Verdict
A slightly unlike option is always a good estimate , and the House of Marley have some worthwhile points of difference . They ’re compromise by their transonic proportionality , though – and not just somewhat .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
Everyone knows House of Marley seek to do the proper thing . It considers both ethical and bionomical entailment when it sources its materials , it uses as much recycled and recyclable material as possible , and it sample to detain honest to the Marley Family ’s visual sense of universal passion and honour both for nature and for euphony . All while attempting to turn a modest profit at the same meter .
All of which is admirable , of course . But it ’s a fact that consumers will consider heavy quality and even more than ecological certification when select raw headphones . So while there ’s lots to like about the House of Marley Positive Vibration Frequency wireless over - ear phone , does that tilt of positives admit performance ?
Availability
The House of Marley Positive Vibration Frequency wireless over - ear earpiece are in the United Kingdom priced at £ 99 . They ’re $ 99 in America , and in Australia you ’re looking at AU$149 or thereabouts .
That ’s an eye - catching cost , but it ’s not as if the Positive Vibration Frequency have the place to themselves . likewise priced and pretty well - regarded choice from budget - end specialists like Anker andLindyto worldwide powerhouses like Sennheiser andSonysell for the same sorting of money – so it ’s not going to be all that well-fixed to stand out …
Design
On the most fundamental level , the design of the Positive Vibration Frequency is the same as every other duad of over - ear headphones you ’ve ever seen . Form follows map , after all .
House of Marley has added a few minor - but - welcome pattern flourish , though – the Rasta destination of my followup sample ( Black and Copper are also available ) is mildly distinctive . The copper - colorise aluminum headband adjustment mechanism looks rather lissom but it is , in fact , rich , and effective – and is reclaimable , too .
The company logo on the exterior of each earcup sits in a slice of FSC - certified wood . And not only does the protein leather of the outside of the headband extend the word Marley , but it ’s trimmed with a little of that red / gold / unripe Rewind fabric the company likes to deploy wherever it can .
The inside of the headband is mildly slog and framework - covered , while the pleather - covered earpads are plumper – to both positive and negative upshot . An all - in weight unit of just 212 GiB does n’t do any harm where solace is concerned , and hinges that allow the earpads to fold inwards make these phone about as portable as they add up .
The earpads are n’t specially expectant , so they seat quite closely to the ear – and the compounding of pleather and quite generous padding means they warm up sooner rather than later . A couple of hour wearing these earphone will make your ears uncomfortably warm .
Features
The 34 hours House of Marley is claiming for battery lifetime seems realistic , certainly if you ’re not travel wild where volume levels are refer . Recharging is via a USB - 100 socket on the right earcup – from flat to full charter a pretty standard two hours , and just 15 minute on the juice is respectable for another four hours - ish of action .
The USB - C socket is just for charging , though , not data transfer too . Which intend the Positive Vibration Frequency ca n’t be hard - wired to a source of music – they can only be used wirelessly . So make certain you keep that battery topped up …
The correct earcup also has a few physical mastery on there : volume up / down , skim forwards/ backward , power on / off and Bluetooth pairing are all available , and it ’s possible to mobilize your source player ’s aboriginal voice - assistant too . Both manikin of control are reliable and reactive .
The Positive Vibration Frequency use Bluetooth 5.2 for wireless connectivity , which is upright news . It ’s compatible only with the peat bog - stock SBC and AAC codecs , though , which is not quite such salutary news – quite a few price - comparable challenger offer compatibility with the higher - resolutionaptX codec , or even aptX HD orLDAC . The connectivity range is around 10 m.
Sound is deliver by a duet of 40 mm full - range active driver . House of Marley is quoting a frequency reply of 20Hz – 20kHz , which is about all you may realistically inquire for .
And as far as features are concerned , that ’s about it . Some rivals at very similar money will proffer some jot controls , maybe a ascendency app or even active noise - cancellation – or in some instances , two or even three of those refinement .
Sound Quality
No control app means no possibleness of correct EQ options – so the phone the Positive Vibration Frequency give you is the sound you ’re getting . And while that phone is n’t without merit , it ’s slightly lop - sided and rather lop - sided as a final result .
But I should start with the positive - points . These headphones make and get up a soundstage well – they have right width and astuteness to their presentation , and are ( mostly ) successful at keeping each ingredient of a transcription under control . There ’s appreciable space on the stage here , and a nice sentience of breakup as a event .
They ’re also quite elaborated across the frequency range , and evenhandedly dynamic where harmonic variation are relate . They place transient details well , and put them into convincing context of use – so the sound never feels incomplete .
From the middle of the frequency range to the top end , the Positive Vibration Frequency are quite well balanced and in reality somewhat instinctive . In ultimate terms they stray onto the tender side of neutral , but not unpleasantly so – and their power to decide the midrange does vocalists all kinds of favor . Treble breeding has seemly bite and substance , and never tip over into hardness even at significant volume . These two areas of the frequency range integrate smoothly , too .
The bottom of the frequency range , though , is another subject . Bass response is both over - confident and ill - defined – which is , honestly , a terrible combination . A listen to a 16 - bit/44.1kHz file of Animal Collective ’s My Girlsand the humble - frequency reproduction is short of item , shorter still where controller is concerned , lacking in definition and pas seul , and wholly too far forward .
Bass is blurry when it should be straight - edged , and shove when it should punch – and it sounds quite remote from the rest of the frequency information . This compromises rhythmic formula , and makes the overall presentation a batch less authorized than it otherwise would be . House of Marley is far from the first mark to have mistake upfront bass , and plenty of it for excitement , and I doubt it will be the last .
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Should you buy it?
And why would n’t you ? Especially if you ’re lancinating on reducing your environmental footprint
Bottom - heavy only starts to draw the sonic signature here
Final Thoughts
It ’s unusual to imagine the planning and sign up - off meetings that must have take place at House of Marley when these earpiece were being evolve .
In so many direction they ’re a superior model of the low-cost radio over - ear type – but somehow the bass reproduction has been admit to spoil more - or - less everything . With even slimly more realistic low frequencies , the Positive Vibration Frequency could have been there - or - thereabouts …
Trusted Score
How we test
We prove every readiness of headphones we look back good over an extended menstruation of time . We expend industry standard tests to compare features properly . We ’ll always tell you what we find . We never , ever , take on money to review a product .
Find out more about how we test in ourethics policy
FAQs
These earpiece make use of FSC certify woodwind instrument , reclaimable aluminium , and House of Marley ’s Rewind material that ’s made from recycled material .
