Review: Coloud The Boom Headphones

May 30th 2013 by Brad Gurgel

Apple has always prided itself on producing minimalistic designs in their products. From iPhones that only have one main button to the smooth, rounded edges of a Macbook, Apple’s simple designs are immediately recognizable and very effective.

Coloud takes a page right out of Apple’s design book, but take the idea of minimalism to a new degree. As they boldly state on their website, Coloud prides themselves on producing headphones with a very minimalistic design. Their idea of a great pair of headphones are headphones with no obvious logos or gimmicky features. A great pair of headphones should just be “reliable and functional and designed to deliver your daily dose of music.”

I got to spend a week with “The Boom” version of Coloud headphones and came away from the experience very impressed with their build quality and performance. I am convinced that The Boom Coloud headphones are one of the better headphone values available on the market.

The Design

Coloud isn’t kidding when they say they prefer a minimalistic design. The Boom headphones come in all sorts of flashy color combinations, but feature almost no markings on the body of the headphones at all. The only Coloud logos are on very small, circular buttons on the bottoms of the band of the headphones. It’s rare to see a company keep their logo so small and in such an inconspicuous place on their devices. Even Apple slaps on a big Apple logo on the back of all of their products (sometimes even making it glow).

Coloud’s logo is not easy to spot on the headphones as it only shows up in a small red circle on the headband.

At first, I found the design too plain for my liking. However, the basic design grew on me during my week of use, and I actually came to enjoy the idea that a company wasn’t using me as a walking billboard as so many other companies seem apt to do with their products. The design of these headphones certainly isn’t going to win any awards, but Coloud purposely kept everything simple and functional.

Feel

My review pair of The Boom headphones fit comfortably over my ears and remained snugly on my head at all times. After having so many negative experiences with uncomfortable or ill fitting headphones, these Coloud headphones were a breath of fresh air.

The headphones slide to adjust for bigger and smaller head sizes and remain firmly in the chosen size. I never once had to readjust the headphones because they accidentally “clicked” to a bigger size or slid off of my ears. I was even able to run on a treadmill multiple times with no issues at all.

The padded ear covers are very comfortable, if a bit small. They gripped my ears well and remained snuggly in place. However, the tops of my ears felt just the slightest bit sore after wearing the headphones for a couple of hours at a time. Granted, this was after exercising with them on while using the treadmill, but I do feel the pads could have been made just a hair bigger for just a bit more comfort when wearing them for long periods of time. The fact that they fit so snugly and never need to be readjusted on your head, however, makes these headphones better in my book than the majority of other “over the ear” headphones I have tried.

Sound

Obviously, a pair of headphones has to have great sound to be worthwhile and the Coloud The Boom headphones do not dissapoint. You won’t confuse the sound quality for a pair of $200 headphones such as Beats by Dre, but the Coloud headphones do produce a much higher quality sound than the earbud headphones you likely use with your iPhone or iPod touch.

I was surprised just how many of the lowest bass notes I was missing out on in my favorite songs before switching to a pair of quality “over-the-ear” headphones like The Boom headphones. Those who typically use earbuds will notice an immediate difference in sound quality – especially with songs that have a lot of deep bass.

Since the ear covers fit so snugly on your ears, they block out quite a bit of the sound around you. This makes for a richer listening experience as well. I imagine they would be a joy to use in a busy airport or fitness gym as they will make it easier to hear all the parts of your favorite songs despite the loud noises around you.

Additional Features

The Boom Coloud headphones include some really useful additional features. One of these features is what Coloud calls the Zound Lasso. This is a special plastic section right near the headphone plug that offers a tidy place to wrap up your headphones cord and secure it into place to avoid tangling. I found myself really enjoying this feature and not missing having to always untangle my headphones cord before use.

The patent pending Zound Lasso is convenient for avoiding cord tangles.

The headphones also include a remote and microphone on the upper portion of the headphone cord. I found the remote a little tricky to use as it only includes one button. Tapping the button once pauses and plays your music while tapping it two or three times goes forward or back a track. A few times I caught myself wishing they had just included multiple buttons as it got a little trick to remember how many tips activated what function or I occasionally would tap twice instead of three times by mistake.

The somewhat perplexing one button remote.

The microphone was a lot more useful to me as it allows you to take calls on your iPhone without removing the headphones. In testing, a caller was easily able to understand my voice and I could hear the caller on the headphones very clearly. The button on the remote changes to a call answering and call ending button upon receiving a call. This nifty feature made it easy to leave the phone in my pocket and take a call while using the headphones.

Verdict

Whether you love or hate the simplistic design of The Boom Coloud headphones, what I don’t feel can be argued about is the fact that these headphones are a solid value for anyone looking for a good pair of over-the-ear style headphones. If you are looking to upgrade your listening experience from the basic included earbuds of your iPhone or iPod on a tight budget, the The Boom Coloud headphones are a solid choice that won’t disappoint.

The Boom Coloud headphones are available to order right now online on Coloud’s website for $40.00.