Wicked Audio Deuce Ear Buds - Review

Continuing our Portable Audio Showdown series, we turn our attention to the Wicked Audio Deuce ear-buds.  These pint size headphones will break your eardrums before your budget.    Here's our breakdown...

Fit: the headphones come with 3 different earpiece slips to allow the wearer to customize the right fit to their ear.  I tried all three, and it is pretty easy to determine the right one: to large and you can't get them out of your ear fast enough, too small and they fall out.  I am not sure where I fit for ear size relative to the general population, but I found the smaller ones to be the best fit.

Look: in the ear, these headphones are nearly invisible.  I was impressed at the way these disappear in the ear.  This is convenient for Northerners (like me) who need to wear something on your head in the colder months.

Feel: the soft rubber slips make for a soft feel in the ear.  They expand enough that you feel them in place, and after a while you tend not to notice them anymore.

Sound: the range and volume on these is pretty good.  Being that these insert into the ear, you get a better delivery than a standard bud-style headphone.  You aren't going to get real deep base out of these, but then again you shouldn't expect to from a piece this small.  I listened to several guitar-based songs to get a sense of the highs, including jazz, rock and pop, and it met my expectations.  Vocals were a little distorted compared to some of my other options, including the standard iPhone headphones, but they were sufficient.

Voice problems persisted in movies, as well.  The voices were muted and imbalanced against any backtracks or sound effects.  You can't turn the volume up or you'll blow your ears out if a sound effect or some music plays, but turning it down makes it difficult to follow the conversation.

Volume-wise these were some of the best I've tried.  Again, because of the placement in the ear, these provide much better volume than an over-the-ear set or earbuds.  I used these on a couple of flights, and the first time I turned my music on I had to pull them out to prevent permanent deafness!  I set my volume at just over half, which is a volume I have only ever seen with my Bose QC15s.

Overall: a decent set of ear buds.  If your one that has trouble with earbuds, especially while active, then you can't go wrong with these.  I would use these for working out and feel confident that they will stay where they belong.  I would not use these as an all-around set; music is about the only thing you can use these for so if you are a mixed-use person who intends to do music, gaming and movies there are better options out there.

With an MSRP of about $20, and available all over the web for closer to $10, how can you go wrong?

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Outdoor Technology's DJ Slims - Review

The deeper we delve into the labyrinth of options available in portable audio options, and headphones in particular, the more we realize that personal preference and the the conditions have a massive impact on what we like.  With sound quality coming in at the top of every testers list of requirements, we find ourselves moving past it once our standards are met in that department.  Combining style, function and features in a balance for the occasion, is what makes you take notice.

If you are looking for phones to accompany you on a 10-mile run, odds are you aren't going to rock a pair of noise cancelling over-the-ear monsters.  For around the house, and around-town, I found a pair that suits my needs exceedingly well.  The DJ Slims from Outdoor Technology are my new go-to option for most daily uses.  

First things first, these are wireless.  With Bluetooth connectivity, the days of fuzzy static laden wireless signals are a thing of the past.  These deliver clear, clean sound that is in line with top-quality on-ear options.  They are not audiophile audio, but few of us have that sophisticated of a hearing pallet and even fewer of us really care.  It's just not what we are after here.  Paired with my iPhone, these shine in the integration department.  Control volume, song selection, answer calls (with integrated mic so they can hear you too) without ever digging your device out of your bag, from up to 30 feet away.  Sitting in a coffee shop, crushing my keyboard, I barely miss a keystroke when answering the phone.  Auto pause and play-back during calls prevents in-call soundtracks.

They are pretty light, very comfortable, making those long work days a bit more bearable.  I have been getting a full day's use out of a single charge.  OT says 8 hours of audio playback and 9 hours of talk time, with 254 hours of standby.  If you can't get a full day, you may want to consider interacting with live human beings occasionally. 

They may not be for every situation, but this is a welcome change from the ear buds I have used as my daily option for years.  They are an upgrade in comfort and function on nearly every level. I do wish they folded up somehow for better transport and storage, but it really hasn't been much of an issue.  

MSRP: $70.  Considering what you get for the money, these things are a steal!

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Able Planet's True Fidelity Headphones - Review

To kick off our "Portable Audio Showdown" we delve into the "Noise Cancelling Headphone" category.  What truly sets these apart from the rest of the pack is the technology implemented to reduce ambient noise.   When shopping this segment, the range available is overwhelmingly huge.  From Wal-Mart specials for $30 up to audiophile versions that will set you back upwards of $500.  Finding a balance between performance and cost is definitely a matter of personal preference, but I think we have found a true value.

The True Fidelity series from Able Planet are, in our opinion, a great bang for the buck.  Able Planet has a huge range of products, from Headphones to Hearing Aids.  It is the underlying technology, their LINX AUDIO(r), that is the foundation of most of their Noise Cancelling products.  I am by no means an electrical engineer nor do I have any formal training in hearing sciences, so I'll let them explain it to you... Honestly, the tech is over my head, but the outcome is unmistakable.  What I do know is that it works.

What We Liked:
We tested the True Fidelity NC350BCST's, which are said to be designed to reproduce a true "live music" sound.  This is perfect for me as a fan of recorded live shows like The Grateful Dead, Trampled by Turtles and Led Zeppelin.  Straight out of the box, these feel like quality headphones.  The materials used all appear to be solid.  The construction of the shell is a hard black plastic with a few chrome accents, nothing flashy just an understated style.  The pads for the over-the-ear style cans and the headband are soft and squishy, providing ample cushion for a comfortable fit.

