Samsung has expanded its headphone range into the luxury market to compete with designer fashion brands such as Beats. The Level On Wireless Pro features dual 40mm drivers to produce a rich, warm and premium-grade UHQA sound. This means the headphones are capable of sound quality higher than a CD’s Bit-rate and embellishes the qualities of SACD or similar formats. Additionally, the sound is directed through Active Noise Cancellation to eliminate background noise
In terms of build quality, the headphones contain a memory foam cushion which enhances comfort and makes them easier to withstand for long periods. However, the plastic housing, and “LEVEL” branding on the cups is pretty horrid and looks quite cheap. Although, I’ve always believed the same about Beats headphones and they remain ridiculously popular among a certain demographic.
Another inclusion is Samsung’s Smart Touch technology which allows you to adjust the volume and cycle between tracks directly on the headphones. This isn’t too exciting considering most headphones utilize an in-line remote. Possibly the most interesting development is the Talk-In Mode. This disables the noise cancellation and lets you experience background noises to increase safety as you walk across busy roads. The battery life revolves around BlueTooth 4.1 and is predicted to last up to 18 hours of standard play time.
While these headphones have a place in the audio market, I’m clearly not the target customer. For me audio quality is paramount and I’ve been using Bang & Olufsen headphones for some time. However, Samsung believes they can encourage enough people to move from Beats to their “LEVEL” brand and only time will tell.
