Nabi Headphones

I'm not a parent, but as a guy who spends his life reviewing audio gear, I'm particularly interested in people protecting their hearing, both because I love music, and because I like getting paid. Too few companies are pursuing the lanes that Nabi, a consumer tech manufacturer geared at kids (and parents) is. The Nabi Headphones are $99.99 (direct), and they're the first headphones I'm aware of that are made for both parents and kids. The child listening mode tops out at 80dB, so your kid won't ruin his or her hearing at an early age?something that is happening at an alarming rate since the entrance of iPods into our lives. In adult mode, the headphones reach higher decibel levels and achieve a more dynamic sound. They look cool enough that a kid will want to wear them and not so childish that you'll be embarrassed. And oh, yeah?they sound pretty great, so we're happy to give them our Editors' Choice award.

Design
The Nabi Headphones'?bright red plastic shell and quilted underside of the black padded headband provide a modern look. The logo is probably going to appeal more to your kid than you, but at least it's not SpongeBob. An inline remote control adjusts volume only, not playback or track navigation, but there's a microphone, too, for taking and making phone calls?just no button on the remote for answering them. (Call clarity is fine.)

A switch atop the left earcup toggles between parent and child mode?child mode is cleverly labeled only with the Nabi logo, so hopefully it takes your kid a little longer to catch on. To reduce the volume for your child, press the button on the lower edge of the earcup to turn the headphones on, and slide the switch into Nabi mode. Brilliantly, it is hard to switch the headphones out of one mode and into another when wearing them, as the position of the earcup in relation the headband more or less blocks the switch from sight, and also from fingers?you'd likely have to take them off to switch modes.?

When the earcup rings glow in white, you know you're in "Nabi" mode. When they glow red, you are in parental rock-out mode. If your kid ever figures this out, the jig is pretty much up, but at least you'll know whether Tommy or Suzie has switched out of kid mode by monitoring the color of the illuminated band.

Those lights don't happen on their own?you'll need to put the included AAA battery in the compartment on the right earcup. A rechargeable option would have been a better idea here, and more environmentally-friendly, but the headphones at least output audio in passive mode, though the child and parent modes disappear and they become plain old headphones.

Nabi gets so many things right with the design?even the cable is detachable, which could add to the lifespan of the product. (Replacing a cable is a lot cheaper than replacing the whole thing, and cables are often the culprit when headphones start malfunctioning.) Limitations with the remote and the use of a AAA battery aside, the Nabi headphones benefit from a comfortable, well-thought out design.

Performance
So, here's the real surprise: These headphones don't suck. In fact, in adult mode, they can hang with some of the better models in the same price range. They deliver tracks with powerful sub-bass content, like the Knife's "Silent Shout", without a hint of distortion (though they do vibrate a lot at top volumes) and with plenty emphasis on the track's throbbing bass.

Switch to kids mode, and the volume lowers dramatically, and the treble seems to be toned down a bit, along with the deep bass response. The sound is a bit duller?less crisp and dynamic, but it doesn't sound awful, and unless you're raising the next Steve Albini, your child probably won't really think it sounds dull or wildly different from what he or she is used to. At maximum volume, it's still fairly loud, but not nearly as loud as 99 percent of the headphones I test can get?this really will help protect your kid's ears.

When playing less bass-heavy genres, the Nabi headphones adjust well enough. In child mode, Bill Callahan's "Drover" sounds way too muted and the drums manage to sound too bass-heavy without the headphones dishing out a ton of low-end, but again, this sound is adjusted for kids who have far more sensitive hearing than you do at this point in your life. In adult mode, things get a lot louder (but you can always turn it way down!) and crisper?Callahan's vocals and guitar get the treble edge they need for this track to sound dynamic and balanced.

Classical tracks sound a tad tinny in parent mode, but the added bass response at least balances this out. John Adams' "The Chairman Dances" gets both a heavy dose of extra low end for the lower register strings and a tad too much brightness for the higher register strings and brass. But nothing here sounds egregiously off?and for a $100 headphone pair, this is often the case anyway. In kids mode, if your kids listen to classical music (then bless you), the overall sound is pretty flat?not a ton of bass, nor treble.

What does Barney sound like through the Nabi headphones? Sorry, guys?until I have kids, I invoke my privilege to never listen to Barney or SpongeBob and leave that testing to you. But you should have enough information based on the descriptions in this review to draw your own conclusions.

We haven't tested too many kid-focused headphones?in fact, the two models that come to mind are in-ear options. Both are solid products, but they aren't exactly new on the scene?the Etymotic ETY Kids5 and the Ultimate Ears Loud Enough. Of the three, the Nabi Headphones are the standout?you can just do a lot more, in terms of design, with the added real estate a larger pair of headphones provides. The headphones sound pretty darn good for what they are, the design is clever, and the entire product concept addresses an important issue. The Nabi Headphones are competing in a thin but necessary field, and they easily win our Editors' Choice award.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/TQiT3_EGOE4/0,2817,2419797,00.asp

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