One of the newer names out there that you may not have seen before is Oblanc. They are jumping into the market with headphones for gaming, music, cell phones and other products. One of their most recent items to hit the shelves are the NC2 line of U.F.O. themed headphones. The NC2 headphones are designed to be used with games, music, or listening on a mobile device.  All of Oblanc’s gaming headphones have a futuristic or alien theme to them, which in my opinion look very cool and it’s refreshing to see something new. The different models come with some unusual shapes, as well as colors and features. Today we will take a look at the NC2-2 (black and silver) model and see how the headphones will stack up against many other models and designs out there.

Product Name: Oblanc NC2-2 U.F.O 2.1 Professional Headphones

Review Sample Provided by: Oblanc Technology Co. Ltd.

Written by: Ryan Croussore

Pictures by: Ryan Croussore

 

Specifications

Acoustic Design	Dynamic, Closed Back
Frequency Response	20Hz – 20KHz
Driver	40mm - 32 ?, 30mm 32 ?
Speaker Sensitivity	116db SPL (1mW) @ 1KHz
Total Harmonic Distortion	<1% 1khz="" 0="" 775v="" p="">
Maximum Input / Output power	200mW / 40mW
Microphone Size	4.0x1.5mm
Microphone Sensitivity	-58dB (0dB=1V/pa)
Connector	3.5mm 4-Pole Gold Plated
Cable Length	47" (1200mm)
Earpad	Leatherette

Packaging

Upon receiving the box from Oblanc I noticed a very nice sized, yet unassuming fancy yellow package. One the front you get a peek at the U.F.O.s contained within. Half of the front is black while the rest of the box is in the fancy yellow color.  On the right side of the box you get another look at the headset, the left side if the box just mentions the product name. Then on the back you get all the specifications and features. These sections have also been translated to some other languages as well.  

After opening the box I was presented with a nice warranty pamphlet with an Oblanc rubber key chain tag.  Below the warranty card were two cables that are included with the headphones.

The first cable is the 3.5mm Mic/Line Audio Cable for connecting the NC2-2 to your headphone and mic ports on your computer.  The second cable is a mini USB cable; we’ll get to its usage later.  

Next up, the headphones are contained in a nice velvet-like plastic packaging, perfectly molded to fit the U.F.O.s contained within them. The molded package looks as nice and professional as the headphones themselves. Removing them was a snap after pulling out the headphones and cable that is connected to it.

The headphones have a cushioned leatherette ear pad for comfort while listening.  The ear cups are made of a shiny black plastic that that goes around the ears. Towards the headband you'll see a flat black design with silver mesh finishing out the ear cup. An Oblanc logo is displayed on the ear cup as well as a nicely inlayed logo on the headband. The headband is matte black with a wide metal band in its interior. The metal band can be revealed when adjusting the height of the headband. I will say that the wide metal band is a nice touch, showing that these were designed with durability in mind. At the top of the headband is another leather cushion for comfortable wear.

On the bottom of the right ear cup you will see a mini USB port. This port is used with the included mini USB cable to charge an internal amplifier inside the headphones. Although having to charge the headphones was a bit different for me. The 10 hour listening time is good for several music listening sessions.

Over on the left ear cup with you find a silver button for turning the headphones on and off. There are also two rollers, one for volume control and a separate bass control. The bass control is nice as the headphones have two separate speakers in them. The first is a 30mm driver for highs and mids. The other is a 40mm driver designed for extra bass boost. 

Audio Quality and Comfort

Comfort

After looking at the deluxe leather ear pads on these headphones I was expecting some pretty extreme comfort. The first few wears proved to be very comfortable up to about the 45 minute point. The problem is for me the headphones kind of squeeze against my head in such a way that it can take some getting used to. I believe the headphones are starting to break in a little now and I can wear them for longer without discomfort. I have a smaller head size/hat size so my guess is that the snug fit on the ears is to aid in noise cancellation. It does a pretty good job of cancelling outside noise; however that is not one of the listed features.

Audio Quality

When I switch from another headset over to the NC2’s I can instantly notice a large boost in the low end, thanks to the rechargeable amplifier. If I set the bass adjustment roller to about 50 percent, it will add a very nice amount of bass. If turned up to 90 or 100 percent it is an all on bass onslaught. This can be fun for certain songs and genres, but for most use it’s best to dial it back a little.

Heart Shaped Box – Nirvana

This song in my opinion has a great mid rage sound and it’s a rock song that I have heard thousands of times. I was actually able to pick out little guitar plucks here and there that I had not ever heard before. Excellent quality sound on this song.

One More Night - Maroon 5

I like this track because it not only has really clear highs and vocals but there is a punchy bass in the rhythm. The headphones really reproduce the sound of this song well. When I turn the volume up it’s just as enjoyable as jamming it loudly in your car or home stereo.

Viva La Vida - Coldplay 

I really like the arrangements on this song and that is one reason I like to use this track to test headphones with. You get a symphony of sounds and chimes and a bouncy low end. I enjoyed the sound out of the headphones on this track showing how versatile the headphones can be with different genres.

Bone Thugs-N-Harmony - 2 Glocks

This is one of the songs I have always liked for the nice groovy bass used in the song. These headphones sound great with the bass turned up and this track really shows off how much bass the headphones can produce.

In Game  

I tested the headphones with Call of Duty Black Ops 2. I must say that I love the sound of the game when using these headphones.  You get a nice realistic sounding boom when grenades go off and machine guns are blaring all around you. I used the ‘Headphones’ selection in the sound settings of the game.  I would recommend to anyone to try these in game. In my opinion they will sound similar to much more expensive headphones and headsets on the market.

Microphone

The microphone is built in line with the headset cord. You can press in on the microphone area to take a call if you have it connected to your mobile device, press again to hang up. The microphone itself is of standard audio quality, so it’s mainly for just for voice calls and basic chatting. 

Overall and Final Verdict

Oblanc may be a newer company, but the quality of these headphones really shines. If you are looking for a set of headphones that are built well, have a unique look, and can give you a fair amount of bass then these headphones may be for you. The need to charge them does come with some adjustment but if you are using them at your pc it’s easy just to plug them in a USB port when not using them. Also with the retail price of $129.99 these headphones really challenge the much more expensive sets that are available today. Oblanc has really made a nice product with the NC2-2 and I look forward to seeing other products from them as well.