OrigAudio Beets Review

Get Hungry

Comfort, Design & Features

I think the most important thing to note right off the bat is that these are very inexpensive headphones, so any expectations of amazing features should go right out the window. They're very cheaply made, and aside from the font on the top, won't really make anyone mistake your cans for Beats. That's really to be expected though.

Beyond the rather large beet images on the backs of the ear cups, there's not much worthy of note on these headphones, as they are just about as basic as you can get: they have a thin cable, plastic construction, and they are very tough to get to fit on your head well. If you have a larger head, the comfort issue isn't all that bad, but the band does have a considerable amount of clamping force.

Perhaps the most fun part about these headphones is simply opening the box: inside you'll find some packaging, and sitting on top of the carrying case for your headphones is a thank you note, and... a can of sliced beets. Cute. After reviewing lots of headphones, I can assure you that this package has by far the tastiest contents (don't ask about the Gummy Bear headphones ). Additionally, OrigAudio tucks in a $10 gift certificate for their online store, so you really do get a bunch in the package, even if we're not talking about a super hi-fi system or anything.

Audio Quality

Honestly? They're cheap headphones— and there's really not much to say beyond that. Most of their appeal is in their gimmicky parody of the current market leader, as well as their donations to charity, so it shouldn't surprise anyone when I say that these headphones do not sound all that great.

Their frequency response is erratic, they have channel preference issues, but they surprisingly don't have a ton of distortion (though it increases rapidly the higher you turn them up). It's there, but not prominent. Either way, the appeal of the sound-producing cans from your brown box is the fashion statement, and not the audio quality. Don't buy these expecting to block out any noise, either, as it's really tough to get them to make a good seal with your head.

Conclusion

These headphones may not be the best buy in the world, but they're a fun diversion if you're an audiophile (or hipster) looking to chime in on the state of the headphone industry today. Because they keep it light-hearted and fun, their parody is an effective one, with a net positive to boot. What other headphones come with a donation to a food pantry, and also to your stomach?

Great for a gag gift, these cans aren't going to beet any higher-end headphones, but they're fun, and that's the entire point: they don't have to perform well by the numbers for consumers to have a rooted interest in their purchase. Tortured puns aside, there's value to all three cans in the package to the Origaudio Beets.

With any luck they won't make the faces of those they parody beet-red, but for the time being, there seems to be no issues in the legal department, so they should be able to sprout up in terms of business with all the press they got not too long ago.

Science Introduction

These headphones aren't going to fool anyone that they're worth much more than they are, but it's really not the point of these cans. However, I don't mean to write them off, if that's the impression I gave you. They're perfectly acceptable headphones for $25 when you consider the packaging contents, but like any model, they have their pros and cons.

Frequency Response

No surprises here. With cheap materials and very likely bottom of the barrel electronics, it's no surprise that the frequency response here is a mess. Erratic across the board, there's a heavy bass emphasis, but a muting problem in the higher notes that is just plain jarring. After that, harmonics roll off.

Distortion

It's not a huge deal, but there's a little bit of distortion at the same range as that massive error in the frequency response. It doesn't really get notably bad until you bump your music to 98.88dB, when it hits a level of 3% total harmonic distortion.

Defininitely don't listen to music that long at that volume though—protect your ears.

Isolation

Considering their on-ear design, and the fact that it is extremely difficult to get a good seal, it's not terribly surprising that these headphones don't attenuate much noise. You should be fine if you're listening in an area with a lot of birds chirping, but other than that, these headphones don't really block much of anything from entering your ear canal. Don't be tempted to turn your music up to drown out the world, though, as you'll most likely not only make your music sound worse, but also annoy those around you, as these leak sound quite a bit.

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