Ollo S4X Reference Headphones

[Barfunkel]

they just look really bad.

It makes them cheaper as they don't have to hire an aesthetic design department. Also keeps them out of interior design magazines. Those often have apartments with white Genelecs. Good for Genelec, possibly not so good for the consumer, as it might be very tempting to hike the prices.

[buffered]

they just look really bad.

It makes them cheaper as they don't have to hire an aesthetic design department. Also keeps them out of interior design magazines. Those often have apartments with white Genelecs. Good for Genelec, possibly not so good for the consumer, as it might be very tempting to hike the prices.

hmm no i think they just have not done a very good job. on the contrary the use of grill design and wood enclosure actually points to the design team going for a specific aesthetic. It just came off looking like craft. These sort of products work best on a visual level when the form is truly direct result of function they facilitate. These look like they are trying to appeal to a trend of modular synths and potplants.
Also bad design is not inherently cheaper.

[Lost to the Void]

they just look really bad.

I generally don`t buy speakers and headphones for their looks (my mastering speakers are just large black monoliths, but they sound out of this world), I prefer the manufacturers to focus on audio qualities. If you look at the design process of these, they were focused on audio response all the way through.
Build quality on these is solid, and they are designed to be self repairable, so lots of nice big screws, completely modular. You can change out parts easily without having to return them.
In the real they actually look nice to me anyway, but that wasn`t a concern.

[buffered]

they just look really bad.

I generally don`t buy speakers and headphones for their looks (my mastering speakers are just large black monoliths, but they sound out of this world), I prefer the manufacturers to focus on audio qualities. If you look at the design process of these, they were focused on audio response all the way through.
Build quality on these is solid, and they are designed to be self repairable, so lots of nice big screws, completely modular. You can change out parts easily without having to return them.
In the real they actually look nice to me anyway, but that wasn`t a concern.

Yes this is what i am getting at. Products of this nature are best when pared back as possible. Total utility in appearance. These look like they have spent time on aesthetic but in the wrong direction. Hexagonal grill array at odds with spline curves in the headband. Too many screws. It is just a bit amateur. Good looking does not mean addition of design elements. It is the refinement of the essential.

[Lost to the Void]

they just look really bad.

I generally don`t buy speakers and headphones for their looks (my mastering speakers are just large black monoliths, but they sound out of this world), I prefer the manufacturers to focus on audio qualities. If you look at the design process of these, they were focused on audio response all the way through.
Build quality on these is solid, and they are designed to be self repairable, so lots of nice big screws, completely modular. You can change out parts easily without having to return them.
In the real they actually look nice to me anyway, but that wasn`t a concern.

Yes this is what i am getting at. Products of this nature are best when pared back as possible. Total utility in appearance. These look like they have spent time on aesthetic but in the wrong direction. Hexagonal grill array at odds with spline curves in the headband. Too many screws. It is just a bit amateur. Good looking does not mean addition of design elements. It is the refinement of the essential.

The grill was not an asthetic choice, they went through a whole array of grills before they got to one that provided the right back pressure and flow. IT`s actually pretty interesting how deep they went into each component.
I wasn`t a fan of the wood, just as a personal preference, but actually in the real it fits quite nicely.
And these literally are total utility. The bolts that hold the cups to the headband are nice and big, easy to turn, no fiddly little easy to cross thread screws. Nice big allan key nuts on the cups for when you want to take them apart and change out parts (just 2 bolts each side, too many?). Nice solid minijacks that connect the cables to the cups. Everything is solid and usefully sized, rather than the apple philosophy of small, hard to access and easily breakable.
I mean, if design asthetic is your concern, don`t bother with them, though when it comes to audio I consider that a strange cross to die on, if you want an excellent sounding reference grade headphone at an affordable price with a good build guarantee and good support and a really sturdy solid build, then these are worth the money.

[buffered]

I generally don`t buy speakers and headphones for their looks (my mastering speakers are just large black monoliths, but they sound out of this world), I prefer the manufacturers to focus on audio qualities. If you look at the design process of these, they were focused on audio response all the way through.
Build quality on these is solid, and they are designed to be self repairable, so lots of nice big screws, completely modular. You can change out parts easily without having to return them.
In the real they actually look nice to me anyway, but that wasn`t a concern.

Yes this is what i am getting at. Products of this nature are best when pared back as possible. Total utility in appearance. These look like they have spent time on aesthetic but in the wrong direction. Hexagonal grill array at odds with spline curves in the headband. Too many screws. It is just a bit amateur. Good looking does not mean addition of design elements. It is the refinement of the essential.

The grill was not an asthetic choice, they went through a whole array of grills before they got to one that provided the right back pressure and flow. IT`s actually pretty interesting how deep they went into each component.
I wasn`t a fan of the wood, just as a personal preference, but actually in the real it fits quite nicely.
And these literally are total utility. The bolts that hold the cups to the headband are nice and big, easy to turn, no fiddly little easy to cross thread screws. Nice big allan key nuts on the cups for when you want to take them apart and change out parts (just 2 bolts each side, too many?). Nice solid minijacks that connect the cables to the cups. Everything is solid and usefully sized, rather than the apple philosophy of small, hard to access and easily breakable.
I mean, if design asthetic is your concern, don`t bother with them, though when it comes to audio I consider that a strange cross to die on, if you want an excellent sounding reference grade headphone at an affordable price with a good build guarantee and good support and a really sturdy solid build, then these are worth the money.

Yeah my 20yrs of being a professional industrial designer probably makes me see through products quicker/more thoroughly than most. I'm sure they sound good.

[PASS]

Was looking for upgrade from Beyerdynamic DT-770 headphones, saw Lost to the Void comments and after some research I bought them, also motivated by the fact that they offer a 25% disscount for sound engineering students and teachers which I could benefit.

After some time I can say I like them. There are two things that improved a lot, first, better translation to other systems, second, less listening fatigue I suppose becouse they are open headphones.

I can define the sound as flat, little tilted forward bass or, if seen the other way, lacking little mid-highs, but I find this balance good for techno oriented stuff.