Review: I-MEGO Throne Gold and Poison Headphones

If headphones are judged by their audio, their physical design, and their cosmetic styling, then the Throne headphones from I-MEGO manage to stand out in all three categories. The “Gold” model has golden cups with horizontal black slats running across them, creating one of the most unusual looks I’ve seen for a headphone product, and sure to be noticed from across a room. The pattern is repeated on the posts, with gold sliders running in between, and a black leather headband. The “Poison” model has the same physical design, but has silver cups with dark purple slats.

I’ve tested headphones with cup shapes ranging from fully circular to various oval shapes, but the Throne has cups that are about twice as tall as they are wide. The design adds to the effect of the gold and black styling, but I wondered how they’d fit. As it turned out, they’re plenty comfortable despite the cups being about three and a half inches tall.

But surprisingly enough, the most unusual aspect of the Throne headphones might be their audio. Both the Gold and the Throne offer solid sound in the high, middle, and low range. But the bass on the Gold is heavy, so much so that those who prefer a balanced bass to treble ratio will likely decide that these headphones aren’t for them. The good news for those who love their bass loud and thick is that it’s good quality bass, well enunciated. The Throne does a nice job of emphasizing the bass in genres like rock and hip hop and electronica, for those who like their bass to stand out. But with quieter and gentler genres, the heavy bass just sounds odd. So the Gold is only really for those who like heavier bass and more active genres. Then there’s the Poison, which emphasizes the vocal ranges and sounds ideal on acoustic or piano driven music, but isn’t quite so suited for rock and roll.

I’m left wishing I-MEGO simply created a single audio with a more mainstream bass to treble ratio and offered it in both style choices, but that’s not the case. For those who love their bass, or love their acoustic music, and want their headphones to stand out in a crowd, the Throne is a solid option. I’d like it a little more if it had three buttons built in for volume control instead of just the one button for playback.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5 • Price: $129 • i-mego.com