BuzzParadise mailed me a pair of new Coosh headphones to review.
Compared to the three headphone options most obvious to me: 1) cheapo headphones, 2) ear buds or 3) expensive and giant Bose headphones, Coosh headsets are a fairly unique design. However, it’s pretty simple — they are essentially buds with a nylon loop that wraps around your ear.
Here’s Coosh Biz Dev Manager Ken Cooper’s explanation for the redesign, “While everyone was busy making headphones look and feel like something out of STAR TREK, we wanted to make sure ears everywhere would thank us for feeling so good, thanks to the soft flexible earring that you can attach and detach whenever the mood strikes you. We found a cool, new solution to a lame, old problem by creating total earbud comfort and security. And you get pretty good sound quality too. So be it backflips, dancing, running, skating, or sitting on the couch – we made them fit securely and comfortably enough to wear all day long. Oh, and not to even mention the world-class sound that these headphones can blast out as well.”
Here are some guys who definitely need headphones that stay on:
But when it came time for me to roadtest them, it wasn’t doing backflips, dancing, running or skating; it was sitting on a plane. I listen to my mp3 player the majority of the day — but I have a docking station at work, home and the car. The only time I truly use headphones is in airports and on planes about twice a month.
My first memory of the earbud concept was the original Gameboy headphones in the early 1990s. Because my ear holes weren’t perfect circles, I had to jam them into my ears, and after hours of playing, I remember my ears throbbing because of the hard plastic torture I had inflicted on them.
When I bought the first iPod in 2001, I had the same experience with the white earphones (called “earbuds”), although now it wasn’t because my ear canal was too small; they were too big! The earbuds would fall out. Later I bought some silocone earbuds, which fit but also wouldn’t stay on.
When I picked up a Zune last year, I was super impressed with their braided earphones and silicone buds. They stayed on, but didn’t tune out background noise enough I wouldn’t have to crank my mp3 player.
My friend Julio at the Pioneer Press has done lots of research and writing about earbuds that actually fit, including pointing me to a local company who makes customized earbud molds here locally.
But my go-to choice for two years now has been my Bose QuietComfort noise cancelling headset. The pair was super expensive, incredibly bulky and they make me look stupid, but the sound is crisp, the roar of the jet engines disappear, they stay on my head and don’t hurt my ears. So I’m sticking with my Bose.
If your ear holes are normal size (whatever that is), I would definitely recommend Coosh headphones. I love that they have a built-in mobile phone microphone system (including send/end button), the spare wire clip, the fact you can get them in black, and the sharp L, right-angle plug.
But even when I’m not spinning around on my head, they don’t fit my ears, so they’re not for me.
I just today got a note that for a limited time Coosh is offering a free shipping discount code. You can enter COOSH2008 into the discount code box at checkout to receive free shipping and handling.
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