A-Audio A02 Legacy Over-Ear Headphone
I am a big fan of good, well designed headphones. I have owned many over the years, and have come to appreciate all of their quality, as well as the intrinsic limitations of any headphones due to the nature of this mode of listening to music. However, I have never owned a high end headphones by the top selling brand names – Bose, Sony, Beats, etc. I love to listen to music a lot, and certainly appreciate the difference between a good music source and a great one, but I am certainly not an audiophile. I mention all these things in order to let you know where I am coming from: an avid music listener with no aspirations of becoming an audiophile or a music junky. I am your average music layperson. So here are some of my impressions.
*** Design and Build ****
The first thing you’ll notice about these headphones is their size. They are larger than most such headphones that I’ve come across, including some bulky gaming headphones that I have recently used. Despite their size, the headphones are surprisingly light. Unfortunately they cannot be folded, so they are not ideally suited for travel. The headphones feel very well made and they look and feel very durable. I’ve had them only for a very short period of time, but I expect them to last for many years.
The all-black headphones that I own are very striking in their look. They are the kinds of headphones that attract attention, and are unapologetic about it. The large A logo on the side is very dominant and prominently visible. These are not the kind of headphones that exude quiet elegance; there is, stylistically speaking, nothing subtle about them.
**** Comfort and Fit ****
These headphones fit better than most of the over-the-ear headphones that I’ve ever tested. The ear cups are covered with really gentle, soft faux leather. The inside of the ear cups is made out of memory foam, which ensures very soft and individualized fit. The headphones will easily fit on a head of almost any size – I’ve been using them without any discomfort, and I had even put them on the head of my toddler son. (They didn’t stay there for long though.) Even though the headphones were comfortable to wear for an extended period of time, my ears did eventually get too hot. This is not something specific to these headphones, but rather a very typical experience I’ve head with all over-the-ear headphones.
**** Sound Quality ****
I am a big fan of classical music, and high fidelity headphones like these are ideally suited for someone like me who like the subtle nuances and personal touch of a good classical performance. I used these A-Audio headphones to listen to numerous classical stations on Pandora and iTunes Radio, and the experience was richly rewarding. From deep richness of sound of Yo-Yo Ma’s cello, through subtle idiosyncrasies of Alfred Brendel’s interpretation of Beethoven’s sonatas, to whimsical orchestral playfulness of the Peer Gynt Suite, I was transported to the full richness of musical experience.
I’ve also used these headphones to listen to the other genres of music that I enjoy: pop, rock, techno, and alternative. The experience in each case was truly phenomenal. These headphones are really designed with a music lover in mind, and they perform better than any similar headphones that I had tried.
**** Noise Cancellation ****
These headphones feature active noise cancellation (ANC). I have not had many ANC headphones, so I am not really sure how they compare to others. The noise cancelling was pretty effective, but there was still a certain amount of ambient noise sneaking in. The sound quality was also noticeably worse while ANC was turned on, but that’s something that I’ve experienced from other such headphones in the past. The ANC was definitely better than the low-end Maxell headphones that I had previously used.
**** Conclusion ****
If you are looking for a pair of straightforward good over-the-ear headphones that are designed with a discerning music lover in mind, then you will not go wrong by getting this A-Audio product. They are a pretty expensive set of headphones though, and may not be after everyone’s taste in terms of their design. They have now become my favorite headphones for the times when I just want to enjoy good music. I highly recommend them.
**** Product provided for review purposes. ****
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