Review: Not only for a Kindle Fire
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 1, 2013
Luckily, I took a chance. They feature a standard 1/8" plug. So, you don't need a Kindle Fire to use them.Compared to my Sennheiser HD-429 over-the-ear closed back headphones (reviewed 7/2012), they shut out noise quite well. My wife was yelling at me, the t.v. blared. I could hear neither one. QED!The sound meets expectations. Respectable, if for non-audiophiles as many such sets maybe light on the bass. But for streamed music on a smartphone or computer use, this is what I am used to: digitized sounds are sharp and separation is fairly conveyed.In-ear headphones do admittedly take some getting used to, but one advantage of these Moshi Moonrock ones is that they have a flange that comes in small, large, or default medium. From past experience with other brands, flanges can come off easily when taken out, and lost easily. You can grip the circular outside to pull them out and put them in the ear, which may or may not suit better the user contrasted with those of other IEMs which tend to have smaller housings and tilted angles. These instead are big circles to tease out of the ear or in, with no ergonomic design finesse. But once in, they stay in fine, and they do a pretty good job bluntly isolating noise.For some reason the cord feels better with the color-matched inner plug on my left. This is also where the control on the cord is. Could be coincidental, but the left is pink, the right white.The soap-bar like case is quirky and may be pitched more at a crowd who likes minimalism or anthropomorphism, as it's reminiscent of a face. You wind the cords around the outside under the "smile" and tuck the phones into the "eyes" as the outside sockets. Where the whole cord fits, as a volume control extrudes a bit, is not so neat. Not sure how much these rubberized lips that must be pressed open and shut to store the cord will hold up to use, but the cute little case may attract some users.It may be better than rolling up the cord in a pocket, with no tangling--if more time consuming. Yet it may be wise to take precautions. First, the junction between the two sides of the cord cannot be adjusted, which while sensible for a cord with the volume on/off on one side higher up does mean the cord may leave more room on the chest than competing models. Second, there is no reinforcement for the thin cord at stress points entering the ear, the control, or the plugs, so care will be needed for these headphones. (Pink was the only color left me, but it's more of a boysenberry yogurt shade, I rationalize.)