TECH SPOTLIGHT

Headphones offer team spirit or low price, not rich sound

Special to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette - 05/09/2014 - The Sol Republic Tracks Collegiate headphones (left) include an Arkansas Razorbacks design. The iHome iB35 headphones (right) include a flat cord that won't tangle.
Special to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette - 05/09/2014 - The Sol Republic Tracks Collegiate headphones (left) include an Arkansas Razorbacks design. The iHome iB35 headphones (right) include a flat cord that won't tangle.

I've been getting my groove on with this week's products, trying out headphones from two different companies: one that's new to me, and the other with which I'm very familiar.

The products are the Tracks Collegiate headphones from Sol Republic and the iB35 headphones from iHome Audio.

Admittedly, I suspect the Tracks headphones will prove very popular, strictly by their looks. Sol Republic has decorated these headphones with various college team logos. The ones I happened to test were, of course, Arkansas Razorback headphones.

The headband is red on the outside and white inside. The running Razorback logo is perched above each earpiece, and the inside has "Woo" and "Pig Sooie" written on either side of the cushion designed to keep the top of the head comfortable.

One unique thing about the Razorback-laden headband on these headphones -- if your loyalty wanes (how dare you!), you can actually purchase other headbands and change them out. They do have other teams as well, including SEC teams and even Arkansas State University (for you ASU fans out there).

The Sol headphones have thick cushions with cutouts in the center to properly channel sound to the ear. They also help grip the ear a bit better. The headband is pretty strong, so they did squeeze my head quite a bit. The earpieces are compact, so they don't completely cover the ear. They eventually started to feel uncomfortable, but that was after a couple hours' use.

The headphones do include a nice bonus: A small remote is built into the audio wire. The remote can adjust the volume and play or pause the music. It also can be used to answer a phone call, thanks to a tiny microphone built into the back.

The real question, of course, is the sound. How does it sound? For $129, I didn't expect top of the line, like with $300 headphones. I did expect a rich, full tone and broad range.

Eh.

The Sol headphones have good tone. The treble is there. It stands out without being brassy. The upper bass tones are there as well. The mid-tones, which give music that richness, aren't as fleshed out as I expected. They also seemed to be lacking a bit of that deeper bass. The sound was good, perhaps even very good. But it wasn't as good as I hoped it would be. I was expecting a bit more depth.

The Sol headphones aren't the most comfortable and they don't produce the richest sound but they do a decent job, and I did find myself going back to them during my reviews. They may not have perfect sound, but if you're itching to have headphones with Razorbacks on them, these headphones will work just fine.

The iB35 headphones are from the more familiar company -- iHome Audio. I've tried out various speaker and clock systems from them in the past, though I've never had a chance to try out their headphones.

I must say, I prefer the speaker systems.

The iB35 headphones look nice. The ones I tested were black with red trim and had a flat red cord designed not to tangle up. That part is accurate. Though the cord did twist a few times, it never tangled.

The headphones have thin cushions over the earpieces and an even thinner, silicone-like cushion at the top of the headband to keep the top of the head comfortable.

But "comfortable" is not a word I would use to describe these headphones. Far from it, in fact.

The earpieces are shaped so you can tell when you have them on backwards because they won't stay on properly at all. Even with the headphones on properly, the earpieces still don't feel right. I felt as if they were going to slip off at any moment. The cushions are flat and lack the well that usually makes them fit over the ears better and channel the sound properly. The cushions also are really thin, so they don't offer a lot of comfort.

That was the biggest problem with these headphones, the lack of comfort. Because they kept feeling like they would slide off, I kept the earpieces tight to my head. Unfortunately, the placement of the bad earpiece and the thin cushions caused my head and the joint of my jaw near my ear to hurt after extended use.

As for the sound, it's fairly good for the price point of $25. However, don't expect these headphones to compete with more pricey headphones.

The iB35 headphones have decent treble, and the mid-bass is there. But you don't get that deep bass or the rich mid-tones that make the music sound full and soaring. These headphones just don't have the complete depth in the tone.

That said, they do have better tone than most inexpensive headphones I've heard. If you're looking for a spare set for the office, these would do the job -- assuming you can keep them on your head.

Neither of these products gets four stars for comfort, but you get what you pay for, or slightly better, when it comes to the sound. I can't say these would be at the top of my wish list, although I'm sure when it comes to the first set, a few Hogs fans would disagree with me. To each his own.

Melissa L. Jones can be reached via email at [email protected].

Where it's @

The Sol Tracks Collegiate headphones (in Arkansas Razorbacks style) are compatible with iPhone and Android systems. The product retails for $129. More information is available at solrepublic.com. The iHome Audio iB35 headphones retail for $25. More information is available at ihomeaudio.com.

Monday Business on 05/12/2014

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