Okay Geek Farm
BlueAnt Embrace headphones review
Jason Tsay
BlueAnt has generally been known for making Bluetooth headsets but recently, the company decided to venture into the wired headphones business. With a foldable compact design and iPhone controls, the Embrace certainly aren’t at a lack of features. Do these headphones live up to the BlueAnt name?
Features
- Highly optimized drivers for pure and detailed sound
- Maximum comfort for extended listening
- Premium leather and metal materials for a truly refined look
- Cable with integrated remote control and microphone
- Flat folding design for convenient storage
Our Impressions
The BlueAnt Embrace comes in a classy cardboard box; the headphones come folded up inside a hard leather carrying case alongside the blue Apple remote cable, black straight through audio cable, OMTP adapter, and some manuals.
Design and Build Quality
The second we got the Embrace headphones out of the box, we knew BlueAnt wasn’t kidding around. These headphones not only look good, but also feel amazingly sturdy. Through a combination of high end materials, BlueAnt is able to achieve an elegant design as well as stunning build quality. The top band and earpads are wrapped in leather while the earcups consist of matte plastic and chrome. The black brushed aluminum arms make the headphones look and feel more expensive and high class. To fold the headphones flat, you simply twist the headphones and interlocking teeth secure them in place.
The Embrace comes with two cables and an OMTP adapter. The blue cable has a nice iPhone/iPod/iPad compatible remote/mic module. The module is well built and features three very tactile buttons. The cable itself has a great looking matte blue finish and is relatively tangle free. The blue cable is quite unique and stands out among your typical boring cables. The L shaped gold plated plug at the end of that cable was also compatible with a variety of devices with tested.
Comfort
The headphones are highly adjustable. Through the standard sliding mechanism, you can extend or contract the headband. The earcups themselves are also adjustable to multiple angles as they slide around on the arm of the headband. The large convex leather pads are cushy and provide good seal. As a result, passive noise cancelling is above average. Although the headphones are comfortable at first, they can feel quite tight after a while. In fact, comfort is the main bone we have to pick with the Embrace headphones. You literally begin to feel pain after wearing them for more than 1-2 hours. They clamp down unncessarily tightly and even after several weeks, the headphones didn’t show any sign of loosening up.
Sound Quality
The meat of every headphone review - sound quality. How do the Embrace headphones sound? Surprisingly good actually. Bass is crisp and resonant while overall sound is pretty balanced. For $200, these aren’t the most impressive sounding headphones you can get, but they do perform exceptionally well. As we mentioned previously, passive noise cancellation is above average thanks to the convex leather earpads.
Overall
The BlueAnt Embrace is a pair of headphones that has impressed us in so many ways, not just for a company that is known for making Bluetooth headsets, but in general. We don’t come across many headphones that feature such outstanding design, build quality, and exceptional sound. Despite this, there is one thing that really keeps us from strongly recommending the Embrace - comfort. The cushy pads started out comfortable but devolved into a searing pain after an hour or two. If you like to wear your headphones for long periods of time, you probably won’t be able to stand these. It’s a crying shame; the rest of the product is fantastic.
Pro’s
- stylish looks
- great build quality
- exceptional sound
Con’s
- extreme discomfort after 1-2 hours
Where to buy
BlueAnt / Amazon — MSRP: $199.99
This review was done by Jason Tsay, who was provided the Embrace by BlueAnt.
