thinksound On1 On-Ear Headphones Review

thinksound On1 Introduction

There are a lot of ways to market a speaker or a set of headphones. You can push the aesthetics, the construction, or the name brand. You can brag about the size (big or small), the loudness, or which celebrities endorse them. But if you want to get the attention of those that care about sound, you should be trying to convince us that your product isn't going to affect the sound in a negative way - or a positive way for that matter. I've reviewed headphones that have proudly bragged about their built-in bass boost. Proudly! As if that were a good thing. Sure, for those that only listen to one type of music, they may be interested but those of us that actually care about music want our speakers to get out of the way and just let the music play. We want to hear the music as the artist intended, not artificially extra bassy or otherwise distorted.

When I got the press release about the thinksound On1 headphones, I only saw the first line before I sent off a request for a review sample. "High definition, supra-aural studio monitor with passive noise isolation." I had to double check that they were headphones when I read "studio monitor" but the inference was clear - they are going for a headphone that will present your music as it was intended. Now, the "passive noise isolation" is akin to claiming that pants have "passive leg warming" as any headphone will provide some amount of passive noise isolation - so will putting your fingers in your ears (though that may be considered active I suppose). The studio monitor thing? Yeah, that got my attention.

There are other reasons people might have been drawn to the thinksound On1 headphones. Their stated goal is to create the best sounding headphones they can while maintaining the smallest Eco-footprint possible. This means utilizing wood earcups, recycled materials, and more to minimize the carbon footprint of their headphones. While I don't go seeking out green products, I certainly appreciate them for what they are trying to do. Given the choice between a product that claims to be green and one that doesn't, well, I'll take the one that sounds better. But if they both sound the same, I'd probably go with the green one.

First Impressions

With a product that purports to be green, first impressions mean a lot. It is the same with "fashion" products - if they are bragging about their aesthetics, they better bring something to the table. The thinksound On1 box was a mix of gloss white and recycled brown. The gloss white cover was reminiscent of Apple products (which seem to be perfectly okay for Eco-conscious people to use even though Apple is far from a green company). The interior box had the look and feel of recycled material with a little hemp (I'm calling it hemp though it may have been cotton) string to pull the box free of the white sleeve covering. Inside was a cotton or hemp pouch for carrying your new headphones along with a very short manual which consisted mostly of "treat your headphones well or they'll break" warnings.

Wood and recycled material

There were two different cables, both fabric covered, included with the On1 headphones. One had a single button in-line control with a microphone and the other did not. Both were looped and tied with another small piece of the cotton/hemp string. The inside molded form held the headphones securely and seemed, again, to be of a recycled paper product. The box itself is fairly attractive and one of the few boxes that I could see people keeping around to store their headphones in rather than just discarding in favor of the carrying case. The pouch, on the other hand, while perfectly serviceable, didn't have any sort of padding or protection for the headphones. The weave was thin enough that I could see light through the bag - even with both of the layers on top of each other. It really didn't seem like the bag would survive much abuse and, more importantly, wouldn't protect your new headphones at all.

Very pretty cables, at the very least

One of the selling points of the thinksound On1 headphones is their weight. At 6.5 ounces, they barely weigh anything at all. When I first picked them up, they really felt more like a toy than a set of quality cans. thinksound has obviously run into this misconception before as they included a few images of someone abusing the heck out of their headphones to show you that they are durable. This was in contrast to the manual that had all sorts of warnings against wrapping the headphone cable around the headphones, removing the headphones by pulling on the cable, and making sure you grasp the connector when removing the cable. I've included the images they sent me below for your amusement.

 

Ouch!

I'm glad they did this because I wouldn't

On1 Build Quality and Fit

The thinksound On1 headphones have wood earcups with memory foam earpads. The wood earcups are supposed to be handcrafted for more accurate sound reproduction. Now, a quick glance at the sentence makes is sound like each earcup is carved by hand but, more likely, the original model was crafted by hand and the rest were carved by machines. I often deconstruct such sentences (my favorite is "Designed in the USA" as if to suggest that it is manufactured and assembled anywhere other than China) and assume the worst. The fact remains, however, that the earcup is real wood and is absolutely gorgeous. They are smooth to the touch but still have that feel of real wood. The have a nice coat of lacquer and the thinksound name is etched into each side.

Soft and cushy

The cable attaches to the right earcup and is fabric covered. Under the cable, according to thinksound, is a layer of Kevlar to prevent or reduce tangles. What really prevents tangles is the stiffness of the cable. Small, thin, and extremely flexible cables end up in knots before you can blink. The heavier and stiffer the cable, the less it tangles. The thinksound On1 cable is very thick and has enough stiffness to keep it from getting in very bad tangles. Even when it did knot, the cable would not bend enough for the knot to get tight so the loops that the thinksound cables came in were about as tight as any knot. This meant that it was easy to untangle it which, for me, is a win in the tangle contest.

