~SEE UPDATE BELOW, Original comments/mini-review of headphones:
I just received mine, and I have to say... they sound awful. I'm ran them through a variety of sources ranging from my phone and computer to FiiO and Schiit DAC + headphone amplifiers. I expected recessed bass response, and was okay with that going in, since I'm not a basshead. What I didn't expect was muddy mids and recessed highs as well.
Admittedly I have some really nice headphones, and it wouldn't be fair to compare them to stuff in the $400 range, but even in its weight class, I'm disappointed. As I understand it, these are modified K240's, which go for about $70 on Amazon right now, for around that price you can pick up the Philips SHP9500's which blow these out of the water across the spectrum.
If we're looking at good $50 cans, since that's what the drop price was... the Superlux HD668B also sound better, MUCH clearer through the mids (and a little punchier in the bass), though the highs are comparable, and those seem to be going for $40 right now.
All in all, these are a massive disappointment, and I regret joining the drop. Not sure what to do with the cans now, from this point.
------------
UPDATE:
------------
I dug out some legacy K240's to test these against, and the K240's sounded much, much better and in line with what I was expecting from these M220's in the drop. So I continued to mess with them - swapped out pads, prodded, changed the foam in and out, etc... and then I got to the cable. I noticed that the supplied cable was creating a microphonic effect, and pushing on it at various angles really altered the sound.
Fortunately, I have a few mini-XLR cables around, so I swapped it out. Note to anybody not familiar - these headphones advertise having a "removable cable," which is technically true. However, unlike a lot of other headphones, these use a fairly rare mini-XLR connection rather than the usual 3.5mm or 2.5mm plug you're probably used to, and that also means you probably don't have extras laying around and will need to buy (or make if you're handy) a replacement.
Anyway, with a different cable, these headphones really brightened up. They're still fairly bass anemic (which is expected), but you can hear the bass now. The mids are improved as well, but the most improvement is in the highs, where they really sing. I did some A/B testing between these and my old K240's, and they sound very, very similar. These aren't as "sharp" in the highs as the K240's are, which is a good thing, but they are also slightly muddier than the K240's through the mids, but not overly so.
Overall, now that I have them working properly, I am pleased with the sound of the headphones. Mine did seem to ship with a defective cable, which is unfortunate. I hope that is not a widespread QC issue. I could complain to customer service and see if they'll send me a replacement cable, but honestly, I hated the stock cable and intended to eventually replace it anyway. I don't like 10 ft rubberized cables on my cans. It's inconvenient, and I don't know why every headphone manufacturer seems to ship with super long, bouncy rubber cables. I bet a decent ~5-6ft cord would be better AND cheaper for them to make, but I digress...
On comfort: These headphones are comfortable enough (I feel like the self-adjusting spring is a bit too stiff, but I expect that will loosen up over time), but if you plan to wear these for long sessions, I'd recommend getting some better earpads. There are some soft "Cosmos" pads on Amazon that will run you under $10, and it's a worthwhile investment in your comfort. Search Amazon for "K240 replacement pads" and those, as well as some other alternatives of varying quality, will come up in the results.
On the color: I got the red ones, and the color isn't as advertised. In all the pictures on the drop, the red is a fairly bold red. In actuality, the red is quite dark and almost a maroon. I'm a bit disappointed by this, as I actually liked the bright red and wanted my cans to be that color. Be aware that if you get the red or blue variety that the actual color is likely going to be much darker than you would expect based on the images, which is a shame.
Given all of that, I have to say that these headphones are... okay. They're probably worth about what they cost for the drop, but there ARE better alternatives within a $10 +/- price range elsewhere, especially if you want more bass. I'm not completely deflated about them, but I'm also far from impressed.
If I was to assign them a letter grade, they'd get a C. They aren't bad, but they also aren't particularly good. They're decidedly average.
PROs:
- Only $50
- Crisp and clear high end that manages to avoid being harsh
- Excellent, wide soundstage
- Solid build (for the price). Despite all the plastic, it doesn't feel cheap and is also very light.
- Fairly comfortable self-adjusting strap
CONs:
- Color is significantly darker than advertised, which is disappointing
- Anemic bass (I list this as a con even though I expected it because the advertising copy on the drop states they have a "solid bass presence", which is a lie, and I don't want others to be tricked by that)
- Cheap, uncomfortable earpads that don't seal well and should be replaced immediately
- Mine shipped with a defective cable
- That cable would be too long and unwieldy even if it did work, and has a rare mini-XLR connector that means you can't simply use a super common standard 2.5mm/3.5mm audio cable and will need to order a special replacement that also costs more than a standard cable would
- The ad copy on the drop states "they pair beautifully with your phone or portable music player—no amp required" and I feel this is misleading. These headphones are inefficient and do not get particularly loud from a non-amplified jack. This isn't a huge deal for me because I don't blast music, but if you expect your phone to power these cans at more than a modest listening volume, you will be disappointed. While it's not technically an outright lie, to suggest that these "pair beautifully" with mobile devices is, at a minimum, disingenuous.
CONCLUSION:
So... should you get them? Eh, maybe.
If you like heavy metal, or folk, or indie, or classical, or female vocalists, or motown, these can do a pretty darn good job.
If you want headphones that hit hard with the bass and deliver loud volume from your phone/mobile device's headphone jack, then you want to look elsewhere.
