It can be a real dilemma trying to buy over-ear or on-ear headphones that work well for both sports use and non-sports use. Often the issue has to do with finding a pair of headphones that won’t fall off during more rigorous movement. Diskin thinks it has the solution, however, with the Diskin DH3 headphones.
But are the Diskin DH3’s really a good option for the sports-type? Or are they better suited to someone who just wants a pair of on-ear headphones? We put them to the test to find out.
Design
The Diskin DH3’s feature a blank metallic look coupled with a black foam around the headband and on the inside of the ear cups. On each ear cup you’ll also find the Diskin Logo, which is subtle and looks pretty good where it sits.
The build quality on these headphones is decent, but not spectacular. For example, some of the foam seems a little cheap, as do some of the plastic parts. Not that they’ll break easily — just that you won’t want to leave these at the bottom of your bag.
On the bottom of the left earcup, you’ll find an on/off button and volume controls, as well as a microUSB port. On the right earcup lives the aux jack.
In general the headphones look fine, but they’re a little boring. That’s not always a bad thing — many prefer a more subtle headphone look rather than anything flashy, but it is something to keep in mind nonetheless.
In the box, you’ll find the headphones themselves, as well as an aux cable and a microUSB charging cable. It’s a but of a bummer that Diskin didn’t include a case like it did with the DH2’s — especially considering the fact that these are aimed at portability much more so than the DH2’s considering their on-ear design.
Comfort
Despite the somewhat cheap foam choice, the headphones are actually quite comfortable. The Diskin DH3’s tend towards a harder clamp rather than a softer one, but that’s kind of the point of these headphones — they’re going to stay on your head even while you run. The clamp isn’t overly hard, either — just firmer than some.
Another great thing about the comfort level of these headphones is that they’re super light, and have a ton of padding on the headband.
Like any pair of on-ear headphones, these will get a little uncomfortable over hours of use — but if you wear these for an hour or two at a time, they’ll be perfectly fine.
Sound
A few days ago we reviewed the Sudio Regent on-ear headphones, which offered a decent design and comfort level, but lagged a little in the sound department. Are the Diskin DH3’s any different? Not really, but they’re far better for the price.
Let’s start with the bass, which is quite present in these cans. Kick drums shine through, and bass guitars are nice and clear. There’s even a decent amount of lower bass content — which bodes well for a pair of on-ear headphones.
The mids are a little bumpier. There’s a ton of low mids, and the headphones air on having too much low mid content — music ends up sound quite boxy and muddy because of it. On the flipside, there’s no where near enough high mids on these headphones, and as a result the vocals, guitars, lead synths, and so on are a little low energy.
Continuing with that theme, there could be much more high end content here. Cymbals don’t have much life, and vocals don’t have that clarity that they should. There are some high frequencies, but they’re just drowned out by the bass and low mids.
The soundstage on these is decent, but not great — they’re a closed-back pair, which is good for taking on the road, but the result is a slightly narrower soundstage.
In general, the Diskin DH3’s sound decent, but they won’t blow you away. Still, for the price the sound is quite good, and they’re more than good enough for taking on a run or to the gym — in fact, that’s what we’ve been doing since getting them.
Performance
The Diskin DH3’s offer pretty standard performance — nothing amazing, but nothing terrible either. The range is around 10 meters, or 33 feet, which is the standard for Bluetooth headphones, and the battery sits at 16 hours of playback time. That’s better than many other Bluetooth headphones, but not better than, for example, the aforementioned Sudio Regent headphones — which also came with at around $90 extra. In other words, the 16 hours is good for the price, but standard in general.
Conclusions
The Diskin DH3’s offer a mediocre design, build-quality, and sound-quality to match — but that’s totally remedied by the fact that they come so cheap. In fact, we would argue that for the price they’re the best on-ear headphones for sport that we’ve tried so far. These aren’t the best on-ear headphones around, but we like them simply because of their price point, and if you’re looking for a good pair of on-ear headphones to take running, then these could be the best choice.
| Store | Price |
|---|---|
 |
$69.99 |
| Diskin | $75 |
| Frequency response | 20Hz – 20kHz | Active noise cancellation |
No |
| Driver size | 40mm | Noise attenuation | Unknown |
| Driver type |
Dynamic | On-ear controls | Yes |
| Design |
Closed | Microphone | Yes |
| Sensitivity | 105dB | Earpad material | Foam |
| Rated impedance |
32Ω | Magnet material | Unknown |
| Total harmonic distortion |
Unknown | Water resistance | Unknown |
| Rated input power |
10mW | Battery life | 500mAh, 16 hours playback |
| Maximum input power |
20mW | Wireless distance | 10m (33ft) |
| Wireless connection |
Bluetooth 4.0 | Cable length | Unknown |
| Wired connection |
3.5mm | Case type | N/A |
| Detachable cable |
Yes | In-the-box | Charging cable, aux cable |
| Weight | Unknown | Colors | Silver/black |