the earpads connect to the cups. The earpads are snapped into plastic hook-like attachments that I can see breaking with the change of the pads a few times. Alpine would have been better making the earpads connect into the earcup, rather than having a protrusion from the earcups to snap into.I do admit that the average user won’t remove and replace the pads 10 times in a week for testing purposes though; PS: They didn’t break yet. Other than that the fabric cable is removable with TRRS plugs on both ends. The cable feels cheap, but it’s cheap and easy to replace.
 
Fit
The AOE feature plush pleather pads that are bordering on being on-ear for larger ears, certainly more comfortable than the average on ear though thanks to the very plush pads. The pads provide good comfort accompanied by mild to moderate clamping strength. I find that the biggest cause for discomfort is due to the placement of the vibrating driver. The driver is placed in the center of the headband, which is protected by a semi-hard spot on the inside of the headband. I find that when I’m wearing the headphones a bit tight that the headband acts as a pressure point in the center, which has caused a mild headache for me in short time. When worn a little loose it’s not an issue, which only suffers in the form of mild loss of security. Even loose the AOE are secure enough for all but severe headbanging. Unfortunately isolation is rather poor, I can certainly hear what friends are listening to from a few feet away, I wouldn’t suggest using these in a public setting for that reason.
 
TLR
The AOE are built well enough to not cause any concern for using these daily. The comfort is above average as well, allowing me to wear them for over an hour without any discomfort unless worn tight. The isolation is poor though, making these a poor choice for portable use, at least while in a quiet setting where others might hear your music.
 

Sound Quality

 
TLR
The AOE are a guilty pleasure headphone for the audiophile wanting huge bass and a teen’s dream. Without haptic feedback the AOE are mildly bass heavy headphones that come off slightly veiled at best and muddy at their worst. With the haptic feedback the headphones become a bass lovers guilty pleasure, as long as it’s only enabled on for bass focused songs.
 
Bass
The bass on these headphones are entirely a mixed bag. The sub-bass is capable of reaching very deep while providing great presence even without the haptic feedback. Big driving bass lines like those heard in Jon Hopkins’ We Disappear or Jamie xx’s I’m New Here sound immensely satisfying as the AOE are capable of producing a pleasurable rumble even without the haptic feedback. The AOE also exhibit decent speed in the deep bass regions as evidenced when listening to James Blake’s Limit to Your Love. The AOE doesn’t have the quality of sub-bass that an audiophile focused headphone such as the Mad Dogs does, but it has much more quantity which has merits in its own way.
 
With haptic feedback on the AOE become two subwoofers attached to my head. The sub-bass loses speed at the sake of rumbling and tingling every part of my head. I find the Jon Hopkins and Jamie xx songs mentioned above particularly immersive with the huge bass. It can be immensely intrusive and it certainly slows down the bass response though.
 
While the sub-bass is very enjoyable, despite it’s downfalls, I find the mid-bass to have little redeeming about it. Even with the best recordings I find that the mid-bass lingers too long, bleeds into the mid-range and dampens treble energy. The mid-bass is made even more obnoxious with the haptic feedback, turning Pink Floyd’s Money or Steely Dan’s Aja into bass heavy messes.
 
Mids & Highs
The mid-range and treble, as a whole, benefit nothing from the haptic feedback. In-fact it’s entirely pointless, in my opinion, for anything but severely bass heavy music. Disregarding the haptic feedback, I find that the mids and highs suffer from lack of detail, lack of clarity and a thin veil over the entirety of the spectrum. This is not solely a problem of the mid-bass though, guitars and horns all sound dull even on acoustic tracks. The mids and upper regions aren’t offensive when passively listening, but when critically listening they quickly show their flaws and hamper the music presented to them.
 
Presentation
The soundstage is lacking in almost every way. The width is acceptable, but there’s no real sense of depth, positioning or separation. The AOE present music in a closed space that works extremely well for bass heavy music, especially with the haptic feedback, but does little for enjoyment with other genres.
 

Conclusion

Let me be honest, the AOE are not aimed towards audiophiles and I won’t be giving them a full recommendation. The AOE are strictly a guilty pleasure headphone and there are far better closed headphones for those wanting audio fidelity. Despite that I find that the AOE have provided me with extreme amounts of pleasure under certain circumstances and are a special headphone in those regards. They’re a headphone that I’m glad to have around to satisfy my extreme basshead cravings, while sounding passable for anything else.
 
For $300 you can find better closed headphones for audio fidelity, but if you’ve got the extra cash and want a very niche headphone for those bass cravings then the AOE are worth considering.
 
See more photos here.