Visually appealing headphones

[ballincolin]

Sorry I've been crazy busy as of late. But thanks for the comments guys! One final point I would like to make is if I ever design headphones, a major goal of mine would be to make a universal design that appeals to all demographics. I know that sounds impossible, but you have to realize we on this website are, unfortunately, a minority. Many care more about style than sound (whether or not they admit it) and so, separating the two, I think headphones that have a simplistic, functioning, universal design will simply sell better. The main function is still sound, but I believe the actual product designer responsible for visuals has little say in what drivers the manufacturer puts in them; sound is a different realm of the final product.

Also, I value sound quality above all else. But the purpose of this thread is to discuss the appearance of headphones, not sound.

[aimran]

I like the looks of wooden headphones. They have a classic feel to them that is timeless.

[WalkGood]

I like their look as well but I wasn't impressed with their sound quality for the asking price.

[The DarkSide]

Originally Posted by WalkGood

I like their look as well but I wasn't impressed with their sound quality for the asking price.

^THIS^ is why I never ventured near a set of "Woodies". They look beautiful,...but the pricing is ridiculous!!!

[dfkt]

I found the combination of wood, metal, and especially the plastic on the ESW-9 makes them look a lot less fetching in reality than they look in photos. And yeh, they sound quite muffled and veiled for the asking price.

[aimran]

There are also leather headphones which are more rare than wood headphones. They look pretty appealing as well.

[meanwhile]

Originally Posted by ballincolin

Sorry I've been crazy busy as of late. But thanks for the comments guys! One final point I would like to make is if I ever design headphones, a major goal of mine would be to make a universal design that appeals to all demographics. I know that sounds impossible, but you have to realize we on this website are, unfortunately, a minority. Many care more about style than sound (whether or not they admit it)

This somewhat fades as you move upwards in price - although it is at least partly replaced by consensus reality/prestige/peer pressure - i.e. how good something is perceived to be by the "audiophile" community.

Another critical factor in headphone design is comfort, of course. Then there is toughness, especially in portable phones. The matt plastic finish of HD25s might not look like much, but it will survive the hammering that DJ's and TV news people give their gear (the market 25s were designed for.)

Otoh, the industrial paints that Custom Cans use to re-finish 25s are supposed to be very tough - these things are DJ favourites in UK clubs, so they're meant to look pretty and to survive knocks:



..But this combination of high-end sound quality, toughness, ergonomics *and* good looks isn't cheap. I think Custom Cans HD25 start at 180 pounds or so, for models less spectacular than the above - 180 will get you a lacquered all-white model, and 200 a red UV reactive pair.

[honeymonster]

Some here may think that the Sennheiser HD800 do not look good (matter of taste) it is how they sound that matters to me and the added detail and stereo imaging I get from mine over the HD650's I had before enables me to enjoy my music so much more than I ever realised possible.

[jupitreas]

I really like the new grey/black Proline Ultrasones. They all look fantastic, IMO, from the lowest to the highest model.

Such a shame that they sound so crap...