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Gadling gear review - Ultimate Ears LoudEnough volume limiting earphones
In this Gadling gear review, we'll take a quick look at one of the newest earphones from headphone maker Ultimate Ears. The LoudEnough earphones have been specifically designed for kids, and feature small silicone ear gels, 3 vibrant colors and integrated volume reduction.
They are suitable for kids 6 and up, and the package includes silicone ear gels in 3 different sizes (extra small, small and medium). As with all products from Ultimate Ears, the LoudEnough earphones produce great sounding audio, while at the same time keeping the volume to a safe level.
When plugged into my desktop PC, I was able to turn the volume to 100%, without the earphones getting anywhere near a dangerous sound level. With regular earphones, the 100% level sounds unbelievably loud, and would most likely cause hearing damage if listened to for any length of time.
The headphones feature a regular 3.5mm jack which is compatible with the iPod, iPod Touch, iPhone (including the first generation) and most other MP3 players, game devices and portable DVD players.
A good example of an audio source with unpredictable volume is the in-flight entertainment system in many airlines. Often when the system is reset (which also happens a lot), the volume settings return to "default", and can produce some extremely loud static. With the Ultimate Ears LoudEnough earphones, this noise is reduced by as much as 25%, bringing things back down to a much safer level.
Another upside to these headphones is that you no longer need to keep an eye on the volume level your kids set their device to - even when set to "max", the headphones reduce enough noise to keep their ears safe.
The Ultimate Ears LoudEnough earphones are not just for kids - the medium size ear gels fit most adults, and obviously, kids are not the only people that need to keep the volume to a safe level. A chart showing noise reduction, and the technology used to reduce the volume can be found here.
The LoudEnough earphones retail for just $39.95 (or as low as $34.95 through Amazon). The earphones come in three colors (plum, mint and blueberry) and a matching carrying box is included along with the ear gels and a user guide.
I'm very impressed with the LoudEnough earphones - volume is efficiently reduced, without sounding too modified. Bass is reduced significantly, but not to the point where music sounds "wrong". The purchase price is also very reasonable. The LoudEnough earphones come with a one year limited warranty.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Willy Sep 15th 2009 10:57AM
Guess these would work well enough to cover the drone of highway noise or of an airplane's engines?
Scott Carmichael Sep 16th 2009 10:18AM
Tough call - I tested them on my daughter, but it really isn't ease to get a toddler to report back on noise isolation characteristics :)
I'd assume that with the correct fitted eargel, they'll isolate quite well.
Foxman Sep 16th 2009 5:13AM
Can the headphones block the loud noise effectively as it says in the article? If so, that will be great headphones. However, I tend to get one at lower price. iPod Headphones from here seems to be worthwhile to consider.
jamie Sep 16th 2009 10:05AM
I have owned an absolute PILE of kid headphones over the years in my efforts to simultaneously 1) protect hearing, and 2) drown out jet engine noise.
Ear buds in general cause a lot of drama b/c they hurt and fall out. In the end, I just bought two pairs of Bose QuietComfort headphones. They're not small (and my husband almost passed a kidney stone when he saw the bill), but they work like magic.
My .02 =)
Scott Carmichael Sep 16th 2009 10:20AM
I'm not sure $600 in headphones is something I'd be willing to spend to keep the kid happy :)
That said - there are a lot of cheaper (and often better) noise canceling headphones than the Bose QuietComforts, for a lot less money. For about $160 you can get the Creative Aurvana X-Fi's.
However, in my experience, none of those headphones offer volume limitation and they'll be a bad fit on a 6 year old. The LoudEnoughs are the first earphones I've come across that limit volume, look good AND fit younger kids.