The downside of the fabric-covered cable is noise transmission. I think the problem is that the fabric has a texture. When you run your finger across the cable (or the cable rubs against your shirt), noise is transmitted to the right earphone. Even at higher volumes, you can hear the noise over your music. I primarily used the cable with the in-line controls and anything above the control was clearly audible. After the control it wasn't as bad but I could still hear cable noise over my music as far as half way down the cable. The standard, non-in-line control cable was actually worse as the noise was louder past the point of the in-line control.

The cables are quite a bit thicker than any of the competition increasing their tangle-resistance

While, aesthetically, I liked the cable, the noise was a pretty big issue. thinksound claims that the On1 can be used for exercising (specifically they said that they are "perfect for the gym" because they have a sweat resistant design), I think that the noise issue may bother more than a few listeners. As I generally use my headphones while either sitting or working around the house (cooking mostly), the noise issue didn't bother me too much. One thing I did really like was that thinksound went with a 3.5mm connection at the earcup. This meant that I could switch out their cable with any of the others that I have (and it allows you to pair them with any number of aftermarket cables).

The On1 headphones have a fabric (I'm going with hemp again because I like to type that word) covered headband. Under is metal but I really have to compliment thinksound on the amount of padding. They could have gone with more and I've tested plenty of headphones that have had less, but they seemed to have hit the sweetspot where it was just enough to be comfortable but not so much as to be bulky. The thinksound name is stitched across the top which is another clue as to how to put the On1s on.

My only knock in the build quality was the arms that held the earcups onto the metal slides. These were constructed out of plastic and felt (and looked) very cheap in comparison to the rest of the materials on the On1 headphones. Frankly, I had a hard time reconciling the plastic with the Eco goal. Was it recycled plastic? thinksound never specified which materials were recycled and it seemed that the only recycled materials were the packaging. While that is better than most companies do, the plastic seemed extremely out of place on the On1 headphones.

The plastic arms had a swivel just above the earcup with a hinge. This allowed the earcups to rotate ninety degrees and fold into the headband. This is a fairly typical solution for making a pair of headphones smaller for transport and it works very well. The hinges and swivels were very loose on the On1s and the earcups tended to flop around when they weren't on my head. This too was another reason I didn't like the plastic parts and really took away from the overall quality of the On1 headphones.

Fit

The thinksound On1 are an on-ear headphone which means that the earpads are extremely important. The memory foam is some of the most plush I've experienced. They are soft and supple to the touch and almost demand to be rubbed. If anything, they seem a bit too soft as it seemed like they might bottom out on your ear if the fit was too snug. I didn't experience that but I have a smallish head. If thinksound could have included softer earpads, I don't see how. These were absolutely top quality.

Single button controls are easier to operate if the button is huge like it is on the On1s

If you have experienced on-ear headphones and find them comfortable, you're going to love the On1s. I'm not one of those people. I find on-ears in general to be quite uncomfortable and can usually barely make it through a two hour listening session with them. The On1s were no different and I was constantly fiddling with them to keep them pressing on a different part of my ear. I can't really hold this against the On1 headphones as it is a limitation of the on-ear design. I do wonder why they decided on an on-ear rather than over-ear design for a headphone that was billed as a studio monitor. I really don't see many studio engineers using any on-ear headphone much less these.

While thinksound says that the On1s are perfect for the gym, I respectfully disagree (depending on your exercise I suppose). This is not a knock against the On1s at all. Instead, it is a compliment. Let me explain: To be "perfect for the gym", the fit would have to be really snug. Unless you are one of those that do exercises that allow you to do them while sitting still, any movement is going to eventually work the On1s off your head (or at least out of place). In order for the On1s to be a real gym headphone, they'd have to be quite a bit tighter (if you have a large head, this might be the case for you). Tighter, in the world of on-ear headphones, generally equates to uncomfortable. Now, if you have a larger head, do the right types of exercises, or just don't find tight on-ears uncomfortable, you and the On1s will likely have many hours happy together in the gym. For all the rest, you'll be able to enjoy your On1s the way most people do - at home or the office being relatively stationary.

Standard 3.5mm plugs are always preferred over proprietary connections

On1 Sound Evalution and Conclusion

The On1 sport a 40mm driver with a 50 ohm impedance. This suggests that the On1s should play nice with nearly any source you have. That said, those of you paying $300 for a pair of cans are probably also thinking of external amplification. I tested the thinksound On1 headphones with the Emotiva Stealth DC-1 DAC and headphone amp, the Cambridge Audio DACMagic XS, the headphone output of my Macbook and Galaxy Nexus, and more. With smaller sources like my phone, I had to nearly max out the volume to drown out my kids (which is the point of headphones after all) but other sources had a bit more headroom. The point is that you'll be able to utilize the On1 headphones with any source but they will definitely benefit from external amplification.

