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While there are pouches, screen protectors and cases to protect your MP3 player, few companies think about the longevity and toughness of headphones. Well, that was until Philips got together with O’Neill to create a range of durable over-ear headphones, such as The Stretch we have on review here.
Essentially, these headphones are designed to take whatever you can throw at them. The headband is made of super stretch nylon (called TR55LX), which keeps its flexibility in hot weather and all the way down to -25C. We could feel just how tough this material was: stretching the headphones as far apart as possible, we never felt as though we were reaching breaking point. The same was true when we twisted the headphones round, showing that they’d be safe even if you sat on them.
Then there’s the tangle-free headphone cable, which has the feel and appearance of a thin shoe lace. This finish means that the cable never ties itself in knots, unlike traditional rubber cables. For durability, the main headphone cable connects to a short cable tha via a gold-plated 3.5mm headphone jack: get the headphone cable caught in something and it harmlessly disconnects without pulling your head down.
It works really well. We tried yanking the cable hard, bracing ourselves for an uncomfortable moment, but the cable always detached painlessly. It also means that the cable’s easily replaceable should it get mangled.
In terms of comfort, we loved The Stretch. The flexible headband means that there’s a decent amount of pressure to keep the cans close to your ears, while the padded headband keeps the set comfortable to wear. We also like the sound-isolating cushions on the cans, which make the headphones comfortable to wear but ensure that sound doesn’t leak out to annoy people around you. In fact, even with our iPod on full volume, sound didn’t leak out; in practice this means that you should be able to listen to music on a lower volume, saving your hearing.
Sound quality is generally excellent from the 40mm drivers. We found that the sound was pleasant and warm, producing clear treble, bringing out high frequency detail in music. Vocals are faithfully produced and clear, while mid-tones sounded fresh. If anything, bass is a little on the heavy side and rock music can sound a little muffled at times, losing some low-frequency sounds. However, using a bass-reduction EQ on an MP3 player irons this out, leaving rich detailed sound that can make the best of pretty much any track.
Whether you’re accident prone, into your extreme sports or just want a really good pair of headphones for a commute, the Philips The Stretch headphones are a durable and quality choice, justifying their relatively high price.
