Gadgetory

headphones tend to be heavily branded and extensively marketed with paid promotions product placements and celebrity endorsements from some of the bigger brands today we're looking at headphones from status audio whose slogan is no logos no celebrities just sound let's find out if this claim holds up and if status audio can deliver we have two headphones today the open backed ovie one and the closed back CB one priced at $79.99 USD which is an excellent price for the target audience the first thing to realize is that these headphones aren't the same they're quite different in both design and sound the first major difference is the closed back design of the cb1 compared to the opened back nature of the ob1 for those who aren't familiar open back design means that they're not sealed don't isolate from outside noise and also leak noise the advantage is that you get greater soundstage and better positional audio which is great for both music listening and ingame positional audio as such open-back headphones are more suited for studio listening and in a quiet environment or as closed back headphones like the cb1 are great for less controlled environments however you don't get quite the same sound and positional audio now let's get the specs out of the way the ob1 features 42 millimeter drivers with over ear open back design and an impedance of 50 4 ohms frequency response of 15 Hertz to 30 kilohertz and a 3 meter straight cable the cb1 has larger 50 millimeter drivers with a closed back over year design it has a lower 32 ohm impedance frequency response of 15 Hertz to 30 kilohertz and dual removable cables with a three meter straight cable as well as a coiled build quality is the first thing to look at and we'll start with the better built OB one on the ear cups you have this very tough plastic with a metallic finish and it really feels durable and premium connecting the ear cups to the headband is more high-quality rubberized plastic and metal in the headband the built-in the obi-wan is really impressive at the price and competes and beats not only headphones in its price range like the 280 pro but also more expensive headphones the build of the cb1 isn't quite as impressive the plastic feels cheaper and lighter and the superb metal headband is missing here replaced with a more flimsy plastic the build isn't bad but it's just not at the same level as its brother before we get to the main claim in the sound will look at usability and comfort the Obi one unfortunately falls a little bit flat here especially since open-back headphones generally tend to be more comfortable the soft air pad seemed good on first impressions but they're just not that cushiony and I found myself longing for the Valu material on my k7x axes in addition the clamping force was just way too strong for my preference although hopefully that will loosen with time the headband is padded and feels alright but it's nothing exceptional the Obi ones are certainly usable and I wouldn't say it's super uncomfortable but I wouldn't want to be using them for a long period of time in addition to that the cable is not only non removable but splits at the top and I can't say I like that this makes it more prone to damage and failure and because it's non removable once the cable goes so do the headphones in this department the cb1 steps up to the plate the ear pads are very large and plush and while they're a little odd with the oval shape it's pretty comfortable overall clamping force is still present but it's less forceful than the OB one making for a more comfortable design it's still not great and I find other closed headphones like the EM 50s or open-back headphones like my K 7 X's much more comfortable but it's good enough you also get a removable cable here which is awesome to see it means you can choose your cable style and also get other cable lengths as well as if any damage comes to your cables the headphones will still work all of this combined with the closed design makes the CB ones the more versatile of the two headphones but enough with the teasing let's get into the sound to put it simply these sound good really good in fact at the price I would go out and say these are probably one of the best in the price range starting out with the CB ones I compared these to the 80 hm 50 X's my k7 x axis and the Sennheiser HD 280 pros considering all of these retail for a higher price than the status audio set I was really impressed with how it held up these were way better than the 280 CROs keeping better definition throughout the range and just being all-around much more enjoyable to listen to when I compared them to the m50x it got a little closer though they sounded a bit more neutral and while the mids were a little recessed they seemed quite flat and pretty accurate where's the m50 axes sound seemed a bit more pleasing depending on the song I actually found myself preferring the sound from the CV ones at times with the high end being a bit more defined and clearer with more detail over the range however noise isolation wasn't as good the m50x blocked outside noise much more and while these are close back you're still going to hear a fair bit of the outside environment so on public transport or in loud situations these will struggle for more electronic or bass focused music I would pick the m50 s over these as they're a little too neutral with the bass being a bit lackluster the music listening I found myself wishing for a little bit more hit in the deeper bass and it lacked that fullness to the sound of times still if you're doing casual mixing and music listening I think the cbiit ones would make an awesome pair and considering the EM 50s I'd never double the price and the CB one is still trading blows it's really impressive moving on to the open ones and you still have a very impressive sound this picks up in some of the areas that the CB one lacks with the bass being a bit more present and having better extension into some of the deeper bass range you also get the added bonus of having that open back design coming in which allows for a much wider soundstage and I really do love having that openness to the sound highs are also very good like the CB ones and over the range they sound really great as always audio is fairly subjective but I've been happy listening to these over a variety of music and I would say purely in terms of sound I would prefer these over the CB ones having that open back design is also nice in game as you have better positional audio which helps for footsteps and other sounds so let's conclude both of these headphones offer some impressive value with the best sound in this price range I think the hardest thing about these headphones is choosing which one to pick up unfortunately each one has their own unique compromises the CV ones have that removable cable and better comfort but you're going to have to deal with that closed back design and still not that great noise isolation as for the OB ones you get that wider soundstage and better build but you lose out on that removable cable and comfort element is less friendly we can't expect perfection at this price but I'm happy to see a no label headphone company challenging the ranks and would say you'd be happy with either pair as long as you know what you're getting into so thank you for watching everyone if you enjoyed this video make sure to leave a like and comment if you have any questions or feedback I'm Aidan with Hardware canucks make sure to subscribe for more similar content and we'll see you in the next one