Headphones and Ear Buds
Altec Lansing BackBeat
Titanium
Altec-Lansing's new BackBeat series of earphones takes products from a high-end company and puts them within the price range of even low-end consumers. In fact, if you don't have a huge budget for earphones but want lots of bang for your buck, one great choice would be Altec-Lansing's new BackBeat Titanium.
The BackBeat Titanium features titanium-enhanced 10 mm speakers with a frequency response rated at 10 Hz - 20 kHz and an impedance of 16 Ohms. It weighs a total of 0.8 ounces, and while Altec-Lansing certainly markets the ear buds as an iPod/iPhone accessory, you can connect the 46" cable to any standard 3.5 mm audio source. The cable has a "braided" or fabric-like style, similar to the Flamingo Mobile Earphones we reviewed previously. They are worn as "in-ear" style earphones, although they don't push into your ear canals nearly as deeply as some high-end professional ear buds. Altec-Lansing includes a neoprene carrying case and three different sizes of ear tips (Altec-Lansing calls it "Snug Fit"), plus an fourth pair of ear tips with dual flange tips. While the Titanium does not offer any active noise cancelation, the company claims that the dual flange tips can provide noise isolation of up to 16 decibels. The Titanium also comes with a two-year warranty, which is a nice touch at a time when many tech vendors only offer one year or less.
The BackBeat Titanium ear buds are stylish and comfortable to wear, and they don't feel intrusive like some in-ear earphones. and while they don't have any single feature that jumps out as their strongest selling point, their output is well-rounded with strong performance in all categories.
Specifically:
Treble: The BackBeats excel in this category and have no trouble at all reproducing tones at the higher end of the spectrum. For fans of music styles that utilize lots of treble (such as most pop and country songs), the ear buds faithfully recreate all the details of your favorite songs. 4.5/5.0
Bass: The bass range is certainly present on the BackBeats, and lower tones in your music remain audible rather than becoming washed out. However, the BackBeats don't provide the level of "bass boost" available from some products, so even though the bass is strong enough, it doesn't have that "supercharged" feeling that can sometimes provide a little extra thrill. 3.5/5.0
Clarity: If you've ever used high-end earbuds (such as the XtremeMac FS1 model), then you know that professional ear buds have a level of high-definition clarity that puts them into a category all their own. Well, the BackBeat 326 is not in that pro-level category. However, as far as ear buds in the "ordinary mortals" category go, the BackBeat 326s are at the head of the class, making it easy to hear all the details of your favorite music or listen to podcasts and understand them clearly. 4.0/5.0
Volume: Audio volume is no problem for the BackBeats - they cover a wide enough range that even users with sensitive ears will be able to use them anywhere from a quiet environment to noisy locations with lots of background noise. 5.0/5.0
Elite Beats: The BackBeat Titanium ear buds are aimed at the low-end or midrange ear bud markets, and by the standards of that category, they consistently perform very well. Although their list price is $79, many retailers sell them closer to the $40 range, and a careless consumer could easily spend that much, or more, even on some of the lowest-quality ear buds available. The BackBeat Titanium doesn't have stunning bass or high-end "high resolution" sound, but it does provide quality sound for a wide variety of music and other audio. Relative to other ear buds in their price range and target audience, the BackBeat Titanium is simply unbeatable.
Pro: Well-rounded audio output that performs well in most categories and with most music types; very good value for the price; well designed and comfortable to wear.
Con: Bass output is adequate but leaves room for improvement.
Sony MDR-NC7 Headphones
In the middle of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, a traveler who finds one of the others' tales to be unbearable and annoying simply screams at him to stop. Agent Maxwell Smart, on the other hand, had an advanced Cone of Silence. Unfortunately, for iPod owners who find that a bus, workplace, or other location is just unbearably noisy, these ideas probably won't work. The good news is that advances in anti-sound technology have led to noise-cancelling headphones, such as Sony's MDR-NC6. Although they don't block all ambient noise, the MDR-NC6s are impressive in their ability to isolate the audio you're listening to from background noise that could otherwise interfere with your audio device.
The MDR-NC6s follow the conventional headphone design, consisting of two adjustable, padded earpieces connected by a band that goes over your head. The cable connects to one side of the headphones (rather than splitting into two cables and connecting in two places, as some cheaper headsets do) and is compatible with any standard 3.5 mm mini jack.
On the right-hand side of the headphones, a small cylinder snaps in a single AAA battery, which is required to power the active noise cancellation feature. An switch on the right earpiece turns noise cancellation on or off. Sony rates the battery life at 30 hours, and after hours of testing, the headphones were still going strong from the first battery I used.
