I was surprised to be given something new to review, headphones! Now I can usually be found at my desk during the day with a pair of in ear headphones rocking Pandora or Google Music. I’ve stuck with the same ones for going on 5 years now so I’m pretty much a headphone kind of guy. Today I’m looking at the Nokia Purity HD WH-930 on ear headphones.

Design

Nokia sure loves spending that little bit of extra time in the design department. From their phones, netbook (remember that?) to these headphones, man they release some down right sexy devices. Nokia partnered with Monster which is also behind the Beats by Dre brand. I was shocked at first to see the two names together but I think it’s been a successful partnership.

In Nokia’s famous modern minimalist approach, Nokia has done well designing the 930′s. Featuring solid shiny plastic pieces with brushed aluminum accents, they feel very solidly built. The headphones are designed for backpack duty by being able to fold into themselves for protection. All of the joints are that same brushed aluminum featured elsewhere and helps it feel very solid when folding the headphones.

The most important aspect of over the ear headphones are the ear cups. The Nokia Purity 930′s feature very comfortable ear cups that aren’t too tight and covered my ears perfectly. Also Nokia’s partnership with Monster payed off in the cable department it seems. The 930′s feature a flat tangle free design that is pretty impressive. This is a feature I’ll be looking for in my next pair of headphones. The 930′s come with two different cables for connecting to your 3.5mm plugs. One cable is a simple 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable and the second cable has the same connectors but Nokia added volume up/down and mute controls to it. Also they feature media playback controls but these did not work with any of my devices.

Sound Quality

The one thing I love about in ear headphones are the passive noise isolation. This helps to eliminate the background noises but also it helps to clear up the sound from listening to such a small speaker. The Purity WH-930′s do a very good job at isolating noise and the sound quality coming from their rectangular ear cups was surprisingly good. The bass was solid and very rich without distorting. The mid to highs were very clear and pronounced. I didn’t hear any crackling as I found myself turning up the volume many times to just enjoy the smoothness.

Conclusion

So at the end of the day are these something I would buy to use everyday? Yes. Being able to fold up to throw in my backpack or use the included carrying case is awesome for headphones this big. Sound quality is on par with what most would expect for a pair of headphones at this price range. They are a bit on the high side at $199 from AT&T and other online retailers.

Jeromy Lukenbaugh

My name is Jeromy Lukenbaugh and I enjoy consuming tech news like an addict. I’m lucky to be able to be able to write about some of it here. I also maintain my own blog at Lukenbaugh.com and you can also find me on Twitter.