iFrogz EarPollution DJ Style headphone review

Matt Jancaitis (Snarkasm)

March 11, 2009 1:06 PM ET in Articles, , , ,

img_0353-2While at CES, Icrontic got a chance to catch up with iFrogz, makers of some of the more interesting headphones we’ve seen. We got our hands on a set of iFrogz EarPollution DJ Style headphones and took them for a test drive.

Style

The EarPollution DJ Style line of headphones has a unique look, and currently comes in five color schemes: Union, Silver Spider, Billionaire, Hustle, and Munich. Adding a little flair to each theme, the hinging is done in either chrome or gold-reflective plating. Each style is further differentiated with unique coloring for the earcups, framing, and headband. The exterior of the earcups have different designs, as well. The Union design that we received, for instance, has a silver base with a white Union Lion on it. There’s a spider design on the Silver Spider, a nuclear symbol on the Hustle, the German Bundesadler on the Munich, and a shield on the Billionaire.

Substance

The headphones are DJ-style, so they have the flexibility you may be familiar with in headphones of this design. The cups both fold flat for transport or one-ear operation, and they flip entirely around the vertical axis to face outward. Positioning them that way also lets you fold the cups up towards the headband, giving you two options for transport: flat or compact.

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The headband is comfortable, and the bottom side is enclosed in mesh. It’s actually hard plastic beneath the mesh and the small piece of foam, but the headphones remained comfortable to wear because they are so light. The headband is predictably adjustable but was a little loose in my testing. For me, this meant that the earcups didn’t especially grip my ears or head and were easily loosened with even moderate shaking. Don’t expect to do much but sit in place when you use them.

The cord is also a bit short for a pair of DJ style cans. It’s four feet of straight, uncoiled cord, which is certainly sufficient for most uses, but can be considered short if you want to use them in a DJ setting.

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The earcups themselves are supraural, meaning they cover the ear but don’t encompass them. In other headphones where the cups grip your head more, this would often result in discomfort when wearing them for a long time; the leather cups on the EarPollution DJ Style cans, however, did not cause an appreciable amount of discomfort during my testing.

Audio

The sound coming out of the headphones is solid. It’s not exceptional, but the product’s price point indicated that. Tonality is a little muddy, but not worse than many other sets, and a little bassy, which actually appeals to a lot of people. They won’t bring out subtleties in any classical you might listen to, but they deliver pop, rock, electronica, and more with a good bass punch and solid range. They can get fairly loud without clipping or distorting, which is always a good thing.

The whole package

In all, the EarPollution DJ Style collection provides some nice style with good sound and a decent price point. At iFrogz right now, they’re going for $40 after a 20% off promotion. If you want some jogging headphones or are looking for audiophile quality, these may not be for you, but if you’re looking for a touch of bling in some different styles on the cheap, you should love them. Head on over to the site and check them out!

29 Comments:

  1. they look like skullcandy cans.....

  2. Look it's my old mouse!

  3. Still my current favorite mouse.

  4. they look like skullcandy cans.....

    My thoughts exactly, which isn't a huge problem because I love Skull Candy gear.

  5. I wouldn't sport them out side, neither would I wear my ridiculously large Everglides, but I'd wear them in the house.

    Can you kinda point out some headphones you have had and how these compare? I realize it wouldn't be any sort of real comparison but at least I'd get an idea of where they stand quality wise in the mix.

  6. Brit

    Oh Btw the way just to tell you the dragon on the side is not a dragon its the Union Lion... as seen on all current British passports
    If it were a dragon which it is not, it would be welsh and not English

  7. Better than iPod and most other earbuds; on par or on the higher end of your standard on-ear fare. They won't stand up against Sennheisers or perhaps Bose, if that's your thing, but they're solid for the price.

    Good catch, Brit! Thanks, I'll update it.

  8. Brit

    welcome... just wondering do peolpe look at you strangely when you are wearing thease? Like in your opinion are they too flashy??

  9. They're not garish or anything, but they're not just going to blend in. It's a reasonable amount of flash, in my opinion.

  10. I just wanted to point something out. I have the Sennheiser HD212 Pro. It's a DJ set around the price of the iFrogz. I tested the frogs out today and they definitely sound better than the 212s. I kid you not. The Bose Triport OE blows it away, though.

    But the Frogs at least sound muddier but the 212s sounded crackly. The Frogz win out.

  11. They sound promising. I go through one pair of headphones a year on my pc. Maybe these will be my next set.

  12. Mochan

    Komete, if you are interested, here's what I can say. I currently own the following headsets/earphones, and I would rank them pretty much in this order (from worst to best):

    Logitech Freepulse
    Shure e2c
    Apple stockbuds (iPod Nano 2G and up version)
    Sony Ericsson in-ears
    Sennheisder HD 212 Pro
    Apple in-ears (1st gen)
    Bose Triport IE
    Vmoda Vibe

    I would say these cans go above the Triport IE's and below the Vibe.

    I've also had experience with a few other higher end headsets -- I'm actually trying to decide what my next headset is, I need a set of large cans and not earbuds.

    The AudioTechnica M50, for instance, goes above the Vibe, as does the rest of the Bose range (Triport AE, OE, and QC2 and QC3), as does the AKG K142 HD.

    I would really like to compare this set to the Skullcandy GI's, which are the closest Skullcandy set in its pricerange. Has anyone managed to compare? How about to the Skullcandy Ti's? The Ti's are considerably more expensive than the Frogz DJ set but I really want to know how they compare.

    I wasn't planning on getting one of these funky looking headsets for my next pair but I am strongly considering them for the price. While other sets like the AKG, Audio Technica and Bose definitely sound better these are not so bad and are like less than half the price of those other options, they look really cool, and if you are going to use them with a portable player you may not be able to drive those higher end sets to their fullest.

