brad's Experience

Let me say this: I don't know much about headphones. I know that there are some really nice sets out there, and I know that most sets are worthless (see iPod ear buds). But I will try to do my best with this review.

I needed a pair of quality headphones as I have two TVs in a 1,000 sq foot apartment. It's a loft-style apartment, so the sound waves really bounce around and it isn't practical to have two people listening to two TVs. So I gave in and said I'd wear some headphones, if the system worked.

Well, it has. I'm thrilled.

The TV I'm outing the audio from is a Sylvania TV/VCR/DVD 27" combo. Obviously, not a big brand TV. And certainly not a feature-packed TV. The audio coming from it was horrendous. I could hardly tolerate it.

But with these headphones? Absolutely outstanding.

I mean, I've been listening to some DVDs and hi-fi VHS tapes and I just can't believe the quality of the sound. It really does sound like surround-sound, although I'm all but certain this TV isn't capable of that. But it sounds great.

It has a great balance of bass and the rest. The sound is crisp and clear. Overall, again the audio is simply outstanding. I would much rather listen to the audio coming from this unit on the headphones rather than directly from the unit's speakers. If it weren't for a family history of hearing loss, I would use these headphones far more often.

I bought these from Crutchfield. Like I said, I didn't know anything about headphones and so I called Crutchfield - these guys are experts. My rep recommended these Senheiser phones or a set by Bose. The Bose set he said, would cost $300. This set was $100. So I thought I was likely getting a medium quality set of phones.

Well, that isn't the case. This set of headphones is the best I've used, albeit off a short list. But I can't imagine how much better those Bose phones would be. The Crutchfield rep said something about the Bose phones blocking out some sort of noise, so that I would only hear the audio from the TV.

I can hear outside sounds aside from the audio from the TV, with these phones. But the head set is solid and the covers for each ear are large and they do a good job of blocking out outside sounds.

I can't give you special terminology for head phones. I'm not an audiophile when it comes to headphones. I usually refuse to use them, because of the aforementioned hearing loss problem. Even with my iPod, I only use that in the car with an aux jack to the stereo (but it doesn't help that those ear buds are absolutely worthless - you need Super Glue to keep them in your ears).

All I can do is tell you that this is a very high quality set of head phones. And I probably overpaid for these from Crutchfield. But if it wasn't for Crutchfield, I wouldn't have had a clue what brand to buy. So the premium was worth it, considering I have a great solution to my original problem.

If this set is in your price range, I highly recommend it.

brad.