Review: Haunting
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 25, 2013
The fidelity from these headphones gave me the chills.  The sound is amazing.  It's as if my music library had been completely remastered.  The sound quality is pleasant and the fit is very comfortable.I really love the sound and the fit of these headphones, but I have one big nagging question:  What's with the whole Kindle Fire angle?  What makes these headphones special for the Kindle?  I have no clue.  I listened to them on myKindle Fire HD 8.9"and although the sound was stellar, no magic Kindle genie came out and granted me three wishes or anything.  Don't get me wrong, the fidelity of my Amazon MP3 tracks (whether they were streaming or on the device) is really really fantastic, it's just that I don't get what makes this uniquely a Kindle related accessory.  I plugged these into my laptop and listened to the same tracks and basically had the same experience as I did on my Kindle.Since these are marketed as Kindle accessories and the Kindle is a mobile device, I would have expected mobility to be considered in the design.  But these are about as un-mobile as can be.  They don't fit well into my laptop bag and they don't come with any kind of travel bag or case.OK.  I'm done grousing about the Kindle issue.I work in a fairly crowded office and I like to put on headphones when I really need to concentrate.  I used to just use earbuds connected to my laptop on a long extension cable, but I upgraded to a pair ofSennheiser HD 239 Headphonesabout a year ago.  Those are high quality headphones and they currently run about $120.  Using those as a reference point, I have to admit that I like the sound quality of these less expensive wooden headphones a lot more.  I can't decide whether I'll completely switch though, because the Sennheisers don't completely block out all background noise, which is a plus for me.  The padded cups on these Tribeca Wood headphones completely cover my ears and block out all the sound from the room.  I like a little more "situation awareness" than that.  I like to know what's going on in the room and I like to be more aware of my own comportment.  We all know that guy in the office who cranks up his headphones too loud and starts mouth breathing and tapping his pen on his desk.  I don't want to be that guy.One thing I've noticed about these cans is that they're kind of quiet.  I need to turn the volume up higher to get the same sounds as my other headphones & earbuds.  That's not a big deal, but it's an interesting factor.As for the sound qualities, the fidelity is really good and I can hear instruments that lower quality headphones don't necessarily pick up.  The high frequencies are more crisp than I expected.  The biggest surprise for me is that the bass responses aren't very strong.  I would have expected wooden headphones to resonate more at the lower ranges.  Not true in this case though.The cable is nice.  It has a good woven fabric sheath and it's not too short or too long.  My only beef with the cable is that it's a Y connection with one line going to each ear.  That's not the end of the world, but I don't prefer the sensation of wearing a doctor's stethoscope.  I prefer having just one line in.I really love the sound quality of these headphones, but I'm not sure they'll be my go-to pair.  I need to let a little more ambient sound into my head at work.  They're too bulky to take back and forth with me on my daily commute.  I'll keep using myVSonic GR07 MK2 Pro Dynamic Earbudson my commuter train.  These Tribeca headphones would be great for a dorm room or someplace other than the office where I could immerse myself a little more.