Blue Ella Planar Magnetic Headphones with Built-In Audiophile Amp

I saw 2-star reviews saying that Logitech ruined Blue by making these headphones, and that the earpads weren't replaceable. First, Logitech had nothing to do with making these headphones. They bought the Blue Designs company afterward and re-marketed the Ella headphones at "creators." Second, the earpads are easily replaceable and inexpensive. Now, on to why people buy headphones: the sound. It's superb, unless you want that lowest octave to slam (a common negative with planar magnetics). I'm sure if you're reading this, you already know the virtues of planar magnetic headphones. You also know that they're expensive. These originally retailed for $699 in 2016. Now that they're discontinued, you can find them for far less. The fact that you won't have to shell out another several hundred for a good headphone amp (there's one built in) make these an unparalleled value compared with other quality-built planar magnetics. The comfort is there, too. You'll look like a steampunk extra from a sci-fi movie, but the industrial design is unfailingly interesting to look at and serves a purpose. No more fiddling with adjustment; these headphones auto-adjust to any head, even my enormous, nearly size-8 noggin. Just put them on, and you're done. The weight is substantial compared with top over-ear Bluetooth wireless headphones like the Sony WH-1000XM5, but typical of wired planar audiophile headphones. Another reviewer complained that you MUST use the built-in 250mW headphone amp. Also, not always true. My 2021 MacBook Pro has a remarkably capable built-in headphone amp that will drive headphones of just about any impedance, including these. No amp needed; throwing the headphone amp switch doesn't get me a performance bump, only more volume. However, if you're buying these to use with a phone or tablet, or a different PC, you'll be needing the built-in amp. I think it's genius, and highly unusual, that they cared to include one. Another reviewer said that planar magnetic headphones' super-audiophile sonic accuracy was overkill for Bluetooth listening. Folks, Bluetooth is wireless, and these headphones are wired only. Ain't no stinking Bluetooth mid-fi here. The Ellas force you to listen like an audiophile. Kudos for that. Read reviews from reputable sources and, before buying, determine whether the planar magnetic hyper-accurate sound is what you're after. For example, the overall sound is lovely, and bass is accurate, but bassheads may want more. There is a bass switch on the headphones to boost the amp's bass, but it ends up making the bass less nimble and more midbass boomy. Plus, any top-level dynamic headphone will go deeper and hit harder. Also, get ready to spend $10-20 on a set of replacement earpads and another $10-20 on headband padding. These old-model headphones have been sitting in their packaging for a long time, and my earpad "leather" started flaking almost immediately. (The Ella's age also means your headphone amp's battery life is almost guaranteed to be shorter than estimated.) Those small caveats are worth it for the accurate, non-fatiguing sound. Enjoy the music. Ignore the haters. Overall, two thumbs up...at the current price.

Really good sound but the padding on the headphones starts to give out after awhile

UPDATE: It pains me to say that these headphones have a fatal design flaw. To turn the onboard amplifier on and off, you must rotate a switch located on the left earpiece right above the connection point for the cable. Unfortunately, with repeated use, this switch can and will fail. The first time this happened, I'd only had my Ellas for half a year. To their credit, the company responded promptly and sent me a new pair under my two-year warranty. A year and a half later, the second pair of Ellas started showing signs of the same failure (i.e., an intermittent connection leading to lost sound in one or both sides of the phones). This time, I was one month past my warranty date, and the company told me all I could do was buy a new pair. Not happening. So, be aware that your $700 Ellas can stop working due to a built-in problem in the headphones' design. Personally, I don't consider a $350 a year listening fee to be worth it. I've been a lover of high-quality audio for 30-plus years, but I'd never ventured into the world of planar magnetics before purchasing these Blue Ellas about three months ago. All I can say is that I've never heard a clearer, more well articulated sound from any headphones. Blue apparently designed these to mimic the experience of listening to speakers, and I think they've done a great job of pulling it off. In fact, most of the time, I use my Ellas while working on my computer, and with the help of a cool app called DFX Audio Enhancer, I get a quality of sound that meets or exceeds my expectations for a good speaker setup. To my ears, these headphones especially excel at the accurate reproduction of midrange sounds and instruments, as well as voices. However, I've got no complaints about their bass or treble output. One of the joys of the Ellas is how they let you hear how an album was actually recorded. You can easily detect the producer's decisions on instrument placement, mixing levels, etc. Of course, this works best on FLACs and other high-quality recordings, but decently recorded MP3s are also reproduced quite well. From a listening standpoint, I couldn't be happier. I have to say that, while built like a tank, the Ellas are not the most comfortable phones you'll ever put on your head. They're heavy, but I have a big head, and I think the main issue is the clamping force they produce. If you have a normal-sized noggin, you may never notice. Also, the Ellas have pretty shallow pads, and your ears (well, my ears) are positioned right against the grills. If I don't put them on in the right position, ear smush is a definite possibility. However, despite these issues, it's five stars for me. The sound is just too good to quarrel with.

