California Headphones Silverado Over-Ear Preview

Are you sick of the "me-too" designs in headphones recently? Do you wish for options that featured classic designs, high-end materials, and didn't cost an arm and a leg? California Headphones may have exactly what you want. Shipping now, their Silverado over-ear headphones feature a classic design inspired by the aviation headsets worn in WWII. Constructed out of die-cast metal and leather, these headphones will set you apart from the throngs of people with lowercase b's on their ears.

First, lets look at the construction. The Silverado headphones from California Headphones use an over-ear design. The sound chambers are constructed out of die-cast metal as is the hinge. The headband is padded and the ear cups are covered in soft leather. The hinges have 280 degrees of articulation for the perfect fit regardless of the size and shape of your head. The hinges also allow the Silverado headphones to fold up on themselves for easier transport. The Silverado headphones come with a sturdy leather case.

The cord is covered in knitted zebra cloth and features 3.5mm plugs not only for the source side, but at the two other ends so that they can be removed from each of the sound chambers. An in-line "Duo-jack" allows you to share your music without having to share your headphones. The Duo-jack allows your friend to plug in their headphones and draws extra power from your devices so that neither of you loses sound quality.

The Silverado headphones from California Headphones sport a 40mm titanium driver for each ear. The cord is the standard 1.2 meter length. The Silverado's are rated 20Hz to 20kHz though no frequency response data is provided by the manufacturer. You are unlikely to see such data as they have tuned their headphones specifically to "enhance the sounds of rock, country, and alternative music." They justify this focus by pointing at their name. The "California" sound is, apparently, rock and country. We weren't aware that they didn't allow rap, classical, and jazz in the Sunshine State.

At $225.95 a pair, the Silverado headphones from California Headphones aren't cheap. They certainly aren't the priciest on the market though. If you are interested but don't have the funds, California Headphones also makes the Laredo. While they look very similar to the Silverado, the Laredo headphones have stamped metal rather than die-cast, they lack the ability to fold and don't include a case, and the leather on the earcups looks to be replaced with the more traditional pleather. The driver on the Laredo is classified (by California Headphones) as "Basic" with the Silverado having the "Premium" version. Both are the same size and we're guessing "Basic" is code for "Aluminum". The Laredo does sport the same removeable cord with the zebra cloth covering and Duo-jack. The Laredo will save you about $125 though at $99.95 a pair.

Conclusion

The California Headphones Silverado headphones definitely have a style we like. The retro styling, die-cast metal and leather construction, titanium driver, and removable cable and folding design all are ticks in the plus column. But we are always wary of products that are tuned for a specific type of music. It is an easy way for manufacturers to blame your content instead of their product if you find you don't like their offering. At $225.95 a pair, we don't think it is too much to ask that a set of cans be appropriate for all types of music and not just rock, country, and alternative.  For our money, the $99.95 Laredo headphones with a similar (if less high-end) design and musical focus might be a better bet.

For more information, please visit www.californiaheadphones.com.

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.