-Hi, I'm Justin Yu, headphone editor of CNET.com.
This is your first look at the Soul by Ludacris SL300 headphone.
This is the flagship model of the soul line of headphones created by Ludacris and they are designed to compete with the Monster Beats by Dr. Dre headphones in price and in features.
So, they mimic a lot of the same features of the beat studio 2 stuff like powered noise cancellation, a fold up design, and their $300 price tag.
So, let's take a look at how they matched up.
The SL300 comes in 2 colors.
This is the black and white version, but you can also get a gold version.
The big difference between these and the Monster Beats by Dre is the integrity of the belt.
So, taking a look at these, the Beats feels really flimsy and they tend to creek when you flex the plastic around the hinges.
In contrast, the SL 300 feel much more solid and durable, which is equality important when you're listening to music or just have that hanging around your neck.
So, when you try them on though, you will notice minimal contact points on your head, but all the touch points do have ample padding that's underneath the headband and on the ear cups themselves.
That's if you wanna wear them over a long periods of time, they are gonna be more comfortable than the Beats.
On the left ear cup, you will notice a small power switch here that turns on the active noise cancellation, but there is also another place where they differ from the Dre.
The SL300 can still play music even if you happen to lose power, although there is gonna be a noticeable
drop in sound quality since the equalizer boost only works if you have the isolation gauge.
Anyway, it's a really useful feature when you don't have another set of double AA batteries and 1 pair is included to get you started.
So, soul gives you plenty of accessories like this hard protective case.
You get 2 flat better changing style cables, one with the microphone and remote on the wire and another simple straight design cord and there's also another quarter inch adaptor to plug into mixers, receivers and more.
So, how do they sound?
Well, as with all active noise cancelling headphones, they boosted equalization only appeals to fans of hip hop, rock, house, dubstep that kind of thing since there's a noticeable base hum that's supposed to simulate the sound of a subwoofer and those beats.
So, if your main concern is sound clarity, we do not recommend your pick this up.
Even still though, the lively treble players and boomy base are more controlled than at these headphones, which feels staggered and all over the place.
The isolation is also great if you're playing and listening to music on the street,
but they also leak a lot of sounds.
So, be careful when you listen to these in an enclosed space unless you don't care that others can hear your music playing.
So, these headphones are absolute suitable for blocking out side noise and if you enjoy more controlled low in with ambient isolation, we do recommend these headphones over the competing models like the Beats by Dr. Dre from Monster.
So, you can read all the details in the full review on CNET.com, but that is gonna do it for me.
I'm Justin Yu.
You just took a first look at the Soul by Ludacris SL300 headphone and that sounds good to me.
