Incase has several sets of headphones in addition to their extensive line of iPhone and iPad cases. The company went ahead and slipped these bad boys into all the Apple Stores, which is where I saw it.  I thought, damn that’s a nice headphone box, I wonder what the headphones sound like.

With memory foam wrapped faux-suede padding on the ear cups and head band, the Incase Sonic Over Ear Headphones have a very comfortable fit.  In fact, I fell asleep with them twice and didn’t wake up.  Usually with my Bose quiet comforts I get a sore ear or the cord wraps around my neck, something crazy like that.  That didn’t happen with the Sonic. I could even sleep on them sideways with my ear to the pillow, that’s how soft the memory foam is.  The other nice thing about it is being in this god forsaken frozen land known as Calgary, the faux-suede does keep you a little warm.  I would imagine this could get rather hot and uncomfortable in the beating sun of California.

Of course, being in the Apple Store there are certain requirements.  I think one of them is using that fingerprint loving matte plastic finish to make you’re product look esthetically boardroom prototype pleasing to the Apple store buyers club.  The other requirement seems to be going overboard on packaging. If I were to guess, these boxes probably cost the company a pretty penny. Total overkill if you ask me, and I’m not particularly keen on the whole environmental implications of everyone having to have the best damn box out there.  Make you’re product good and wrap that thing in something biodegradable.  You’ll get more green points with me.

Sound quality I would say is nearly superb.  They are noticeably different than what I am used to, but the warm richness of the sound is nice and they do sound clean and clear.  Its not going to blast your hip hop bass, I think this is because of the faux-suede again not creating that air tight seal on your head.  But the titanium drivers are very tight and warm at the same time.

The 3.5mm input jack on the left ear cup is brilliant.  I’m the kind of guy who trips on his headphones, i’ve resoldered my Bose Triports about 5 times now.  If they were clever enough to do something like this I would have never had that problem.  It just disconnects and probably saves me from suffocation in the middle of the night too.  Incase gives you 2 sets of these nice cables, they are both the same length, just different colors and made of some silicon rubber compound.  They give you one blue and one grey, I would have preferred one longer set and a shorter set for my pocket as I don’t care much for what color my headphone cable is.  Aside from that, you get a 1/4″ adapter too for your guitar amp or whatever else.

Bottom Line

Incase is not an audiophile company, but they did a good job making the Sonic headphones sound worthy.  The elongated ear cups give you a clear, crisp studio sound, with warm rich tones.  The inline iPhone controller and microphone is always a bonus to keep the radiation beast away from our skulls.   The price is right at $150, but I would like to see the company ease up on packaging.  Sure it looks nice on the shelf, but that’s not what counts, I don’t care what Apple says or has done with their wreckless use of packaging material, just focus on products and save a few trees.

[ Incase Sonic Headphones ]

 Features

• Earcups match the natural ear shape for enhanced fit and sound isolation
• Low-mass titanium audio drivers reduce sound distortion
• Suede covered memory foam on earcups
• Fully articulating earcups offer a wide range of adjustment
• Hidden joints and gentle curves maintain a clean and seamless profile
• Signature Incase soft-touch coating delivers a subtle matte finish
• Integrated microphone and remote control for MacBook, iPod, iPhone and iPad
• Right-angled audio jack
• Includes two detachable audio cables in different colors
• Includes premium storage bag with padded faux-fur lining
• Includes 1/4″ cable adapter

• Drive type = Diaphram
• Driver size = 40mm
• Frequency Response = 20Hz – 20KHz
• Impedence = 32± 15% @ 1KHz
• Sound Pressure Level = 103± 3dB @ 1KHz
• THD = Max 3%
• Number of Drivers = 2
• Number of microphones = 1

The post Incase Sonic Headphones Review: They Made Titanium Soft and Warm appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

The two new models are essentially the same, except that the OE2i comes with an in-line microphone for cell phone calls. They both have an in-line remote for volume control and they both boast that valued “Made for iPhone” stamp. And true to Apple-friendly form, the headphones do come in white, though you can opt for standard black too.

It’s not really fair to say that these are “over the air” DJ-style cans, because the ear cups are going to be a little smaller. That’s why they refer to the OE2 and OE2i as “on-ear headphones.” This helps to keep them lighter, while still offering Bose level audio quality. There is no active noise cancellation, but the on-ear design should help to muffle the outside the world.

The OE2 is priced at $149.95 and the OE2i comes in at a $30 premium. They should work with non-iProducts too, but the volume control could be troublesome for Android phones.

The post Bose OE2 and OE2i on-ear headphones made for iPhone users appeared first on Mobile Magazine.