When it comes to the OV-1-B-Connect’s noise cancellation, I’ve been up and down in terms of how I feel about it. Given the price, there are immediate expectations – and if you’re looking for Apple, Bose or Sony level of performance, then sorry, but no dice. That’s not to say it isn’t effective. Trying out the OV-1 with the noise-cancelling turned on – since that’s how most people will surely use them – I started out as usual with something soft and acoustic. In this case it was Horse Feathers’‘House With No Home’ (CD-quality FLACs). 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. Ensure your phone supports aptX HD before getting too excited, though. Both ends of the chain need the feature. The stream will revert to the highest quality standard common to phone and earphone. The Meters M-Ear Bluetooth are a lot tauter-sounding than the SoundMagic E10BT. To some ears, this may be interpreted as being “less warm”. Many like a warm headphone, but in avoiding excess low mids and upper bass, the Meters are much less likely to sound congested, or to confuse complex arrangements.

I’ve never had an issue removing normal earphones from my ears, but these loops should help avoid putting to much stress on the cable. They have to withstand years of being bunged in and pulled out all the time, after all.If you’re in search of wireless ANC headphones that make a bold statement to those around you, the Meters OV-1-B definitely fit the bill. But perhaps more than any other headphones I’ve seen, your money will be going toward what others get to see, instead of what you get to hear. The Meters M-Ear Bluetooth need to sound great to counteract the design issues. They sound good, but aren’t best-in-class. On the left earcup is where all the action happens. Swivel the cup a little away from the metal-alloy arm that holds it and you’ll find a three-way switch. The middle is for bog-standard passive headphone use – no battery required – while down is for noise-cancelling and the top is a powered EQ setting. The latter was presumably an excuse for giving the option to have the meters lit up when you don’t want the ANC turned on. 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.

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. 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 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. They come with a 3-meter detachable cable with a 1/8-inch plug plus a 1/4-inch adapter. Images of Ashdown’s signature VU meters are printed on the side of each earcup. Meters OV-1-B Jamaica Soundsystem Artist Edition Ashdown EngineeringThe 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. 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!

The noise-cancelling itself is reasonably effective, and not as harsh as that of some ANC headphones. The company touts the headphone’s accurate sound reproduction in a studio environment. They feature 50mm drivers with an audio frequency bandwith of 16-20,000Hz and maximum power input of 200mW.

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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 design is collapsible but the earcups don’t fold flat. They do swivel slightly for some more maneuverability when affixing the Meters to your head, and ‘affix’ does feel like the right word given their size. There’s a hard carry case for keeping them safe from scratches, too.