Sol RepublicTracks HD On-Ear Headphones with V10 Sound Engine (Interchangeable Headband) Black

Perhaps I was expecting too much from these. The last pair of "cans" I owned were a pair of £30 Sonys in the early 90s. They were great and given the advances in tech since then, I was hoping to be blown away. I was, but only at how poor these were. Decent bass I guess but the rest of the music sounds like it's being played in a tunnel. Vocals are particularly poor. Now I think about it, I'm starting to wonder whether they're faulty. Not sure what the obsession is with bass these day. I know the big risk / Cardinal sin with headphones is that they're tinny, but we seem to have gone overboard with reproducing overly bassy headphones at the expense of the rest of the music. I've tried running these in for about 10 hours in the hope that they'd settle but they're still pretty poor. Glad I only paid £20-ish for them. Any more and i'd be furious. Two stars awarded because they look nice, seem well made and are very comfortable. But that's about it. Oh, and they leak like Julian Assange! Steer clear.

After much deliberation, I took a (slight) chance on the Sol Republic V10s (Black), which appear to only just be breaking here in the UK (although, there are plenty of US reviews) and after a solid week of use, can safely say that I am pleased I did.When you first open the box, you are greeted with the various separates - two "sound engines" (the bits where the sound comes out!), the cable - complete with in-line mic/controls (it works well with my iPhone 5 - full control function and voice) and finally the headband - apparently this is virtually indestructible, although I have to admit that I haven't tested this out! The set also comes with a carry case, which is a nice extra. Once you have slotted the band into the two sound engines and adjusted for the correct fit, just plug in the cable and you're good to go!Right off the bat, music was crisp and clear and backed by very powerful bass - I would add that this may be too much for some listeners who want a slightly more balanced sound, but I found it very enjoyable. I've listened to a wide array of music on the V10s including: Sleigh Bells, A$AP Rocky, Dirtyphonics and Foo Fighters, which all sounded tight and punchy, with clean highs and mids, all bolstered with that deep, deep bass; even the more acoustic/light tracks that do not require the huge depths that the V10s are capable of reaching, were detailed and performed well, which leads me to think that most genres of music will sound more than fine here.Comfort-wise, I've sat and listened to several albums straight, with no sign of discomfort on the horizon. I can't think that you could ask for much more on this front - they are light, fit well and have excellent padding.For any of you concerned with your headphone style, you can breathe easy - they look great and have more than enough on the appearance-front to challenge the likes of beats by Dr Dre.Overall, I'd rate these very highly and if you are looking for headphones that tick the necessary style boxes, without giving ground on substance, these will certainly do the job.**Just for your peace of mind, I also have/have had Beyerdynamic DTX-910, Grado SR80i and Sony MDR-7000 headphones, so I have a decent comparison/experience in this price/standard range.*****Update - 6 months on and the V10s are still going strong... I am extremely delighted with the purchase; go ahead and get yourself a pair!*******Another update - almost 12 months on now and I'm still incredibly impressed with the headphones - no complaints whatsoever. Well... Just one complaint... I've noticed that the price has now dropped by around £35 since I purchased them (@ £90), so if you needed extra incentive, now you have it - I think the current price is an absolute steal for what you get!***********Yet another update! Unfortunately, since my previous updates, I have had to return the headphones TWICE(!) to Amazon, due to a fault with the cable. I was never heavy handed with them, nor wound the wire around the headphones (or itself), yet the connection completely failed on two occasions - once on the end that plugs into the audio source, the other on the end that plugs into the 'sound engine'. I still regard the headphones as an excellent purchase, with fantastic performance capabilities for the price, but you may find yourself with issues due to the apparent poor cable quality. A real shame - one star lost.

I love these headphones, I was going to buy the model down (the Tracks) but while they had even more bass the midrange and tops were compromised - I won't always be listening to bass heavy music so the Tracks HD seemed the best choice. The model up (Tracks Ultra) had less bass than the HD so definitely not what I wanted. Got to say cranking up the volume on the HD feels like I am in a club such is the bass response, The only reason I am not giving it 5 stars is the modular system which is a great feature but also it's Achilles heel. Sometimes one of the cables come out of the headphone. It takes a fair pull to get it out but it happens nonetheless - but not enough for me to be bothered by it. 5 stars means perfect .. they are not quite perfect.

A great pair of headphones, the modular design is a good aspect. It allows you to mix and match parts, or simply replace broken parts. The comfort is alright for an hour use however for any longer, the top of your ears may become a little irritated. This is because the ear cups do not rotate in any direction, and are more tighter closer to the top of the headband. This also causes a little sound to leak out from the bottom of the ear cups but this is minimal. Despite this, the sound is comparable to the Beats Solo HD, the highs and mids are clear and the bass vibrates your ears on high volumes, a great experience!

These headphones sound great for beat-heavy music, like dance, dub, reggae, rock and pop music. They have plenty of clarity and attack in the top end and also a heavy, pounding bass sound. I would recommend them for anyone who enjoys these kinds of music. I find them quite comfortable to wear.