There is only so much a pair of headphones can provide. You have good audio, a respectable amount of bass, audible instruments, clear vocals and a good amount of battery life. Well, you are partially correct. There is a new pair of headphones on the market that offers something a bit more unique and atypical. I’m referring to the Sonic Lamb headphones which not only focus on delivering top-notch sound but double down on the delivery with in-built subwoofers, something that no headphones manufacturer is doing at the moment.
In this review, I’ll pen down my experience with the Sonic Lamb headphones over the course a few weeks.
The headphones come inside a very unique packaged box. It is made of cardboard and it contains the headphones case. The case is surrounded by what appeared to be hay or dry grass. ‘Eargasmic Experiences’ is what the box has imprinted on it (and I was inclined to believe it the moment I saw it).
The case has the headphones, AUX cable, charging cable and detachable microphone. The headphones already have in-built mics for calling but if needed, the external mic can be attached to the headphones for more clarity. Overall, the headphones seemed to be bulkier than their contemporaries.
On-ear headphones are more or less the same when it comes to the design. We have the drivers, the couplets, the foam and the bridge in between. Ergonomics plays a huge here as well. Bad ergonomics would mean that prolonged usage will be a problem.
I received the Obsidian Black variant with a two-tone design. For some reason, the dual colourway didn’t work for me. It lacked the premium aesthetic that it was probably aiming for. Aesthetics apart, the clamping force and height adjustment were more or less on point. The headphones are largely made of plastic and have a nice weight to them.
In terms of ergonomics, Sonic Lamb fits without any trouble. The headband as well as the couplets have ample padding which makes long hours with the headphones on a possibility. The volume and power button on the right side stuck out like a sore thumb. They didn’t seem or feel premium at all. With a price tag of Rs 16,999, one would expect something like controls to be of the highest quality. That, however, is not the case here. The placement if the buttons is also questionable.
On the left side, we have the USB C port, a connecting port for the external mic and a dial for the music mode. The headphones come with Bluetooth v5.1 and are compatible with SBC, AAC, aptX and aptX HD codecs. There is app support, no ANC and no wear detection in the Sonic Lamb headphones. One silver lining in this mix of things is that these can be used as wired headphones with the USB C cable provided in the box. The cable also helps with the latency while gaming or video editing.
This is where things get fascinating. The headphones house two drives, i.e., a dynamic driver coupled with an Impulse driver. The dynamic driver, as the name suggests, takes care of the overall audio by producing multiple frequencies. The latter, however, is what separates this product from other headphones. You see, the Impulse driver acts as a subwoofer. Using conduction technology, the Impulse drivers not only deliver bass that you hear, they also deliver bass that you feel. The aforementioned dial for choosing the mode gives you control over this driver. Hear, Feel, Immerse and Beast, are the modes available to choose from. At the time I reviewed this product, the Sonic Lamb app was not out yet so all I had in the firm of customisation options was this dial.
The Sonic Lamb headphones make themselves stand apart from other headphones very quickly and easily. The in-built subwoofers are a novelty that makes this product unique right off the bat. However, the headphones have their fair share of flaws and they are big ones. For starters, they do not have ingress protection which will be a huge dealbreaker for many as they cannot wear these to the gym or for a run as sweat damage is a big possibility.
The lack of ANC is another battle that the Sonic Lamb headphones need to fight in order to win sceptic customers over. Being priced at above Rs 16,000, ANC is something that is expected by default. Due to the lack of ANC, ambient noise can easily be heard. Truth be told, this was not as much of a deal breaker as I had expected. Despite the occasional noise, the headphones made up for it with a good sound signature.
The audio output in the Sonic Lamb headphones is good with ample bass, sweet mids and great highs. In case you feel you need more bass, simply turn the dial and choose a profile that suits your taste. For me, Immerse and Beast modes were the real deal. The bone conduction technology is truly something that has been a revelation for me. The overall experience using these headphones has been nothing but refreshing. The Impulse drivers are definitely the star of the show here. They manage to deliver solid bass without compromising the overall audio output. The Immerse and Beast modes are simply out of this world when speaking in experiential terms. They might be a bit too much for some people and lead to listening fatigue but that depends on person to person.
I tried to use the Sonic Lamb headphones for video editing as well and while doing so I came across a considerable amount of latency. This can be easily fixed by using the provided cable, however, I did not expect this kind of lag. This kind of latency was not present during gaming, though, which makes me believe it might be an Adobe Premiere Pro problem rather than a headphone problem.
The battery life on these headphones is impressive. On a full charge, these offer a playtime of almost 20 hours. It also depends on what mode you’re using the headphones in. Hear and Feel modes will offer a better battery life while Immerse and Beast modes drastically bring the playtime down. The headphones are fully charged within 2 hours via a USB C cable. The headphones do have in-built mics meaning that calls can be made without attaching the external mic which is provided in the box. Call quality is decent but it does suffer if you are outside. For a better calling experience, I'd suggest that you attach the mic.
A few things that I wish the manufacturer had worked on are the fact that there is no way of knowing which mode is in play at the moment. You can turn the dial but there is no announcement of the same. Additionally, the drivers take a little over a second to catch up to the dial. The control keys need some work if they want to justify Sonic Lamb’s price tag. Lastly, I really hope the second generation of these headphones comes with ANC and proper app support.
Are they worth it?
Made in India, tuned in Denmark and an aim to go global, that is what Rapture Audio Labs has in place as its motto (it appears) but does this product stand its ground given the hypercompetitive nature of the market?
For an MRP of Rs 16,999, these headphones are definitely overpriced. The fact that this is a first-generation product from an Indian startup does not make up for the flaws in these headphones. That being said, Sonic Lab headphones are definitely interesting thanks to the innovative technology that they make use of. More importantly, they are refreshing in a market that is saturated with similar kinds of products. You might also want to note that this product is competing with legacy brands like Sony, Sennheiser, Bose, JBL, Philips and Audio-Technica. They are targeting a very niche segment of buyers who prefer audio quality over everything and are not afraid to experiment. If you happen to be one of those, then the Sonic Lamb headphones make perfect sense.
