Flips (headphones)

A few weeks ago I volunteered to review a new set of headphones called Flips ($120).  Why are they called Flips? Well their tag line is "solo to social" and these headphones have a nifty feature where you can turn the "phone" part around and the become a set of powered speakers. (see pictures below)

The short review is, I love 'em.  Scroll down to see my list of pros and cons so you can decide if they are right for you. 

<-- click the headphones to visit the Flips website.

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I've passed up review offers before because it was just hard for me to see how review of Rice-A-Roni, for instance, could be of any use to my readers. That all changed when the flips offer landed in my in-box.  

I have been looking for a set of studio quality headphones for awhile and I jumped at the chance to test these out in real world broadcasting situations.  Below you will find my pro and con list.

Pros

1. The hard sided pouch protects them from being squished while they are being packed with all my other audio gear.

2. The Flips act like a sound deadening pair of headphones naturally.  No annoying power switch halfway down the cord.

3. The "social" position (phones turned around) is brilliant.  The powered speakers produce more than enough sound to use in a bathroom if you wanted to listen to music while taking a shower. No more underpowered "hamburger" speakers for this guy.

4. The battery life on the headphones (this runs the amplified speaker) lasts several hours and I was able to get almost weeks worth the showers on one charge.

5. The headphones can be used in the social form and charged at the same time. So if you do run out of power unexpectedly you can always charge on the go. 

6. Sturdy construction. The folding joints are made with flexible metal springs and are securely fastened into a heavy duty plastic frame.

7. Soft and large padded ear cups. My ears fit in them nicely. I'm no dumbo but there's plenty of room for your ears to get comfortable.

8. They fold up into a very nice compact traveling form. Perfect for the light traveler.

9. The sound -both solo and social- is fantastic! Rich and full.

10. They work great as a pair of monitor speakers for studio recording or editing.

Cons

1. The cord is too short.  It is just fine for personal use (i.e. mp3 player, phone, etc) but it's too short if you want to move more than 3 feet away from your music source.  Which is why this is a Con for me.  Sometimes my headphone amplifier can be 3 feet away so that doesn't give me any room to move once I'm plugged in.

2. I use an audio patch cord to lengthen my cord so I can use it in my studio.

3. This one is a catch 22, I know. They are fairly heavy, compared to my other studio headphones.  I have gotten used to them, however, and they have become my goto set.