EQUIPMENT REVIEW January 2017 (issue 143)
Base Audio Reflex G7 Headphones by Nicholas Ripley
The headphone market is in a constant state of flux. The old-school “big guns” (Beyerdynamic, Sennheiser, Sony) have been challenged, first by Beats, and more recently by smaller start-ups with maybe just one or two products targeted at a very specific market. So it is with Base Audio and its Reflex G7 headphones, one of just two designs (the other being a set of extremely affordable G8 earphones) in the comparatively new brand’s line-up.
Reflex G7 was designed from the outset to be an affordable, well made, semi-open-backed headphone design, using a lot of polished aluminum in the ear cup and head-band arms, and spring steel in the head-band itself. The grill opening the headphones to the outside world is a well-made convex mesh, akin to the cover on a Shure SM57 stage microphone, and is extremely resilient to knocks and scuffing. I’m sure using the grill as some kind of hammer will damage it, but in day-to-day use it will stand up to workday mistreatment well. It does make the Reflex G7 quite permeable to the outside world (although classed as a semi-open design, you can hear what’s going on around you when listening to music and the rest of the world can listen in on your taste of music), but its small, light, and sensitive enough to be a commuter headphone, just not the first choice for overcrowded and very noisy London Underground trains.
Base Audio’s transducer of choice is a single 40mm dynamic driver: there is no secret sauce to this unit, but Base Audio are not making public the materials and construction of the driver and there is no way of getting access to it without deconstructing the headphone in a dramatic way. It’s designed as a 30ohm impedance design with a rated power input of 40mW and a maximum of 100mW, so Base Audio is very much intending this design to fall into the category of being used with smartphones and low-power DAPs rather than demanding use with desktop devices.
“…headphones designed for the smartphone set that are also aimed at audiophiles.”
The supplied headphone cable (a high quality stiff braided no-tangle affair) is a 3.5mm TRS Y-cable, meaning it takes a stereo signal and passes to both left and right ear-cups. The headphone itself determines which is left and right channels, and this is described in the headphone band itself. This is one area that could be improved, as the marking denoting “left” channel is very hard to see (it’s a raised plastic “L” on the underside of the left headband terminator below the hex bolt, written in both roman capital script, and – as is too often overlooked – the three vertical dots denoting the letter “L” in Braille). There is no direct instruction on how to find this snippet of information on the instruction manual, so you might spend time scrambling around to try and find this every time you grab the headphones. A little dash of color or a more obvious identifier might be useful here (a tiny blob of red Sugru on the inside of the right hand headband terminator would be enough). However, the overall look is elegant, rather like designer Grado. The headband is made of soft black plastic that is not quite grained enough to be pleather, but is comfortable and never feels heavy or sweaty. The headphones pivot well on the aluminum arms allowing flat-pack carry, although they do not fold into the earphones to carry in a half-moon carry case. From a Euler-angle point of view, the headphone allows adjustment in the Z-axis but limited X and Y axis adjustment, but the aluminum arms extend well allowing the headphone to be easily accommodating on all bar the most hideous of head shapes. These soft foam black donut pads ( which are said to be washable in warm water, and are easily replaceable) help here too. In use, I found them extremely comfortable, even after hours of listening, and the balance of weight vs. solidity of build is just about perfect: they won’t break and they won’t break your neck in the process.
Although the market for high performance headphones has grown exponentially in recent years, it’s still relatively rare to find headphones designed for the smartphone set that are also aimed at audiophiles. Models by Bowers & Wilkins, Sennheiser, and Grado aside, many of the best enthusiast models are designed for home use and what hits the road is often lumpy and thumpy in the bottom end, thanks in no part to the success of Beats. This is
something of a double-edged sword for the likes of Base Audio, as many of its potential customers may have come from the Beats line and find the more neutral balance of products like the Reflex G7 too thin for their liking. However, the more they listen, the more they discover this sound is actually more accurate…. if they can get past the initial sonic hurdle.
” As an enthusiast minted long before the Beats Generation, the Reflex G7 is easy to like. The headphones go for the refinement option”
As an enthusiast minted long before the Beats Generation, the Reflex G7 is easy to like. The headphones go for the refinement option, with an accurate, even-handed and extended treble, an open midrange, and a taut, precise bass. This comes across well with tracks like “Mera Kuchh Saaman’ [Kronos Quartet, A Thousand Thoughts, Nonesuch], where the atmospheric interplay of Middle Eastern and European instruments blend together seamlessly. It is at its midrange that this album is at its most expressive and expansive with a sophisticated and complex mix that extends into the bass and treble from there. And it’s the midrange of the G7 that is the first thing that strikes you, because it is so effortless and enjoyable. That effortless combines well with the open-backed nature of the headphones, placing the music in your environment, rather than isolating you from your surroundings. This is a particular, but in fact extremely attractive, aspect of the headphone presentation: sounds around you are not heavily attenuated by the Reflex G7 (it’s no noise canceller that’s for sure) and the sounds from the headphone appear to fold into the outside environment, and the result is both extremely natural and relaxing. Of course, this has two side issues: if you want absolute silence in your background, get used to listening in some very quiet environments, and if you listen to music in the family room, be prepared for the family getting a little upset at hearing some of your music, too. That being said, the amount of leaked noise is less than many Stax models and is about as noticeable as the leakage you might get from a pair of similarly priced Grados.
I keep coming back to Grado because in some respects, the Reflex G7 look, sound, and perform like a Grado design, extensively redrawn for the 21st Century. They have the rhythmic “bounce” of classic lower-cost models, but without the distinctive character of some of these designs, and have the openness and transparency of more upmarket models. That’s virtually the best of all worlds. And yet, for all this, the Reflex G7 is no Grado clone, as it has its own characteristic sense of mid-range honesty and extension.
