Magic Headphones – Style For Your Ears

Las Vegas, NV – When people talk about the Magic Show, they are talking about a fashion expo, which happens twice a year in Vegas. This year it was held in two locations. Women’s fashion resided at the Las Vegas Convention Center while the Men’s styles were on display at the Mandalay Bay. This is where designers meet buyers, marketers promote what they believe to be the next trend, and aisles and aisles of clothing are setup for the viewing of retailers. The atmosphere is highly energized with the sounds of music, special performances, and loads of promotional teams walking up and down aisles cleverly named after streets in N.Y. and L.A. In this arena, only the best of the best survive.

I stopped by the S.L.A.T.E section of the magic show to get a glimpse of DJ Drez’s set, which included a blend of Indian folk music with House tempo drums. S.L.A.T.E. is the part of the Magic Show focusing on brands geared for skate, surf, and young street designers who are steadily moving into mainstream fashion. It was something different from the norm and to my surprise, three major sound companies were part of the Men’s Street section, bringing a different side to the world of fashion.

Skullcandy was the biggest of the three, showcasing in different areas of the floor the different styles of headphones they have made for visual appeal. A golden brown headset stood in a glass case with a pair of Roc Nation sneakers with gold laces. The G.I. Rasta headsets were showcased with a camouflage book bag and a pair of cargo pants. When I tried to speak to a rep at their booth, I was easily but politely turned away by a girl who was instructed to tell those who inquired to check the website.

Respectfully, I moved on and ran across a table full of new colorful ear buds by PIIQ, a division of Sony. The ear buds were cool and came in all sorts of flavorful colors. These buds, instead of overlapping around the top of the ear attach themselves to the earlobe, which allows anyone wearing glasses or shades to enjoy music without the pressure on top of the ear. The manager of the brand was very helpful and informative on his brand and provided me with information on where and when they would be available. Of course, I tried getting a pair for the trip back home, but they were keeping the buds stored away until “further notice”.

Towards my last day at the show, I walked the first level of the Mandalay Bay Convention Center where the PROJECT show revealed the high-end fashions for the small boutique shops of the world. Among these small, exclusive brands, against a long stretched wall, detailed with colored squares, stood out the third and most simplistic collection of all the headphones, URBANEARS.

Available in a variety of colors and three different classic styles, these headphones provided a sort of visual nostalgia in line with the prestige aire the PROJECT show represented. “We wanted to bring a classic headphone utilizing new innovative functions for today’s consumer,” said JW, Brand Architect for URBANEARS.

Such functions like a built in microphone for the Plattan styles, allows wearers to use it with the iPhone. Plattan also allows a friend to listen along by connecting to the “Zound Plug” located on the right ear cap. JW provided me with an exclusive purple pair to test out and enjoy!

I found, after using the pair on my flight back, and switching from different genres of music, that the Plattan’s are a little bass heavy with the sound, and small around the ears, but I liked the fact that they increase the loudness of the music and isolated a lot of the ambient sound. Especially when sitting near the engines of the plane. Once I landed back in N.Y., I easily folded the headphones like a clamshell, and stored them in my bag. My only objective now is to find a pair of Nike’s to match my Plattan headphones. Hey, it’s all about style.