The Bottom Line: Don't let the seemingly inappropriate combination of the word elite and low price sticker scare you away.
The Elite 840 headphones are a great buy!
pres_00's Full Review: Labtec Elite 840 Consumer Headphones
I needed a new pair of headphones primarily because my older ones didn't make good contact at connections (sometimes I would lose sound on one side). The older ones were given to me indirectly because the guy wanted to upgrade and I was amazed with the sound quality. Those older audio-technica headphones were probably expensive. I started using them a lot more because I could hear many nuances that were unavailable with the cheap speakers that came with my hp clone.
I found these along with a scarce selection of other headphones at an electronics store. It caught my eye because of the grille on the sides. I bought it shortly after some research on the internet. It was a gamble because I thought that such cheap "cans" couldn't compare with my older ones. Boy was I surprised.
The sound is superb. At par with the broken ones. I have now used them for a whole week listening to some kahvi.org electronic music and playing GTA3. It felt good to hear the low rumble of a banshee idle engine. My ogg music files are well suited with these headphones since the beat can change ever so quickly without sound distortion.
As I'm writing this, I have no music playing. I would normally remove the headphones during such moments but the only reminder that I have them on is this website. The ear-cups are a new concept to me and do their job quite nicely. I wear glasses therefore any kind of pressure on my ears is dearly felt after minutes. I wore the elite 840's through hours of intense GTA3 gaming and frankly, only stopped playing because of eye strain. Honestly, I once forgot I had them on and got pulled back by the cord. Luckily, the connection is still intact. The summer heat and stress of virtual police pursuits warmed my ears but the velvety material on the elites dissipates that warmth effectively. The self adjustable head strap with foamy material has just the right amount of resistance so that the ear-cups stay in place (a.i. they don't pull them underneath the ears.).
The box says that this pair of headphones are portable. This is surely possible but impractical. They are quite large and will make people notice if you jog around. Since they have an open design which makes sound resound without exaggeration, they allow noise to enter quite easily.It is optimum for interior use ( even with some tv's on a few metres away). The swivels don't seem to be very durable as other reviewers stated but I take care to remove this quality work the right way. I wouldn't dare to just stuff them in my bag and quickly take them out for a quick listen in the bus. The membrane and velvety material is soft and therefore delicate. In my mind, any torn material will immediately impact the ergonomy of this product.
As a 21 dollar purchase, it is more than safe to buy "just for the heck of it". As my second pair of "serious" headphones, they are an introductory guide to the earcup and open design which I will look after for any future purchases.
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