“Aww, those are so cute!” says my wife as I took the new JBL Roxy headphones out of the shipping box. Me? I could not care less how my gadgets look, as long as they work well. But my wife instantly reminded me that looks are more important to some, so I came up with the idea to send the headphones to high school with my little sister-in-law for some teenager hands-on.
So that’s what I did. I told Bridget to have fun, let her friends jam-out on ‘em, take some pics, and don’t break ‘em because I had to send the pair back when she was done.
A few days later, I got the headphones and she didn’t have a negative thing to say about either one. She really digged the classic cans. They were super comfortable on her tiny head and had bass “that shook her toes.” She also thought that the in-earphones sounded good too, and she found that they blocked out sound (her mom) well.
There you have it: A 15-year girl’s take on the new JBL Roxy headphones. She and her friends liked ‘em a lot. Oh, and they are super cute too.
Photo Gallery by Picturesurf
My take:
Even though they aren’t exactly my color, I spent an afternoon of listening with both of these headphones and one impressed while one disappointed.
The reference 430 over-the-ear set is a solid performer. It has great bass response with a clear note. The quality of the sound honestly impressed me out of the $59 model. Just like Bridget found out, they do fit anyone’s head including mine and my 2-year old son, so small girls shouldn’t have any issue rock’n these.
Now, the reference 250 in-earphones. I don’t have anything good to say about ‘em. They lack any bass and have a flat sound overall. In fact, standard Apple iPod earbuds from a few years back sound better to me than this set. The bottom line is that they are totally not worth the $39.99 price even if they are kind-of comfortable.
However to some it doesn’t really matter how the headphones sound as long as the style is right. And according to every girl that saw these, both got that right. (and the on-ear cans sound great too)
Photo Gallery by Picturesurf
My wife used to love the Roxy perfume they sold at Pacific Sunwear. That is my unhelpful internet comment of the day.
Good to know. Thanks.
“I could care less how my gadgets look”
What you meant to say was “I could NOT care less…”
You tell him Geoff… wish I knew what people meant to say…
wait, who the hell wears reference headphones to “listen” to music? Refrence headphones are designed to be used as *gasp* refrence when you are mixing or recording, they aren’t tuned to be used to listen to compressed, mastered, published music.
But then again, most people think 128k MP3s sound OK so i guess since they are colorful and sound fancy people will buy them
I REALLY want to get the over- the- ear headphones for christmas. REALLY want them. Thanks for the reviews. My brothers says they probably suck, but thanks to ya’ll, I am solidly convinced they don’t. Sometimes electronics CAN look cute and work amazing too. :)
Does anyone know the quality of the in ear headsets mic? Other ones that I have purchased have a buzzing sound when Im on the phone.
REF250 doesn’t sound flat.
It’s defective. Send them back.
Unless the silicon earpiece is too small, air leaked from side then you lose all the bass. Or you can buy a bigger silicon earpiece. Well, it’s design for girls/women. Not for man.
BTW—mic performance is good, it does not have any buzz. I know. I help design them.
Does anyone know a supplier that will ship the headphones to the UK??
Or any UK companies that stock them??
Hard To Find Records are having these shipped in sometime soon, and are available to pre-order here:
http://www.htfr.com/products/latest
Can anyone confirm if the button to pick up calls will also allow you to skip tracks? I’ve been trying to find the answer to this since June & am waiting to buy them based on this answer. :-[
No. Doesn’t allow track skipping. When you push them while listening to music, they just shut off.