Philips O'Neill Crash Headphones Review

Photo: Oleg Sharabanov

A large and robust box. No, not just big. Rather huge and gigantic. I've never held one in my hands before, and I realized that inside there are only headphones: a pair of speakers on a flexible plastic headband. But as much as you may wonder, it really is. Inside is the hero of the review, with a short tail in the image and likeness of the great Fidelio and a robust extension cord that also accompanies it.

Not to end on a lighter note, I'll start with two negatives. Let's say they are subjective. First of all, everything is too big: the headphones, the plug, the remote with the microphone. The explanation is simple: it saves the headset from impact. Philips claims that Crash can not only protect itself, but also protect the 's head from excessive physical impact if necessary. The price you have to pay for it is the increase in size. The second disadvantage is the stiffness of the headband. You are not used to pressure on the left and on the right your head seems to be stretched up and down. That's about it for the downsides. From here on, there are only bonuses and delight for the puppies.

The rope, like everything else here, is thick. But it's a good thing. Of course, you can't hang weights from it, but it's amazing to be able to do it without paying for it. That's why the cables are wrapped in a tightly woven braid and all cable entries are securely rubberized.

The pads are huge. It seems that, in addition to the ears themselves, many other things should fit. I don't know why, but it is still possible. There is a decent amount of air between your head and the speakers. The shells, molded from strong metal, are mobile and adapt to almost any head shape. When you put on the headphones, the feeling is empty. The soft foam padding conforms snugly to every curve and seems to draw air out of your ears. However, the noise isolation is not the best. But once you turn up the sound, all the extraneous noises go away.

The headband is molded in plastic. It is a very strong material, shatterproof and resistant to breakage. I've hit it with a hammer, I've bent it, I've stretched it. All this without success. The only thing I managed to do with these earphones was to rip the soft mount off the headband. But even that snapped back into place easily with a little effort and a barely audible click.

Perhaps most interesting is the boombox mode for when your head gets tired of the shock-resistant but still heavy headphones. Scientifically, the mode is called "Chill Out", but when I hear the speakers playing music "outdoors", I have no other association.

Switching between modes is easy: there are special latches on the headband that can be manipulated to disengage the ear cushions, allowing them to hang from the hinges. It's impossible to wear the headphones on your head in this position, but it's more than comfortable on your neck. If you turn up the volume, the iPhone or any other device that acts as a player becomes a kind of miniature boombox, with small but high-quality speakers.

What a sound. I heard a lot of different music on O'Neill Crash. But after the Pink Floyd studio recordings, any experimentation could stop. The sound quality of those old guys' records is, to me, the measure of good acoustics. In Crash I heard every note and every instrument, even in "Chill Out" mode. Nothing wheezed or hissed. Clarity and definition are the best words here. However, I did not expect less, considering the price of the model.

In the end, I owe it to myself to recommend these headphones to all lovers of quality music who appreciate robust and quality material. Unless a garbage truck falls on the Crash, they'll be fine. I even suspect that these things can be ed on through heredity. Like real estate, family jewels, and decrepit tortoises rattling around corners.