These headphones are amazing for the price range! For those who are not familiar with Logitech's line of headphone, the Ultimate Ear (UE) line came out a couple of years ago with a focus on making higher end headphones for a mid point price range. These are my second pair of UE headphones, my first set being UE 300vm in-ear headphones. Anyways, these are in a long line of over the ear headphones that I have owned. Also, given that I DJ, my requirement for headphones are different than the everyday user. These were strictly purchased for casual, everyday use without sacrifice to sound. I have a different sets for different uses, so while I think these could handle being used as DJing headphone - they aren't designed (physical construction) as such so I don't use it for that purpose.
Sound Quality - I have been exceptionally surprised at how great the UE line sounds. These are super clean and crisp without sounding forced. There are plenty of cans out there that sound a bit too artificial, especially ones that advertise it right on the packaging (or product description). These were (in my opinion) the unsung hero of its class. These can easily outshine a set of Bose AE, OE or QC's in the sound department any day! However, given the marketing strategy behind Bose, you'd probably never give these a chance. Speaking of Bose, in comparing these to my AE2's, I'd much rather grab these to listen to the same tracks to see the new sound imaging I get from songs that I know in and out. What I have come to realize with High End headphones (including Bose) is that they focus more on balance and sound stage, and while I totally agree on both aspects, sometimes you just need a bit more "umph" to liven up your music, to get you sucked in, to get you hyped for whatever it is your are doing (again, my music perspective in very different than that of a casual listener). Having a balanced sound tone in the long run (to me) makes my music seem kind of flat overall. I do like the presence of bass and crisp highs. These deliver both! These are also advertised as "noise cancelling" which means they run on batteries to active high frequency white noise to counter surrounding ambient noise. Some may find this aspect appealing, other may not. I myself will be honest that the noise cancelling isn't all that great on these, but I do not have a basis for comparison other than having tried Bose QC but don't actually own a pair or had a change to test any for an extended period of time. What I will say is that when turning on the "active noise cancelling" it does active an amp where its like turning on the "loud" button on your car stereo. Unlike the Bose QC, these function just fine without the use of the active noise cancelling, so you don't have to worry about constantly having batteries just to use your headphones. To me that is a great plus over cans the require the use of batteries to function. I'll be honest, I only really used the active noise cancelling when I first got the set and once the batteries dies, I just left it as is and used the cans without the noise cancelling feature.
Construction - Made of a combination of gloss plastic, rubberized plastic and some aluminum/metal, these feel quite sturdy. The weight on these are a bit heavier than I'd prefer, however given I am not moving around with them, you forget you are wearing them. Each side has a hinge where it folds in to help transport these in an included semi hard travel pouch. The batteries compartment is located on the left ear cup and is accessed but the press of a small flush button that when pressed, pops open the outer cover of the ear cup and is permanently attached to the strap so you don't have to worry about losing the cover. Some may like this, some may not. I personally think its great. Less things to lose. The opening can be a bit tight so those who have bigger hands/fingers may find it hard to get in to replace the AAA batteries with their bare fingers (unless you use a small flat head screwdriver)? Noise cancellation is on the opposite ear cup and is fairly easy to turn off and on. When turned on, a green LED on the button light up indicating that noise cancelling in active. If or when it turns or stays red when you turn it on, that means battery life is running low. Another thing you will notice (at least with with my set) is if you are listening to music with noise cancelling on and the LED is red, your music will also cut in and out, almost as if your song was damaged in its encoded process (which was my first reaction). Upon turning off that feature, you music will return to normal without any distractions (or "loudness"). Again, while I think the loudness is nice, I've been using these without noise cancelling and love the way it sounds. The ear pads are the best I have felt in quite some time. Given the price range of these, these feel 10x better than my DJ Headphones (Denon DN-HP1000). The innards of the pads feel like some sort of memory foam (but could be regular foam for all I know) but isn't too soft or hard. The pad lining is made of a black pleather like material which feel fine on your skin. They cup and contour your head/ear area nicely. The band up top is rubberized on the outer part to provide easy grip when handling them from the bad, and the underside is padded for when its resting on the top of your head. Again, nicely padded foam. Of course, each side can be adjusted up or down and the ear cups themselves have a bit of wiggle room to provide a better fit to each person. The cable includes an inline mic and controls so that you can control your iPhone/Android and or take calls while using the headphones. The cable is also fully detachable so if your cable goes bad, you won't need to get a new set of cans, just a new cable.
Noise Cancelling - Since these are over the ear headphones, upon properly fitting/securing them to your head, you will notice a good deal of AMBIENT noise is filtered out (without the use of the built in noise cancelling). Turning them on, you may notice a slight change? Definitely not ground breaking, but that is also because there is a misconception about what noise cancelling is (won't get into that). Like I stated earlier, the noise cancelling feature also enhances the music a bit. Some may like it, other may not, and I like said, I used it at first but now I'm perfectly happy with the way they sound without the feature turned on. The way the cable is coated, it does NOT make a lot of feedback noise when moving around at my desk. I don't use these while I am outdoors or doing activities so I cannot comment beyond what I currently have done with them.
Conclusion - Overall, these are a great set of headphones. Unfortunately, they are discontinued so you will be left with scouring like new, light use or used products. Though on the larger and heavier side, they feel solid and don't feel weak or fragile. Wearing them, you get a real sense of you and your music (or movie, or phone call, etc). Unlike other over or around the ear phones that feel cheap and light, and don't create a proper seal on/around your ear, these will be a nice wake up call as to what proper over the ear headphones should sound like. While some who seek Active Noise Cancelling headphone may be disappointed with that particular feature. I think they will much appreciate the lower price tag and sound quality of these cans should be give them a try.
Carbon emissions from the lifecycle of this product were measured, reduced and offset.
As certified by
Carbon Neutral Certified by SCS Global Services
Carbon Neutral Certified by SCS Global Services
Carbon Neutral Certified by SCS Global Services enables companies to demonstrate carbon neutrality for their products by reducing carbon emissions throughout their operations and offsetting their remaining carbon footprint through the purchase of carbon credits. SCS Global Services is a global leader in third-party environmental and sustainability verification, certification, auditing, testing, and standards development. SCS is a chartered Benefit Corporation, reflecting its commitment to socially and environmentally responsible business practices.
