Designing your own headphone sounds like a lot of fun, right? We had to design and test the 3D printed headphone by Dotts. The designing part was a lot of fun, but what about the sound of this Dotts headphone?
Design your own headphone
For years now I am bowled over by headphones. By now, I have already been worn out- and collected a lot of different types. But an own designed headphone was still missing in my collection. Of course I was thrilled to be able to design my very own headphones via Dotts!
Right now you can choose between three types of headphones; two of them offer wireless Bluetooth connection possibilities. After picking your type of headphone at the Dotts website, the designing part starts. You can choose between nine different colors for the four different headphone elements. What about red shell and a black headband? There are a lot of combinations possible, it almost made me greedy for more.
My completely black design is maybe a bit dull, but it does fit most with me. What another fun perk is in the design ability; you can engrave your own name in it. Obviously I have TechGirl engraved in mine! <3
Choose your own comfort
The days that I spend my whole day with my headphones on, are over. However, I still love to wear my headphones for several hours. So comfort is very important to me. I always choose Over Ear headphones so that the headphone won’t rest on my ear. To make your Dotts headphone comfortable for you, there are three different ear cups, On Ear, Over Ear around and Over Ear oval. You can also choose what kind of padding you like the most; black or white standard leather or sweat resistant for when you like to wear your headphones during training.
Printed and continue to improve
Dotts is a company that listens very well to their customers. The first 3D printed headphone I received needed some improvement, so they worked on that and send me a newer one. When I received the new 3D printed headphone I was a bit worried about the comfort, but it all happened to be fine. I have worn the Dotts headphone regularly since and they are very comfortable.
The headband of hard material isn’t painful on the head at all. Not even after wearing the headphones almost the whole day. The main reason for this is probably the light weight of the headphones. The Dotts headphones are well designed and in addition; they work with an up cycling system. When you are in need of new Dotts headphones you don’t have to pay for a whole new product. The dotts company rewards you when you send your old Dotts headphone back for them to recycle, so you don’t have to pay the full amount.
Connectivity through Bluetooth
The Dotss headphones with Bluetooth have a different way of ‘first pairing’, but after that the connectivity via Bluetooth works very well. You can answer phone calls with the buttons (which they have improved). I can just walk around and do my groceries shopping while listening to my favorite music. Turn the music up or select a new number; everything works via Bluetooth connectivity and the buttons on your Dotts headphone.
The battery of the Dotts headphones are good. I’ve been wearing the Dotts headphones for a couple days now without charging them again. The battery can run for 40 hours without charging!
Enjoy the music
Designing your own Dotts headphone is by far the most special feature of this new headphone. But we mustn’t forget about the sound of the 3D printed headphone. Normally I listen to a lot of different music with a penchant for metal. To test the headphone properly I have been listening to Pink Floyd-Time, Paul Kalkbrenner-Sky and Sand, Nina Simone-My baby just cares for me, Queen-Bohemian Rhapsody, Disturbed version of The Sound of Silence, Rammstein Donaukinder-and a number of other songs.
In this I noticed that sometimes with changing a number, there is a small tap you can hear. As if the switch from song to song was too much for the speakers in the headphone. The Dotts headphone has a bass range from 20 Hz to 8 kHz and treble of 17 kHz. Which is pretty well considering it’s price. The sound was not as full as one of my more expensive headphones but that was to be expected.
Conclusion
The ability to design your own headphone is a great concept that is still in its early footsteps. Dotts works very hard to improve their products and with the Up scaling service they deliver a nice product. Next to that, the product is environment friendly. The Dotts headphone is a nice gift especially since you can engrave your own name or tag in it. I’m very happy with my black Dotts headphones.
This article was written by Sam van der Venne, she is an editor for TechGirl Netherlands.