We have a lot of time for Tivoli and its charming radios, but the Radio Silenz headphones prove that even within the world of audio you can’t simply saunter onto someone else’s patch and become king. In the relatively quiet Trusted towers, the difference was small, but was much more prominent on public transport. Here, it’s a difference that seems to alter depending on how hard the noise cancelling “brain” has to work. The at-times alarming difference between in tonal quality in cancelling headphones is one of the reasons why some only output sound when cancellation is turned on. With ANC turned on, the sound isn’t too smooth or natural – which is it, relatively speaking, when turned off. It has a deleterious effect on the mid-range, giving it a strained edge that’s not too easy on the ear at higher volumes – as if it has been squeezed up against a sieve and started falling apart. Turning the noise cancellation on doesn’t help, either. The soundstage is fairly small too, with a narrowing effect. There’s a definite top-end roll off that leaves music sounding boxed-in, and vocals disappointingly low-fi and reined-in. Insight and detailing are unimpressive at the price. Signature, but some will hanker after more bass. With noise cancellation turned off, the sound is reasonably Headphones with active noise cancellation rarely escape without feeling compromised on sound quality and, unfortunately, the same is true here. It makes the clacking of keyboard keys much more noticeable, for example. On the train, we found that they made for a more pleasurable listen with cancellation turned off, and that the noise created by the ANC was actually more noticeable than the natural ambient sound you have to deal with when it’s off. Across the board, the Radio Silenz do not come close to matching the best of Bose – the class leaders in terms of noise cancellation performance – and there is some hiss audible when cancellation is on. Like any active set worth consideration, it removes low-end hums, but it actually seems to increase mid-range and top-end noise. Performance of cancellation is poor, though. A single battery lasts for up to fifty hours, and you can play music without having ANC enabled – many sets cut out the signal completely as soon as it’s turned off. The Tivoli Radio Silenz battery compartment may be annoying at times, but it does provide the headphones with great stamina. ANC headphones are often unusually comfortable, though, and these aren’t. The padding isn’t all that soft and unless the battery unit is clipped to clothing, its weight is very noticeable.Īmong on-ear headphones in general, comfort is pretty good as the headphones themselves are light, and the headband and rotating cans flexible enough to make fitting them on your noggin problem-free. However, compared with several noise cancelling alternatives, the Tivoli Radio Silenz aren’t particularly comfortable. This reverses the role of the microphones, using them to enhance outside noise rather than zap it – useful for when a spray-tanned steward offers you a cup of coffee on a plane.ĭuring a flight is when ANC headphones come into their own, and Tivoli has sensibly included an airplane adapter, as well as a simple carry case. A further inconvenience, the Radio Silenz headphones are powered by an AAA battery rather than a rechargeable unit, adding to the maintenance factor.Īside from the battery, this not-so-little unit has an on-off switch, an old-fashioned dial volume control and a “defeat” button. It features a shirt clip to let you stop it from dangling annoyingly, but it’s far less convenient that pairs that squeeze everything into one of the cups. Aside from the microphones, the rest of the ANC gubbins is packed into a chunky housing 45cm down the cable, which hangs down from the left earcup. However, they’re not quite as handy as some on-ear noise cancelling rivals. Intended for use primarily out and about, rather than at home, the earpieces fold up into the headband for ultimate portability. Underneath the wooden caps sits an otherwise normal-looking pair of black plastic on-ear headphones with faux-leather padding and a metal-reinforced headband. These cover the microphones used to monitor ambient noise for the active noise cancellation feature. In part, this is down to the large grilles that sit atop each one. As neat as it may look, it’s pretty clear that it’s a surface-level thing, and doesn’t look impressive as high-end wood-backed headphones like the Audio Technica ATH-W1000X. The rear of each earcup is topped with a cap of real wood – either walnut, cherry or black ash. And the wood is back once more in these Radio Silenz headphones. This has become the company’s trademark, alongside good sound and a distinctive, retro-tinged look. A key attraction of many of Tivoli’s audio gadgets is that they use real wood finishes.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |