I just tested these headphones powered by vacuum tubes — and they sound incredible
I am entrapped by my social media habits, I’ll admit. I find myself often scrolling for hours on my discover pages, skipping past video upon video of some new set of earbuds.
But one day, my attention was grabbed by an ad for some headphones. These headphones to be exact — the écoute Vacuum Tube headphones.
I’m going to take you through my time with the headphones and detail my experience as it evolved through my use — and how they match up against the best noise-canceling headphones.
écoute Vacuum Tube: Where can I get a pair?
Let’s start off with the normal review fare — where to find them and how much they cost. At the moment, you’ll only find the écoute on the écoute website, where you can buy them for $799. That price includes the very nice protective carrying case, and a charging cable.
If you want to step up your listening experience, you can grab one of the coiled cable options. The oxygen-free copper cable costs $40, and for most wired listening its going to be fine. For those looking for a more premium experience, there’s the $130 single crystal cable — and it’s lovely.
The best way to grab that at the moment is the $849 audiophile bundle, which contains the headphones, the case and the crystal cable.
That makes them more expensive than most of the competition. That’s $250 more than the AirPods Max, $400 more than the Sony WH-1000XM5 and even more still than Sennheiser’s Momentum 4 ANC cans.
You’re looking at a luxury headphone here though, made out of premium materials and boasting some very unique sound.
Are they expensive? Yes, absolutely. Are they worth it? Oh, yes they are.
Getting started
My copy of the écoute headphones arrived in a very well-packaged box. From there, there was a cardboard sleeve around the olive-colored carrying case. Immediately, I noticed the size of the case. It’s big, and square, so popping it in my bag with other stuff was already going to be a slight problem.
This is an attractive pair of headphones with a modern retro vibe. Then there’s the piece-de-resistance: a vacuum tube inside, similar to the kind you’ll find in an expensive HiFi amp or a guitar amplifier.
But with that size comes a classy look and a rugged feel. While it might not fit in my bag as easily, I’m not worried about the headphones inside getting damaged by the other contents of my backpack. There’s space inside for all your spare cables, and a comfortable slot that the headphones fit in perfectly.
The écoute headphones inside feel amazing in hand and on head. You can see where that hefty price tag has come from. The earcups are made of metal, only the outer panels consist of plastic. The buttons are firm and clicky, but not obnoxious.
The earpads and the headband are thick and plush, with plenty of memory to make sure they don’t give way too easily. The ‘Satin’ color in person is lovely too. The olive fabric is pretty, and the metallic earcups contrast nicely.
This is an attractive pair of headphones with a modern retro vibe. There are hints of seventies Hifi throughout, from the round buttons to the circular earcups. Then there’s the piece-de-resistance.
Turning the headphones over in my hands, I found the unique selling point of the écoute headphones. There’s a vacuum tube inside, similar to the kind you’ll find in an expensive HiFi amp or a guitar amplifier. Only this one is really, really small. Or petite. if you will.
Time to listen — and smile
So already, I was taken by the build and the way that the headphones feel in hand — but I wanted to see what that vacuum tube could do. I slipped them on my head, and got started.
First off, these are not a light pair of headphones. They weigh 14 ounces, more than even the AirPods Max. But thanks to their comfy padding, they don’t feel too heavy while wearing them.
Getting them connected to my phone was easy enough — turn them on, find them in the Bluetooth menu, and get them connected. From there you can select a turn from your favorite streaming service and get listening.
I started my musical écoute journey with the Tammiest track that ever did Tammy. Cattle Decapitation’s Bring Back the Plague got me started, and I was initially taken aback.
I’m not sure what I was expecting from the écoute headphones, but there was part of me that was thinking they’d be very bassy. I thought that the added vacuum tube would bring extra warmth to the table in the form of more bass. My experience was different, however — in the best way.
The distorted, crunchy guitars were thick, and girthy, but didn’t overstay their welcome in the low end. The bass isn’t boomy, instead showing a great deal of control that made the whole affair feel sharp and tight. These are a warm headphone, but they don’t rely on extra bass.
The top end is great, with plenty of detail for cymbals and rides. It’s the mids that take center stage though, lending great depth to guitar parts and vocals. I finished my Cattle Decapitation session with a smile on my face — c’est bon.
How good is the noise cancelling?
My first journey out with the écoute headphones was over a sunny day. I was off to the zoo — and to get there, I had to take the bus. The perfect time to listen to my tunes on the écoute headphones while out of the house.
The headphones feature a form of ANC, and for the most part, I found that it blocked out the sounds of the bus and its inhabitants reasonably well. Écoute calls it “Active hybrid noise cancelation,” the idea being to block out noise without affecting the sound of your music.
It mostly succeeds in its task. The music doesn’t really change all that much with the ANC turned on, although it doesn’t reach the noise-blocking abilities of the likes of Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones.
