A look at two alternatives to those $200 Beats headphones

Thanks to Beats, there’s no shortage of $200 headphones on the market. But what about cans coming from folks known for their speakers rather than their rhymes? Given their heritage in the audio space, I had high hopes for both the Klipsch Reference On-Ear Premium headphones as well as Polk’s Hinge Wireless Bluetooth cans. At first glance, they’re pretty comparable: Both are foldable on-ear models with plush carrying bags and tight iOS/OS X integration. As it turns out, the similarities fell away quickly once I actually put them on my skull.

It’s pretty well established that I’m a fan of Klipsch’s stuff. But given my last experience with a pair of headphones from the company, I was wary going in here. I shouldn’t have been. The References feel every bit worthy of their $200 price tag at first glance. Brushed-aluminum and chrome accents marry with well-padded, black, faux leather on the headband, while memory foam fills the ear pads. They look classy.

The earcups extend downward about two inches on each side with a firm ratcheting click for those of us with larger heads, too. Even after countless extensions and retractions over the course of a few months, the headband still feels incredibly solid — same goes for the spring-loaded hinges that give the cans their foldable functionality. It’s worth mentioning that a hairline crack formed on the left side of the headband near the earcup slider, but as of this writing it doesn’t seem like it’s going to spread. Honestly, I didn’t notice it until I was going through photos for the write-up. A generous linguini cable sporting an inline controller and mic extends from the left earcup, rounding out the entire package.

The flipside of the snug fit is that, as someone who needs corrective lenses, after about three hours the headset’s tightness became uncomfortable because the earcups were pinching the stems of my glasses between my ears and head. If you aren’t four-eyed, this might not cause a problem, but if you are and need to take a cross-country flight, these may not be the headphones for you. If you’re worried about them staying in place during a sweaty 45-minute session on an elliptical trainer, however, that’s unwarranted. Trust me, I tried it.

Speakers don’t need to be pretty and a headset’s looks and form only get it so far. It’s a good thing, then, that the References live up to their name. Klipsch launched the Reference line of products in 1999 as a way to deliver its best engineering and sound to audio enthusiasts. I can say without any hesitation that the Reference On-Ear are the best sounding on-ear headphones I’ve ever listened to, easily beating options that cost over twice as much from the likes of Shure.

Everything I played on the References sounded great. From the downright weird aural landscape of producer Amon Tobin’s Foley Room or El-P’s High Water jazz album to Katy Perry, Drake, Taylor Swift, Run the Jewels, Deftones or Trent Reznor’s soundtrack work; everything sounded killer. It didn’t matter if the source was a lossless audio rip, YouTube on my cellphone, Spotify, Google Music from my computer or if I plugged directly into my A/V receiver, either. There’s plenty of bass, but most importantly, mids and highs don’t get lost in the mix.

The only real downside is that the inline mic isn’t sensitive enough. If I wasn’t constantly pulling the cable toward my mouth, my voice became extremely quiet (you can hear this on the JXE Stream of Splatoon I was on). The controller itself is great however and is a huge improvement over what’s found on Klipsch’s R6m earbuds: Buttons are clicky and they adjust volume, start/stop songs or skip to the next one without any fuss on either my MacBook Air or my iPad Mini 2.

I wish I could say as much positive about the Polk Hinge Wireless, though.

Despite their price, the headphones don’t feel like they cost $200. The ochre and gunmetal pair Polk sent me feels cheap at almost every turn. From the thin and narrow headband to the eponymous hinge that felt loose after just three weeks of use, I couldn’t help but think that corners were cut here and there. There’s a fine balance between a device being light and feeling flimsy, and the Hinge falls on the less desirable side of that spectrum.

The volume dial that doubles as the power button on the right earcup feels cheap and hollow as well, with its plastic construction that seems incredibly insecure. Earcups are incredibly wobbly too, and feel like they could fall off given a hard enough jostle. They didn’t form a great seal around my ears either, but they make me acutely aware of how my glasses and ears don’t get along after about 45 minutes.

Music always felt distant and I lost a lot of the oomph from whatever I was listening to when I used the Bluetooth connection because I could never get the cans in a comfortable position. Bass neither resonates nor does it pack much punch, and the rest of the sound spectrum is equally uninspired. Running the included wire between my source and the Hinges brought a bit of drama back (and added inline volume and media control) to my tunes, but not much.

When operating over Bluetooth, there’s about a quarter-second of lag as well. It isn’t so noticeable or bothersome when you’re listening to something in the background, but I couldn’t watch YouTube videos with people talking onscreen because lip sync was distractingly off.

The lone bright spot for me was the battery life. I listened to the Hinges for roughly two hours a day for two weeks before I needed to recharge the first time, and there were at least a few times when I’d forgotten to turn them off after a session. Like the References, these stayed in place during a particularly laborious session on the elliptical trainer as well.

For the price, however, I can honestly say I was expecting a lot more; there’s no contest between the Hinge Wireless and the Reference. If for whatever reason you’re looking to spend a few Benjamins on headphones without the letter “B” on the side, the latter are hard to, ahem, beat.

