Gear Used:
IPod Classic 160gb (rockboxed) – R-Shield
IPod Classic 160gb (rockboxed) – Fiio L3 – Jds Labs C421 – R-Shield
Specs:
Driver: 40mm Cobalt Magnet
Impedance: 32Ω
Sensitivity: 110dB
Frequency response: 20 – 20,000 Hz
Cable length: 3m
Pros:
Isolation, Build quality, overall sound
Cons:
Comfort (for some), the sound lacks a bit of body.
Packaging, Build Quality and Accessories:
Packaging is a simple black box, with Rockit written in orange on the front and a picture of the headphones, on the back are the specs and a description of the headphones. Very neat and easy to get to the headphones. Only the headphones and a 3.5 to 6.3mm adaptor are included in the box, no carry pouch or accessories.
Build quality:
Here these excel, with very strong plastic cups, all metal headband and hinges with nuts and bolts holding it together. I think the cable could be better though, but it feels thick enough to be durable. The lack of carry pouch shouldn’t be too bad, as I would have no worries throwing these about, they are truly built like a tank.
Well these are basically ear defenders with drivers in them, they isolate extremely well and rival most IEM’s. Isolation comes at a small price of a bit of comfort, but they are still comfy enough to have on for 2 hours, but then your ears start to get hot.
Sound:
I will split this into the usual 3 categories, and then give a conclusion.
Lows:
Tight and precise, but with extension and body not being great. The bass is there and audible but lacks body and extension isn’t great, but they do make up for it in bass detail and speed. I find that also the mids suffer a bit as they sound a bit thin, they don’t have the bass to give them body.
Mids:
Slightly forward in presentation, but being a bit thin and harsh sometimes.The detail retrieval in the mids is excellent and vocals do sound very good most of the time. Electric guitars sound very crisp and acoustic music suits these very well.
Highs:
Prominent but not harsh, with good extension up top and nice sparkle. Cymbals crash and shimmer as they should, and these are more mid-high accentuated headphones.
Soundstage, Instrument separation and Imaging:
Soundstage is small but with great separation and placement of instruments.
Instrument separations is great as these are fast and tight, with air between everything.
Imaging is also done very well with everything in its right place without sounding distant or detached.
Timbre isn’t quite spot on as they sound too thin, and the decay is a little too quick.
I really struggled finding things to say about the sound of these, as they don’t do anything badly or particularly well, the bass could do with a bit more extension down low, the mids a bit of body but the highs are great as they are. They sound good with anything really, and they would be great for drummers as drums sound very good and the isolation would help too. They are also quite revealing of bad source material, so feed them some nice FLAC or ALAC files.
I think for the price of $60 these are very good for specific needs, they won’t appeal to everyone, and are not the best looking headphones if you want style, but for isolation and good overall sound, they are a very good buy.
Amping:
Amping these really doesn’t make much of a difference, and they are driven fine from a portable source, so I wouldn’t bother with an amp for these.
I hope you enjoyed this review, any comments or questions are welcome.
Paramore – Franklin (320kbps MP3)
The XX – Crystalised (FLAC)
