Everyone needs a good pair of headphones. Whether it’s for music, podcasts or business related calls, more and more people are relying on isolated sound to get what they need done. I’m no different. In fact, I’m a bit of an audiophile. That’s why I’m excited to talk about my experience with Sound Blaster’s Evo Wireless headphones. Here’s what I think about them after using them for a while.
Design
Let me begin by talking about the look of these headphones. It’s a great place to begin a piece on headphones because it’s one of the most important buying factors for most people.
I like the looks of the Evo Wireless quite a bit. The thing about headphones in general, even really good sounding ones, is that they’re usually not too easy on the eyes. You rarely see colors outside of a limited palette. But Sound Blaster decided to go with a nice sleek combo of black and red. It makes them standout without being overly lavish or distracting.
The adjustable headbands are quite flexible which makes them a good choice for anyone looking for portability. The volume control buttons on the right hand side cup don’t feel flimsy or loose when I push on them, giving me the sense that they will not get stuck or defected anytime soon.
As the name implies, these headphones are wireless. They can connect to your phone via Bluetooth. Sound Blaster also allows these headphones to be connected via a wire as well, whether that’s a USB cable or a regular analog cable for MP3 players and phones. The detachable cable is a great addition. Many people have had to replace their entire headphones because their non-detachable cable snapped and couldn’t be replaced. It ought to become an industry standard.
Sound Blaster even included a carrying case inside the box which is another great bonus. I love when companies include these extra little accessories and I can only respect Sound Blaster for going out of their way to do this.
The battery life for the wireless mode is 8 hours which means your work days can easily be accounted for with these headphones.
Comfort
The Evo Wireless headphones are comfy and soft, but they’re just a little too big and too small in different places. Here’s what I mean by that. The ear cups almost envelop my ears but don’t quite make it. While the faux leather that makes up the pads is soft and comfy, the pads mostly rest on my ears. I’d rather have them envelope my entire ear.
Also, I found myself adjusting them a bit too frequently. The headphones at their smallest size, when the headband is retracted fully, are still too big. My head seems to be a little bigger than average so I’m not sure what Sound Blaster was thinking with this. The headband has a rectangular cushion, which is by all means comfy even if a little thin. But to properly orient the cups on my ears, the headband has to be about a centimeter above my head. If I push down so it meets my skull, the ear cups are too low.
Both of these issues could have been avoided very easily by making the headband one inch closer to the head, and making the leather cups a little thinner so they don’t try to sneak around the edges of your ears too often. A shame, as otherwise the fabric used in the Evo Wireless headphones is of good quality.
Sound Quality
Fabric quality is one thing but let’s talk about the most important thing of all: sound quality.
Keep in mind, I have used plenty state of the art, expensive headphones before. I have a pair of Sennheiser HD650s at home. I care about high fidelity sound more than all other aspects of headphones combined. I won’t be too harsh on the Evo’s since they were never meant to compete with $500 items. But I will say this: if you want reasonably priced headphones with strong bass, this could be the pair for you.
All headphones have different sound “signatures” as people like to say. Despite similar technical specifications different pairs will be suited to different types of music, and as a result different types of people. Some headphones are better for vocals and acoustic instruments. Some are better for the treble and distortion of rock and metal. The Sound Blaster Evo Wireless headphones should suit fans of genres like hip hop, EDM and various sub-genres of pop.
I’m not much of a bass nut myself but it was nice to hear the bass line in various rock and metal tracks as audibly as I could. The experience was much better when I played songs by A Tribe Called Quest and Madvillain. Vocals and mid-ranges sound solid. High ranges were a little muddy and unclear, but the low end was strong. Fans of electronic music and rap or hip hop should be satisfied by these headphones as long as they’re not the pickiest of audiophiles.
One final note is that the sound quality has no deterioration during wireless mode. This is perhaps the feature I was most impressed with as wireless headphones to this day still run into that problem. The noise canceling feature also makes it ideal for voice chats over Skype when you want to hear nothing but the other person’s voice.
Final Thoughts
Despite some hiccups with the physical design the overall package is solid. The extra accessories, the good wireless functionality and the powerful bass make these headphones a great choice for countless people in the market. If you’re a fan of all of these things and want to get some bang for your money then you should be pleased with the Sound Blaster Evo Wireless headphones.