Ashdown Engineering’s Meters Headphones (OV1B-Connect) are amazing!!
Release Date: Early 2020
They’re flashy, they’re stylish and they’re actually a great sounding set of headphones!! They are a product of Ashdown Engineering, and as typical of Ashdown, they’ve gone above & beyond the competition and then some. While there are many people who may say that these headphones are just a gimmick, or ‘all flash and no substance’, well, those who’ve actually experienced them will likely see things quite differently. Owners of these headphones are typically very happy to argue that point, and there are many who’ll swear by them.
So, whats the real deal?? Are they really any good?? Are they studio quality ??
In a word, Yes, they sound surprisingly good and you’ll likely have a hard time finding a used set available for a very long time.
Are they Studio Quality?? That’s debatable … They are a somewhat bass-heavy headphone that’ll sound best at higher volumes. They are NOT flat-response studio quality headphones.
But do they NEED to be?? Probably not, if you know what you’re listening to. Most good studio engineers will understand that if they are bass heavy, compensating for that should be an easy task. While I wouldn’t likely use these for EQ’ing or editing my tracks, mixing tracks is a different story. They’re great for listening to your final mixdown, which is where you need to focus the bulk of your efforts when trying to find the right mix. But don’t count on these alone, as you’ll be best off utilizing a number of different kinds of audio gear to properly judge your final output.
While there’s no comparison to using proper studio reference monitors or flat-response headphones at the times when you need them, these headphones can have a real use later in your process and you’re very likely to really enjoy what you hear with Meters Headphones.
Ignoring for now that there are VU meters in each side, the headphones themselves are of a well spec’d, quality design:
- Closed, Dynamic, ANC
- 40mm Dome ANC Mic
- 32Ohms @1Khz
- 20-20Khz
- 94dB/mW
- 82% Background Noise Reduction
- Mic Sensitivity= -60+/-4db
- weight: 380g (0.8lbs)
- BT Range: 10-15 meters
- BT Uses Qualcomm aptX HD
The set comes with a 4 ft Straight cord with inline Mic & controls, that are 3.5mm gold plated Stereo ends. You’ll also find an adapter, if you need to use a 1/4″ plug, also gold plated. The packaging includes a pretty good shell type case to store your headphones in, as well as a micro-fibre cleaning cloth.
Batttery life is outstanding as well, as typically you’ll have 15-20 hrs use between charges, and up to 28 hrs standby time.
There is an App for your cellphone or tablet that is available everywhere, and that app (called Meters Connect) allows you to unlock all sorts of awesome extras!! You’ll have the ability to adjust the phone’s EQ with a 5 band graphic equalizer, pick & choose the colour and intensity of the VU meter’s background lighting, access firmware updates, and other advanced settings. Be sure to download it and pair your phone to the headphones as soon as you can. You’ll find it on the Apple App store and on Google Play, for free.
As a Bluetooth device (with 10-15 meters range) you’ll also be able to use touch sensitive controls onboard one side of the headphones to answer and end calls, scroll thru tracks, adjust volumes up or down, and start/stop music. And by the way, the Bluetooth audio quality is typically referred to as ‘Better Than CD Quality” as it is using Qualcomm aptX HD. You can learn more about the science behind this BT spec HERE if you wish to understand more about it.
With several colour combinations to choose from, and a handful of models with slightly differing features as well, you’ll do well to double check the specific headphones you’re looking at as they all may be very similar, but that one feature you need could be different for your pair. Some of the models as listed at the Meters website are:
- OV1 (2017)
- OV1B (Bluetooth added)
- OV1B Connect
- Ov1B Connect Editions
- OV1B Connect Pro
- M-Level Up (for gamers)
- Novu-1-Pro Reference
- Novu-M Ears (In-Ear)
- Meters Linx
This review focuses primarily on the OV1B-Connect Editions version, tho I’m including information on the overall lineup.
Now getting back to the VU meters. Each side has an actual, quality built in active VU meter, that visually represents how loud your volume is, and as typical of VU meters (VU stand for Volume Units), you should absolutely stay withing the safe zone, avoiding prolonged ear-exposure in the red end of the scale. You risk giving yourself long term hearing damage that your ears may never be able to recover from later in life.
There are various colours available in each model line, and the specs & features may vary. Quantities are limited in each line, as they are not really mass produced. Production is typically in smaller quantities, so if you are interested in grabbing a pair, sooner is better!!
Check Reverb.com for Meters Headphones
