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Let's hear it for celeb headphones!
By Ron Harris |
March 3, 2013, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
MOST people consume their music while on the go these days - in cars, while jogging, in between smartphone calls or while working at a desk. Thousands of our favorite songs are just a playlist away.
But pumping your favorite tunes through common earbuds may not deliver quite the high fidelity you deserve. I took a look at a range of modern headphones, both on-ear and over-ear models. I found a handful that could greatly improve your listening experience, with style.
You'd pay much more than the typical pair of earbuds - Apple sells it for US$29 - but the investment is worth it considering how much better music sounds. The popular Beats by Dr. Dre aren't the only stylish headphones on the streets. Here's a look at a few others, branded by musicians, athletes and even a TV series.
V-Moda True Blood V-80 (US$230)
Supremely stylish, with a touch of the macabre, these brushed-metal, on-ear headphones boast branding from the HBO vampire series "True Blood." Once you get past the blood-red color accents on the headband padding and on the finely braided cable, you're still left with an excellent pair of headphones.
Allow me a moment to explain a bit of headphone technology. Drivers are the combination of a magnetic element and a moving diaphragm that creates the sound that your ears hear while wearing the headphones. A low-impedance rating indicates that the headphones are primarily suited for low-voltage amplifiers found in small, portable music players.
The V-80s have low impedance and 40-millimeter drivers. They offer a frequency range of 5 hertz to 30 kilohertz, which is a wide spectrum of frequency response. Jonas Starker's cello solos, for instance, felt crisp and alive.
The V-80s handle modern wall-of-sound type rock records nicely as well. Regular MP3s as well as high-definition lossless audio tracks sound sharp and true to the recordings. You'll have few complaints with these.
Scosche Realm RH656md (US$129.99)
These attractively priced on-ear headphones are finished in black and metal. They also sport 40-millimeter drivers and have a low-impedance rating. This pair performs fine for modern pop music, but appears to lack the detail for the high-resolution tracks that an additional US$100 worth of improvements might give it.
The soaring highs in John Coltrane's "Blue Train" hold up well, with clarity, but the lower end suffers and gets a lost in the mix. The frequency range on the Realms is a touch tighter at 20 hertz to 20 kilohertz, which may explain why I have to massage the equalizer settings on my player when switching musical genres.
BiGR Audio Jam Master Jay (US$149)
The outer earcups on these on-ear headphones boast a stylish woodcut design that pays homage to the late Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC fame. One side has his stage name and initials, while the other has a turntable-like arm gliding over the grooves in an LP. Under the hood of these light-duty, low-impedance headphones are 40-milllimeter drivers and a passable 20-hertz to 20-kilohertz frequency range - the same specification as the Realm headphones.
There's a lot more plastic here than on some higher-priced, metal models, but the sound doesn't suffer terribly from the slight build. These are nice walk-around cans that don't lose their grip as I go about my day on the town. BiGR Audio has delivered a decent pair of all-purpose gear here.
Soul by Ludacris SL300JAM - Usain Bolt Signature Series (US$349.95)
Something about me didn't want to like these brightly colored over-ear headphones, emblazoned with preening Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt on each ear cup. They're a bit ostentatious, like Bolt himself. And they are expensive.
But after I put them on, I surrendered to the most comfortable pair of headphones I've ever worn. My jaw dropped after I cued up Coltrane.
I give up. These are wonderful headphones.
Of the ones I tried, the Bolt headphones are the only ones with noise cancellation, which is the introduction of a signal to eliminate surrounding environmental noise. Whether I had that feature turned on or off, the Bolt signature headphones stood up to each test of each genre I threw at it. I heard range and separation in Coltrane's jazz, precise power in Metallica's metal and the intricacy of Simon and Garfunkel's "Cecilia."
The interior headband is smartly quilted and Bolt series headphones are collapsible for nice portability in their sturdy black case. If you're OK with the Jamaican flag color palette (black, green and gold) and a bit of sticker shock, these headphones are bound to win you over.
