AC/DC Headphones Revealed

AC/DC are the latest rockers to release their own brand of headphones.

The band gave their blessing to German company On.Earz, who are also releasing official pairs of Elvis Presley and James Dean headphones under their 'Legends Series' brand.

Each pair will be available for $99 when they launch in the coming months.

Motorhead worked with the company Sandberg And Brand to release a line of nine different headphones with smartphone integration last week, fittingly titled 'Motorheadphones'. Lemmy appeared at a tech convention to promote them, and said they had been designed to enhance rock music.

"We told them what to do very specifically," said Lemmy at the time. "And we threatened them with terrible violence if they didn't get it right, so I'm sure they got it right."

The trend of artists releasing headphones was started by Dr. Dre who fronts the 'Beats by Dre' headphone company, which is preparing to branch into the music streaming market this year.

Comments

[JMZ08]

There's more mention of Motorhead in this article than AC/DC still, I think the headphone branding is getting a little out of hand. Nevertheless, good on them!

[-Retro-]

For me, I just am super hesitant on buying a pair of headphones that have a band labeled on them. I like Motorhead, and I would love headphones designed for rock, but I'm not one of those people who wear Motorhead leather jackets.

[AcousticMetal99]

Yup! It seems to be the new bandwagon. Personally, I would always go with what is best reviewed, fits my needs best and will sound best for what I like. It's nice people are creating headphones more for rock now, but at the same time...
Not to mention, the design looks almost exactly the same as he Motorheadphones (I mean, look at the stuff the ear-shells are made from... both look like ABS). They just have sparkly studs...

[llBlackenedll]

While I totally agree that the headphone branding is out of hand (and personally I wouldn't buy them), I still think that "Motorheadphones" is an awesome name.

I just bought a pair of Sennheiser Momentums (note: not musician branded) and they sound awesome. Also think they look pretty great, and they're made of really good materials. Musician branding is just a fad and a cash in - they may as well capitalise on it while it's popular but I see the market getting saturated fast.

[scottco86]

i think 99 dollars would be better spent on an AC/DC CONCERT TICKET than some stupid headphones - ridiculous.

But i guess i should buy them as my 15 dollar headphones arent "designed to enhance rock music" - i guess i am screwed and stuck listening to my crappy earphones, i wonder if my earphones cut out certain giutar parts or thumping bass drums....i guess i will never know

[Dude475]

Its almost as bad as paying $150 for beats headphones or those ones by fifty cents...

[Camron62\m/]

i know EXACTLY how you feel bro haha.

[llBlackenedll]

To be fair, spending a lot on headphones is worth it if you care a lot about the sound quality. Not everyone cares to the same degree, and that's fine. Personally I like to be able to hear everything possible in my music and I've noticed since getting really good headphones that I can hear things in songs that I've listened to hundreds of times that I've never heard before.

The problem with these branded headphones is that a $99 pair of musician branded headphones won't sound as good as $99 headphones whose sole purpose is to sound good.

[Obama FTW]

99bucks?! Ain't nobody got money for that.

[BlackDeath92]

Audiophiles do.

[Kueller917]

There's most likely better headphones for the same price or lower though.

[ISimplyFallenI]

Likely better than beats that's for sure

[BlackDeath92]

That doesn't really say much. Beats have terrible sound quality and are WAY overpriced! I'd buy just about any other headphones before Beats.

[Grif22]

Depends on how you define sound quality. For an audiophile, or many more "traditional" music listeners, they gain the most enjoyment from knowing what they hear sounds as close to what the artist recorded as possible. Often people who buy Beats headphones, and think they're great, want to feel like their world is shaking with the bass.

I think it's a little silly to assume that in an electric recording environment there is an objective point where tone and sound coloration MUST end. For some people, it's at their instrument, for others at the amplifier, for more at the microphone, or the master tape. Why not just accept it as an arbitrary decision, and try not to have a problem with people who prefer to add one last tweak to the tone before it hits their ears?

