Pioneer SE-A1000

Who's It For

Audiophiles

No. Audiophiles won’t like their bass being distorted. Otherwise, the A1000s would be a good pick for them.

Portable User

No. These headphones really aren’t portable. First, they’d require you cramming a wad of cord in your pocket that’s about the same volume as a soda can. Second, they do a rather poor job isolating outside noise, and keeping your music to yourself. Third, they’re big and loose-fitting; when you walk around, they slide on your head a bit. We wouldn’t recommend the A1000s to any commuters.

Airplane Traveler

No. As with Portable Users, Airplane Travelers won’t like these headphones because they don’t block out ambient noise. You’d have to turn up the volume a lot, which would just leak out and annoy those around you.

Home / Office Use

Yes. This is where the A1000s belong. Their cord makes connecting to your system easy, as it can be located almost 20 feet away from wherever you’ll be relaxing. The loose-fitting design is ideal for watching movies or other extended listening sessions, since your head won’t feel squeezed after a while (of course, you also can’t toss your head around much).

Conclusion

Overall, the Pioneer SE-A1000s are above average headphones. They offer good audio quality, great cable connectivity, and are the perfect kind of comfortable for movie marathons. Their only real places they lost points are in areas like portability, and they won’t be the best at playing back distortion-free bass. Other than these minor qualms, we think the A1000s are a great choice at $200, as long as you’re looking to use them in a home theater environment. If you want portability or noise cancellation, the A1000s shouldn’t be on your list. While we would recommend checking out the A1000s, they aren’t the best-performing or least-expensive set of headphones out there for home use. The Sennheiser HD 555s are a slightly better deal, but you’d have to sacrifice some of the A1000s quirky aesthetic appeal.