Freshpilot reviews: I’m a big fan of retro headphones and i-Mego goes way back with the Retro Headphones, resembling the old Shure microphones Elvis used back in the 50′s. Now, before i-Mego sent me a pair to review I’ve got to admit I thought they’d might be more style over substance, but I changed my mind as soon as I unboxed them and felt the weight of them. No flimsy plastic here.
The Retro headphones are i-Mego’s range-topping line (sold for about $70) currently consisting of two models: Classic (chrome/white) mainly meant for human, vocal, new age and classical music and Heavy Beats (brown/gun metal) meant for R&B, Hip hop and rock.
I’ve compared the Classic model to my pair of Sennheiser HD 205′s and PX-100′s and considering the product description I thought the Classic might risk being a bit too weak on the bass for my music taste, but they handled well. Well indeed. I haven’t been able to compare the Classic to the brown Heavy Beats model, but style matters here at Freshpilot, and I’m enjoying some fine Groove Armada and Mumford & Sons bass in them as I write this.
It wasn’t much of a surprise to find that they treated spoken word and jazz well, but I was glad to hear that they continued to deal well with pretty much anything I threw at them, ranging from modern rock to folk to metal, drum&bass, 8-bit retro bitpop and a whole lot of skate punk. I’ve got an unholy playlist for these things.
On the tech side you get two high performance 40mm drivers with 20Hz-20kHz frequency response, 32ohms impedance and 106±5db sensitivity. The top of the 3.5mm jack is encased in metal and the cable is pretty short (about 1m), which I’m all for. Besides the chromed metal you get a whole lot of padded white faux leather, softening it up.
Verdict:
I’d be happy to use the Retro Classics as my standard at-home headphones. I’m saying “At-home” since while the design is excellent these phones might be a bit too much for me to pull off in public. But they look good, real good. Stylish enough not to be hidden when you’re not using them. I’m no audiophile by any means, but the sound suits me with its warmth, allowing enough bass while I don’t feel like I’m losing anything in the higher frequencies. I’ve got a pretty big head (my Sennheiser HD 205′s felt really tight when I got them) and these fit great right from the start. Not too tight, not too loose.
Shortly put, it’s a well-built pair of headphones that sure stands out from the crowd, I’d buy ‘em.
i-Mego.com: Official Page
i-Mego Store: Retro Classic (Silver/white, $69.90)
i-Mego Store: Retro Heavy Beats (Brown, $69.90)
