Logitech UE 9000 Wireless Headphones

I wanted to so badly to like these headphones. Top-end technology for under $300 - bluetooth, noise-cancelling, USB-charging, it's everything a technophile would want in a pair of cans (only thing I saw that made me drool more was the Parrot Ziks, but those are obscenely pricey). Reviews were pretty good, so I gave them a chance. Unfortunately, they just weren't good enough to justify that much money. Gave them almost 2 weeks, and here's what I noticed.PROS:- Bluetooth works great. I listened to my iPhone while wandering all over the house.- Sound quality isn't bad. Muffled at times, but good enough.- Ear cups are fairly comfortable- Removable cable is a nice touch- USB charging is great - you can listen while it charges- Case is very nice- Design is unique and attractiveCONS:- The hissing sound mentioned in other reviews is more prominent than I expected. With noise-cancelling on, it's audible with movies and almost loud with no silence. With louder music (rock, rap, etc.), the hissing is barely audible.- The headband isn't cushioned, so these became uncomfortable after a couple of hours on a plane.- The noise-cancelling works, but not nearly as well as other headphones (i.e. Bose). Drowned out most of the airplane drone, but not even close to completely gone.- Even after the price has gone down (bought them at about $290), the quality just isn't quite up to snuff.These are nice headphones, and at about $200 I would have kept them for sure. But they just don't live up to their price point. Hopefully Logitech can clean up the details and come out with a new pair because they have a ton of potential.

