Freak369's Full Review: Maxell (190329) Consumer Headphones
Being extremely rough on all types of headphones, I have a drawer full of them that just didn't make the grade for one reason or another. I refuse to pay a lot of money for headphones if I am wearing them to the gym because no matter how well made they are, eventually they all suffer the same fate of being tossed [carelessly] into my backpack or gym bag, sweat upon or stolen. Target had these for $7.99 and they looked like they might be something that would stay in place when I was on the treadmill or doing other activities at the gym or around the house. When you see them in the package they look like they are well made and will work like most other headband style headphones. Looks can be deceiving.
Maxell NB210 Head Bud Headphones
When you see these they look like slightly larger than normal headband styled headphones. Actually, you are seeing them upside down, to wear them you flip them over [with the band behind your neck], slide the hooks over your ears and position the buds in the outer section of your ear canal. These are what I consider the bottom of the barrel in headphones; there's no volume control on the lead wire, no way to adjust the buds and the band that runs along the back of your neck can stick out or get bumped around and end up knocking the buds loose from your ears. Those are things that you just can't know about until you buy them and try them out. If you are serious about listening to music, audio books or anything else, avoid these unless you absolutely have no other choice at the moment.
As far as the sound is concerned, they are above average but they don't give you a lot of volume. Please refrain from lecturing me about sound levels and ear damage, I am fully aware of what happens when you exceed the recommended volume levels. That being said, these aren't loud enough for me. They are not marketed as noise canceling headphones so I didn't expect that from them however I did expect them to be loud enough to mask conversations and normal noise. I listen to a lot of different types of music; Samhain, Iced Earth and Lamb of God sounded good but the true test was Nymphetamine by Cradle of Filth and October Rust by Type O Negative. How did these do? Poorly in my opinion. The richness and intensity just wasn't there.
On the plus side of things, spoken word releases like Eric The Pilot from Henry Rollins sounded good but there is room for improvement. Suffice it to say, if you just want something to play music around the house or for a quick walk, these will do nicely but if you want to really hear your music and experience all that it has to offer, these are going to disappoint you. Because you can't get a lot of volume out of them they would make for a good pick for kids if you want to make sure that they aren't rocking out to obscene volume levels. If you are searching for a replacement set of headphones and the above mentioned cons aren't a factor then these are a nice investment.
So, they sound good but they don't sound good. Confusing yes but a big chunk of that depends on what you are listening to and what you expect from it. On October Rust there are a lot of background sounds that add to the overall experience of the music; when listening to CD with these, you don't pick up on about 60% of these sounds. If this was the first time you were listening to it, you'd be missing out on a lot of the intrinsic qualities of it. If you love music and want to really experience it, pass on these and spend the couple extra dollars for something that is going to allow you to really hear all that it has to offer. This is just my take on this specific model from Maxell, you might try them and find them to be awesome.
I tried these out on several different players; they flat out sucked with the Philips MP3 Player. Even with the volume at the highest setting, it still sounded 'low'. On the Sony Psyc Gleam they were a little better but the key word there is 'little'. I also tried these out on the computer to listen to songs burned from CD's and MP3's. They sounded good, a little better than the CP player and MP3 player but not by much. I wasn't completely disappointed with the sound of these but one of the main reasons you buy headphones is to listen to things and if the sound experience isn't happening then it's not going to be something that you use on a regular basis.
Comfort
If this is the way Maxell is going to go with their headphones from now on, this will probably be the last pair I buy. If you only wear these for a half hour at a time they aren't bad but if you are wearing them for more than that you are going to have sore ears. These don't have the traditional spongy ear bug covering to them; there is a ring of rubber around the outside part of the bud that makes entry into your ear. While I like the fact that I don't have to worry about ripping the covering, after a while the inside of your ear really starts to hurt. This has nothing to do with the volume level or what ever you may be listening to, it's a poor design and obviously who ever they had product testing it wore them for five minutes, gave them the thumbs up on comfort and moved on to something else.
Price
As I mentioned, I saw these at Target for $7.99; that's about average for headphones that are designed like this but for that price, from a Maxell product, I did expect more. The comfort just wasn't there for me and even though they come with a one year limited warranty against defects, I won't wear them enough to wear them out. Sure, I will keep them around as an emergency pair but they aren’t something that I can see myself wearing for more than a half hour at a time. I wish I would have checked online before I bought them, I think if I would have done my research and seen how these actually 'fit' on your head and the possible drawbacks of them, I probably would have passed on them without even trying them on or listening to them.
The Bottom Line
It's a very safe bet that I will never buy this style headphone again from Maxell. I don’t like the way that they slide into your ear or the way that they feel against the back of my neck. Maxell states on the package that it has a "memory headband"; that a big steaming crock of mountain lion poo so don't pay any attention to that when you read over 'perks' of this. As much as it sounds like I am trashing these, the sound quality is there but the volume isn't so it's like going to a restaurant and getting an incredible steak but everything else that comes with the meal is slightly below average. If this is the only choice you have at the moment for headphones you won't be completely disappointed but if you have other options, explore them before you throw down your cash on these.
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