  13. A $30 CMoy will fix your power issue with higher-enders.

    My current headphone stock consists of Sennheiser HD-280s for work, HD-650s for home, and Shure E500s for travel. The iFrogz cannot compare, and shouldn't - these are all multi-hundred-dollar cans.

    I am exceedingly glad Mochan posted the lineup above for a fair comparison, and I fully agree with his assessment, as I wrote - the DJ Styles are much better than your standard headphone fare. Coupled with the price, they're very hard to beat for that arena.

    Thanks, Mochan!

  14. For those interested in the EarPollution cans, I'll be honest and say we came across them by mistake. Due to a communication error, we received the EarPollution cans instead of the NervePipes which I tried at CES. It seems reasonable to assume the NervePipes will perform similarly to the EarPollution cans, but we aren't positive as to that assumption.

    NervePipes would probably suit those of you looking for some thing less flashy as well as case moders looking to match peripherals to their rig. Being able to customize the look of the headphones is pretty baller IMHO.

  15. Brit

    I also like the look of the nerve pipes but are they as good quality as these ones?

  16. I heard the Nervepipes are not as good as these ones, but I have yet to see for myself.
    I wouldn't be surprised though as they are a class below these ones.

    Anytime Snarkasm I just stumbled upon this site looking for a review on the frogs, and looking around I think I like this place. I just signed up for a regular account and will be hanging out here more.

    That's a pretty sweet lineup you have btw. I'm no audiophile but I think give me another two years and I'll be sporting headsets in your class LOL. My biggest problem is availability, it's hard to get a lot of models hear especially higher end ones.

    I'm a guy who really doesn't like Shure though. Some people are Bose bashers, I think I'm a Shure basher.

  17. Glad to have you, Mochan.

    You have any questions about equipment, feel free to ask!

  18. I'd ask but I've all but decided to get the Bose Triport OE's. For the life of me I don't get why so many audiophiles hate these cans and won't even give them a chance. Well actually I do understand: audiophiles and lot of other people who really work with sound prefer or are trained to look for a balanced neutral sound. Professionals such as musicians doing monitoring definitely need this to make sure the sound coming out is the way it is recorded.

    Well thankfully I'm not, I'm just regular bass head. But man the Tripoets are something else, they're nice, warm and comfy and five a real satisfying sound. The bass is deep and powerful, but not overpowering. Meanwhile the rest of the sound comes out properly and in detail. I love em so much, I think I'll go out and buy them later after work. Heh!

    Back on topic, I was thinking of getting the Frogz for my GF as a gift. The Union model as especially in her color. But when I took her to the shop she didn't like them because they were too massive! Sound was ok but she said they weren't exceptional: and they aren't, but we already knew that.

    Well anyway I'll be around here for a bit. Thanks for the welcome.

  19. The real reason most audiophiles dislike Bose is because most of their "sound quality" comes from software, not the hardware. Most Bose, if you open them up, have cones no better than $50 cans. Sennheisers and the like have much improved construction, silk tweeters, better drivers, higher quality components. My HD-650s are the single best investment I've ever made, and they terrify me. They're open-air, comfortable as hell, and I can turn them up to the MAX with crystal clear sound, no discomfort, and no pressure on my eardrums - which makes it just that much easier for me to really injure myself. It's quite a balancing act.

    Plus we're all ridiculously snobby.

  20. is it really possible to turn something like that powered properly without blowing your ears?! I turn my home speakers up but barring high impedance/low volume earphones like my old Dennheiser mx550 I would quit halfway before I turn any cans up. It just hurts my ears.

    Anyway i'm getting my new hedphones later. I will probably want to write a review.
    How goes one about that here? I have my own blog but sometimes it's nice to post somewhere else.

  21. We love member submissions.

  22. We do indeed.

    You can throw it in your IC blog and get it featured, or click the "Tech" link up at the top by your account button, which should throw you in the Wordpress composer and submit it for standard publishing that way.

    Looking forward to it!

  23. Well I just got my pair of Bose Tri Ports. Man, I love these cans. I'm gonna let it burn in overnight and get with a review tomorrow. I also need to get home to test it with my Auzentech, anyway.

  24. The one thing here I cant believe is that Komete gets through a pair of headphones a year????

    How is that possible? I have had my Technics RPDJ 1200 over four years ago and they are still going strong. They did cost me £90 which I guess is about $130

    Sound quality is amazing and I can vouch that if I had them turned up full my ears would be bleeding. I have had big time ringing before the day after a gig on too many occasions.

  25. If I went through one pair a year of the headphones I have, I would be very, very broke.

  26. Indeed. The pair I had before were also Thechnics. I cant remember the model but I think they were these.

    Cheap at £23 but again the sound quality is awsome. The only realson I got rid is because the plasic head band broke after I dropped them a couple of times. Id def recomend Technics gear to anyone

  27. The Technics RPDJ 1200 are awesome cans. My friend at work has them and I listen to them whenever I go to his house. I love them, I'd compare the sound signature to the Audio Technica ATH M50, except they are a little crisper and cleaner and a little less bass heavy. The ones I listened to though are well-burned in, whereas the M50 I tried was a demo at a shop, so the final sound signature of the M50 might be different from what I know.

    Thrax/Snarkasm, could you guys help me out with submitting the review? The Tech button up on the upper left next to "My Account" doesn't work for me (I do not have clearance for it) and I don't know how to request to feature a review.

    Thanks.

  28. Send a private message to Lincoln, and he should be able to get you started.

  29. All sorted.

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