* Update (2024-05-17) *
Well, they lasted long enough, I guess. A couple of months ago, one of the hinge points between one of the ear cups and the band must’ve become a little loose, so sometimes, in my bag, the cup would come dislodged, even when in its pouch. Nothing I couldn’t fix just by snapping it back in place. Well, fast-forward to just a couple of days ago, where I had the headphones in my bag (not with the pouch, as I unfortunately lost it recently) for an evening away from home, and by the time I got back, one of the ear cup hinges broke. Thankfully it wasn’t one that the internal wiring runs through, and the unit somehow hasn’t lost any functionality, but the build’s just a little more touchy now. I could probably glue it back together, but it’d be difficult to do while maintaining the hinge movement, as a bit of the hinge chipped off and is now floating in my bag somewhere. If I decide not to, at least I got a solid 20 months out of them, not bad for the price. But I guess the build quality comments from my original review may have been a little too optimistic.
Also, here are some thoughts on the things I didn’t get to comment on in the original review. The unit does passively block some noise, which is to be expected for over-ear, closed-back headphones. Nowhere near standard earmuffs, though, so you still can hear what’s around you if you keep the volume down. The battery life is fine; not sure that it’s quite 90 hours, but it’ll still last you through several days of large use before requiring a charge. Charging is pretty quick, too; it’s not even three hours of downtime before it’s already up to full. Onboard controls are fine as well, easy to get the hang of. But the microphone…oh dear. It’s honestly kind of bad. The other person can hear you if you articulate well, otherwise good luck having a fluent conversation with the built-in mic.
Sooo, I wouldn’t recommend these headphones quite as emphatically as I did before. But I mean, at the current list price of US$27, they’re still pretty good, at least if you treat them well.
Oh, one more thing, a fun fact: the official website has had little to no change between when I got these and when I’m updating this review. And nowhere there do they mention the Life series of headphones; only the Vogue 5 and 9 and Care 1 and 3. I don’t think they’re maintaining it all that much; here on Amazon is the better place to see their current product line, including the other types of products they make (like…ice cube trays. Wild.)
* Original Review (2022-09-12) *
I received these headphones in the mail a couple of days ago, and overall, I’m happy with the product. The sound quality is fine, the unit feels well-built, it charges with USB Type-C instead of Micro-B, and it has quite a few extra features for the price. I haven’t played around with Bluetooth much (I’m mostly a wired listener), so I don’t know what the battery life is like, how effectively the controls work, or what the mic sounds like. I also haven’t had to deal with noise cancellation, but I imagine that being over-ear, closed-back headphones means it can block outside noise pretty well. This review might get an update down the line if/when I get more acquainted with these headphones, provided I remember to come back.
These headphones are not perfect, though. The glaring flaw is actually in the unit’s wired mode: it defaults to Heavy Bass mode, and there’s no way that I know of to shift it to a more balanced tone without an external EQ. I figured this out by playing Cadence of Hyrule with my “desktop” headphones, then listening to its (excellent) soundtrack with these and noticing that the bass is much heavier. To make sure the unit’s idea of “balanced” isn’t actually bass-heavy, I reconnected the headphones, but via Bluetooth for EQ control. Sure enough, the Heavy Bass mode sounds like wired, and the Balanced mode is closer to my expectations. I wish I could change that, as I don’t care much for heavy bass, but the on-board EQ doesn’t work in wired mode.
This is a bit more of a nitpick, but I also think the headphones are a little uncomfortable. I might just not be used to over-ear, closed-back headphones (my “desktop” headphones are over-ear, semi-open-back, and my previous “portable” headphones were on-ear, closed-back), but they give a sort of vacuum effect that I sometimes feel when wearing ear protection. Not only that, but the area surrounding my ears definitely feels something pressing on it. If the ear pads were removable or replaceable, I could install some velour pads and make it a little better. Point is, it’s hard for me to wear these for extended periods. Hey, that might encourage me to take them off once in a while.
I think both of the problems I raised are largely personal, and your experience with these may vary. If you really like bass, you might find the wired mode great. If you are used to over-ear, closed-back headphones, these would probably feel fine. Besides the issues I presented, I’m generally pleased with the sound clarity, the build quality, and all the extra features that these headphones provide for the price tag. If you’re looking for new headphones and these seem like something you’d use, then give them a try!
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