Gadgetory

hi I'm David Connolly executive editor for cnet.com and I'm here with the Tivoli audio radio silence headphones let me start by saying that I'm a fan of Tivoli and I've always liked the company's tabletop radios and portable power radios which offer an excellent blend of design and performance that makes it easier overlook their relatively high price tags alas the company's first foray into the headphones market is a different situation altogether instead of coming up with a unique high-quality product tib lees put something together that's both unoriginal and decidedly entry-level while slapping $150 price tag on it the reason I say unoriginal is that the radio silence headphones look very similar to the meat electronics HT 21 headphones which cost twenty-five dollars at amazon that's right twenty-five dollars yes the radio silence has typically signature wood trim on the ear cups and also include some noise cancelling circuitry but otherwise the headphones have the same design right down to the cheap plastic storage bag that ships with the headphones on the plus side the headphones actually look pretty nice our lightweight fold up for transport and are fairly comfortable for on ear headphones but they just aren't all that luxurious true two headphones can look the same on the outside but sound altogether different and in fact the radio silence and HD 21 do sound different the radio silence offers more bass but in the process sacrifices some detail the HT 21 on the other hand seems a bit thin by comparison but offers a touch more clarity both however lack any sort of refinement associated with higher end headphones I expected tighter bass and more detail from these guys particularly because I have a lot of respect the sound that Tivoli radios deliver instead there's something a little mushy and bloated sounding about these headphones that put some squarely in the sub $50 camp well they don't sound bad they don't sound all that good the noise cancelling was also a disappointment when activated it really isn't effective and when you're listening to quieter music or gaps in playback you could hear a discernible hiss this is par for the course for noise canceling headphones but it seemed much more noticeable on this model look if typically put these out for $79 or even $99 I would have been more willing to give it the benefit of the doubt and be less critical the wood trim does add a nice touch to design of the headphones but the 150 999 price tag strikes me as cynical sure plenty of other companies of tweaked and polished off the shelf designs of various consumer electronics products with the radio silence and HD 21 headphones are just too closely separated at birth as it stands you'll be better off with the compact and super comfortable Bose OE two orrow e2i headphones or sena is more affordable HD to 38 which is being replaced by the hd2 39 those on your models don't offer the active noise cancellation of these headphones but they do passively seal out a good amount of sound and you won't have to deal with hearing that audible history quater tracks or gaps in playback i'm david carr nguoi and those are the tivoli audio radio silence headphone