Blue Microphones is best known for , uh , microphones . And not just any mics ; they specialize in the expensive studio apartment kind , well - consider for audio and design , not the beaters you used in your high school garage band . But while Blue ’s headphone popping , they ’re not much for getting around .
Blue has been teasing its $ 350 Mo - Fi phone since belated last yr , and today , the society is finally announcing availability . Hurray ! First , the basic principle : The cans have 50 millimetre driver , the biggest you ever see on earphone . Unlike other audiophile - mark outfit out there , they ’ve got built - in amplifiers which could help oneself improve audio character and take the power load off your nomadic equipment . Noise - canceling headphones have amps , too , but that ’s a different category and the amps serve up a different function .
It ’s not entirely unheard of for a microphone manufacturer to make headphone , and in fact , that ’s where some of the early consumer earphone originated . Companies like AKG , Sennheiser , and Shure all introduced forward-looking microphone technology class before they became known as headphone companies . Founded in 1995 , Blue is a much new name than those legend , but cave in the current popularity of phone , it ’s not surprising that it wants to get in the biz as well .
Unlike other opportunistic companies that have drop the last few years churning out plastic Beats dead ringer , Blue Mo - Fis are an inventive take on headphone design . Everything from the construction to the gumption challenges convention , testing consumer taste with original ideas . What ’s more , Blue has had winner in recent years scaling its professional microphone sound down to some very mass market merchandise like USB microphone for podcasting and voice chat . These product are some ofthe best you’re able to buy , even if they ’re not necessarily the cheapest . It ’ll be interesting to see if Blue ’s turgid approach to purpose and uncompromising sound helps it recover a recess in headphones as well .
Design
The Mo - Fis have a unique multi - hinged aluminum headband innovation that makes the headphones look a bit like a hunker mech beamed back from the dystopian time to come . The headband bend at six joints that move together like a motorcar .
The bottom two join are situated straight above the ear cups and turn out ahead and back a bit like a shoulder .
That shoulder ’s connected to another brace of joint on each side . Between the joints are parallel strips of give - load aluminum that move together , a minute like a railcar interruption , to hold the posterior on your question securely without pinching .
The tenseness of that conniption is further customizable by a slight wheel on the top headband .
The headphones have three options — Off , On , On+—which you toggle between with a rotating switch on the bulbous back of the correct earcup . When the headphones are On , a hidden light behind a chrome - ish “ Blue ” logo shine soothingly . The earphone have removable / replaceable overseas telegram , which connect through a hole in the backside of this shift . Unlike other headphones with put back cable’s length , these do n’t have a locking chemical mechanism , which is annoying .
The 12 - hour barrage that powers the amplifiers charges via USB , just as you ’d await . In a cagy design option the headphones shut off when the earpads touch , so you do n’t rot world power when you forget to change by reversal the earphone off after using them .
Though it ’s unusual for a set of headphones , the designing mimics the ornate , polished feel that makes Blue Microphones placeable . These cans are n’t wholly unattractive , though it does feel a but like you ’re slash an over - orchestrate skill - fiction headset on . You keep bear them to teleport you , or to come with an choice to set to stun .
In the goal , you pay for the engineering excess in exercising weight and volume : The Mo - Fi earphone weigh just over a British pound , which is considerably more than other cans out there . I usually consider anything over 10 ounces heavy . This is the first pair of headphones I can actually see in my peripheral vision while I ’m wearing them .
Using It
Despite their heftiness , the headphones do n’t feel quite as weighty as they are thanks to the intense jointing which distributes system of weights evenly . I have an enormous head , and I quite liked the ability to tease apart up the headphone tension . Still , while they ’re impressively comfortable for their size , the earphone are a little cumbrous to port around in a rucksack , and I ’d never choose them for the string on my daily commute . If you bribe these earpiece they will ultimately hold out on your desk .
They ’re not totally inconvenient though ; the ramp up - in amplifiers that are perfectly meet to the driver make up for much of the hassle . Many mass use headphone amplifiers because the extra power potential can better sound quality . Some people actually carry aroundportable USB productsto make their headphone sound better , and party like V - Moda have try tointegrate adenylic acid into character designto make them more accessible . Though the Mo - Fi headphones use your author gimmick ’s digital - to - parallel convertor , their built - in amps could be more convenient for someone who was otherwise going to gestate around a freestanding piece of music of gearing to perform that function .
The Mo - Fis speech sound very good in all three fashion preferences . In the off place , they ’re entirely peaceful , drawing all of the power drive the stop from the music origin . ( I ’ll call the seed a “ phone ” from now on , but it could be a computer , a pad of paper , a two-channel — anything with a headphone manual laborer . ) In this mode , you ’ve got to push your phone ’s loudness higher because , duh , no earpiece A . It ’s a testament to the ship’s company ’s engineering that the Mo - Fis sound moderately percipient and balanced across frequencies , even when they ’re off .
Turn the volume right smart down on your phone , thumb the earpiece to On , and short the sound seems to spring to life . ( You should really change state them down , by the way , because the additional major power make the maximum output of the headphones way too tacky to listen to without damaging your hearing . ) When in that first On mount , the high frequency reply gets a little more pop , and dynamics in your pet recording are more apparent . You ’ll also comment that middle and bottom of the tonal compass replete out . Blue does n’t disregard the popularity of bass - heavy Beats . The On+ setting is plan for people who are interested in a little button but do n’t want flavorless thud . The setting flick on a separate electric circuit designed to bring out the low frequencies . It ’s a pernicious impression , which beefs up the bass in the medicine without creating noticeable deformation or losing any point . It ’s deserving highlighting that both the On and On+ preferences are analog circuit — no digital signal pressing at all . DSP done right is great , but too often it ’s a an unfortunate shortcut .
In all of the fashion , the earpiece are nice and immersive with slap-up spacial tone . You ’ll fall behind yourself to the music and blank out about the worldly concern . I make out them — until I ’ve vex to run errands .
Like
Great sound . Clever design touches .
Dislike
Unwieldy to the distributor point that you ’re plausibly ripe off choosing something else , unless these are go to live at your desk .
Should I buy it?
Probably not . Do n’t get me ill-timed , Blue Mo - Fis sound really large , and the designing is innovative , and originative . I simply find their heft a little airy . Sure , if they were just become to sit down in a single location by a fancy stereo they ’d be fine and peradventure even amazing . But the reality is that these days , we use our headphones in a variety of situations throughout the daytime , and the pattern of a product should twist to that life style . That said , if you ’re the type of person who ’s carry around a portable earphone amp — or who only uses earpiece at your desk — this is probably more commodious .
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