Introducing and reviewing Logitech's discontinued flagship headphone!UE 9000 tested in comparison to UE 6000, Audio-technica ATH-A700x, Skullcandy Mix Master, Vmoda M100, Klipsch Mode M40, Creative Sound Blaster Evo ZXR ran on Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 older model (built in Wolfson WM1811 DAC) with Neutron and Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional sound card.Sentences ended with * are referenced to in the conclusionProduct Intro, info, and specs:The Logitech UE 9000 is a very handsome piece of audio equipment which boasts accents of brushed aluminum and blue trims along with a matte black headband ending in gloss black ear cups. It comes with a 6 foot / 1.8 meters long 3.5 mm headphone jack with a 6.5 mm adapter if you want to connect to high end equipment, an AC adapter and removable USB cord for charging the wireless headphones, a clam shell carrying case and a microfiber cleaning cloth since it's made of shiny plastic which turns into a fingerprint magnet. Wirelessly, this headphone connects via Bluetooth 2.1 and supports Apt-X, AAC, and SBC.* It is programmed to pick out the best possible audio source to ensure the best listening experience for the user. Bluetooth wireless range is stated to be up to 30 feet / 10 meters. The UE 9000 comes with 40 mm laser tuned drivers and produce a frequency response of 20 Hz to 20 kHz. 96 dB with power off and wired and 102 dB when powered on. Ohms are 55 when off and 102 when on. The headphone is circumaural and fit comfortably around the ears and the inside is lined with a soft foam for added comfort. These headphones are quite heavy weighing in at 11.6 ounces / 330 grams. Microphone is built into the headphone and has a response of 100 Hz to 3.5 kHz.* This headphone comes with ANC (Active Noise Cancellation) in both wired and wireless modes. ANC is forced on in wireless and cannot be disabled. The UE 9000 has pass through circuitry to allow music to be played even when the headphone battery is dead which is a huge plus.* Just to note that the pause, play, volume up, and down buttons do work on both Android and Apple products as with most Bluetooth interface devices.Construction:The UE 9000 is made with a mix of plastic and metal. The headband itself is a matte black plastic with a metal inner band for rigidity and strength. The arm connecting to the ear cups are metal with a brushed aluminum finish giving the impression of a high quality built.*Comfort:These are very comfortable headphone around the ears, although they are quite heavy. Having them on for a long time isn't recommended and I've found myself taking the headphone off to rest from the weight. The built in rechargeable battery and metal parts also adds to the weight of the product. The headband is lightly padded by a similar material to the UE 6000 but compared to the UE 6000 the padding is sparse. The ear cups are surrounded by a pseudo leather like material with a memory foam material that contours the users head and ears for added comfort the longer they're worn. One very positive note is that glasses users will LOVE this headphone. The memory foam gently molds itself around the glasses and makes it very comfortable when wearing glasses. Clamping force isn't excessive and is at a comfortable level.Clarity:Anyone who has listened to the UE 6000 would be confused if they were listening to another UE 6000. This could be either a good or bad thing. The UE 6000 is a great headphone with incredible deep and immersive bass but a forced treble. Both have a very "V" shaped sound signature. Seeing as the UE 6000 and 9000 sound almost identical, some people would be turned off by this as the UE 9000 are much more expensive and may possibly skew one's perception of the anticipated sound quality for such a premium price. Not saying that it sounds bad because I think the 6000's are excellent (depending on the genre), just saying it should've sounded a little better for the amount of paper put down to pick one up. Still beats the older Beats headphones that were in that $300 price range by a long shot. The newer Beats, on the other hand, are much better sound quality than the previous Beats but still doesn't beat the UE 6000 / 9000 in my opinion.Sound leakage:There is quite a noticeable amount of sound leakage from the headphone played at mid high to high volumes. Those who love to listen to music at high levels be warned as others will hear what you're listening to. If you're on the bus of in the library and playing music on high, they'll be able to listen to what you're listening to. So far the most impressive headphone that I own which had THE lowest amount of sound leakage is my Klipsch Mode M40.ANC (Active Noise Cancellation) and Talk Through feature:ANC on this headphone is no where near the same level as the Bose QC15 so don't expect it do completely block out outside noises. Computer fan noises, engine hum, and basically all low frequency steady but not too aggressive noises will be blocked / dulled down by the ANC feature. The Talk Through feature is the exact opposite of ANC. It allows the user to hear what's going on outside the headphone which is a great option if you hate taking your headphone off to talk to someone. Both are great features to have. Turning the ANC feature on does act as a mini amp and increases the EQ band signature a few dB but peaking mostly in the lower and higher areas "V" shaped sound signature.*Conclusion / Thoughts / Cons: This being the flagship model for Logitech, who's a major technology retailer, I'd expect nothing less than Bluetooth 4.0 for the headset which was ready, willing, and available when it was produced. 4.0 would've expanded the bandwidth of information allowing for higher quality sound as well as better battery life and stronger wireless connection. The built in microphone feature was both a good and bad idea. Good because the headphone itself looks very clean. Bad because built in mics are't as clear as external microphones which would turn people off who wanted a wireless headphone for communication and music. Creative also tried this with the Sound Blaster Evo ZXR and also failed at mic clarity, although driver updates did improve the clarity, it still was a far cry from what it could and should be. As a result, some would prefer to use the wired option with the inline mic for better clarity which would essentially make the UE 9000 the UE 6000 since both sound nearly identical. Speaking of wired mode, with ANC off and the circuit powered down, this headphone has great clarity which is why it's too bad ANC is forced ON when in wireless mode. Not saying that the bass and treble boost is bad, but having it as an option in wireless would've been nice, especially when the headphone cost so much and is their flagship model. Having the headphone made of mostly plastic is a cause for concern for those who do not have carpeted floors. The headband itself does not seem too durable and I dare not stress test them by twisting them like I did with my Klipsch Mode M40's or my Vmoda M100's. It does open very well to fit large heads but torsional force would cause it to break. So to finish off, these are great headphones depending on the genre you're listening to. Don't expect incredible mids or vocals as these are made for EDM, Dubstep, House, Trance, R&B, Rap types of music which rely on the "V" EQ signature. Are they worth the original $300? Honestly no they're not, maybe $250 at most. You get the near same quality from the UE 6000 which is much cheaper. With the UE 9000, you're paying for the wireless connectivity, Talk Through feature, and built in controls that work with both Android and Apple.