There was a crying child on the bus to the zoo, and the little tykes’ moans didn’t disturb my peace.
Getting onto the bus I also got to give the transparency mode a go. Buying my ticket, I hit the ANC button so that I could what the driver was saying.
Given that the button for the ANC is the same shape as the power and multifunction button, this was more annoying than I’d hoped, but the transparency mode worked well enough that I could buy my ticket without taking my headphones off.
écoute Headphones battery life
On my trip, I was going to be away from home for a good few hours, and using the headphones for big chunks of the day. My bus journey was 1.5 hours long, and I would be wearing the headphones throughout my zoo trip.
I spent 6 hours at the zoo, and I barely spend a moment with my headphones off. That’s around 9 hours of battery life, plus the juice when I used them in the evening.
By the time I went to bed, after my trip to the zoo, I had racked up around 12 hours of use. The battery life claim on the écoute website says 20 hours at maximum volume
I listened at mid-volume with ANC on, and by the end of the day, my headphones were at around 48 percent — I’d say 23-22 hours of use isn’t out of the question.
I’d say 23-22 hours of use isn’t out of the question.
Now, that’s not quite up to scratch with the likes of the Sony WH-1000XM5, but it’s plenty if you’re going to return them to a charging cable at the end of every day. It certainly got me through a day of looking at Lions, Penguins, and exotic lizards. Or Lézards. They were green.
Getting comfy
So I’ve had my initial impression of the headphones, but I wanted to get a really good idea of the sound quality of the écoute headphones. How do they sound when I really sit down and listen to them, and what does that vacuum tube do?
I think it’s best to describe the écoute as ‘indulgent’. They won’t blow you away with a big, pounding bass line, but they’ll give you a treacly warmth that’s imminent pleasing to listen to.
The Vacuum tube is a part of the pre-amp of the headphones, and it warms up the signal before it gets sent to your ears. It’s not identical to the kind you’ll find in retro amps, mind you, and that means there are some key benefits.
The first is that it doesn’t get hot. I did find that it needed a couple of minutes at the start of a listening session to start to take effect (although this could be all in my head. Or my tête.), but it never got hot.
The second benefit is that you don’t need to change it out for a new one, as you might with a traditional vacuum tube.
The sound, at the end of the day, is the most important part of the headphones, and with a pint of Guinness in hand and my most comfortable seat in the house, I sat down for a couple of hours of critical listening.
I span up Cult of Luna’s A Greater Call to get started. The mids-weighted headphones did a great job of spacing out the instruments and giving plenty of space to the different elements of the track.
The picked guitar lines dance between the moments of synthetic mirk, before giving way to the heavy riff. It’s thick, it’s heavy, and like every good glass of something naughty, they’re sugary and sticky.
I think it’s best to describe the écoute as ‘indulgent’. They won’t blow you away with a big, pounding bass line, but they’ll give you a treacly warmth that’s imminent pleasing to listen to.
If you’re an instrument player you’ll really like the emphasis they put on the guitars and the vocals. Drummers might not like the slight backseat that kick drums take.
I wanted to see if that sweetness made its way over to other genres. I got The Highwomen’s Highwomen going, and was treated to an expansive, all-enveloping experience of southern lilts and country guitars.
The acoustic guitar line sounded spectacular like the guitarist was sitting right next to me. The drums were slightly pushed back in the mix, but overall, the écoute took me to a different place when listening critically.
Daily useability
While testing, I used the écoute headphones as you might use any others. That means taking calls — and while they’re perfectly fine for a quick call to your mom on a Sunday, I wouldn’t use these headphones for work calls or important online meetings.
The microphone is fine, but it’s not quite up to scratch for more professional applications. Granted, this is the same for pretty much every wireless headset out there, but it’s still worth mentioning.
Calling outside was fine although when calling my sister we did find that some wind noise made it through to her side of the call.
I enjoyed controlling the headphones though. Where everything now has some form of touch control, the écoute headphones have a series of buttons. There are three on the right earcup, and the outer panel of the cup is a flat control with a button on each side and the top and bottom.
Working out which button on the earcup you’re pressing does take a moment, but muscle memory soon kicks in. I like the control scheme, and everything you could ever need is right there. I never found myself wanting for buttons.
Should I buy a pair?
I’ll finish by asking you a question. What do you want out of a pair of headphones? If you want a pair that sound fine, cost under $600, and block out all the noise on your daily commute, then there are plenty of the best noise-canceling headphones that fit your needs at a range of different budgets.
If, however, you’re looking for something that offers a unique sound profile and an interesting extra feature in the vacuum tube, then the écoute headphones could be just what you’re looking for.
They cost a lot, but they feel in hand worth every penny. They’re comfortable; they look good; they offer a package unlike the majority of their competitors; and they have a unique charm all their own.
I love the écoute headphones — and if you’re anything like me, with a love of audio and how it can change your perspective on the music that you listen to, I think you will, too.
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