Blue Ella Planar Magnetic Headphones with Built-In Audiophile Amp

I saw 2-star reviews saying that Logitech ruined Blue by making these headphones, and that the earpads weren't replaceable. First, Logitech had nothing to do with making these headphones. They bought the Blue Designs company afterward and re-marketed the Ella headphones at "creators." Second, the earpads are easily replaceable and inexpensive.Now, on to why people buy headphones: the sound. It's superb, unless you want that lowest octave to slam (a common negative with planar magnetics). I'm sure if you're reading this, you already know the virtues of planar magnetic headphones. You also know that they're expensive. These originally retailed for $699 in 2016. Now that they're discontinued, you can find them for far less. The fact that you won't have to shell out another several hundred for a good headphone amp (there's one built in) make these an unparalleled value compared with other quality-built planar magnetics.The comfort is there, too. You'll look like a steampunk extra from a sci-fi movie, but the industrial design is unfailingly interesting to look at and serves a purpose. No more fiddling with adjustment; these headphones auto-adjust to any head, even my enormous, nearly size-8 noggin. Just put them on, and you're done. The weight is substantial compared with top over-ear Bluetooth wireless headphones like the Sony WH-1000XM5, but typical of wired planar audiophile headphones.Another reviewer complained that you MUST use the built-in 250mW headphone amp. Also, not always true. My 2021 MacBook Pro has a remarkably capable built-in headphone amp that will drive headphones of just about any impedance, including these. No amp needed; throwing the headphone amp switch doesn't get me a performance bump, only more volume. However, if you're buying these to use with a phone or tablet, or a different PC, you'll be needing the built-in amp. I think it's genius, and highly unusual, that they cared to include one.Another reviewer said that planar magnetic headphones' super-audiophile sonic accuracy was overkill for Bluetooth listening. Folks, Bluetooth is wireless, and these headphones are wired only. Ain't no stinking Bluetooth mid-fi here. The Ellas force you to listen like an audiophile. Kudos for that.Read reviews from reputable sources and, before buying, determine whether the planar magnetic hyper-accurate sound is what you're after. For example, the overall sound is lovely, and bass is accurate, but bassheads may want more. There is a bass switch on the headphones to boost the amp's bass, but it ends up making the bass less nimble and more midbass boomy. Plus, any top-level dynamic headphone will go deeper and hit harder. Also, get ready to spend $10-20 on a set of replacement earpads and another $10-20 on headband padding. These old-model headphones have been sitting in their packaging for a long time, and my earpad "leather" started flaking almost immediately. (The Ella's age also means your headphone amp's battery life is almost guaranteed to be shorter than estimated.)Those small caveats are worth it for the accurate, non-fatiguing sound. Enjoy the music. Ignore the haters. Overall, two thumbs up...at the current price.

Really good sound but the padding on the headphones starts to give out after awhile

Planar Magnetic headphones used to be expensive, a few years ago these were around $500-600. I also own teh blue mofi which is the the best sound headphone i got years ago. These are just as good for sound quality if not a tad clearer. Bass they are both good without he amp. With the amp they are powerful. But the Mofi amp stopped working after a while. I also own hifiman sundra another closed Planar Magnetic headphones. That too dropped in price.Sound quality is balanced and tight on low (bass) mid (vocal), and high tremble. Music like ambient, hip hop, rock, acoustic, and new-age, these headphones are well balanced in all areas. Deep bass that isn't overpowering or sounds like it is out of breath. You can hear the vocals clearly, and the high chiming isn't so painful bright as the the Grado I tried in-store. I feel the sound stage is better than most of my other headphones.Built quality: It looks good, but I also own a mo-fi, after a while the mo-fi faux leather comes off. The bass amp stops working. I kind of expect the same here. I like that the wire comes off, many times I have pulled it by accident.Fits: it fits better than the mo-fi but that doesn't say too much. If you have a big head you will feel the strain on your head.Overall this is the best headphones for under $200 based on sound quality alone. A must-buy.

These sound amazing, however they ARE NOT optimal to be used with just an iPod, iPhone, or normal MP3 player. Did they sound great, yes. But they were massively under-driven by those devices - and I'm talking about with the internal amp set all the way up. It may be partly due to my misunderstanding, but I really did think with it having a built-in amp, they would be nice and loud. They were NOT loud at all when being played with an iPod or iPhone. They sounded good, but they sounded like they were at 30% volume when volume was up at 100%.My main issues were these:-Can't be driven loud enough by something like an iPod, iPhone, or MP3 player. The only way to fix this is to get a portable headphone amp, like what Fiio offers. Doable, sure, but convenient, no. Where these shine is in a home theater setup being driven by a home theater amp. For that use, they were PHENOMENAL. Out of this world amazing. I made the mistake of thinking they would be fine being powered by an iPod because of the built-in amp, but I was wrong. Even with the amp turned to the top mode, and the iPod (newest gen) at max volume, they sounded about half as loud as traditional headphones would sound in terms of loudness. I believe this is due to the power it takes for the planar magnets, but I'm not entirely sure. All I know is that at MAX volume, they sounded very quiet.-Got very heavy on your head quickly. I know that's to be expected a bit when it comes to wearing headphones that have a built-in battery and amp in them. But even with the really nice design of them, they felt very heavy and put pressure on the area under my ear lobes/upper jawline.So bottom line, if you want a phenomenal pair of headphones that will be driven by some sort of an amp, whether it be a portable headphones amp, or a home theater amp, these couldn't be much better. They are amazing. BUT if you're looking for something (that has an advertised internal amp in it, which is deceiving) to be powered by your portable music device (iPod, iPhone, etc), these are not a good choice for you.