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Pioneer SE-A1000 Headphones Review - Intro

By Mark Brezinski
Published on May 19, 2008
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Intro	Tour & Design
Performance	In Use
Value & Comparisons	Conclusion
Ratings & Specs

The Pioneer SE-A1000 headphones are on-ear headphones intended for use in a home theater setup. To help facilitate such an environment, the A1000s come with a very durable cord that's almost 20 feet in length (6 meters). The cord itself is wrapped in a fiber knit, which should protect it from getting stepped on, rolled over, or from other dangers that come from sprawling across a living room floor. Also, the A1000s come with a 1/4-inch plug, which should help them fit into higher-end setups.

Unfortunately, like the Sony MDR-DS6000s, the Pioneer SE-A1000s don't do well outside of their indigenous zone. Even when wrapped up, the cord is bulky and annoying to have to lug around. They aren't the best at isolating their wearer from external sounds, which means taking these on the morning train will accompany your playback with an unwanted layer of noise. Further, the A1000s tend to leak sound like crazy, which will let everyone on the bus know your entire commute is spent listening to the Friends theme song on repeat.

The Pioneer SE-A1000 headphones are priced at $199.99 and are available on Pioneer's site.

Section	The Good	The Bad
Tour & Design	They have a very interesting aesthetic.	Their aesthetic can only be pulled off by a very specific audience.
Performance	The A1000s do most things well.	Bass is distorted, lets a lot of music leak out and even more outside noise in.
In Use	Very comfortable, really long cord.	Loose fit can cause it to slide around when moving. This plus the long cord makes these headphones unfeasible for portable users
Value & Comparisons	These headphones aren't a bad deal, and offer a unique look with good performance.	There are a few other options that can do better for less money.

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