OK, let’s be honest here, the Base Audio Reflex G7 are good headphone, keenly priced. They are not giant-slayers. No-one who knows their way around a pair of truly top-end headphones is going to think about trading them in for a pair of Base Audio Reflex G7. Focal’s Utopian design team can sleep safe at night, and MrSpeakers isn’t going to become MrOutOfWork and day soon because of the presence of the Reflex G7. I’m sure the Base Audio folks would beg to differ, but the reality is they are very, very good open headphones that go mano e mano with the likes of Grado (an obvious competitor) and walk out of that fight with their head held high. If you are in the market for a pair of headphones at anything between about £250-£500 – for both domestic and/or portable use – the Reflex G7s muscled their way into a very contended market on sound quality alone.
Using British-grade understatement, I’m rather fond of the Base Audio Reflex G7 headphones. They tick many of the audio enthusiast boxes of neutrally and bass precision over bass impact, but without incurring the audiophile price magnifier that so often affects our world. That makes them more than worth checking out. +
Memorial Day: Base-Audio G7 Reflex, Made in America
By Sade Spence – May 30, 2016
http://majorhifi.com/
Happy Memorial Day! We couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate than dish a few details on these new Base-Audio G7 Reflex headphones, Made in America. Looking to make an affordable and great sounding open-back headphone, Base-Audio created the G7 Reflex. The open-back headphones are of an aluminum chassis. Initially going for a wooden build, Base-Audio selected aluminum for its comfort, weight, and durability. The open netting of the ear cups are made with a filtered nylon bezel insert. The fairly young company modeled the open-back ventilation system after musical instruments in hopes to elevate sound reproduction.
The headband is lined with lightweight materials and padded with memory foam to ensure wearer’s are comfortable during long listening sessions. The ear cups are precision adjustable, which I am assuming means they rotate left to right to adapt to the wearer’s head shape. The actual ear cushions look to be made of a soft spongy-fabric or possibly the same memory foam from the headband.
Base-Audio is proud to assert that their headphones are made and assembled in the United States. The Southern California company was founded in 2014 by Joe and Mike who have a combined 40 years of development and manufacturing experience between them. That being said, Base-Audio promises their cans – with an impedance of 32ohms, operating off of 40 mm dynamic drivers – should deliver “open-air acoustic balance and clear signature” and a “spectacular audio experience” across a frequency range of 10 Hz to 40,000 Hz. The headphones will retail for $300. Orders are expected to ship in June.
Reflex G7 Headphones • Base Audio > GEAR & TECH > Reflex G7 Headphones • Base Audio
Zach@EDC4EDM.com May 25, 2016 GEAR & TECH
As men, we have principles. Sometimes, these principles can be mistaken for stubbornness (something I’m still trying to explain to my wife), but alas, they make us who we are. As the classic Aaron Tippin song goes, “…You’ve got to stand for something, or you’ll fall for anything..”. The folks over at Base Audio stand for a few things; among them quality sound, construction, and pride in providing for their community.
The Reflex G7 Headphones are their first product (in what we hope to be a long line of future products), and are the embodiment of these principles. We all know the ever-popular headphones Beats by Dre, and despite their [in my opinion] cheap components and poor construction, we continue to throw money at the company (in the neighborhood of $300 for base models up to $1200 for special editions). Further, the ridiculous mark-up and profit margins on their made-in-China headphones has been widely reported for years. If you’re curious, check out this article by Bolt Blog which catalogs each component, breaks them down by price, and even compares them to a set of counterfeit Beats (spoiler alert, the two are nearly identical!).
All this to say, as a principled guy, I despise being taken advantage of and can’t bring myself to spend hundreds of dollars on something that won’t even outlive my Smartphone. Thankfully, Base Audio is reading from the same page of music and takes pride in their product and their community. The G7 headphones are constructed using quality materials and precision components – think aircraft grade aluminum, durable 3- pole cables, and REPLACEABLE memory foam ear pads – that promise lasting durability. They are also designed and assembled in the United States, which may take a hefty chunk out of their profit margins, but it supports the community that made their product possible. Else? Unlike their competitors, they spell out exactly what you’re getting for your money by providing each and every specification from the transducer to the frequency response range. See the full specs and to pre-order your own.
T.H.E. Show Newport 2016 – Irvine, USA
Written by Brent Butterworth
Parent Category: T.H.E. Show Newport 2016
Created: 03 June 2016 T.H.E. Show Newport 2016: Affordable Headphones at a High-End Show?
Since it moved to the much nicer venue of the Hotel Irvine last year, T.H.E. Show Newport has become one of North America’s more important regional hi-fi shows. The show’s website says that the show will feature more than 400 manufacturers. I walked some of the show yesterday during the press preview. Many of the manufacturers were still setting up in preparation for weekend crowds, but that didn’t stop me from noticing the first trend of the show. To my surprise, the most interesting thing I noticed during the first day was the introduction of several shockingly affordable new headphones. It’s especially surprising after I spent so much of the first day listening to speakers costing more than $10,000 USD per pair.
The first of the new headphones I encountered cost $300, which doesn’t seem all that inexpensive until you look at the aircraft-aluminium construction and learn that they’re made in the United States. The Base-Audio Reflex G7s are a semi-open-back design styled a bit like Grado headphones, but with softer ear pads. The ear pads are washable, the headband cover and cables are replaceable, and the earpieces fold flat for easier transportation. To my ears, the Reflex G7s definitely sounded like they were voiced for audiophiles, with clear and present treble and well-controlled bass. In other words, kind of like Grados.