Sony says that the MDR-NC6s can reduce ambient noise by up to 10 dB. I'm pleased to say that the feature really does work, as long as your expectations are reasonable. Normally, if there is ambient noise in your current location, pretty much all you can do is increase the volume of your device, but with the MDR-NC6s, enabling the noise cancellation feels like you are actually decreasing the volume of other noise. The headphones decrease the amount by which other noises interfere with your listening and provide more emphasis to the audio that you are trying to listen to. I did find that in some circumstances, there was a bit of an "over cancelling" effect, such as when there was no audio playing or when I was walking through windy areas, which can potentially make outside interferences worse rather than better, but this did not happen in most situations, and since you can easily switch the noise cancellation off, you can use the MDR-NC6s, one way or another, in just about any setting.
Headphones are a different class of product from earphones, and they are by definition larger and bulkier than earphones. Thus, faulting the MDR-NC6s for their dimensions of 7 1/64 in x 2 1/64 in x 9 1/64 in x 5.29 ounces would be a bit like criticizing a MacBook because it doesn't taste good with mayonnaise. That is, headphones are supposed to be a bit large, and the MDR-NC6s are actually pretty compact considering the quality and features they offer. Nonetheless, you may have to consider whether it is actually feasible to consider a full set of headphones with you, if you are accustomed to using ear buds. Sony includes a handy carrying case, so for me it is worth the small extra effort to carry them in order to receive the benefits of active noise cancellation and high-quality audio.
With a name like "MDR-NC6," sometimes one almost wonders if Sony names their products first and then decides what sort of product they are going to make later. However, even if the name isn't very exciting, the product itself is good. Considering the long-standing trend of noise-canceling products having very high prices, these headphones provide an impressive level of audio quality and noise cancellation for their price.
Pro: Noise cancellation provides noticeable improvement; high-quality audio with strong bass; good battery life; relatively inexpensive considering their capability level; includes carrying case.
Con: In some situations, they tend to "over-cancel" audio, which a negative effect on quality (unless noise cancellation is disabled).
V-MODA Vibe
With the Bass Freq and Remix models, v-moda demonstrated that they care about substance, and not only style. Although these models were certainly quite fashionable, the audio quality was also quite strong for the upper-midrange earphone market. With v-moda's latest earphone product, the Vibe, they have now taken a leap toward the high-end.
The Vibe earphones are constructed solely of metal and have no plastic in their actual audio mechanism. Available in "flashback chrome" and "gunmetal black" colors, the Vibe might be described as "shallow in-ear earphones" - although they do enter your ear canal (and come with several tip covers you can choose from) like in-ear earphones, v-moda says that they are sufficiently secure and small that they won't become loose during exercise or dislodge inside your ears. The earphones weigh a total of 12 grams and have an enhanced bass response, which handles frequencies from 12 Hz to 22 Hz, according to the company. A cable-length manager and leather storage pouch are also included.
A cappella/vocal: When using the Vibe with vocal groups, I was able to appreciate the performance of each singer individually while still hearing the full, combined sound of all the singers together. This is a characteristic that I have generally only perceived on very high-end earphones.
Pop/rock: In this category, I continued to notice a high level of detail and clarity that brought out even the more subtle aspects of the music.
Country: In a category that tends to reward the two extremes, often
combining the relatively high-pitched lead singer with a strong bass
backup, the Vibe was once again up to the challenge.
Classical: This category usually benefits the most from a highly
detailed audio output that clarifies the individual aspects of the
music, so, based on my prior tests, it's not surprising that the Vibe
shined here as well.
Podcast/TV/voice: Audio from this category is generally a lower-quality source than recorded music, so it won't sound especially great on any device, but the Vibe makes the best use possible of these sources and avoids any blunders like pumping up the bass to the point that speech is unintelligible.
Hip-Hop/Rap: Hip-hop music depends on a strong bass more than other factors, and the Vibe was successful in this area as well, providing a strong bass without overshadowing the other components of the music.
The v-moda Vibe produces detail and bass levels that are on par with other high-end earphones, while remaining a bit more comfortable than its competitors. Throw in the company's unique sense of fashion, and there is just nothing not to like about them. If you have the desire (and budget) for high-end earphones, then the Vibe would be a great choice; v-moda has definitely created another winner.
Pro: Detailed, clear audio; strong bass; smaller, lighter, and somewhat less intrusive than most other in-ear earphones.
Con: None.