The PuroPro Hybrid headphones from Puro Sound Labs are wireless, over-ear headphones that boast many features such as ANC (active noise cancelling), Bluetooth 5.0, a built-in microphone, volume limiting to 95dB, optional wired capability, and an impressive 32 hours of playtime.
The headphones are available on both Puro Sound Labs website and Amazon for a price of $199, coming in three colors: black, orange, and rose gold. With a 4.6 out of 5 stars on Amazon and 5 stars on Puro Sound Labs website, I expected to be dealing with quite a deluxe pair of headphones. In my opinion, the Hybrid did a wonderful job of meeting those expectations.
Unboxing/Packaging
Upon receiving the headphones a week ago, I was pleasantly surprised by their high quality packaging. The headphones come in a small and simple wooden box with a metal latching mechanism and hinges. The packaging and design are nothing short of elegant.
Inside of this box you will find the carrying case, a micro-USB charging cable, a 3.5 mm audio cable, a quick start guide, and of course the headphones.
At first glance, the carrying case seems to be just spacious enough to hold the headphones without allowing too much movement in order to protect the headphones while traveling.
Initial Impressions
In my initial inspection, the headphones are a good-looking piece of tech. They have a minimal design that isn’t too flashy or dramatic, and an aesthetic matte black finish.
The leather ear cups and headband are very soft allowing for solid long-term comfort as well as a nice fit to create a sound-seal around my ears. The buttons are tactile and overall build quality of the headphones is absolutely solid, however it is to be expected for the price. The rotating joints just above the earpieces are smooth and have a surprising range of motion that initially caught me off guard, mostly for storage purposes.
The headband is also adjustable with a millimeter engraving for up to an extra 50mm of overhead circumference. While on your head, the headphones have a pretty large profile and are by no means subtle.
The micro-USB charging is a little out of date nowadays with most high-tech gadgets using USB-C charging, but it’s a minor inconvenience. Entering pairing mode is easy and if you have any trouble the Quick Start guide walks you through just about anything. Connecting to any device such as a phone or laptop is seamless and quick once the initial pair is completed.
Comfortability
The PuroPro Hybrid seems to target comfortability during long periods of use, with soft “protein leather” ear cushions and a somewhat flexible and adjustable headband.
Even at the lowest setting of their adjustability, the headphones fit my head perfectly, however I don’t have a very large head. In all of the hours spent listening to music while on long car rides, studying, watching a movie or reading a book, I never once found myself complaining about the weight or discomfort of these headphones. And on top of that, the volume limiting of the headphones allows for a strong volume to block out lots of distractions while managing it to a safe range to protect your hearing for eight hours at 85dB or 50 minutes at 95dB.
In general, the Hyrbid is one of the most comfortable pairs of headphones that I have had my hands on.
Sound Quality
The sound quality and noise-cancelling technology of the PuroPro Hybrid easily met my expectations. At their loudest, the volume is still comfortable.
If you are really in a noisy environment, I wouldn’t say the noise-cancelling alone is flawless. It mostly performs best at eliminating low, droning noises and speech, but higher pitched sounds are still audible. Without any music playing or with music at a lower volume, many of the sounds around are still discernible even with noise-cancelling, however when you get the music turned up a bit, these headphones will have no problem eliminating any distractions around you.
The leather ear cushions also create a well-fitted seal around your ears for extra sound proofing. The noise cancelling is controlled by a button on the right side and comes in three modes: Off, ANC 1, and ANC 2.
Even after reading through the quick start guide it’s not very apparent what the reason is for the second ANC mode, and in the last week of use I haven’t noticed any differences in cancelling capabilities of the two modes. On Puro Sound Labs website, they advertise “40mm dynamic drivers and our Puro Balanced Response® Curve provide the user with a genuine studio-grade listening experience.”
I find the headphones have fantastic deep, rich bass and high quality clear higher pitched tones. The quality of the built-in microphone is about where I expect for most headphones of this quality, but it doesn’t seem to have much background noise, and during phone calls I had no trouble understanding or being understood.
When receiving a call, the call can be answered by short pressing the power button and then ended by pressing it again. If you can memorize all of the shortcuts that Puro gives you in the quick start guide, they make for a pretty good hands-free experience, even allowing you to change tracks without the connected device by pressing and holding the up or down volume buttons.
Battery Life/Portability
In the entire week of my experience, the headphones have not needed to be recharged one time. Although in my general experience with tech the first charge always seems to last the longest.
The headphones did not turn on right out of the box, but the fact that they took less than 30 minutes to charge to full suggests that they do not turn on the first time until the battery is completely full. It is further mentioned in the guide that turning them on before charging them to full battery when you take them out of the box may reduce the battery life.
Even after a full week with relentless and consistent use of probably at least 20-25 hours, my Samsung says that the battery level is still at 60%. By my own and probably anyone else’s standards, that’s pretty impressive. The Hybrid lives up to its battery life expectations without a doubt.
As for portability, the Bluetooth 5.0 allows for up to 40 feet of unblocked range from the connected device, which basically allows you to be in the next room over and still get a stable audio connection. The headphones fold down to fit compactly in the zippered carrying case very smoothly, and the carrying case seems to be sturdy and generally protective so that you can keep them inside a bag without having to worry about breaking them. The case and the compact size of the headphones makes them perfect for traveling folk or students.
Summary
The PuroPro Hybrid headphones from Puro Sound Labs are a fantastic pair of ANC headphones for the price. The noise cancelling is not flawless, but it shouldn’t be. The sound quality is exactly what you would expect from a two-hundred dollar piece of studio-grade audio equipment, and at max volume with ANC the headphones do not fail to isolate the user from any distractions.
The packaging was simple and elegant, and the matte black pair of headphones I received have a very high-quality build and design. The ear cushions and headband are extremely soft which make the headphones comfortable and breathable at the same time over long periods of use.
They are a bit heavy so I wouldn’t recommend working out in them but that is not what they are intended for. They also have a large profile while being worn so they are by no means discreet.
For what you pay, you are getting an excellent pair of comfortable and sturdy headphones perfect for working or relaxing in a distracting environment.
Availability
You can learn more about the PuroPro Hybrid at the company’s website where they are available to purchase for about $200 in a variety of color options. They’re also available through Amazon for about $160 as of the time of this review.
Featured image courtesy of Puro Sound.
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