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HP Monster Beats Solo with ControlTalk Headphones
by sazwah
The first thing that stood out for me was the overall look of the headphones, the extremely sleek and modern style with a matt finish was certainly a selling point for me as it is something a little different to your average pair of headphones.
These particular beats set cost me £139.99, bare in mind these are not the HD ... versions (I believe HD has a slightly higher price tag due to the improved quality). I picked up the white pair since I fancied something bold and different than the generic black and or silver.
The packaging also matches with the style and quality, the box is a matt finish and glides out smoothly when you open it, which admittedly makes the unpacking much more enjoyable as you truly feel like you've gotten a great product.
The sound quality is great, there is no distortion or loss of sound at high or low volumes and the balance remains equal no matter what volume your music is played on. Of course I would however recommend that a higher quality device is used (such as an iPhone or iPod) to play the music from, so that you can appreciate the full experience that the beats have to offer.
The fact that these headphones can fold up and also providing you take a reasonable amount of care with the headphones they aren't prone to breakages at all, mine are still in tact and still look lush. The folding feature proves to be more convenient for listening to music on the go, once you're done with them you can conveniently store them away without worrying about crushing or snapping them in your bag or having to keep them around your neck to look after them.
The cushioning around the ears provides a great deal of comfort and does not disappoint, I have no complaints about heaviness or aching ears, these are practically perfect in regards to weight and being a snug fit.
The wire is a vivid red colour that co-ordinates with the trademark "b" logo on the side of the headphones, which also features a control talk feature - ideal for those who have any type of phone or device that can accept a 3.5mm headphone jack. You are able to play, pause, fast forward, rewind and even activate the voice control and answer phone calls since the headphones also include a microphone. The wire is also designed to be non-tangle which is a dream come true for anyone who has experienced the sheer annoyance of tangled headphones!
I would recommend these headphones to regular music listeners on the go as it seems a bit extreme to pay such a high amount of money for some headphones if you barely use them.
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Apple EarPods with Remote and Mic
by CallMeRalph
I have had an iPhone for around three years now. I currently own a 4S version of the phone and one of the things I love about the iPhone is the music that I have on there. I have always used the headphones that come with the phone and have always been fairly happy with them. However, I recently got hold of a new pair of the Apple ... earphones, so I though I should give them a review.
The most noticeable difference with these new earphones is the shape. The old version were rounded whereas these are shaped in more of an oval shape. This is significant as it means they actually fit into your ear better. The old ones were pretty good and would only fall out when I turned my head, the new ones are even better though and they hardly ever fall out. This means they are ideal if you are using them when exercising, you can jig around and have then stay in at all times, really good.
Other than that there is not that much difference. The earphones once again have a very handy little remote which is attached to one of the wires, this means it is easy to use and always to hand. The remote allows you to simply turn the volume up or down and you can also pause, skip forward or back on your play list. Again this is ideal if you are exercising.
As you can see from the picture the earphones are white as it the norm with Apple iphone products. They look pretty slick and the have a nice looking design to them. The wire is long enough whilst not being to long which is important really. Sometimes you find that the wires are to short and this causes an issue but this is not a problem with these.
There is also a hands free device on the earphones, so you can use this to make calls, it's very easy to operate and easy to get the hand of. I don't really tend to use this feature very often but on the odd occasion I do it seems to works fine. Some people will no doubt find this a very handy feature.
The sound quality is also very good. This is not an area that I am any kind of expert in but for my needs the sound quality is more than good enough. The new design is also quite comfortable, even after wearing the headphones for an hour I don't experience any discomfort with them which is obviously a good thing.
When it comes to price you can pick these up for quite cheap. Apple also now give them out with most of their new products be it phones, iPods or iPads. The earphones are compatible with all the more modern iPhones and iPods so you should have no problems getting them working. Overall then these are really an excellent pair of earphones and although they are very similar to the old model they are certainly a slight improvement.
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Sweex Lightweight Headset Black/Silver
by pmcds
I recently bought a few pairs of these for work, for use by groups of learners following an online learning object and needing to use the headphones element; and also for groups of staff particpating in webinars where they could also use the microphone facility. Both groups have been successful, and I have participated in and led them ... using these headsets.
When they first arrived and I took them out of the packaging, my initial thoughts were that they weren't the most sturdy headsets. The plastic head band was very pliable and I feared I'd break it quite easily if I wasn't careful enough. This is something that may seem quite obvious though, and it does need to be flexible in order to fit round different sized heads. It's just that I've used much sturdier products for similar purposes. One or two of them though had some damage to them that wasn't instantly noticeable, beneath the soft foam padding for the ear. There was a split in whatever plastic components are underneath it, and peeling the pad away you could see flimsy design and where it had snapped looked like it could happen to any of the others as well.
Using them though is a positive experience. The sound comes through quite clearly, although with weaker connections such as I experienced with one webinar it's not so great at picking the more distorted of sounds all the time. If the connection is good then the sound is clear enough, but I borrowed a colleague's headset (different make and model) for comparison purposes and the sound was clearer. The use of the microphone was fine - I had reports of me sounding very clear, and when I tested it using a playback facility for a separate webinar, I too was happy with the sound quality.
The microphone is adjustable, and very easy to move, as is the band. As I said before, it doesn't feel very sturdy, but then this is a relatively cheap product and this is to be expected. Connection seems to come down the line very quickly, and although I haven't used it for gaming, the product description does suggest it would be suitable for this and I can easily see it being fit for purpose here as well. Again, the sound distortion at times may affect you with some of the more involved games, but this would really depend on the game itself, and I haven't tried it for this purpose, nor did I buy it for this reason.
These headsets are currently available for less than £3 on amazon, and this is quite a good reflection of value. I have previously bought even cheaper Gembird headsets but these were dangerous and not fit for purpose. This, however, just about passes muster and does what you need it to. Slightly flimsy and less clear than some more expensive headsets, but it does what I need it to.
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