Accutone Pisces Band Review
I would like to thank Accutone for sending me these to review, I will write as honest a review possible.
These received more than 50hrs of burn-in before review, no major changes were detected.
Gear used:
IPod Classic 160gb (rockboxed) > Accutone Pisces Band
(Amping did not bring a worthwhile difference)
Specs:
Driver – dynamic 40mm
Impedance – 32ohm
Cable length – 1.3m
Packaging, Accessories and Build quality:
Packaging is simple but eye catching, a plastic box, that is clear on the front so you can see the headphones which are folded up in side. The back on the inside of the box is mirrored and there is a card strip around the box with some information about the headphones on it.
Simple yet affective packaging
Accessories, these come with only a carry pouch, but it really is a nice pouch, and the headphones fit perfectly in it and I think it is real leather.
Build quality is impressive, the design of these headphones is definately based on the Beats Solo, but these are made of metal, the headband, cups and hinges are metal, with the headbamd covered in plastic plates to make them shiny. But they are mainly metal and feel durable. The weak point could be the cable, I think it should be detachable, but the cable is flat and feels stong enough to last a while. Strain relief on the headphone and jack is good and the iPhone controls are well built, with a light click when you press them.
These fold up nicely and fit well into the supplied pouch, the folding mechanism is of good quality, and clicks into place.
One thing that is strange, is that the single sided cable is on the right side, and not the standard left side.
Isolation and Comfort:
Isolation is good for a supra-aural headphones, and they block out enough noise for walking around and general public transport, they also don’t leak much, but if you crank up the volume they do begin to leak a little.
Comfort is alright, they do clamp a little hard, but they do improve after some wear, and the pads are fairly firm but do soften also, so I have no real probkems with the comfort. They are fairly heavy, but the headband pad helps alleviate the pressure.
Sound:
These are tuned for a more bass orientated sound, but I did not fnd the bass to overwhelm other frequencies.
Lows:
Well extended and always present, although they do somewhat shadow the mids. The lows are surprisingly punchy and tight, it is not too boomy, but the do have a mid-bass hump. These are tuned for extended bass, and they sure do deliver in the bass department, although the sub-bass isn’t quite as present as I would like it to be, if you looking for subwofer type bass, these do not quite deliver.
Mids:
Behind the bass, and also masked by the bass making them sound recessed, veiled and mushy. The separation of the mids is not great neither is detail retrieval. Guitars and vocals sound overly smooth and I would have liked to see the mids a bit more forward and detailed, but on the other hand this means they are non fatiguing and don’t suffer from sibilance in the upper mids.
Highs:
Well what can I say, the highs are present with fairly good detail, but not great extension. The highs do keep these from being too dark, but I do like detailed well defined highs, and these deliver a non fatiguing but slightly dull high end reproduction.
Soundstage is nothing spectacular, and imaging is’nt great either. Instrument separation is not great as these have a veiled and dark sound.
Overall these present a smooth non fatiguing sound, with good bass response with mids that are still present but veiled and highs that lack sparkle and shimmer. The build quality, comfort amd isolation is good, but the sound is quite dull.
These are not bad, they are just lacking a bit in general, and would be fine if you listen to EDM and hip-hop (these are obviously aimed at teens and general consumers) but are lacking with rock and other genres.
Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed and comments are welcome.
Tracks Used:
Skrillex – First Of The Year (Equinox) (320kbps MP3)
Paramore – Franklin (320kbps MP3)
Diana Krall – The Girl In The Other Room (FLAC)
Deolinda – Passou Por Mim E Sorriu (live) (ALAC)
Suicide Silence – Unanswered (FLAC)
Massive Attack – Angel (ALAC)
Eat Static – Dzhopa Dream (ALAC)
The XX – Crystalised (FLAC)
Funeral For A Friend – Bend Your Arms To Look Like Wings (ALAC)
Mumford & Sons – Little Lion Man (FLAC)
The Scene Aesthetic – Humans (259kbps MP3)
A Hero A Fake – Swallowed By The Sea (254kbps MP3)
Vivaldi – The Four Seasons, Spring Allegro (ALAC)
Skrillex – First Of The Year (Equinox) (320kbps MP3)
Paramore – Franklin (320kbps MP3)
Diana Krall – The Girl In The Other Room (FLAC)
Deolinda – Passou Por Mim E Sorriu (live) (ALAC)
Suicide Silence – Unanswered (FLAC)
Massive Attack – Angel (ALAC)
Eat Static – Dzhopa Dream (ALAC)
The XX – Crystalised (FLAC)
Funeral For A Friend – Bend Your Arms To Look Like Wings (ALAC)
Mumford & Sons – Little Lion Man (FLAC)
The Scene Aesthetic – Humans (259kbps MP3)
A Hero A Fake – Swallowed By The Sea (254kbps MP3)
Vivaldi – The Four Seasons, Spring Allegro (ALAC)
Johnny Craig – Children Of Divorce (161kbps MP3)
Deadmau5 + Kaskade – I Remember (Caspa Remix) (320kbps MP3)
Black Uhuru – Utterance (ALAC)
Black Uhuru – Utterance (ALAC)
We Are The In Crowd – Never Be What You Want (226kbps MP3)
Silverstein – Discovering The Waterfront (320kbps MP3)
Concept Of Thought – Our Thought (FLAC)
Nirvana – Something In The Way (Unplugged) (ALAC)