The sound was surprisingly clear.  A little switch activates the battery powered active noise cancellation tech.  With it in the "off" position, the sound is clear and precise.  The over-the-ear design does a good job of passive noise reduction, while the drivers produce a crisp sound from deep bass notes to ripping guitar solos.  Find yourself with a seat over the wing, and a screaming  kid in the seat behind you, flip the switch to "on" and it's like hitting a "Mute Button" on the rest of the world.  I found myself flipping it off and on, just to soak in the difference it makes.  It seems to really shine when eliminating constant noise (think engine noise or the hum of a large crowd), while still doing a good job with intermittent sounds (like a crying baby or the varied noise of a TV in the background).  Plugged into my iPad, the rest of the world seemed to disappear once I hit play on a movie, surrounded by 100+ chatting strangers on a 4 hour flight.  These things can get loud too. I have been accused of listening to my music far louder than is healthy, but even I can't crank these up to the max without fear of blowing out an ear drum.

They come with all the goodies you'd expect from a premium headphone as well; a large hard-shell case to keep them safe when not in use, in-line volume controls with mic and even various adapters so you can plug into all kinds of audio sources.

What We Didn't Like:
If we have to find flaws in these phones, it would have to be in the weight and long-term wearability.  They are a bit on the heavy side, compared to some of the other noise cancelling phones we are testing.  The headband is a bit small for my head, causing them to pinch a bit.  After about 2 hours I needed to take them off for a while to give my head a break. The case is rugged and will protect these headphones through some pretty serious abuse, but it's size gobbles up the bulk of a normal carry-on bag, so plan accordingly.

Final Thoughts:
For the money, these are a great bargain.  At $140 MSRP and available all over the web for about $80, there isn't much that is comparable for the price.  I would be interested in trying a couple of Able Planets similar models, as the fit issues for me may be resolved.  If you are looking to foray into the world of audiophile headphones, but you don't want to have to sell a kidney to do it, these would be a great place to start.


SPECIAL FEATURES

• Featuring Award-Winning Patented LINX AUDIO® a Hear the Difference® technology
• In-Line Volume Control for Easy Adjustment to Safe Listening Levels
• Lightweight and Comfortable fit
• State-of-the-art active noise cancellation (ANC)
• Superior comfort

• SPECIFICATIONS
• Frequency Response: 20Hz - 20,000Hz
• Sensitivity at 1 kHz: 115 dB (Off); 121 dB (On)

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Outdoor Technology's Bluetooth Tags - Review

I am pretty much a music nut and being able to bring it with me everywhere is getting easier and easier.  Bringing tunes into the back-country has always been a challenge though.  Electronics plus dirt and water never mix well. So I encase my iPhone in a weatherproof, bombproof plastic fortress to protect it.  But this does make listening to The Black Keys while I paddle a bit tough, until now.  

The Bluetooth Tags from Outdoor Technology are the solve to my situation.  I can hit play on my iPod, lock the thing up tight, stow it away in my pack and listen "wirelessly" from up to 45 feet from the source.  I say "wirelessly" because even thought the ear buds are not tethered to the iPod with a wire, the two buds themselves are connected to each other by a wire.  That said, they literally change how you think about headphones.  With the wire running around the back of my neck while in use, the odds of getting tangled in it is nearly zero.  With controls for volume and playback as well as a microphone and call answering capabilities, taking the actual iPod outta my pocket is almost never necessary.

Whether you are mowing the grass, shredding a mountain or putting miles on your bike, the benefits of being able to stash your phone/iPod anywhere and still use it just plain rules.  The sound quality is really good.  We are not talking DJ headphone quality, but they will rival just about any buds I have ever tried.  They come with three different pairs of pads for the tips of the buds, so you can tailor them to fit your ear.  They stay in place well, and add in the over-the-ear sport clips and they are going nowhere.

On the downside, you do kinda look like "Mr. Bluetooth Guy" waiting for the power conference call while you are in line for the chairlift.  But once I got past that, I was back in love with these things. When not in use the tags hang around your neck and resemble a pair of dog tags, thus the name. I have to admit, I wear them like this all the time and I never seem to lose them, which is NOT NORMAL.

 I get about 5 hours of life out of each charge, I just wish I could find more days to actually get to listen to tunes for 5 straight hours.  That'd be nice...

MSRP: $79.95

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House of Marley Zion Earbuds - Review

I am a bit of a music junkie too.  My tastes are varied and maybe even a little odd to some people.  From Bluegrass to Electronica, my iPod is a veritable buffet of tunes.  A life long love of Led Zeppelin and  Jimi Hendrix demonstrate an affinity for ripping guitar, but a thumping base line is not gonna scare me off either.  As summer time rolls around,  having a quality pair of headphones is a minimum requirement.  Enter the House of Marley, one of the legacies of Bob himself and their recently launched line of performance headphones.

I have had the chance to test out the Zion Earphones over the course of the last few months, and these things are just plain sweet in every respect.  What got me from the start was the looks. The rasta colored fabric covered 52" cord feels top quality and is plenty long for whatever activity you may be into.  The natural maple wood and recycled aluminum body of the bud make for an incredibly slick package.  They come with 5 different sized pairs of rubber tips, so you can find the ones that fit your ear perfectly.  When not in use they stow away neatly in the included canvas snap pouch.  Throw in an inline 3 button volume control and mic and I never need to dig my phone outta my pocket, even to answer calls.

Beyond looking sweet, these things pound.  Traditionally, I thought you needed to go with on-ear or over-the-ear headphones to get quality sound.  I was wrong.  I don't claim to understand what a 9 millimeter moving coil driver is, but it works apparently.  Hooked up to my iPhone, these put out plenty of sound, to the point that max volume is bordering on painful....  Ha ha, sweet.   Mowing the lawn is no longer an issue, the good ole snapper mower has nothing on these.

MSRP: $99.99 and worth every penny...

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