Pros:- When plugged in, sound is very impressive- Solid Build- Good ControlsThe bad:- Pairs to iphone no problem. Pairs to my Windows 7 PC no problem,. Except driver install for PC fails and no sound comes out. Logitech has no documentation on their site, no driver to manually install, totally disappointing (can't work with Windows 7?)- Bluetooth sound on iphone is good, but not worth more than a decent much cheaper headset.- Hissing noise everyone talks about - its real. I mainly hear it between tracks, not when music is playing. Although, if you are listening to some types of music, i can see where this would come through and be very annoying.- Headband. It seems to weigh down on the top of my head big time, and also wants to slide off the back of my head.Overall, this was a nice attempt but doesnt seem like they tested the design well enough. From a Bluetooth aspect, not worth the price by a longshot. Without Bluetooth, go buy the 6000 version or Dre's. Bummed, really wanted these to work out.UPDATE after about two months of use:- Logitech support helped me fix the bluetooth issues. Now it connects no problem everytime i turn it on.- As for the sound. My girlfriend got a pair of the newer version Dr Dre's (BT over the ear). They are really good, quality build, sound great, would be happy with them to tell you the truth. They are more portable as they fold up. But if you aren't really caring too much about the portability factor, like me, the Logitech's have a noticable depth and richness as compared to the Dre's. Dre's are really good an if weren't comparing both side by side wouldn't notice.- Now as to quality between plugged in verses bluetooth. Truthfully, my quality on BT method is outstanding. Rich, deep, quality, no static, nothing. So perhaps it is dependent upon the BT stack that is installed on each machine. I am using a USB medialink i got from Amazon for like 18 dollars. So it is not a matter of cost.- Rechargable battery is so good. I have an extra long USB extension (again amazon brand) and charge when listening if needed, but that only happens when i have really long sessions since i do alot of research and writing. I would say i get a solid 8-10 hours out of a charge and only takes a little bit to charge it back up, while listening if needed.I would highly recommend these and worth not giving up on getting it working. I prefer them over the Dre's but that is personal taste (they were really high quality and sounded great) but prefer depth with bass at the sacrifice of portability as i am using these at my desk or put into my backpack. If i was getting on a plane, would rather have the Dre's.

excellent

If you read the reviews on various audiophile websites, the most ridiculed part about these is the price. When I first saw them in India, the cost was 37000 rupees but now the discount is amazing making it a good value for money.Buy if: Need details of ridiculous amountCan tolerate a heavy load on the headDon't buy for the noise cancelling feature. It just increases the gain. Doesn't cancel out anything.All in all, it's a little heavy but over the ear headphones generally are. The sound is really, really good. It's just a teensy bit bass heavier than the Audio Technica ATH M50 but the noise cancelling feature increases the volume making it good for using with mobile phones having weak amplifiers.Accessories and packing is really impressive. The hard case, the box, the headphone cable, all of them are extremely high quality. There's a 1/4 inch convertor as well and a really long charging cable which is a plus. No airline adapter was included. Very happy with the sound. Fairly comfortable. Not bass heavy like beats. Doesn't distort at any volume. Noise cancelling makes outdoor use pleasant by increasing volume.

Not worth the price when compared to other headphones in this range. Good build quality and decent sounding but didn't please me well enough.

Thumpy bass which fills the ear as if I am listening to some big sound boxes out there! Sound is neat and not garbled though. With the supplied cord it is a wonderful experience.One thing I'd like to point out is this headphone is not for long hours of listening as these weighty one feels a big burden on the head after sometime, it tends to implode hot spots on the head which may cause headache sometimes.

I need to mention that Amazon India did a fabulous job of delivering it. Ordered it in the afternoon and received the product the next day itself.Pros- Seamless connectivity via bluetooth. Works really well with my Mac and iphone.- Decent Noise Cancellation. Does not make you feel like you are in a vacuum- Pass through feature is great esp if you do not like removing your headphones.- Great Case for carrying it around. Can take some beating,- Does not need to be charged for it to work with a wire (unlike bose headphones)- Finally price is absolutely great compared to competitors. I think only the Parrot Zik can beat this headphone in the bluetooth category and they are 3 times more expensiveCons- Might be a tad to heavy for some- Sound leakage is a problem. Can disturb people around you if you like listening to music really loud.- Discontinued product to support might be an issue