First Impressions
Headphones with quality builds, great
performance and good value for money are hard to find these days. But, there
are some international players making their way to our shores in the recent
months. One of these is Audio Technica and we tested out the ATH-WS55
mid-to-high range headphones to see how they fare. They look good on paper and
the first time we held them, they appeared to be really street smart. But do
they also give the bang for your buck?
Review
When you hold the WS55 headphones, they
feel quite light and extremely well made. Nothing about the build quality looks
tacky or cheap, it's premium all the way. So naturally, you start expecting the
same from the performance as well. But, once you put these headphones on, you
start feeling the tight grip which is meant to keep zero gap once you put these
on. Unfortunately, they feel a bit too tight for comfort, and the spring body
feels like it is trying to strangle your head, at times. Okay maybe we were
exaggerating a bit, but a nicer comfort level never hurt anyone. The earcups
are nicely padded with rubber finish material but felt a bit small. They swivel
and fold flat too, which makes it a tad easier to carry them around. The
dual-cord design has excellent materials used as well but has a right angled
audio jack, which might seem like an odd choice for some of you, but is
certainly not a deal breaker. Let's talk performance now, shall we. Overall the
WS55 is pretty impressive with loud, clear and pleasing audio output.
The
earcups are nicely padded with rubber finish material but felt a bit small.
The bass is deep too, but not Beats Audio
level deep. At higher volumes, the headphones struggles to distinguish between
the highs and mids, but still maintains a good level of clarity. The quirky bit
was getting some tick noise every time you move your head, when the components
brushed against each other or your head. Anyhow, the performance level was
quite enjoyable, even though it's not quite the best in its class, it’s still
pretty close.
If
you prefer build quality over total performance, then this is surely the
headphone for you
Features
There is really nothing extra in terms of
features, there is no mic nor any remote. The package is as simple as it gets,
but it gives you what you were looking for. Almost.
Verdict
Barring the comfort level, the Audio
Technica WS55 was a really good headphone. Whether it be for music, gaming,
movies or even simply for podcasts - its clarity is good, though the high
volume performance is a bit of a letdown. If you prefer build quality over
total performance, then this is surely the headphone for you.
If
you prefer build quality over total performance, then this is surely the
headphone for you.
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Specifications
§ Price:
$79
§ Binaural
Headphones, Earcup form factor
§ Adjustable
headband, dual chamber mechanism
§ 10-24Khz
Frequency Response
§ Right
angled gold plated audio plug
§ 100
dB/mW sensitivity
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