When you think of top-tier headphone manufacturers, Blue might not be the company you first think of. Indeed, as an audio engineer, Blue is more associated with microphones than headphones. But that could change. We recently took a look at the Blue Ella headphones, which passed our tests with flying colors. Those headphones, however, came at a cool $700 — not a price the average person is willing to spend on a pair of cans. Thankfully, Blue also has a few pairs of more budget-minded headphones on offer — like the Blue Lola headphones.
In fact, the Lola’s are Blue’s cheapest headphone offering, coming in at $249. But do they keep the quality we saw in Ella? We put the Blue Lola headphones to the test to find out.
Design
The Blue Lola headphones keep an almost identical design to the Blue Ella’s, at least when it comes to shape. The same alien look is present here, and we have to say, it’s a pretty interesting design — and one that we quite like. The large, metal frame-type design is, according to Blue, modeled after a Formula 1 racecar, and when you look at the headphones, that makes sense.
What is different about the Blue Lola headphones, however, is the color scheme — and to be totally honest we actually liked the color scheme of the cheaper Lola headphones a little more than Ella. In the standard black color, the Lola’s look extremely sleek and stylish, even though it could be argued that they’re a little more boring than the Ella’s. The white color choice looks quite nice too, although certainly a little more poppy and a little less sleek.
In the box, you’ll find the headphones themselves, a soft carry case, a standard 3.5mm audio cable, a shorter 3.5mm cable with in-line controls, and a 3.5mm – 6.3mm adapter. It’s a nice slew of accessories, and there’s really nothing missing here. While the carry case is a nice addition and should help guard against scratches, you’ll want to keep in mind that it’s not a hard case, and the headphones should sit safely at the top of your bag rather than under any textbooks or other heavy objects.
The only real downside to the design is that the headphones are pretty bulky — these are definitely stay-at-home style headphones rather than a pair of ultra-portable cans, although considering they’re headphones that will live at home, the extra bulk shouldn’t be that big of an issue.
In general, we think the Blue Lola headphones, like the Ella’s, look great. The black color scheme is super sleek, and they come with a nice set of accessories.
Comfort
Like the Blue Ella headphones, the Lola’s feature a nice crop of padding on both the earcups and under the headband — which is necessary considering the fact that they’re quite heavy. To be sure, they’re not as heavy as the Ella’s, which come with a built in amplifier, but they may as well be, still coming in at a hefty 397g, or 14oz.
Let’s be clear — the Blue Lola headphones aren’t the most comfortable headphones around, but considering their bulk they’re not bad. The top of the headband tends to get a little uncomfortable after long periods of time, so if you’re looking for a pair of cans you can wear for hours on end, you may want to tread lightly.
It’s also important to note that the leather on these headphones is nice, but it tends to get hot pretty easily. That will bother some more than others — but it’s something to keep in mind.
Sound
The Blue Lola headphones may not have as deep and powerful sound as the Ella’s, but they certainly don’t sound bad. In fact, at this price point they sound quite good.
Let’s start with the bass, and while it could be a little deeper and extend into lower territory, it’s still quite present. The hip-hop fans among us might prefer something with slightly more boosted bass — these are targeted more at accuracy rather than boosting certain frequencies. Still, as mentioned, it would be nice if the 50mm drivers pumped a little deeper sub-bass than they currently do.
The mids in the Lola’s are quite well tuned, offering enough emphasis on things like strings and guitar when needed without overdoing it.
The high-end is probably the most problematic frequency range for the Blue Lola’s. While there are plenty of the lower highs, the headphones lack a certain crispness that you would expect from Blue’s other headphones. That’s not to say that the highs are badly tuned — they’re not. But slightly more upper highs would have been welcome here.
The soundstage on these headphones is quite good, and they don’t distort easily, which is helpful for those that like listening at louder volumes. On top of that, they seem to do reasonably well at blocking outside noise, which likely has to do with all that padding around the ears.
In general the Blue Lola’s sound good — but at this price they sound great. Sure, nothing’s perfect, but when you reach into the sub-$300 range you risk running serious compromises, and Blue seems to have evaded that possibility.
Conclusions
The best thing about these headphones isn’t that they’re nicely designed, relatively comfortable, or that they sound good — it’s what they can achieve in this price range. If you’re looking for a pair of sub-$300 headphones that can stay at home and be your daily drivers for when you get home from work, you can’t really do much better.
| Store | Price |
|---|---|
 |
$249 |
 |
$249.98 |
| Blue | $249.99 |
| Frequency response | 15Hz – 20kHz | Active noise cancellation |
No |
| Driver size | 50mm | Noise attenuation | Unknown |
| Driver type |
Dynamic | In-line controls | Yes |
| Design |
Closed-back | Microphone | Yes |
| Sensitivity | Unknown | Earpad material | Foam |
| Rated impedance |
42Ω | Magnet material | Unknown |
| Total harmonic distortion |
Unknown | Water resistance | No |
| Rated input power |
Unknown | Battery life | N/A |
| Maximum input power |
Unknown | Wireless distance | N/A |
| Wireless connection |
No | Cable length | 1.2m (4ft)/3 m (9.8) |
| Wired connection |
3.5mm | Case type | Soft bag |
| Detachable cable |
Yes | In-the-box | Soft bag, 2 x audio cable, 3.5mm – 6.3mm adapter |
| Weight | 397g (14oz) | Colors | Black, white |