[BlackDeath92]

I see your point, but disagree. Being an audiophile (and probably a bit biased), cranking up bass does not equal sound quality. If I had a low bit rate mp3 file and jacked up the bass in the EQ settings of my mp3 player, do I have instant "quality sound"? I say no. It's not a faithful reproduction of the sound the artist intended and therefore defeats the purpose of listening to the artist.

[BlackDeath92]

No doubt dude. True audiophiles will spend MUCH more than $99 for a crappy set of Chinese made headphones. Within the $100 price range though, there are still better options.

[llBlackenedll]

$99 really isn't a lot for headphones, if they're really good. As others have stated though, chances are there's much better options for that price.

[TimLarkin]

I wouldn't pay 99 cents, let alone 99 dollars, for these pieces of junk. AC/DC should just retire, they're embarrassing themselves.

[PoorePlaysBass]

I like finding your comments, Ballbag. Really, my day isn't complete until I find all of your work on UG for the day. Again, I don't completely disagree with you haha

[vppark2]

or you should, ya know, just retire from trolling...

[TimLarkin]

Why would I do something silly like that? I'm half of the entertainment value of this website!

[PoorePlaysBass]

Truth. Enjoy your trolling or not, sitting back and watching the people bite on it is hilarious.

[Camron62\m/]

is that your only purpose here? you entertain me with your lack of sense, that's pretty much it.

[TimLarkin]

You entertain me with your tiny penis. Go **** a goat.

[introvert10]

Nothing better to do then troll on UG = Lowest common denominator = you

[vppark2]

wait till one of the mods reads this

[Camron62\m/]

i don't roll that way, not interested in goats and penises like you.

[Dude475]

The next pair of headphones that are most likely to happen are either iron maiden or slipknot!!!!

[llBlackenedll]

Iron Maiden headphones clamp too tight, Slipknot ones lead to asphyxiation.

[turkeyjerky214]

You'd think at this point in their careers they wouldn't need trick their fans into wasting their money on stuff like this.

[False_God]

Just another stupid over priced trend. God knows people can buy better quality for the same price without the stupid label of an artist on them.

[TheWarpRider]

@scottco86

Yeah, your do $15 headphones suck. You are clearly very far away from audiophile land if you think $15 headphones are doing what you listen to justice (probably on 128kbps mp3 too).

These ones will suck too considering you're most likely paying mostly for the name.

[anvil is god]

Ugly as all hell.

[Kinths]

How completely pointless, It's a shame to see so many of these bands "selling out" there's merchandise and then there is trying to make a quick buck and deceive your fan base.

[jonthomas83]

I'm holding out for Abba headphones.

[colosalblack]

waiting for them to release the AC/DC toaster

[Vabolo]

I'm waiting for them to release the AC/DC coasters.

"Have a Drink on Me!"

[Camron62\m/]

lol nice

[Gee Halen]

Spinal Tap headphones?

[BlackDeath92]

I'm kinda surprised that Metallica hasn't jumped on the bandwagon yet.

[kmister]

They have 'ties' in other places at the moment

[wspeed6]

F*ckin A. Here we go, now everybody is gonna wh0re out their name on headphones.

[nailsarecruel]

Waiting for King Crimson headphones to enhance my prog rock listening experience.

[Crim_Graveyard]

*cough cough* motorhead *cough*

[stickman31]

Meh

[OJ12]

Looking forward to it

[MattCox12345]

Next there will be an AC/DC dog food, and when it runs out it'll be a "Dog Eat Dog"

[Taupe]

Why? Just why? They are good at making music, not headphones.. Let the specialists do that..

[the_elements600]

I've been an AC/DC fan for years, of all the bands to make something as ridiculous as this, I never thought AC/DC would be one of them. Go join Dr Dre and 50 Pence. Poor effort lads, poor effort.

