As a runner, I learned that a good pair of earphones is an essential piece of equipment. I have yet to find such a pair, but that's a topic of discussion for a separate post.
I was presented with the opportunity to review, or as I like to call it, give my honest to goodness opinion about Flips. So always willing to oblige, I agreed. The fact that someone was asking for my two cents worth on a matter such as this was impressive enough, so without asking many questions, or much further to do, I waited for the Flips to arrive.
I remember thinking that I wasn't sure how I was going to do this. After all, my blog has been dedicated to the world of endurance sports, not product evaluation, specially products not directly related to my sport. But I was up to the challenge and my mission was simple: honestly and thoroughly report my findings. I can do that!
The package arrived in no time. The box design was very impressive. I work in a business where plate presentation is ever so important. Flips have an awesome plate presentation. I could not wait to put my hands on the product.
I wasted no time. Turned on my iPad and plugged them in. Put them on my head, around my ears, turned on the music and... WOW! What was that I was hearing?! "Impossible" I thought. Not from these things. So I took them off and read more about them. Curious, I was, I wanted to know what the "flip" thing was all about. Once I figured it out, I plugged it back in to the iPad and turned the music back on. Again, WOW! all that sound coming out of these things? My wife and daughters who were sitting around the table immediately stopped what they were doing, and I could tell by their reaction that they too, were impressed.
But this was just the first impression. Would this last? Would I be turned into a Flip wearing, Flip loving enthusiast? Only time would tell.
I have since plugged them into my computer, watched some videos and listened to some music. I have never heard sounds so crisp, so clear. I often play classical music as I work, this allows me to concentrate. I could have never imagined that a pair of headphones would allow me to get lost into the music the way I have done since the arrival of the Flips. One of my favorite composers is Robert Schumann. His piano works are truly genius. Wearing the Flips I hear things I had never heard before. I found myself mesmerized. I remembering listening to each note in ways I have never heard it before. Not much work was getting done at this point. I was impressed.
But I was not done yet. Next came my iPod Shuffle. Yes, that tiny, little bitty piece of noise producing device that runners wear as they put on the miles. The pure sight of this inch square gadget hooked up to these headphones was if anything, a bit comical. But the results were not any different. If even for a second, I remember thinking how cool it would be if I could wear this while on my runs. If someone could come up with a device that I could wear while running, that reproduced music the way the Flips do, I will buy it! Just for the record, however, I will not be wearing these to run. This is just not right.
Curiosity bit me again. I plugged the Flips into my phone. I have an htc droid. Yes, you guess it... sound was impressive as well. I don't use my phone to listen to music, but I know a whole lot of folks do, so try it, I did. And loved it as well.
The last thing I needed to test was the "speaker" feature of the Flips. I turned the headphones over, plugged it in to my iPad again, and once and for all, I was sold. The volume on the iPad was at a level lower than 25%. It was enough that I could hear it all over the house with no distortion. Amazing.
I am not going to get into all the technical aspects of the Flips, for I really don't understand and really, it does not matter (to me). If you'd like to know all these, you can go to their website at www.flipsaudio.com.
One thing I do not do when reviewing a product is visit a website or search for information about the product so that I am not influenced by other's opinions or manufacturer's claims. With this in mind, I asked myself how much I would be willing to pay for the Flips. Somewhere around $200 is what I would expect the price to be.
When I found out that the going price for these is only $120, well I was SOLD!
I have secured for the followers of this blog a sweet deal from Flips. If you order, via their website, your pair before July 16, 2013, you will receive $10 off your purchase plus you will get free Rush Shipping Upgrade. Enter code: FA0010INT
(Disclaimer; The author, that being me, has not received nor will ever receive monetary compensation for reviewing, errr. giving honest opinions, about any product and that includes any sales which may occur through links attached to this or future blog post.)
