PixlBit

Good morning Pixlpeeps! For today's Quick Hits I'm gonna try something different. I've recently gotten into this kick where I watch YouTube videos about headphone reviews and I've become interested in the budget side of headphones. As you know with my CD pickups I love a wide range of music and I also listen to a lot of podcasts. I decided to check out two headphones to see if they live up to the hype and the best part is, both pairs combine come out to about $70 which is usually the price of a new video game and maybe some DLC. Today's Quick Hits will cover these two headphones. If you're not into it I get it, and you can either skip down to the bottom to see what bargain bin video game I bought or I'll see you next week. If you decide to not check out Quick Hits, have a good weekend! For you folks who are going to continue, let's get started!

 

About two weeks ago I was watching some YouTube videos and one of them was about headphones that were cheap. My usual reaction is they probably sound like crap because $$=quality (usually). As I started doing some light research between the YouTube videos and a trusted message board about audio, I found a couple of brands that seem to get positive reviews despite their budget pricing, which is under $50. Keep in mind that these headphones are not in the same class as my two favorite headphones the Audio Technica ATH-M50s, and the V-Moda Crossfade LP's. Both of these headphones are my favorites for different reasons but most importantly they sound great. I wanted to see if the two headphones I kept reading about were the real deal or just hype. The first pair I purchased I was on the fence about until late one night before going to be I said screw it and placed the order for next day shipping.

 

Status Audio HD One

Amazon: $44 - Link

Status Audio is a company out of Brooklyn that makes headphones with no branding, or celebrity endorsements. Their focus is to create a good sounding pair of headphones at a price that won't break the bank. Their most expensive pair is priced at $100 while the pair I purchased seemed to be modeled after the popular Beats line.

 

The packaging is really nice with a glossy slip on cover on a red box that opens like a door.

 

Inside the box is a thank you/info card from Status Audio and the pouch containing the headphones and audio cables. The nice thing about this company is that after I purchased my headphones I received an e-mail from the president (don't know if it is the actual president or an intern) thanking me.

 

 

The cables themselves. You get a long flat red cable and a shorter black cable with a microphone and a play/pause button. There are no other buttons on this cable.

 

 

The headphones themselves fold up in a nice compact form. Just like my ATH-M50s, I wouldn't carry these headphones in a pouch and I would most likely buy a third party hard shell case.

 

 

The headphones are covered in a rubber-like material which is a plus for me because they match my current laptop.

The build is all plastic so they are light. I don't worry about the folding hinges, and the cups are on ear which is usually a deal breaker for me. The positives is that since they are light and the headband doesn't squeeze my head, I don't really notice the on ear cups, and I've worn them for over an hour without getting annoyed by the cups. The cups themselves have a leather like cover which is soft but if I could I would replaced them with something thicker but that's just my preference.

As for how they sound, they are amazing for $40. Hell they could be sold at $100 and I'd think they would still sound pretty good. The soundstage is a V shape meaning that the bass and treble are more pronounced. Many retail headphones are built this way, but the bass isn't overpowering. In fact I thought the bass and treble were quite clear for a pair of headphones in this price range, and the mids were fine just not as pronounced as the bass or treble. I tried them with different genres of music and they seem to sound just fine. Since they are on ear headphones the one flaw is that there is sound leakage when listening to audio at higher volumes.

Overall I would give these headphones an A. For the price, build quality, and overall design, these headphones should be priced at $100. Oh and I forgot to mention that the president sent an e-mail a couple of days after I received them asking about my first impressions and what they could do to make their product better.

 

There's a funny story about the second pair of headphones I purchased. While researching the Status Audio I decided to look at Bluetooth Headphones. I like that my (full disclaimer I own a pair of Beats) PowerBeats 2 Wireless are Bluetooth and are my go to everyday roaming around outside headphones. At six hours per charge they seem to do the job but I also wanted some over the ear headphones that had great battery life. I was looking at a couple that were over $100 but then I wondered if there was a cheaper alternative. Back to YouTube and again doing some light research with comparing various brands to see if people talked about them on the audio message board and I decided to try this pair because it had a number of positive reviews and the initial price was inexpensive at around the same price as the Status Audio headphones. To my shock, and what ultimately pushed me to purchase them was that on Amazon they were a steal

 

Ausdom M08

Amazon: $25 (they range from $24 to $60 depending on the color of headphones) - Link

 

Again I opted for one day shipping and I've been using these headphones the past couple of days. Apparently there are two different versions of the M08. There is a regular version and one with more bass. I opted for the cheaper less bass feature because it's $25 dollars!

 

The packaging is similar to Status Audio but Ausdom had a thicker slip cover but this is due to the actual packaging having no top piece

 

The headphones did not come with any protective case, and under the main housing were the wired cable for listening as a conventional pair of headphones and a micro USB cable for charging, along with a instruction booklet in multiple languages.

 

The headphones themselves are predominantly plastic with a thin strip of metal inside the headband to give the headphones some added strength. There is brushed plastic on the outside of the cups to give it a metal look while the rest of the headphone is also covered in a rubber like material just like my laptop. Overall the headphones almost have a retro look to them. The company says the headphones come with a 500 mAh battery and gives you 250 hours of standby time. I charged this pair of headphones right out of the box for about hour and a half and three days later they are only at 90% after using them for a couple of hours each day.

 

The folding mechanism is a little bit clunky and the hinges don't seem to take to folding well so they won't be folded when not in use.

Now as for the sound, they sound freaking amazing for a pair of $25 headphones. Granted I went with the more flashy red and black compared to the more generic black with silver accents model they sell. They sound similar to the Status Audio with the V shaped soundstage but unlike the HD One's the mids are more defined. The real test comes when they are wired and they sound even better. The sound becomes more defined and they are a killer pair of headphones.

My only gripes with this headphone is that the build quality is lacking. They don't feel as solid as the Status Audio HD One's. The headphones are categorized as “Over the ear” yet I found the cups to be small and the top and bottoms of my ears hit the insides of the cushions. I don't want to fold them because they feel like the hinges might break with constant use. Also the first time setting up the Bluetooth is a little tricky especially when trying to use it on one device after having paired to another.

Overall the Ausdom M08 are an impressive pair of headphones. For $25 you get excellent battery life and amazing sound quality. If the build was better they would easily be one of my favorite headphones.

If you would have slapped a bigger company's name on the sides of these headphones and charged 2 or 3 times their price I would have said they're worth it, but Status Audio HD One's and the Ausdom M08 are steals at their price point. If you are in the market for budget headphones do some research on these two instead of buying off the shelf stuff from a big box store.

 

 

My other pickup came last week when my cousin wanted to check out GameStop. I wasn't really looking for anything especially after the debacle with my points but out of habit I like to browse the Wii section to see what kind of bargain bin entertainment I can find (plus maybe look for some hard to find games) and I found one game that I spent a whopping .89 cents on

 

What a racing game called Speed, with crazy box art of a car exploding, made by a company named Zoo, AND I can use my Wii Wheel? Hell freaking yeah! This screams fun to play for about an hour. I might give this a whirl later on today if I can tear myself away from Sleeping Dogs. Alright Pixlpeeps I am off. I'm gonna see if I can get me some donuts from the new Dunkin Donuts spot that just opened. Hopefully the hype has died down a bit. Have a good weekend!

 

That's all for now, more later!

-Chris