JBL J88A Wired HeadphoneBlack, Over the Ear

I was looking for a headphone every now and then but wasn't sure which one I should go for. A friend (neya) suggested these headphones and they seemed really well quality built. The price on flipkart was amazing at the time I ordered(not saying it is not right now ) and the super cool flipkart serviced delivered it promptly to my door. The packaging was well done. I was extremely impressed. It was a big package. Kudos to flipkart for that. Now about the headphones - Extremely well built, Extremely comfy, awesome ambient sound, damn good clarity, bass might need some burn-in time but I am already feeling the bass surrounding my ears with ease and love. I'd rate this product 5 stars as so far I couldn't find anything wrong with it. If I stretch myself to write something negative about it then it'd be that the wire is a tad shorter. But that can't affect its overall brilliance after few adjustments. EDIT (After almost 1 year of use) - The padding of the headphones came off and so did the cushions. I used the headphones rarely so this was a big disappointment. I am decreasing the rating from 5 to 3 just coz of this fact. JBL should really focus on the quality of their premium products. What a bummer.

Well, before I start the review, I'll just give you a list of Headphones, Earphones, IEM's that I've heard till now (owned): Stock Samsung/Nokia/Apple earphones Sennheiser HD 180 Philips SHL 5002 Sony MDR-XB30EX Sony MDR-XB400 Sony MDR-XB90EX HP H2300 Sennheiser PX 100-II and of course JBL J88 So from the above list you can see that I have owned and tested out a wide variety of headphones/earphones of various companies as well as various designs. But I won't bias my review to any particular set of headphones. So I'll just make a list of Pros and Cons of the JBL J88: (Before using any headphone, it's very important to burn-in the headphones for 30+ hrs (just play you music playlist for 4-5 hours at 60-70% volume for 4-5 days) as out-of-the-box, these headphones lack the BASS) -> Pros: 1) Amazing Music clarity which is a must for enjoyable listening 2) Good balance between the Lows, Mids and Highs which takes your lsitening experience to another level 3) Good for almost all genres of music 4) BASS is tight and punchy but not overpowering like in the Sony XB series so the sound is on the brighter side rather than the warmer side (More focus on Treble than Bass) 5) Extremely comfortable to wear and you might forget that you're wearing them on your head after some time :D 6) Good noise isolation and minimal sound leakage so not a bad option to wear in noisy as well as quite environments 7) Extremely good build quality as the materials (plastic+aluminium) used are of premium quality 8) Nice stylish brushed aluminium finish on the top of the Headband, the headphone adjuster and on the outside of the earcups 9) Flat, non-tangible and detachable cable which is the best part for durability 10) Nice inward rotating earcups along with JBL Carry bag (Velvet Finish :)) -> Cons: 1) Not for Bass Heads who want BASS to dominate the music 2) As the sound is slightly on the Brighter side, these can get fatiguing over a period of time especially if you prefer a warm signature in sound 3) During summer season, your ears might sweat after an hour or so of use as the inside material of the earcups is made of leather material. 4) Not that portable even with the folding design 5) You might look a little wierd after wearing these headphones as these are HUGE So all in all I'm extremely satisfied with my purchase as these are by far the best closed-back headphones that I've heard till now. The noise isolation, sound quality and comfort all in all make up for a beast of a headphone. Some might be put off with their size but mind you the sound more than makes up for it. And of course you get the brand name JBL to go along with these headphones. And flipkart service as always ROCKS! So all the music lovers out there, if you want the best closed-back headphones in this price segment, then look nowhere else and buy these headphones as you'll not be disappointed. But make sure to burn-in these headphones before you arrive to any conclusions. Final words: "Believe in the Truth"

These headphones are NOT for people who use them regularly. Its been 6 months since i got them, the sound quality is great but the padding around the ear will come off within the first 3 months of purchase. when u spend around 4000 on them u don't want such quality issues. They are for people who can maintain them like trophies or something probably. When u spend 4k its better to look for something more better quality. The worst part is the whole padding around the ear is stuck with glue so no matter how good u are at maintaining it, the padding will come off at one point of the time. The Sound quality is amazing that's the only reason i gave the 2 star rating. So, if u tend to use your headphones a little rough the JBL J88 is not for you.