"That's the carrying case?" said everyone in disbelief after dropping $300 on these cans

What you want in a studio monitor is for it to get out of the way and give you the sound the artist intended. This means having a fairly flat frequency response among other things. The first thing I did was run the On1 headphones through a few sweeps. It was clear that the On1s have quite a bit of bass extension. While they claim down to 5Hz (they should have said 1Hz, it isn't like anyone can hear that anyhow), I found that anything around 25Hz or lower sounded fairly distorted. They did play something all the way down to 20Hz, however, which is pretty impressive even at this price point. Full range sweeps didn't reveal any dips or obvious emphasis anywhere else in the response range. Overall, they sounded pretty flat to me.

Working from the top down, I found the thinksound On1 headphones to be very forgiving but not at the expense of detail. The top end was well extended but not harsh though it may be a bit rolled off at the very top. Cymbals and other high notes sounded crisp and clean but not at all fatiguing or grating. The midrange was accurate and lush but not overblown. Often, a vocalist will sound different at the top of their range versus the bottom with inaccurate headphones. The On1 exhibited none of this and sounded consist throughout the midrange.

The wood really does look nice

The bass was well extended and rivaled some of the bassier offerings in this price range. I compared them to the V-MODA Crossfade M-100 headphones. The M-100s are a bass heavy headphone that I love to use even if they aren't the most accurate. The V-MODA's range was slightly lower than the On1's but the On1's sounded more accurate. When I compared them on other parts of the frequency response range, however, the differences were much more dramatic. The increased bass on the M-100s tended to overshadow the vocals while the On1s allowed the vocals to shine through.

Every time you capitalize a letter, a tree is cut down in the rainforest

You can't call yourself a studio monitor and not go up against the very best headphone I have in my arsenal. Well, in the $300 price range, that's the Sennheiser Momentum over-ear headphones (review pending). Sonically, I was amazed at how similar these two headphones sounded. The top end and midrange were almost identical. This is a huge compliment to the thinksound On1 as I didn't expect this level of performance. The On1s had better bass extension than the Momentums but I felt the bass was slightly muddier because of it. While it didn't happen often, when the bass dipped down into the lowest registers, the On1s would introduce noise that the Momentums simply wouldn't. This distortion took away from the soundstage and imaging but it was a rare occurrence. Overall, the sound quality of the thinksound On1 was on par with the best in this price range.

One thing I was worried about with the On1 headphones was the bass. Some of their other offerings were a bit bass heavy and I was afraid I'd find that here as well. Fortunately, that wasn't the case. While the bass was well extended, it wasn't at all boomy. Even the Momentums, which didn't have the extension, would occasionally feel like they were trying to bounce off your head. The On1 headphones were always controlled and never felt like there were either lacking or emphasizing the bass.

Plastic: Out of place on premium headphones since forever

Conclusion

The On1 headphones from thinksound purport to be a studio monitor in an on-ear headphone. That's a pretty tall order but one that I believe they have fulfilled. The On1's have great top end extension, a lush midrange, and no real emphasis on any specific frequency range. At the lowest registers, they introduce a little noise which did distort the presentation somewhat, but it was only with the lowest bass. While I can't imagine any studio person using an on-ear phone for long term use for comfort reasons alone, the goal of a transparent headphone is one to be lauded. While many like thinksound's Eco focus in their products, I care only about how they sound. The thinksound On1 headphones present accurate sound to rival the best in the price range. This is an easy recommendation for those that are looking for on-ear headphones.

thinksound On1 On-Ear Headphones

MSRP: $299.99

www.thinksound.com

The Score Card

The scoring below is based on each piece of equipment doing the duty it is designed for. The numbers are weighed heavily with respect to the individual cost of each unit, thus giving a rating roughly equal to:

Performance × Price Factor/Value = Rating

Audioholics.com note: The ratings indicated below are based on subjective listening and objective testing of the product in question. The rating scale is based on performance/value ratio. If you notice better performing products in future reviews that have lower numbers in certain areas, be aware that the value factor is most likely the culprit. Other Audioholics reviewers may rate products solely based on performance, and each reviewer has his/her own system for ratings.

Audioholics Rating Scale

• — Excellent
• — Very Good
• — Good
• — Fair
• — Poor

Metric	Rating
Build Quality
Appearance
Treble Extension
Treble Smoothness
Midrange Accuracy
Bass Extension
Bass Accuracy
Imaging
Soundstage
Dynamic Range
Fit and Finish
Performance
Value