Design and features:These headphones can be used wirelessly with Bluetooth devices or can be cord connected. When cord connected they have high sensitivity so they can provide satisfying volume levels when used with lower-powered portable audio devices. The SonicFuel ATH-AR3BT has an integrated microphone and volume, music player function, and call connect/disconnect controls for use with paired Bluetooth devices. Additional features include NFC Bluetooth pairing and earcups that fold for ease of storage. This model comes with a detachable 51-inch long audio cable with built-in mic and answer/music player control button for iPhone/iPod/iPad and smartphone use and a USB charging cable.
Sound quality: We found the SonicFuel ATH-AR3BT delivers sound quality that falls in the good range - it reproduces music and voice reasonably well despite the obvious shortcomings in its sound. The overall sound can be summarized as somewhat bassy and muffled. Bass (as in bass drums, bass guitars, stand-up bass, etc.) has good impact and goes fairly deep, but is somewhat prominent and boomy. The midrange (voices, guitars, horns, etc.) is hazy, has a slight plastic resonance (something like what you would hear if you talked into a semi-rigid plastic cup), and is a bit congested (think sonic traffic jam), dark (there is an opaqueness that covers up fine detail), and overwhelmed by the bass. The treble (cymbals, the upper range of violins, etc.) is sizzly (sounds that should have a delicate shimmer have a sound reminiscent of bacon frying). While the sound has a good sense of liveliness it is closed-in (sound-wise it is obvious that you have something covering your ears). There was no significant difference between Bluetooth and wired sound quality.
Comfort: We found that these headphones produce a sense of moderate pressure on the ears; even so, the headphones will tend to shift forward if the user leans far forward when wearing them. As typical of on-ear models the ear pads might feel hot and/or sticky after prolonged use. When wearing this model while walking the vibrations from each foot step can be heard through the headphones by some users.