Filed under: Portable Audio/Video, Mobile

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The best kitchen scale

This post was done in partnership with The Sweethome, a list of the best gear for your home. Read the full article at TheSweethome.com

If you need an all-purpose digital kitchen scale for baking, cooking by ratio, or even measuring beans to brew coffee, the Jennings CJ4000 ($26) combines some of the best features we’ve seen in a scale. It’s easy to use and store, comes with an AC adapter to save on batteries, and you can disable the auto-off function so you can take your sweet time mixing or brewing. The Jennings costs only a few dollars more than a bare-bones model, but does something none of them can: it measures in half grams for even better precision.

How we decided

In addition to testing the accuracy of the scales with lab weights and bread dough ingredients, we timed how long each stayed on before the auto-off function kicked in.

We spent nearly 30 hours researching, interviewing experts, and testing digital kitchen scales over the last two years. Of the 45 models we’ve considered, the Jennings CJ4000 has proved the most versatile for a range of kitchen tasks and the best for most people.

Who should buy this?

Anyone who wants more consistent results from their baking, cooking, or coffee brewing should consider getting a kitchen scale. It’s far more accurate to weigh flour, diced vegetables, shredded cheese, or any number of ingredients than to cram them into a measuring cup or spoon. And since you can pour everything into one mixing bowlsubtracting cups and spoons from the equationthis type of cooking and baking cuts down significantly on dishes.

For precision coffee brewing, as with pour overs, a scale can help you get an accurate combination of beans and water every time. (If you’re into home espresso, see our other recommendations below for even more accurate pocket scales.)

Why we like Jennings CJ4000 above all else

When turned on, the Jennings CJ4000 defaults to the last unit measurement used. Simply press the “mode” button to switch between grams, ounces, pounds, and pieces (the counting function).

With a capacity of .5 grams to 4000 grams (about 8.8 pounds), the Jennings scale is precise enough for pour overs, but can also handle big batches of dough. Many cooks and bakers may not need the .5 gram level of accuracy, but we like that the precision gives you options down the road.

We also like that the Jennings comes with an AC adapter. (Most of the other models we tested only use batteries.) This conserves battery, and could save you an emergency trip to the store when the batteries have finally died.

The Jennings scale was one of a few we found where you can disable the auto-off function, so you can take as much time as you need to measure ingredients without the scale turning off. If this isn’t disabled, the scale turns off after only a minute and a half of inactivity.

We found the Jennings scale’s bright orange backlit screen, which stays on as long as the scale does, easy to read. We also like that the scale has a small footprint, making it convenient to store in a cupboard or drawer.

Overall, we think the Jennings CJ4000 offers a lot of value for a very reasonable price. It also comes with a 20-year manufacturer’s warranty.

Flaws (but not dealbreakers)

Although the Jennings scale reads in .5 g increments, it wouldn’t pick up our 500 milligram lab weight on its own. It only registered the 500 mg increment when we added an additional 1 gram weight.

When testing with lab weights, the Jennings scale consistently read .5 g too high. The slight misread could prove problematic for some coffee people, but not a biggie for most bakers or cooks.

If using a big pot for mixing dough, it takes some maneuvering to see the screen. You definitely can’t see the measurement if using a sheet pan. Yet for most baking, cooking, and coffee tasks, we think the Jennings will work just fine.

If you bake in bulk

At 4 inches tall and with a footprint of 10 by 7.5 inches, the My Weigh KD8000 (left) is roughly the same size as the OXO, Jennings, and Ozeri scales combined.

The $36 My Weigh KD8000 is a beast compared to the other scales we tested and only measures in full grams, but as with the Jennings scale, you can use an AC adapter, disable the auto-off function, and keep the backlight on as long as the scale. It’s a good choice for quantity baking, as it’ll weigh up to 17 pounds, 9 ounces. Just be aware it takes up quite a bit of counter space.

The best designed scale

We like the OXO’s pull-out display screen, especially when using a flared mixing bowl, large pot, or wide sheet pan.

The much sleeker OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Food Scale has an easier to read display, and the best overall design of all the scales we tested. But at $50 it’s relatively pricey and doesn’t function better than the Jennings CJ4000.

For extra precision

To switch unit measurements on the American Weigh SC-2KG pocket scale, simply press the mode button. The scale will remember the the last measurement used, even after you’ve turned it off.

For weighing very small amounts very preciselysuch as espresso, spices, or leavenerswe’d go with the $18 American Weigh 2KG pocket scale, which measures in .1 gram increments, or the American Weigh Signature Digital Pocket Scale ($8.50), which measures in .01 gram increments.

In closing

Our favorite digital kitchen scale is the most versatile for a range of kitchen tasks, but some of our other picks have better designed features and even more precision. For most cooking, baking, and even coffee brewing, though, we’d buy the Jennings CJ4000.

This guide may have been updated. To see the current recommendation please go to TheSweethome.com.

Filed under: Household

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