Meters OV-1 Headphones Review

Meters OV-1 Pros&Cons

Pros 

  • Decent ANC
  • Comfortable padding
  • VU meter looks cool

Cons 

  • Overly bassy
  • Distortion with EQ feature
  • Quite large

Meters OV-1 Specs

  • Impedance: 32Ω @ 1kHz
  • Driver size: 40mm
  • Frequency response: 20Hz~20 kHz
  • Sensitivity: 94dB / mW
  • Cable length: 120cm
  • Weight: 380g

Packaging 

Meters Have done a pretty good job with the packaging for the OV-1. They’ve gone for a full colour printed scheme, clearly putting a lot of emphasis on that VU meter. The lid opens from the side by pulling away the magnetic closure flap. Once the lid is lifted, we’re greeted with a list of specs, another large image of that VU meter, as well as the instruction manual and warranty card. Lifting the middle divider reveals the hard carrying/storage case as well as yet another box which contains the various cables.

What’s in the box?

  • Meters OV-1
  • Hard storage/carrying case
  • Stereo cable
  • Stereo cable with in-line mic and remote
  • USB charging cable
  • 1/4″ adapter
  • Sticker
  • User guide
  • Warranty card


Accessories 

Other than the hard carrying/storage case and additional in-line remote equipped cable, Meters really didn’t include anything extra with the OV-1. This isn’t poor form or anything like that though, but a set of replacement earpads would’ve been nice. That’s not too much to ask given the near-$380 asking price, is it?

Design

There simply is no getting around it, the OV-1 is a far cry from being a sleek and compact set of headphones. They’re clearly designed to make a statement and have their presence felt.

The earcups are definitely on the larger side in comparison to other headphones. The diameter of each earcup is fine, but it is with how much they stick out that they set themselves apart.
Of course, this is at least partly due to the OV-1’s star feature, the inclusion of functional VU meters in each earcup.

Meters markets this as a safety feature for parents which can be used to monitor the sound level and to ensure that their kids aren’t blowing out their eardrums. But, let’s be honest, it’s more of a novelty feature. We don’t see many “kids” being interested in the OV-1. Sure, its a totally functional novelty (so not exactly a gimmick), but not very useful for most people.

The left earcup houses the stereo cable and micro-USB charging ports, as well as the 3-way switch.

The switch allows you to select between off (middle position) in which case there is no EQ-boost or ANC (active noise cancellation) trickery going on, where as the EQ position (up) enables the EQ, and finally the ANC position (down) enables the ANC functionality.
In order for the VU meter to work this switch must be in either the up or down positions. This is an odd design-choice, as it essentially means that you cannot use the ANC or EQ functions without engaging the VU meter as well. Moreover, the VU meter lights up, which means that it might become a source of annoyance on a dimly lit flight if you choose to use the ANC function.

The headband also exerts a higher-than-average amount of clamping force, but due to the soft earcup pads and headband pads, this clamping force does not feel uncomfortable, even after prolonged listening sessions.


Sound

Test Setup
Source: Shanling M2s
DAC/Amp: IFI Micro iDSD Black Label

As much as we’d absolutely love to say something along the lines of “despite the gimmicky VU-meter feature, thankfully the OV-1 is actually a really good sounding set of cans”. Unfortunately, this simply isn’t the case.

This is something we see all too often with headphones that offer some or another gimmicky feature – the sonic performance is pretty much always sub-par.
With the switch in the middle position (off), we get a sense of the OV-1’s “vanilla” sound. The OV-1 just exhibits that typical “consumer grade” sound of bloated bass and a lack of clarity. The sound stage is also quite narrow, and overall the tonality seems dark and perhaps a bit hollow. It also offers relatively little instrument seperation, often resulting in a rather “smeared” sound. This was very apparent when playing something like Melissa Menago’s Little Crimes, where there was a total lack of presence and distinction in her usually sweet and warm voice.
The guitar notes also felt quite hollow and lifeless.

Of course, if you’re a fan of a bassy sound, then the OV-1 may very well fit the bill for you, but care should still be taken. The EQ switch simply seems to be a bass boost….a pretty bad one.
As if the standard sound wasn’t bloated enough, the EQ switch makes things considerably worse. There’s just so much bass, it simply spills into and veils the mids, which results in a pretty darn congested and muddy presentation. But the real problem is how easily the OV-1 distorts in the EQ switch position.
Play anything that already has a powerful bass line (Daft Punk’s Get Lucky, for example) and you’ll soon find out how easily the OV-1 distorts. The bass just overpowers the rest of the frequencies, which forces you to want to turn up the volume in order to try and hear the rest of the non-bass frequencies, and this of course then leads to the distortion. And this is simply trying to get the volume up to a “comfortably loud” level, not an earth-shattering level. Honestly, this “feature” is so poorly implemented.

Putting the switch in the ANC position results in some half-decent noise cancellation. Actually, sonically, this seems to be where the OV-1 exhibits the most “balanced” signature. Yes, the bass still hits hard and deep, but it’s certainly not as bloated or obnoxious as in either of the other 2 modes.

 

Overall, sound quality definitely is not the OV-1’s strength….you could perhaps even argue that it is it’s greatest weakness.


Value
 

Value-wise the OV-1 is pretty difficult to judge. This will depend largely on who buys the item. If, for example, someone is looking for a bassy set of headphones which also features active noise cancellation, and does it all with a bit of a nostalgic flair – then the OV-1 does make sense.
However, the primary function of a set of headphones is to provide the listener with a personal audio experience. As such, given the unfortunately poor sonic performance, the OV-1 does seem to be more of a fashion accessory rather than even a good sounding set of headphones. As such, the $350 price tag does seem to be a bit much when you consider the fact that you could get much better sounding headphones (with ANC) from the likes of Audio-Technica, V-Moda, and even Bose for the same amount, or even less. No, they won’t perhaps look as cool, but the OV-1 does seem to have put form over function almost entirely.

Read: V-Moda crossfade 2 Wireless Headphones Review

 

Rating

The TECH MERIT rating system is designed to take as many aspects of the device into account as possible. As such, we have a basic rating, as well as a final rating. The basic rating rates the product purely as a high quality portable audio device, and is generally a good indicator of how it stacks up to its rivals in terms of standard features and specs. The final rating, however, grants bonus points for any extra features and specs that aren’t quite as common, and is a great way to judge the product as a complete package.

Packaging
Look and feel: 6 / 10

Included Accessories
Protective case: YES

Build
Quality control: 9 / 10
Seems durable: YES
Microphonics: 9 / 10
Comfort: 8 / 10

Sound
Relatively balanced signature: YES
Soundstage: 8 / 10
Detail retrieval: 8 / 10
Sibilance: 9 / 10
Instrument separation: 8 / 10
Isolation: 9 / 10
Hiss: 9 / 10

Portability
Small size: 6 / 10
Relatively low power required: 7 / 10
Weight: 8 / 10

Value
Competitive price-point: YES
Relative value: 8 / 10

Basic Rating: 8.1

 

Bonus points
Removable cables: YES
Number of cables included: 1
Premium cables: –
How premium the case looks and feels: 6 / 10
Battery life above 8 hours: –
Bluetooth: –
Apt-X: –
Volume/remote controls: –
Metal body: –
Premium look and feel: –
Use of exotic materials: –
Bluetooth connection quality: –
1/4” adapter included: YES
Cable management: –
Aircraft adapter: –
Extra earpads: YES

Final Rating: 8.6 

 

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