These sound amazing, however they ARE NOT optimal to be used with just an iPod, iPhone, or normal MP3 player. Did they sound great, yes. But they were massively under-driven by those devices - and I'm talking about with the internal amp set all the way up. It may be partly due to my misunderstanding, but I really did think with it having a built-in amp, they would be nice and loud. They were NOT loud at all when being played with an iPod or iPhone. They sounded good, but they sounded like they were at 30% volume when volume was up at 100%. My main issues were these: -Can't be driven loud enough by something like an iPod, iPhone, or MP3 player. The only way to fix this is to get a portable headphone amp, like what Fiio offers. Doable, sure, but convenient, no. Where these shine is in a home theater setup being driven by a home theater amp. For that use, they were PHENOMENAL. Out of this world amazing. I made the mistake of thinking they would be fine being powered by an iPod because of the built-in amp, but I was wrong. Even with the amp turned to the top mode, and the iPod (newest gen) at max volume, they sounded about half as loud as traditional headphones would sound in terms of loudness. I believe this is due to the power it takes for the planar magnets, but I'm not entirely sure. All I know is that at MAX volume, they sounded very quiet. -Got very heavy on your head quickly. I know that's to be expected a bit when it comes to wearing headphones that have a built-in battery and amp in them. But even with the really nice design of them, they felt very heavy and put pressure on the area under my ear lobes/upper jawline. So bottom line, if you want a phenomenal pair of headphones that will be driven by some sort of an amp, whether it be a portable headphones amp, or a home theater amp, these couldn't be much better. They are amazing. BUT if you're looking for something (that has an advertised internal amp in it, which is deceiving) to be powered by your portable music device (iPod, iPhone, etc), these are not a good choice for you.

When I first bought a pair of Blue Ella headphones I was surprised at all the little sounds and interesting noises I hadn't been able to hear especially in songs I play often. It was great at first but the quality of the sound quickly faded because the ear pads painfully chafe my ears until they become irritated enough that I have to take them off for awhile. They gave me 2 audio cords, the first one has controls for volume on the cord but it was just way too small to be of any use. The other one is long enough that I don't have any problems with it length wise but after a few months it started having issues with audio popping. I can wiggle it a bit to make it stop but is aggravating especially when I shelled out 600$ for these headphones and the most important quality you pay for is the audio. I would be willing to give them higher stars if they at least had replacement ear pads that could solve the irritation issue with my ears. I use this headset for gaming, watching movies, and listening to music. They are great especially for music and movies. For games they perform well with any game that you want to be immersed in but perform poorly for anything competitive. I've had issues with quiet sounds such as footsteps being weirdly distorted making it hard to pinpoint where they are coming from. It almost seems like the headset has issues with treble. Unfortunately I can't recommend these headphones because you can get cheaper headphones in the 200$ range that are more comfortable and with comparable sound albeit without the planar magnetic increase to fidelity. If you're a gamer who prefers games like Hunt, PUBG, Fortnite, or R6 Siege you should give these a hard pass as they don't make important sound ques crystal clear like I expected and instead seem to, at least for me, have the opposite effect.

Planar Magnetic headphones used to be expensive, a few years ago these were around $500-600. I also own teh blue mofi which is the the best sound headphone i got years ago. These are just as good for sound quality if not a tad clearer. Bass they are both good without he amp. With the amp they are powerful. But the Mofi amp stopped working after a while. I also own hifiman sundra another closed Planar Magnetic headphones. That too dropped in price. Sound quality is balanced and tight on low (bass) mid (vocal), and high tremble. Music like ambient, hip hop, rock, acoustic, and new-age, these headphones are well balanced in all areas. Deep bass that isn't overpowering or sounds like it is out of breath. You can hear the vocals clearly, and the high chiming isn't so painful bright as the the Grado I tried in-store. I feel the sound stage is better than most of my other headphones. Built quality: It looks good, but I also own a mo-fi, after a while the mo-fi faux leather comes off. The bass amp stops working. I kind of expect the same here. I like that the wire comes off, many times I have pulled it by accident. Fits: it fits better than the mo-fi but that doesn't say too much. If you have a big head you will feel the strain on your head. Overall this is the best headphones for under $200 based on sound quality alone. A must-buy.

Pros: Great sound Good amp, perfect with a smartphone Good looking Cons: Heavy Almost no noise blocking, despite weight and size of ear cups Summary: I've been using these for over a year. I love Blue stuff--I have two of their microphones and like them, these headphones they are well made. Almost over built, in fact--while the style is cool (it may be too odd for some) these are HEAVY. I wore them on a few plane flights, and not only can I feel the weight in my carry-on, but also on my head. And on that note, despite their wight and closed-back design they did almost nothing to block the outside ambient noise. Bummer, especially as they claim to have "sealed enclosure with tuned damping materials." But in a quite environment, say home or a cafe, these are great. They have their own internal 250mW amp which means you don't need to rely on the relatively weak power output of your smartphone for a nice, rich sound. And it is nice and rich, with great mids and highs, and very nice, deep bass. Whether or not it is "Audiophile" grade as advertised is a matter of opinion--when compared to my Sennheiser 650s it isn't, but compared to Apple headphones, or even some Beats, it wins hands down. Three cheers to the double-sided 50mm x 50mm drivers, Blue. The braided cables are also of high quality. These headphones also come with a 1/4" adapter, so you can plug the 3.5mm jack into a pre-amp. I used these with a Peachtree DAC (awesome!) and they sounded great. But ANYTHING sounds great through a Peachtree. The headphones also come with a nice carrying bag. Bottom line: if you like Blue's quality and aesthetic, you will love these headphones. They aren't the best audiophile headphones on the market, and their weight and other shortcomings don't make them my first choice (my Sennheisers still win hands down), but for a close-back, internal amp pair of cans, these are pretty nice.

The earcups peeled and shredded in 3 weeks after very light use. The battery life is horrible.