Wrap
star.
Where
are your headphones right now? If you're a bit of a weirdo you might
now be saying 'in their special case in the special pocket of my
bag', but if you're a normal person you probably just shrugged your
shoulders and imagined a tangled mess of wires at the very bottom of
your bag, wrapped around a rotten apple. If you, like everyone else
normal, are forever misplacing your headphones, or indeed getting
them overly tangled and damaged, read on... this might be the next
thing you buy. We check out a pair of Wraps Wristband Headphones.
“Wristband” headphones? Y'what? Yes, Wraps are (or is) a simple set of in-ear headphones that can be wrapped around your wrist to be conveniently worn as a bracelet wristband. This means that not only will you always have a pair of 'phones ready to whip off and plug into your desired musical device, but those headphones will stay tangle-free. And also... conversation starter, or what?
But
before you consider just wrapping your current, battered, tangled
headphones around your wrist and calling the job a good 'un, Wraps
are very well designed. The slider, which is used to keep each of the
'phone wires separate, contains a headphone jack port. As the several
'how to' videos on the Wraps website suggest (several because there
are a few styles to choose from with slightly different fastening
methods), you pull down the slider, hold the earphones with your
thumb, then wrap the braided cord around your wrist. Once done, open
your thumb and plug the jack end of the wire into the slider port,
and hey presto; you're cool.
As
the slider... y'know... slides, the wristband can be easily adjusted
to get the right fit on all wrist sizes. As the fabric used to the
cover the main wire is soft and comfortable, you don't get annoying
exposed rubber giving you friction burns every time you twist your
wrist, or indeed wave to a stranger's baby in the queue at the post
office. We've all done that.
So
although the Wraps Wristband Headphones might appear on the wish
lists of those who like to have things wrapped around their wrists,
are they worth the buy for being headphones in the first place? The
quality of sound we got from our pair reminded us of the sort of
thing you'd expect from bundled headphones like the ones that come as
standard with your phone. Although they might not be ground-breaking
and worthy of a stand-alone review from a listener's point of view,
the earphones performed well and delivered a nice and smooth mix of
highs and low.
All
genres sounded okay, with a slight amount of distortion creeping in
when the volume was pushed high. Thanks to the gel tips on the
'phones, they stayed in well and were comfortable enough to wear for
long periods of time. So as an actual musical reproduction accessory,
the Wraps Wristband Headphones get a resounding 'good' from us, but
once you factor in the unique wearability of each set, they become
quite unique and desirable.
If
you need a pair of earphones at a moments notice, and quite like the
look of the wire wrapped around your wrist, these are a definitely
worth consideration.
From
£14.99
Available from www.amazon.co.uk