[VeniVidiVale]

Accidentally Extraordinary 51st Studio Headphones​

"Accidentally Ordinary"​

 

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The Scene: Chili Palmer's office in downtown LA

 

"Chili, I've got an idea for a movie."
 
"OK let me have it, Harry."
 
"Imagine there's this guy who works in the boonies in Utah in education as a teacher and a high school administrator. Imagine this fantastic opening scene, it's dawn and this guy looks out at the desert sand and smiles wistfully because he has this dream of being an entrepreneur."
 
"What kind of an entrepreneur? Porn like Larry Flynt? Retail like Sam Walton? Cars like Preston Tucker? Rags to riches, that would be a great movie!"
 
"Nope, none of that sissy stuff. Headphones. The guy wants to make headphones."
 
"Look at me, Harry. I said, look at me! What on earth are you talking about?"
 
"I mean headphones, Chili. Real wooden headphones that sell like Beats and makes him rich, but they sound better, and without the celebrity endorsements. So he goes to China...."
 
"China? Why China?"
 
"That's where they make 'em, Chili. And then he comes back to Oakland and hangs out with some eclectic buddies like a poet and a high school counselor and a history teacher and they call themselves, well, I dunno, maybe something like 'Accidentally Extraordinary' and they start selling these headphones."
 
"Harry this is the silliest idea you have pitched to me since Revenge of the Lesbian Zombies Part Three."
 
"Wait a minute, Chili. Listen to the rest of it. There's this famous critic. He reviews the headphones and loves it. This gets our hero so excited he starts a Kickstarter campaign to produce a brand new revolutionary model."
 
"And?"
 
"The campaign fails, of course. This isn't a freaking Disney movie, Chili."
 
"Oh wow that's a tragedy. Like Shakespeare, except without, well, Shakespeare."
 
"And I'm thinking we could use a real-life personality in a guest role as the Critic."
 
"Well we can't use Walt Mossberg, I hear he retired. And David Pogue has his head so far up Apple's butt I don't think he'll be interested in popping out for a cameo in a movie."
"Well we could use Tyll Hertsens...."
 
"You don't say! I'd love to meet Mr Hertsens. Can we fly him down to LA to discuss the movie? Wait, is there even an airport where he lives...Bozeman, right?"
 
 

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I may have taken artistic liberties with this scenario, but Accidentally Extraordinary did start as an idea in Kunal Dalal's imagination. The 51st Studio headphones does feature real wood in its construction. The company is based out of Oakland and consists of a bunch of eclectic people. And it was favorably reviewed at Inner Fidelity, which is how I became interested in it. So of course, I had to get myself a pair to see what it was about.
 
And without further ado, on to the review
 

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The look
 
The 51st Studio looks like it is a modified Esmooth design. It features smallish cups with pleather earpads and a metal headband with a slider mechanism for extending the earcups. The design is closed -- what appear to be vents on the outer earcups are purely cosmetic. The primary feature of the 51st Studio's design are the flat wooden plates of the earcups -- these are solid wood and an integral part of the cup and so affect the tone of the sound. The 51st Studio features a detachable cable and comes with two flat cables that feature 3.5 mm TRS connectors. One of them has a single button remote. 
 
The feel
 
Build quality is average. The pleather pads look cheaply made. Fit and finish could be better. The headband pad is glued to the headband, and not too well. Both cables lack a quality look and feel, and have moderate microphonics. Apart from the cables, accessories are sparse -- a cloth carry bag that offers no shock protection whatsoever, and well, that's about all you get.
 
The best part of the headphones are the wooden cups -- the wood is warm and solid-looking, and the headphones look somewhat antique and surprisingly sharp because of the wood.
 
The fit
 
The pads are plush and squared off in shape, but cup size is small, if you have average or large ears, then, the 51st Studio is not going to fit comfortably circumaurally; you will probably end up sing them (as I did) as predominantly on-ear headphones. The ratcheting cup extension mechanism feels somewhat flimsy, but the headphones themselves do not look or feel delicate.
 
The sound
 
When I first heard the 51st Studios, I was surprised how warm and lush everything sounded. The sound is very rich, smooth, and there's a creamy texture to the bass that is somewhat reminiscent of the Denon AH-D600. Bass rolls off quickly at the low end, though, and extension is lacking.  Vocals are warm and modestly recessed. The real surprise here is the treble, which is rich, and very smooth, if a tad syrupy. It really complements the lower end of the spectrum well to present music very forgivingly in a fatigue-free fashion.
 
Since I fell in love with the Philips Fidelio X1 sound I have been searching for a closed pair of headphones with a similar warm, colored lush sound profile, and in the 51st Studio I think I have found what I am looking for. They isolate sound well, and there is little to no leakage, which makes them a great (and fashionable) choice for the daily commute.  
 
The fatal flaw
 
So it's cheap, it sounds good, it looks good, it has a good backstory, so of course there has to be a fatal flaw, right? Well, there is. The earcups connect to the headband with two metal pins and a D-shaped band of metal, which allows them to swivel freely around their attachment axis.  
 
The problem is that the cable going up from the earcups to the headband get stretched when that happens, which does not bode well for their longevity. It's not something that should necessarily deter you from buying the 51st Studios, but certainly something to consider.
 
It's a silly flaw really, because almost all headphone manufacturers have found solutions to prevent the wire from being stretched with axial movement of the cups -- just look at any mid-fi Beyerdynamic or the Sony MDR V6 or the Fostex T50RP -- all have exposed wiring and all have a design for stress relief. Not Accidentally Extraordinary, though.
 
Which I guess makes them accidentally ordinary.