Otherwise, for lighter duty and a less garish look, I'd have to say the V-Moda True Blood headphones should make the budding audiophile quite happy for less than US$250.
But pumping your favorite tunes through common earbuds may not deliver quite the high fidelity you deserve. I took a look at a range of modern headphones, both on-ear and over-ear models. I found a handful that could greatly improve your listening experience, with style.
You'd pay much more than the typical pair of earbuds - Apple sells it for US$29 - but the investment is worth it considering how much better music sounds. The popular Beats by Dr. Dre aren't the only stylish headphones on the streets. Here's a look at a few others, branded by musicians, athletes and even a TV series.
V-Moda True Blood V-80 (US$230)
Supremely stylish, with a touch of the macabre, these brushed-metal, on-ear headphones boast branding from the HBO vampire series "True Blood." Once you get past the blood-red color accents on the headband padding and on the finely braided cable, you're still left with an excellent pair of headphones.
Allow me a moment to explain a bit of headphone technology. Drivers are the combination of a magnetic element and a moving diaphragm that creates the sound that your ears hear while wearing the headphones. A low-impedance rating indicates that the headphones are primarily suited for low-voltage amplifiers found in small, portable music players.
The V-80s have low impedance and 40-millimeter drivers. They offer a frequency range of 5 hertz to 30 kilohertz, which is a wide spectrum of frequency response. Jonas Starker's cello solos, for instance, felt crisp and alive.
The V-80s handle modern wall-of-sound type rock records nicely as well. Regular MP3s as well as high-definition lossless audio tracks sound sharp and true to the recordings. You'll have few complaints with these.
Scosche Realm RH656md (US$129.99)
These attractively priced on-ear headphones are finished in black and metal. They also sport 40-millimeter drivers and have a low-impedance rating. This pair performs fine for modern pop music, but appears to lack the detail for the high-resolution tracks that an additional US$100 worth of improvements might give it.
The soaring highs in John Coltrane's "Blue Train" hold up well, with clarity, but the lower end suffers and gets a lost in the mix. The frequency range on the Realms is a touch tighter at 20 hertz to 20 kilohertz, which may explain why I have to massage the equalizer settings on my player when switching musical genres.
BiGR Audio Jam Master Jay (US$149)
The outer earcups on these on-ear headphones boast a stylish woodcut design that pays homage to the late Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC fame. One side has his stage name and initials, while the other has a turntable-like arm gliding over the grooves in an LP. Under the hood of these light-duty, low-impedance headphones are 40-milllimeter drivers and a passable 20-hertz to 20-kilohertz frequency range - the same specification as the Realm headphones.
There's a lot more plastic here than on some higher-priced, metal models, but the sound doesn't suffer terribly from the slight build. These are nice walk-around cans that don't lose their grip as I go about my day on the town. BiGR Audio has delivered a decent pair of all-purpose gear here.
Soul by Ludacris SL300JAM - Usain Bolt Signature Series (US$349.95)
Something about me didn't want to like these brightly colored over-ear headphones, emblazoned with preening Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt on each ear cup. They're a bit ostentatious, like Bolt himself. And they are expensive.
But after I put them on, I surrendered to the most comfortable pair of headphones I've ever worn. My jaw dropped after I cued up Coltrane.
I give up. These are wonderful headphones.
Of the ones I tried, the Bolt headphones are the only ones with noise cancellation, which is the introduction of a signal to eliminate surrounding environmental noise. Whether I had that feature turned on or off, the Bolt signature headphones stood up to each test of each genre I threw at it. I heard range and separation in Coltrane's jazz, precise power in Metallica's metal and the intricacy of Simon and Garfunkel's "Cecilia."
The interior headband is smartly quilted and Bolt series headphones are collapsible for nice portability in their sturdy black case. If you're OK with the Jamaican flag color palette (black, green and gold) and a bit of sticker shock, these headphones are bound to win you over.
Otherwise, for lighter duty and a less garish look, I'd have to say the V-Moda True Blood headphones should make the budding audiophile quite happy for less than US$250.
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