[arnolddrummer]

I wish they had interviewed one of the members like they did Lemmy.

[Kueller917]

This is getting ridiculous. Is releasing band headphones gonna be the same like making band t-shirts now?

[acdc3666]

Haha what sre they supposed to do in the digital age they gotta make money somewhere...
Just because someone sees an opportunity to make some cash everyone on here accuses them of selling out and whatnot. If you dont like em dont buy em.

[iommi600]

I bet it will have a dead short if I try to skip a song.

[--ESTRANGED--]

I dont get the sudden headphone bandwaggoning. Its all just to make a quick buck on a fad that will fade quicker than it appeared. Save your bucks kiddos, buy some proper cans.

[Calymos]

ATHM50s

Just saying, 50 bucks more and they don't give you coloured sound...

[ne14t]

Ugh these people need to come back with these $300 headphone when they have BOSE producing them and they are actually worth that kind of coin, otherwise you are just paying out your arse for a Band name. At least these ones are priced fair at $99

[AcousticMetal99]

Think it's probably going to still be more branding than quality at that price.
And you don't need to $300 headphones to have great quality. There are some great things out there with prices come down a lot, especially now. That said, Bose do make amazing audio equipment.

[Mauer5555]

These seem to be regular headphones with the name and studs stuck on it. As stated they are releasing "James Dean" headphones, so...)
The Motorheadphones are balanced for rock music, as the Beats are bass heavy for hip-hop and stuff like that.
In my opinion, if you plan on spending money (over $100) on headphones or earphones, just go with a good flat response "monitor" or "audiophile" type of cans, this way you will not end up busting your eardrums and you will get the real sound out of your music.

[lextexrex]

On.earz is a company that's gotten mediocre reviews on all their headphones and has a new line of headphones called Swagg. All signs point to no.

[NIN1993]

I'd buy these over beats

[llBlackenedll]

While I totally agree that the headphone branding is out of hand, I still think that "Motorheadphones" is an awesome name.

EDIT: OK this was supposed to be a reply to the top post, something odd going on with comments.

[pillarocka]

The bottom left of the box looks like it says boners...

[Mike Quall]

seems like something you'd buy at walmart for $10

[oneblackened]

Apparently the MotorheadPhones are actually pretty good for the money.

[GenerationKILL]

The Beats headphones are great.

AC/DC and Motorhead are legendary artists, but nobody can capture a sound better then one of the best producers of the last 30 years, dr. dre. Lemmy seemed to be trying to make Dre out to be an amateur when it came to his headphone EQ...

Before everyone gets their panties in a knot, just know, this is only my opinion.

[oneblackened]

Tell me, have you listened through a good pair of headphones - say, Audio Technica M50s?

[ding ngaihte]

are these gonna sound better on ac/dc songs??

[b_flo]

If you want great sounding headphones, see what most audio engineers are using. Shure, Sennheiser, Sony and Denon are common. I'm currently using Shure SRH440-$70. For in-ears, Ultimate Ears are still the industry standard. You can go on Youtube and checkout Dave Rat's (1 of the most respected and innovative live audio engineers) test on headphones.

[baumaxx1]

Why? It would make much more sense to buy headphones from a hifi company than fashion and band branded ones. More sound quality for your buck instead of paying unnecessary "brand" fees.

edit... why did that post there?

Anyway, dunno about Sony and Denon in the consumer market... never really found them to be well priced here, but add Audiotechnica, Beyerdynamic and AKG. Brainwavz and Soundmagic are also solid for in-ears.

[plbrynt]

Headphones are not Rock and Roll..
Massive Speakers, structural damage and angry neighbours are.

[saint_berzerker]

Stupid.

[weezergeek182]

I think my cheap headphones that are held together by ducktape are more r&r than $99 Ac/Dc headphones. people blow money on so much crap they don't need.

[iscreamicecream]

ugly design...i'll keep my 99