Meters OV-1-B Connect: Off-the-hook Design, Lousy Performance

I really wanted to love these headphones.

- By Adam Patrick Murray

Meters Music, an Ashdown Engineering brand (fave. co/3sqDa7W), has taken the W iconic analog VU meter and embedded one in each earpiece of its $350 OV-1-B Connect Bluetooth headphones. Visually, these noise-canceling headphones are a sight to behold, with an industrial design you won't find anywhere else.

VU meters (the acronym stands for volume unit) are a physical representation of an audio signal level; as such, they play an important role in professional sound capture and playback. As used here, they simply lend a retro design flair; after all, you can't see the levels while you're wearing the headphones unless you're looking in a mirror. Unfortunately, however, the OV-1-B Connect's subpar audio performance fails to live up to that exciting industrial design.

Big and bold VU meters!

DESIGN

Ashdown Engineering is famous for making superb amplification for countless musicians-bass players in particular.

When it comes to the OV-1-B Connect, the hardware is the focal point. Apart from the illuminated VU meters (more on those in a sec), the Connect are solidly built and look great. The aluminum and plastic body isn't as heavy as it looks, and the faux leather cups and upper band are soft, with plenty of padding. I think these headphones look great from any angle and offer a unique style compared to all the standard black ANC headphones on the market today.