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16 June 2011
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Listed as the best of the best from iFrogz Earpollution range, you'd expect something good. Something great, even. You'd expect comfort, style, and sound quality to all be perfect. Would you be right? Well, you'd be pretty close.
So I'll jump right in and talk about comfort. The first thing you'll notice is that the earcups aren't the same as most others you'll have seen, the main reason for that being that they aren't even cups. These just sit on top of your ears, they don't cup around them like most. What does this give you? Well, it's got ups and downs. The first up is spacious sound, since it adds extra distance between your ear and the sound source. The second upside is comfort, since there's an enormous amount of padding, and the ear pads are huge. Really huge. So no matter how elvin your ears may be, chances are these'll cover them. There's also padding on the headband for extra comfort.
But the overlarge padded earpieces don't come without a few problems, the first being heat. Not heat from the pads, but heat from your body having no where to go. On a normal summers day you'll be able to wear these for around an hour without worrying about fried ears, but after that time period you will start noticing some extra warmth. The other downside involves the pads pressing against your ears; you may find that these don't stay super comfortable over extremely long periods of time, depending on your ears. For me, it takes around an seven and a half hours, and even then only my right ear starts hurting a little bit, but it does vary from person to person. So unless you're planning on wearing these for ridiculously long periods of time, these will be fine.
Build quality is great, as you'd expect from the companies top-of-the-line cans. They feel sturdy, and the hinges operate smoothly. On my particular set one side of the head adjustments gets a little sticky at times, but that could just be my set. The cups/pads both swivel, so you can listen without having to put the set right over your head. The cups also fold in for portability, but it can take a little practice to perfect that technique, due to all the padding.
Next up is style, and these look great. Due to the general style of headphones, you wouldn't want to walk down the street wearing these, since people may mistake them for earmuffs, but if you're a DJ or heavy commuter, then these won't look too out of place. There's shiny silver plastic around the pads which looks like metal, and the attention to detail is brilliant. Earpollution is scrawled across the top of the headband, and if you look at the side of the cups in the right light, you'll see the brands logo - a biohazard sign. So all in all I have no quips about the style - to sum it up, they're simply cool.
And now comes sound, which is what everyone really cares about. These puppies have 50 mm speaker drivers, which is huge. It's those drivers which probably account for the enormous size of the earpieces, but it's worth the extra size once you hear them. Listening to bassy, party songs through these is great, since the 50 mm drivers really pump out the low notes. Not so amazing in the high notes though, so unless you're listening to R & B or Hip Hop, these may not be perfect. They'll still sound good, don't get me wrong, but they won't be as good as when you're listening to bass-heavy songs. The major problem with sound is the leakage; You don't even have to turn them up halfway before the person sitting next to you will hear what you're listening to, which may or may not be an issue for you. That's a bit of a shame, since these really shine once you've got them past the halfway volume mark. This seems to be an issue most headphones suffer with, and it's not a big deal for most people, but if the person next to you on the bus hates music, you may be in for a long trip.
I've got a few other minor gripes with this set, but they are very minor. First is that they don't stay on your head particularly well, so if you bend over you might find them falling off. Not a problem unless you're planning on being active while wearing these, but these aren't exactly sports buds, so it shouldn't be too much of an issue. The other problemo I've got is cable management, or rather the lack of it. There isn't a case included with these, and there's no way to bundle the cable efficiently. A velcro strip solves this issue quickly, but it would be good to see an out-of-the-box fix.
So what do I think of the set overall? Well, if you're a travelling music lover who wants awesome looking, bass driven headphones without spending their life savings, these are perfect. And if you're an average joe who wants something to listen to on the way to school, these'd be great for that as well. Actually, they're perfect for almost anyone, and the price makes them far more available to the average buyer than many other headphones with similar, or even lesser performance. When it comes to bang for your buck, these are definitely up their with the best, and you're getting an awful lot of bang for very little buck. The deep, spacious sound they provide, and the fantastic level of padding really makes them a worthwhile purchase for anyone looking to upgrade from their current set without breaing the bank.
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