Hearing is taken for granted, but is one of our most important senses. Over centuries, the sense has been finely tuned and is now well equipped to deal with sound, particularly as far as music is concerned. We have come a long way since the days of banging on logs with sticks! Music, too, has developed and matured into a vessel through which to convey emotion and tell a story. Today, technology allows us to carry our music around with us where ever we go.
But we still need an effective way to transport the music to our educated ears, and so the modern set of headphones were born. Headphones, headsets and earbuds all come in different shapes and sizes, but none are as unique as Motorheadphones’ Motorizer.
What we like about them
Well, the name should have given it away already, but Motorheadphones have been designed and developed by the seminal English Heavy Metal band Motorhead. And as the logo on the side of the interestingly-designed box states, it plays “everything louder than anything else”.
And that really is no joke, as the volume can be cranked up as loudly as the user wants, and the speakers inside the headphones will not distort – in fact, the quality of the sound gets better the louder the music.
On the business end, the sound is driven by 40mm neodymium high power speakers, and the frequency response varies between 10 Hz and 20,000 Hz – within that range, the bass is punchy deep, the mids are clear and highs are very distinct. With the wide range in frequency, each instrument can be heard individually and users might even hear something in their favourite songs that they have never picked up before.
To lock the acoustics inside the speaker chamber, the headphones’ design incorporates a dynamic, closed-back for the cups, which also helps with the clarity. To make things even more rock ‘n roll, Motorhead’s logo is etched into each cup – just to round it off rather neatly.
In terms of the cups themselves, the earbuds are covered in velvet, which is a lot easier on the user’s ears than synthetic plastic or leather. They fit comfortably and will not leave the user feeling like as if they have been yanked out by the ears from a rugby scrum!
The headband also make use of special technology that automatically adjusts the headphones to the wearer’s head through two pieces of loose-fitting rubber parts. To convey the loud sound through the speakers, the headphones come with a lengthy 2.5m cable for home listening, and with a 1m cable for when it is plugged into an iPod, smartphone, or any other music device that has a 3.5mm or 6.3mm audio jack. The shorter cable also has in-line volume controls built into it.
What we do not like
Prolonged wearing of headphones do tend to hurt the ears a bit and they seem to build up a bit of a sweat. This problem is not unique to the Motorheadphones, so users would just have to exerciser caution when they plan to wear them for lengthy periods.
Also, the head band pressure is approximately 4.5N, which does not sound like an awful lot, but coupled with the fact that the headphones almost weigh 250g, it starts to take a toll on the listener’s head. It is not a major problem, but the side of the head and ear could feel strained.
Conclusion
Motorhead built a serious pair of studio-quality headphones and they really do not disappoint. The sounds that they re-create are incredibly clear, and as mentioned before, each individual instrument will come to the fore in their own right.
While they have been billed as headphones for hard rockers, they are actually suited for all music tastes because the sounds will be just as clear if it was pop, classical or dub-step. They truly bring a unique listening experience and are well worth the investment.
The cups are soft, the cables are generous in length and the sound is louder than anything else. Users will be hard-pressed to find a set of cans that can bang as hard and fast as these babies!
Charlie Fripp – Consumer Tech editor
