While beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, I defy anyone to call Gibson's new line of premium headphones ugly. If anything, they’re probably the best-looking pair of cans from CES 2015.
From every angle, both versions of Gibson's drool-worthy headphones drip with luxury, including polished metal accents, baby-soft leather pads and hand-polished ear cups that are constructed of from the same wood Gibson uses to make its guitars.
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The two models consist of the smaller SG on-ear models and the larger Standard over-the-ear headphones, with optional customization for selecting your choice of wood, leather, metals and even mother-of-pearl inserts for a pair of truly unique headphones. Also, despite an appearance that recalls the 1950s, these headphones feature modern conveniences such as magnetically attached ear pads for easy cleaning and your choice of connectors: standard 1/8-inch, Lightning or Bluetooth.
In my tragically short time with Gibson's cans at CES, I could barely tear myself away from the detailed stitching and supple leather ear pads that feel even better than they look (and that's saying quite a bit). The headphones even come with an exquisitely crafted box, which alone would be enough to incite jealously in many gadget-obsessed fans.
Unfortunately, my listening experience was impacted by the music in Gibson's booth. Midtones sounded especially crisp, and the bass was strong without becoming distorted, but the noise bleeding in from outside the open-eared cans made determining their true audio capabilities impossible.
Gibson was cagey about pricing and release information, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see prices in the $500 range, with customized models coming in above that.
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Sam Rutherford is a Staff Writer at Tom’s Guide. Follow him @SamRutherford on Twitter, and Tom’s Guide on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.
