Now that the dust has settled from Monster and Beats Electronics lawsuit against Fanny Wang for selling headphones that as similar in their looks, FW can get back to business. So lets see how their entry level set compares.
DESIGN AND LOOK:
We reviewed the Black set and were immediately surprised with the glossiness of the set. Its a nice look that works extremely well with the matte look of the ear cups. As you can see, they come in the black, pink, white and even red.
One of the biggest issue is the same that bothers the Beats Solo HDs that we reviewed previously, the same set that these are confused with, flimsiness. It might be the fact that these break down like seen below, but the set just feels flimsy. The head band is strong and well padded, but the connection between the headband and sides seems like it is one trip into a purse or bag away from a break.
One thing that FW wanted to try to separate themselves from the rest is the splitter inline of the headphones. They call them the first "social" headphones, allowing owners to have a friend listen along with them. This is a great idea for plane and road trips so you don't need to remember a splitter yourself. I really wish there was an inline remote as well, but on iPods, just take the inline remote from other sets you have and it will work.
Now, here is the huge negative in our eyes. Comfort, at least on my head, is not a plus on these things. They are flat out uncomfortable and I don't just mean long periods of time, even for 10-15 minutes I didn't enjoy myself. These may fit you better, but not sure if its worth the gamble.
HOW DID THEY SOUND:
They didn't blow me away, but were consistently good in all sorts of situations. One thing I noticed about the On Ears is how clear they sound. While the 40mm drivers do tend to be on the warm side they were noticeably accurate. That was surprising. I was expecting a more bassy headphone from all the marketing and comparison to Beats. But the bass was more complimentary and realistic than overbearing. To me, that’s an okay feature. The music I listen to has a lot of bass and based on my past reviews, you know me to be a bass lover.
I tried them watching NFL Mobile on my phone, listening to rap and listening to ESPN Sports Talk. They excelled with the talk based audio because of the warmer mids. But the rap music sounded clearer than I normally noticed because of those same mids. The bass was toned down, although changes can be made in the source to pump some more bass. It was an enjoyable audio experience. Also, because the sound was tuned as such, I could listen a lot longer because of the strong mids, although the comfort of the fit was enough to make me take them off.
Its really to bad that for me the comfort was not there enough to really enjoy what these have to offer. They are a great, consistent set that can handle anything you throw through them.
WHAT YOU GET:
Headphones
Splitter cable
A carrying bag
DESIGN AND LOOK:
We reviewed the Black set and were immediately surprised with the glossiness of the set. Its a nice look that works extremely well with the matte look of the ear cups. As you can see, they come in the black, pink, white and even red.
One of the biggest issue is the same that bothers the Beats Solo HDs that we reviewed previously, the same set that these are confused with, flimsiness. It might be the fact that these break down like seen below, but the set just feels flimsy. The head band is strong and well padded, but the connection between the headband and sides seems like it is one trip into a purse or bag away from a break.
Now, here is the huge negative in our eyes. Comfort, at least on my head, is not a plus on these things. They are flat out uncomfortable and I don't just mean long periods of time, even for 10-15 minutes I didn't enjoy myself. These may fit you better, but not sure if its worth the gamble.
HOW DID THEY SOUND:
They didn't blow me away, but were consistently good in all sorts of situations. One thing I noticed about the On Ears is how clear they sound. While the 40mm drivers do tend to be on the warm side they were noticeably accurate. That was surprising. I was expecting a more bassy headphone from all the marketing and comparison to Beats. But the bass was more complimentary and realistic than overbearing. To me, that’s an okay feature. The music I listen to has a lot of bass and based on my past reviews, you know me to be a bass lover.
I tried them watching NFL Mobile on my phone, listening to rap and listening to ESPN Sports Talk. They excelled with the talk based audio because of the warmer mids. But the rap music sounded clearer than I normally noticed because of those same mids. The bass was toned down, although changes can be made in the source to pump some more bass. It was an enjoyable audio experience. Also, because the sound was tuned as such, I could listen a lot longer because of the strong mids, although the comfort of the fit was enough to make me take them off.
Its really to bad that for me the comfort was not there enough to really enjoy what these have to offer. They are a great, consistent set that can handle anything you throw through them.
WHAT YOU GET:
Headphones
Splitter cable
A carrying bag
MSRP:
$169.95
PROS:
+ Price
+ Mids were clear
+ Bass was realistic
CONS:
- Build quality
- Comfort
GRADE
B