Freak369's Full Review: Maxell LB-1B Consumer Headphones
Maxell has been a leader in the audio and video scene for more years than I care to count. I've used their blank VHS tapes, audio cassettes and batteries in the past so when I saw these headphones at [of all places] the grocery store I figured for the sale price of $3.99 I’d give them a try. I’ve never been a big fan of the “behind the neck” type of headphones but how could I possibly pass up a brand name set at that price? Now, these aren’t your regular headphones – no sir indeed – these have flashing lights on the outer portion of the headphone that pulse along with the music that is being played. Well, that’s what’s supposed to happen anyway.
The Maxell Light Beats headphone set up is pretty cool looking out of the package. The gray plastic headband is sturdy and should hold up to a moderate amount of use. The blue polished metallic-like finish on the outer portion of the headphone gives it a nice look but one thing everyone should know up front – sometimes looks can be extremely deceiving. If you don’t expect too much from these headphones you might not be disappointed however I have always held Maxell to a higher standard than what I found with these.
Behind The Neck
The ‘behind the neck’ headphones are great if you can get used to them. I generally use the earbuds or headphones that slip directly into your ear however I have picked up a few of the behind the neck types when they were on sale or when I was in dire need of a new pair but I try to stick with the familiar when it comes to headphones. Since I have long hair I have to either wear my hair in a ponytail or under a baseball cap in order to have the headphones properly placed so they won’t slip around. With the earbuds you can slip them directly into your ear canal so you can hear your music clearly – with these the music seems a little tinny and unclear. This is mostly because the pads don’t directly rest against your ear – if they were designed a little differently I am sure the sound would be a lot better. Personally I found myself having to constantly reposition them and move them around. These wouldn’t be great for use at the gym since any small movement of the neck seems to knock them out of place.
Light Beats
Chances are if your headphones have been sitting on the shelf for any length of time that means that people have been pressing the little button on the cord to see what the lights look like. There are two replacement batteries [LR44] provided with these headphones so you won’t have to worry about scurrying around looking for them to get the headphones to work. There isn’t a lock on the battery door so make sure you keep these out of the reach of small children since it can easily be opened. I am not sure how long these batteries last since I really don’t use the light feature a lot but the headphones can be used even if the batteries for the light up function are dead or completely removed.
In theory the lights on the headphones are supposed to light up when music is played through them. The colors that light up are orange, red and green and light up in a rapid-fire sequence. Half the time the lights never worked when I played songs but I had the best luck getting the lights to work when using them through my Sony portable CD player rather than the computer or portable radio. In order to get them to work on a consistent basis you either need to be playing a song with a fast beat or playing the music extremely loud – which will result in the headphones burning out in record time.
One thing that really sucks about these headphones is where the on / off switch is placed on the cord. When I was using these on the computer I had a hard time keeping the two inch section from falling off the edge of the desk. The switch is almost exactly in the middle of the 50 inch cord which could present a problem if you need to get to it quick to turn off the lights. In all honesty I doubt many people would be caught dead with these headphones on – let alone with the lights blinking away. I suppose kids would like these headphones and possibly those that run, jog or walk at night.
Sound Quality
Getting used to these headphones takes some time so don’t expect to slip them on and have them feel like they are a perfect fit. If you’ve never worn the behind the neck type headphones chances are these won’t feel very good when you initially slip them on. The sound quality – in my opinion – is rather poor. When I used them on my portable CD player the sound was a little better than listening to music through the computer however these were horrid when I plugged them into my portable stereo. If you are used to the ear buds or headphones that allow you to slip the ear section into your ear chances are you’ll be completely frustrated with the sound quality from these. If you listen to anything with heavy bass be prepared to replace these headphones in about two weeks since they just don’t seem like they can handle the sound.
The headphones seem to hover over your ear so you really can’t hear 100% of the music unless you play it at ridiculously high volumes, which sort of defeats the purpose of wearing headphones in the first place. I am glad that I picked these up on sale because if I would have paid the suggested retail price of $9.99 - $13.99 I would have been completely livid. Overall these are only good for certain types of music [classical,
Audio Tests
Type O Negative [Christian Woman] - Sounded very hollow and lost about 30% of the music. Not for rock or metal music. I have no doubt that these headphone wouldn’t last a week of regular use with this type of music.
Anthrax [Black Lodge] – Lost a lot of the impact of the vocals. Guitar parts seemed washed out. Not for this type of music, not at all.
Henry Rollins [Spoken Word] – Not that bad, these might be great for those that listen to audio books or a lot of spoken word or motivational CD’s.
Pearl Jam [Black – Live – Acoustic] – Surprisingly the live acoustic songs sounded great with these headphones. The guitars seemed crisp but the vocals were a little droopy in some spots when Vedder starts belting out the song.
Ozzy Osbourne [Changes – Live] – I really wanted to see what the piano portions of the song would sound like. The headphones seemed to do better with Ozzy’s vocals than the piano portions – there was a lot of crackling and popping – something I never had with my Sony headphones.
Sasha [X-Pander] – I didn’t expect these to be able to handle the fast and strong beats of Sasha’s hard core techno CD but overall they were pretty good. It was hard to crank up the volume but they handled the music nonetheless.
Specifications
Maximum Input 100mW
Frequency Response 20 – 20,000 Hz
Cord Length 50 inches
Weight 6 – 8 ounces
Plug Size 3.5 mm
Warranty
These headphones come with a 90 day warranty against manufacturer defects in material and workmanship. If these are defective or show any signs of defect you can return them for a replacement within the 90 day time frame. Proof of purchase is needed in order to do so – so please keep your receipt and the information card that these headphones are attached to when purchased. Please refer to the back section of the package for the address to send the headphones to. Save yourself a bit of grief and send them back with a delivery confirmation in case something should happen tot eh package in transit.
The Bottom Line
These aren’t the best headphones on the market but, sadly, these aren’t the worst. The light up feature is a nice hook for the younger crowd but unless you blast the tunes or play something with a very fast beat chances are the lights won’t work in a consistent manner. Considering that I picked these up for $3.99 I can’t say that I am completely disappointed with their performance but I did expect something a little more impressive from a Maxell product. I’ll keep these around in case my Sony or Phillips headphones break down and die on me but I really don’t anticipate using these for day-to-day listening. If you find these are at a rock bottom price you might want to give them a try – or pick them up as a nice little gag gift for a friend or co-worker.
Built-in lights flash to the beat of the music 20 to 20,000 Hz frequency response 3.5 millimeter silver-plated L-plug Lightweight open-air style Inclu...More at Amazon Marketplace
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