A Mommy Story

Evenings around our house are often a battle of noise. One person wants to watch TV. Another wants to play on the Nintendo DS. Another is practicing her spelling on the iPad. And then there’s always Aaron or I on our computers or iPhones, occasionally clicking through to hear a quick video or song. With that many devices, it would be a cacophony of sounds, but most evenings (or car rides) it’s fairly quiet because at least the kids will be wearing their headphones to go with their devices.

Cordy’s sensory issues caused us to quickly become a family dependent on headphones when we’re spending time in independent electronic pursuits. We got Cordy her first pair of headphones at five years old, and then bought new headphones for both kids two years ago. Headphones keep the peace in the car, and there have been a few times when an overstimulated Cordy was soothed by restricting the noise around her with a set of headphones.

I love listening to music. When the volume is just right, I can lose myself and forget about all of the stress in my life for the length of a good song. Flying to and from Atlanta last month, I popped my headphones on at ten thousand feet and listened to music for most of the flights. And while a lot of people advise against running with music for 5K events, I can’t do it without my running soundtrack urging me on.

I recently had the chance to try out the new N-Tune headphones by Monster. I like that these are over-ear headphones instead of ear buds – nothing against ear buds, but the 80’s girl in me appreciates the old-school headphones with a sleek, modern redesign. Earbuds never seem to get the depth of music that you can get with over-ear headphones.

I have a small set of ear buds, but they’re the ones that came with my iPhone and while they’re good for basic sound, they aren’t that great for music. And I don’t really like earbuds – no matter how well I try to fit them to my ears, they always make my ears hurt after a bit. Not to mention that people still feel the need to talk to you when you have earbuds in. Large, over-ear headphones project that “I can’t – and don’t – want to hear you” vibe that is sometimes needed.

The Monster N-Tune headphones are designed to provide the perfect balance for modern music, emphasizing beats and bass. Unlike the headphones of the previous generation, these also have a built-in ControlTalk remote, meaning that when they’re plugged into your smartphone, you can not only adjust volume from the remote but also automatically pause your music and answer calls.

The Monster headphones have a tangle-free cord as well, are lightweight and come in a variety of sweet candy colors. Mine? Orange, just in time for Halloween.

So how did they work for us? I was surprised by the comfort and cushion of the ear pieces. They looked too small for my ears, yet fit comfortably over them. The cord really is tangle-free, too, avoiding any knots even when I stuff it in the included carrying bag without folding up the cord first. Just take it out, give it a little shake, and the cord goes from a bunched up mess to a long, smooth cord.

I did find that connecting the cord to the headphones required pushing the connector in harder than I expected. I connected the cord and felt a click, so I thought it was in, but the music sounded tinny at first. I unplugged it and plugged the cord into the headphones again, putting a little more force into it this time, and that time I was certain it was properly connected. The music confirmed it.

The sound coming from these headphones is impressive. The bass comes out loud and clear, not overpowering other layers of the music but instead serving as the musical punctuation it’s designed to be. Voices are clear and crisp, and the most subtle song intricacies aren’t missed. The headphones also are fantastic at reducing outside noise so you don’t need to turn the volume up as loud to block the outside world.

The N-Tune headphones by Monster are adjustable and fit well for both of my kids, too. Plus, these headphones are flexible and can withstand a lot of abuse – always a bonus when using them with kids.

Giveaway!

Want to win a pair of Monster N-Tune headphones for yourself? Monster and BlogHer are giving away 25 pairs of these headphones (valued at $150!), and you can enter for a chance to win one right here!

To enter, take a peek at all of the features on the Monster N-Tune headphones product page, then come back here and leave me a comment letting me know which color is your favorite!

Sweepstakes Rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

• Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
• Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
• Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post.
• For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winner will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

BlogHer will pool entries from participating blogs and select a sweepstakes winner at random and will contact the winner with details about fulfilling the prize.

The Official Rules are available here.
This sweepstakes runs from 10/2/13 – 11/1/13.

Good luck!