Meters Music OV-1-B Connect, Active Noise Cancelling, Over Ear Bluetooth 5.0 Headphones, App Controlled, Illuminated VU, Protein Leather, aptXTM HD Audio, Included Carry Case, Charge Cable (Tan)

Product Information

AptX HD is the Meters M-Ear Bluetooth’s nod to audiophiles. This is a Qualcomm technology that lets Bluetooth audio stream at 48KHz, 24-bit, eradicating the sound quality compromise of Bluetooth.

Don’t take that to mean the Meters M-Ear Bluetooth have an obviously bassy sound, however. One positive aspect I’ve found common to several small driver earphones is good bass depth without it becoming leaden or swampy. The Meters Music OV-1 are certainly a statement piece. No one’s going to miss you wearing these, whether you have the power on – and thus the VU meters lit up and dancing – or not. Sadly they just don’t quite deliver sonically. The difference in sound signature when the ANC is turned on or off is really drastic, too, with neither really striking the right balance. The headphones feature a 50mm dome driver and an impedance of 32 ohms. Sensitivity is rated at 94db/w/m. The Meters Connect smartphone app features five-band parametric equalization so the listener can tune the experience to the style of music and personal preferences. Given the month of May is Better Hearing Month, you can see the positives of having the meters onboard (even if you need to take the headphones off to see it). The meters dance from 55dB (safe) to 110dB (not so much), so you’ll want to dial down the volume if you’re listening loudly over prolonged periods to protect your hearing.So. if the meters aren’t an effective way to protect the wearer from loud sounds, and if getting the meters to bounce around in a way that’s noticeable to others requires dangerously loud volume levels … well, you see my point. Conclusion The OV-1-B-Connect come across as well balanced across the frequency range with bass tight, but also varied. The low-end avoids going ‘big’ or explosive, expressed with an unerring sense of confidence.

There’s an app in the Meters Connect (Android/iOS), but the onus is on customisation over features. There are EQ settings to tweak the sound, plus the colour and brightness of the VU meters can be customised. Cute, but if you’re looking for more functionality then you won’t find it here. Frankly, using a set of visible volume meters as a way of keeping your kids listening at safe levels is a terrible idea, especially when there are products on the market that automatically limit headphone volume to safe levels, taking away the need for active monitoring of any kind. The M-Ear Bluetooth are an odd mix of solid and poor design choices. Meters M-Ear Bluetooth – Sound quality You’d expect quality for the asking price, but when style is as much a focus as the sound, there’s the fear the audio could be left behind. This isn’t the case with the Meters OV-1-B-Connect. For a good all-round pair of wired ANC headphones, take a listen to the Audio-Technica ATH-MSR7NC. They look an awful lot duller, but sound great whether the noise-cancelling is on or not, and they cost less than the OV-1. Stretch your budget a little more and you could have the class-leading Sony MDR-1000X with wireless Bluetooth aptX connectivity.

In summary

These earphones were designed in association with Adam Clayton, bassist of U2. I mention it this far into the review because it’s about as much fuss as Meters gives the collaboration at this point. And it shouldn’t affect your decision anyway. We can’t recommend the Meters M-Ear Bluetooth because their design will test your patience. They’re poor at staying on your head, and that’s a problem. This is one of the cheaper earphones I’ve used with aptX HD. The SoundMagic E10BT, for example, don’t feature aptX, which allows CD-quality streaming. Hiding that switch behind the arm makes for a neater look, but it does mean you have to lift the earcup away from your head to swivel it and switch setting.

They’re a big pair of over-ears and the oval-shaped earpads come with a generous level of padding. Despite this, the way in which the earpads sit on the ear results in some slight discomfort.

Now Ashdown is embarking on its own world tour, bringing its innovative product design expansion to the US market with the launch of its Meters headphones, that let consumers turn up the volume while they turn the heads of everyone who sees them — thanks to the one-of-a-kind working VU (volume unit) meter on each earcup! Designed to be compact companions when not in use, the Meters are a folding design that come with a neat carry case The Meters have built-in ANC that you activate with a switch on the right earcup, but you need to use it judiciously. It does a great job of killing low-frequency sounds, like the white noise of a loud fan, or the rumble of traffic, but if you’re already in a fairly quiet environment, it introduces a very noticeable hiss. Best to leave it turned off unless you really need it. Super sound Simon Cohen / Digital Trends First impressions were that the sound was sweet but very polite. The treble and upper mid-range – and hence the vocals – were quite subdued. There was some real substance to the lower mid-range, but everything had a softness to it. The twanging guitars and sawing violin at the beginning of ‘Rude To Rile’ had no bite, and the same could be said for the vocals. Other Meters headphones use actual sound meters to stand out from the crowd, but here the synthetic leather parts attract attention. As well as the leather skin on the main parts of the band, little leather loops are attached to each earpiece to make removing them from your ears a little easier.