If you have never listened to a high end set of headphones, have spent your life using generic cheap headphones, and want to try something nicer without breaking the bank, you could do a lot worse than picking up a pair of these. As an "intro" to higher quality sound, these will probably impress. Though, I would say that you should NOT buy these unless you ALSO factor in the cost of replacing the earpads and probably the cable too (figure another $10-20 total).
Admittedly I have some really nice headphones, and it wouldn't be fair to compare them to stuff in the $400 range, but even in its weight class, I'm disappointed. As I understand it, these are modified K240's, which go for about $70 on Amazon right now, for around that price you can pick up the Philips SHP9500's which blow these out of the water across the spectrum.
If we're looking at good $50 cans, since that's what the drop price was... the Superlux HD668B also sound better, MUCH clearer through the mids (and a little punchier in the bass), though the highs are comparable, and those seem to be going for $40 right now.
All in all, these are a massive disappointment, and I regret joining the drop. Not sure what to do with the cans now, from this point. ------------ UPDATE: ------------ I dug out some legacy K240's to test these against, and the K240's sounded much, much better and in line with what I was expecting from these M220's in the drop. So I continued to mess with them - swapped out pads, prodded, changed the foam in and out, etc... and then I got to the cable. I noticed that the supplied cable was creating a microphonic effect, and pushing on it at various angles really altered the sound.
Fortunately, I have a few mini-XLR cables around, so I swapped it out. Note to anybody not familiar - these headphones advertise having a "removable cable," which is technically true. However, unlike a lot of other headphones, these use a fairly rare mini-XLR connection rather than the usual 3.5mm or 2.5mm plug you're probably used to, and that also means you probably don't have extras laying around and will need to buy (or make if you're handy) a replacement.
Anyway, with a different cable, these headphones really brightened up. They're still fairly bass anemic (which is expected), but you can hear the bass now. The mids are improved as well, but the most improvement is in the highs, where they really sing. I did some A/B testing between these and my old K240's, and they sound very, very similar. These aren't as "sharp" in the highs as the K240's are, which is a good thing, but they are also slightly muddier than the K240's through the mids, but not overly so.
Overall, now that I have them working properly, I am pleased with the sound of the headphones. Mine did seem to ship with a defective cable, which is unfortunate. I hope that is not a widespread QC issue. I could complain to customer service and see if they'll send me a replacement cable, but honestly, I hated the stock cable and intended to eventually replace it anyway. I don't like 10 ft rubberized cables on my cans. It's inconvenient, and I don't know why every headphone manufacturer seems to ship with super long, bouncy rubber cables. I bet a decent ~5-6ft cord would be better AND cheaper for them to make, but I digress...
On comfort: These headphones are comfortable enough (I feel like the self-adjusting spring is a bit too stiff, but I expect that will loosen up over time), but if you plan to wear these for long sessions, I'd recommend getting some better earpads. There are some soft "Cosmos" pads on Amazon that will run you under $10, and it's a worthwhile investment in your comfort. Search Amazon for "K240 replacement pads" and those, as well as some other alternatives of varying quality, will come up in the results.
On the color: I got the red ones, and the color isn't as advertised. In all the pictures on the drop, the red is a fairly bold red. In actuality, the red is quite dark and almost a maroon. I'm a bit disappointed by this, as I actually liked the bright red and wanted my cans to be that color. Be aware that if you get the red or blue variety that the actual color is likely going to be much darker than you would expect based on the images, which is a shame.
Given all of that, I have to say that these headphones are... okay. They're probably worth about what they cost for the drop, but there ARE better alternatives within a $10 +/- price range elsewhere, especially if you want more bass. I'm not completely deflated about them, but I'm also far from impressed.
If I was to assign them a letter grade, they'd get a C. They aren't bad, but they also aren't particularly good. They're decidedly average.
PROs: - Only $50 - Crisp and clear high end that manages to avoid being harsh - Excellent, wide soundstage - Solid build (for the price). Despite all the plastic, it doesn't feel cheap and is also very light. - Fairly comfortable self-adjusting strap
CONs: - Color is significantly darker than advertised, which is disappointing - Anemic bass (I list this as a con even though I expected it because the advertising copy on the drop states they have a "solid bass presence", which is a lie, and I don't want others to be tricked by that) - Cheap, uncomfortable earpads that don't seal well and should be replaced immediately - Mine shipped with a defective cable - That cable would be too long and unwieldy even if it did work, and has a rare mini-XLR connector that means you can't simply use a super common standard 2.5mm/3.5mm audio cable and will need to order a special replacement that also costs more than a standard cable would - The ad copy on the drop states "they pair beautifully with your phone or portable music player—no amp required" and I feel this is misleading. These headphones are inefficient and do not get particularly loud from a non-amplified jack. This isn't a huge deal for me because I don't blast music, but if you expect your phone to power these cans at more than a modest listening volume, you will be disappointed. While it's not technically an outright lie, to suggest that these "pair beautifully" with mobile devices is, at a minimum, disingenuous.
CONCLUSION: So... should you get them? Eh, maybe.
If you like heavy metal, or folk, or indie, or classical, or female vocalists, or motown, these can do a pretty darn good job.
If you want headphones that hit hard with the bass and deliver loud volume from your phone/mobile device's headphone jack, then you want to look elsewhere.
If you have never listened to a high end set of headphones, have spent your life using generic cheap headphones, and want to try something nicer without breaking the bank, you could do a lot worse than picking up a pair of these. As an "intro" to higher quality sound, these will probably impress. Though, I would say that you should NOT buy these unless you ALSO factor in the cost of replacing the earpads and probably the cable too (figure another $10-20 total).