When Jason gave me another pair of headphones to review, I said to myself, oh no, not another pair of cans.

Yes, it was another in the never-ending line of personal audio gear. I swear, I’ve reviewed so many headsets, I don’t know what else to say about them.

This one, Coloud’s “The Knock” Headset, seems middle-of-the-line, not too fancy, but not too bottom-of-the-barrel either. As well it should. Judging from the price (Php 1,450), it should be at most a cheap, inexpensive little hearing device, but it surprisingly holds up pretty well.

It’s a simple, basic over-the-ear headset made by a company based in Stockholm, Sweden, made of plastic, with a stiff headband integrated with two cans and a flat cable that prevents tangling, an option that first came out with Monster’s Beats by Dr. Dre. Mine came in a color block of orange and dark gray, with the headband in bright orange, the cans accented with grays, and a dark gray flat cable. It comes in many unique combinations of opposing color blocks.

The construction of the headband is simple and straightforward. It hugs your head pretty well, and I can imagine wearing this pair for hours on end. The cans seat well on your ears and don’t overly block ambient sound, allowing you to still hear the outside world. The entire thing weighs very little. The minimal parts used in the construction are also a great way to lower the number of components and make this an uncomplicated device.

The cabling comes out of both cans, as opposed to only one side, and there is a remote/microphone on the right side of the cable system, which comes together reasonably close to the headset. The cables seem firmly attached to the ear pieces and are in no danger of coming loose. It ends on the other side with a large, unique elbow-type 3.5mm connector called the Lasso Plug. The entire length of the flat cable is a little bit short, obviously meant to be connected to a portable music player or phone that you usually have close to your body, but the length is just enough.

Sound-wise, The Knock is surprising. Notwithstanding its price, it brings good fidelity and surprising brilliance to your audio. I was amazed that this inexpensive headphones, amazingly, gave good sound. Although it gave better reproduction to hip-hop and electronica (which is de riguere for the kids these days), it didn’t give short shrift to middle-of-the-road and pop music, and delivered decent reproduction to classical pieces as well. The remote allows you to control your music player or phone, and lets you talk to people easily; most headphones at this price don’t include a remote/mic.

My only comment about it is that it also gives a disturbing kind-of electronic hum or overlay to quiet pieces, as if your were hearing the audio through a screen or intervening filter (which isn’t really apparent when listening to loud pieces, really). I know this isn’t really a reference pair of headphones, and I shouldn’t expect a natural quality to the audio, but you unfortunately get that sort of limitation to the reproduction. I should lower my expections a bit, this is after all just a pair of affordable headphones.

If you’re looking for a pair of inexpensive, no-nonsense headsets that can double as a casual answering device for your phone, Coloud’s The Knock headphones are a great choice.

LIKES

• Inexpensive
• Has a flat cable that prevents tangling
• Has a simple remote/mic built in
• Has adequate reproduction

DISLIKES

• Simple, plain construction
• Cable is kinda short
• Has a hum when listening to quiet pieces

PRICE Php 1,450

AVAILABILITY Beyond The Box, Digital Hub/Digital Walker branches

Adel

Adel Gabot is a freelance journalist, writer, editor and Palanca award-winning fictionist. In his spare time he loves Macs, his iPad and iPhone, old Sean Connery 007 movies, Stephen King books, his Kindle Paperwhite, his Nexus 7, his video games, Green Tea ice cream, Aeropressed coffee and a good Merlot. His favorite noodles: Ma Mon Luk mami.

email: agabot@gmail.comwebsite: http://blog.adelgabot.comtwitter: @adelgabotfacebook: adelgabot