[XERO1]

This thread is definitely in the wrong forum for these headphones.

The OP should consider canceling this thread and starting another one in the Headphones (full-size) forum.

 

[Beagle]

Agreed. One should know Schiit from Shinola.

 

[Bubica05]

I used to own LCD 3 and gave them to my brother. The weight bugged me a lot. Hope this new headphones will be less annoying. I quite liked the quality. The sound was great.

 

[kevingzw]

I'm so tempted to snag a pair! For those interested, Norstrom Rack is heaving a massive clearance sale for all items https://www.nordstromrack.com/shop/search?query=shinola+headphones. All items at 75 percent off.

 

[ruthieandjohn]

I bought not one, but two pairs... one over ear in black, and one on ear in brown. This was a combo originally costing $800 and sold here at $200.

I auditioned these headphones at Shinola in Ann Arbor, MI early last December. I had brought along my (originally $1,300) Ultrasone Edition 8s as another closed well-built Headphone for comparison.

Their construction was fabulous... their sound was disappointing (though I was comparing them to headphones costing 3 times as much). I was originally trying them out in hopes I could hint to my wife to buy me a pair. The sound was not exciting enough for me to actually make that hint to her...we ended up buying each other Shinola watches for Christmas.

But thanks to @kevingzw above, I was pleased to learn that they are now 75% off, and since they are so beautiful in looks, so closely associated with Shinola and the resurgence of Detroit, and don’t really sound bad, I had to buy.

Shinola has stopped selling these, though they still sell the audio components of bookshelf speakers and turntable.

The headphones are scheduled to arrive tomorrow.

 

[kevingzw]

I bought not one, but two pairs... one over ear in black, and one on ear in brown. This was a combo originally costing $800 and sold here at $200.

I auditioned these headphones at Shinola in Ann Arbor, MI early last December. I had brought along my (originally $1,300) Ultrasone Edition 8s as another closed well-built Headphone for comparison.

Their construction was fabulous... their sound was disappointing (though I was comparing them to headphones costing 3 times as much). I was originally trying them out in hopes I could hint to my wife to buy me a pair. The sound was not exciting enough for me to actually make that hint to her...we ended up buying each other Shinola watches for Christmas.

But thanks to @kevingzw above, I was pleased to learn that they are now 75% off, and since they are so beautiful in looks, so closely associated with Shinola and the resurgence of Detroit, and don’t really sound bad, I had to buy.

Shinola has stopped selling these, though they still sell the audio components of bookshelf speakers and turntable.

The headphones are scheduled to arrive tomorrow.

Hey man! Thanks for the shoutout! I am excited for my pair but it'll take awhile (had to use a third-party courier service. I don't live in the USA). I snagged the over-ears. I've always been obsessed with anything that is "American Made". And yes, 75 percent off is insane for something this exquisite (from Horween leather headbands to locally sourced steel).

 

[ruthieandjohn]

Thanks to @kevingzw , I purchased both on-ear and over-ear Shinolas. I used a three-way ranking comparison that I have used on well over 80 comparisons (described in more detail here) to compare the two Shinola headphones to another closed headphone, the popular Sony MDR-1A.

Here are the three headphones being compared. The leather-and-silver ones are the on-ears; the black ones are the over-ears. The Sony reference MDR-1A is around the base of the stand.
:

Shinola Over Ear (black), Shinola On Ear (brown), and Sony MDR-1A (bottom),

The comparison ranked the three headphones on each of 10 acoustic attributes, comparing them two at a time. Each line in the table is an acoustic attribute, explained a bit in the right column and explained more in the link given above.

First prize (best of the three) on an acoustic feature is shown by a 3 and blue; second best is 2 (red) and third place is 1 (yellow). Ties for second are 2.5 (purple), ties for third are 1.5 (orange).

As shown, the On-Ear Shinola, at a total of 25 points, garnered first place in comparisons of more acoustic features than the Over-Ear Shinola and the Sony MDR-1A, which were tied at 17.5 total points each. Interestingly, my wife Ruthie, who is a headphone aficionado as well, ranked the Shinola On-Ear ahead of both the Shinola Over-Ear and Sony MDR-1A, which she placed as about equal in sound quality. This is just as my point-based approach did.

The Shinola headphones are made of metal and leather and look fabulous. They are a bit heavier than the plastic-ladened Sony as a result. The Shinolas also have an in-line Apple remote control and magnetically-attached pads.

The Sony MDR-1A was likely the most comfortable, thought the Shinola On-Ear was close. The Sony 1A seemed bassy and somewhat muffled as compared to the Shinola On-Ear, but sounded a bit more open and less constricted than the Shinola Over Ear. It had the best deep bass response, but it was the least sensitive (least volume at fixed setting, though volume was equalized for rankings).

The Shinola Over Ear had a more U-shaped frequency response than the Shinola On Ear, giving heavier bass but some extra tinkle at the top. Its overall character, however, was very bassy in comparison to the On Ear. I preferred the sound of the Shinola On Ear, consistent with the point ranking of the above table.

 

[clerkpalmer]

Thanks for doing this. I grabbed the pro iems and the on ear and will keep whichever I prefer the best. Seems like a good closed set pair of "beater" headphones for $112.

 

[kevingzw]

Thanks to @kevingzw , I purchased both on-ear and over-ear Shinolas. I used a three-way ranking comparison that I have used on well over 80 comparisons (described in more detail here) to compare the two Shinola headphones to another closed headphone, the popular Sony MDR-1A.

Here are the three headphones being compared. The leather-and-silver ones are the on-ears; the black ones are the over-ears. The Sony reference MDR-1A is around the base of the stand.
:

Shinola Over Ear (black), Shinola On Ear (brown), and Sony MDR-1A (bottom),

The comparison ranked the three headphones on each of three acoustic attributes, comparing them two at a time. Each line in the table is an acoustic attribute, explained a bit in the right column and explained more in the link given above.

First prize (best of the three) on an acoustic feature is shown by a 3 and blue; second best is 2 (red) and third place is 1 (yellow). Ties for second are 2.5 (purple), ties for third are 1.5 (orange).



As shown, the On-Ear Shinola, at a total of 25 points, garnered first place in comparisons of more acoustic features than the Over-Ear Shinola and the Sony MDR-1A, which were tied at 17.5 total points each. Interestingly, my wife Ruthie, who is a headphone aficionado as well, ranked the Shinola On-Ear ahead of both the Shinola Over-Ear and Sony MDR-1A, which she placed as about equal in sound quality. This is just as my point-based approach did.

The Shinola headphones are made of metal and leather and look fabulous. They are a bit heavier than the plastic-ladened Sony as a result. The Shinolas also have an in-line Apple remote control and magnetically-attached pads.

The Sony MDR-1A was likely the most comfortable, thought the Shinola On-Ear was close. The Sony 1A seemed bassy and somewhat muffled as compared to the Shinola On-Ear, but sounded a bit more open and less constricted than the Shinola Over Ear. It had the best deep bass response, but it was the least sensitive (least volume at fixed setting, though volume was equalized for rankings).

The Shinola Over Ear had a more U-shaped frequency response than the Shinola On Ear, giving heavier bass but some extra tinkle at the top. Its overall character, however, was very bassy in comparison to the On Ear. I preferred the sound of the Shinola On Ear, consistent with the point ranking of the above table.

They look gorgeous! Now I'm excited to snag my pair (hopefully before the school semester starts!)