Samsung Level On Pro Headphones Review

The clue is in the name

by Steve Withers
Hi-Fi Review

4

Highly Recommended
Samsung Level On Pro Headphones Review
MSRP: £224.99

What is the Samsung Level On Pro?

The Samsung Level On Pros are the company's latest foray into the booming headphone market. Their first model in the Level range was the Level Over, which were an over-ear design, and this new model is, as the name might suggest, an on-ear version. The Level On Pro uses an ergonomic shape and range of colours that mean you can enjoy great sound whilst sporting an attractive pair of headphones. The Level On Pro headphones are both wireless and noise-cancelling and also incorporate Samsung’s state-of-the-art UHQ audio support technology. This allows the Level On Pros to offer higher quality sound, along with a broad range of convenient features, that should make them ideal for listening on-the-go. The Samsung Level On Pro headphones retail for £225 as at the time of writing (January 2016), so let's find out if they deliver enough performance to justify the price.

Design, Connections & Control

The Level On Pros follow the same basic look as the larger Level Over headphones and this is definitely a good thing as Samsung's design aesthetic is very attractive. Samsung have been using elegant design motifs for years and the Level range of headphones continues that trend by seamlessly blending a traditional basic design with a contemporary feel that is very pleasing. There is a circular ear pad that fits comfortably on the ear and plenty of cushioning to make extended use easier, which is handy for those long journeys. The Level On Pro uses a foldable design, has detachable ear pads, weighs 236g and comes with a carry pouch that makes it easy to fit in with your hand luggage. There's also a 3.5mm audio cable that's 1.2m in length, a micro USB charging cable and a choice of two colours - minimalist black and a slightly more bling gold finish.
Samsung Level On Pro
Samsung Level On Pro

In terms of connections you have the choice of standard 3.5mm cable or, more likely, wirelessly via Bluetooth. The Level On Pro headphones can deliver UHQ (Ultra High Quality) audio via either a wired or wireless connection. The addition of support for UHQ-BT audio means that you can get high quality 96kHz/24-bit audio at 512kbps via Bluetooth 4.1 and the Level On Pros are the first Bluetooth headphones to provide this option. You'll need a compatible Samsung device that also supports UHQ to take full advantage of this but even if you can't, you can still listen at 44.1kHz/16-bit via Bluetooth at 352kbps with aptX or 325kbps with SBC. Along the bottom of the left hand ear cup is a 3.5mm audio jack for a wired connection, whilst the side of the cup also includes a Near Field Communication (NFC) tag. Along the bottom of the right hand ear cup is a USB port for recharging the built-in battery, along with the power switch, a notification light and the button for activating the noise cancelling feature or Bluetooth pairing.
The design follows the Level range aesthetic and is classic and understated with a modern twist.

Features

The main selling point of the Level On Pro is its support for wireless connectivity with Bluetooth 4.1 and UHQ, aptX and SBC. However Samsung have also been busy developing the actual construction of the headphones themselves to ensure they can take full advantage of the high quality audio. The Level On Pro uses a dual-layered diaphragm that is designed to reduce unstable vibrations at certain frequencies and thus deliver a stable and balanced sound across all frequencies. Another major selling-point of the Level On Pro headphones is that they are noise-cancelling, which will obviously prove handy since they are predominantly designed for use on the move. To make the noise cancelling as effective as possible, the headphones use a four microphone design for the Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) mechanism. Each earpad has two microphones, one on the outside and one on the inside, which combine to detect and cancel out noise to create a comfortable and quiet listening experience. The ANC can be easily toggled on and off using the switch on the bottom of the right earpad. The Level On Pro also takes advantage of these multiple microphones when making voice calls, using them to reduce any noise or echoes whilst talking on your smartphone.
Samsung Level On Pro
Samsung Level On Pro

The headphones are also very easy to control thanks to touch sensitive controls on the outside of the right ear cup. If you move your finger up and down, you can control volume; if you move your finger forward or backward you can change tracks; to play or pause you double tap; and if you hold on for over 1.5 seconds you activate 'Talk-in Mode'. This feature allows you to keep tabs on what's going on around you whilst you're using the headphones. When activated the headphone uses its left and right microphones to relay the ambient sound from outside. The Level On Pro also supports 'Sound with Me', allowing you and another user with suitably enabled headphones to listen to the same track at the same time. If you use an Android phone there is also the Samsung Level App, which allows you to use SoundAlive sound effects, the media player applications, a volume monitor to prevent hearing damage, receive voice notifications and check the remaining battery life. In wireless mode the built-in battery can last up to 10 hours with ANC on and 20 hours with it off. If you use a wired connection you'll get 18 hours out of the battery when using ANC, which should cover even the longest flight, and in standby mode the battery will last about 200 hours.
There are plenty of features including Bluetooth, noise cancelling, touch controls and a remote app.

Setup

The Level On Pro was put through its paces using a number of different sources including an iMac, a MacBook Air, an iPad, an iPhone 6 and an iPod in both wired and wireless configurations. We were also able to test the headphones in conjunction with a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, which allowed us to test the UHQ capabilities. We used them at home and also whilst travelling on the train, allowing us to test the battery life and noise cancelling features, as well as discover how comfortable they were for long periods. Material used included ALAC, AAC, MP3 and FLAC, along with Spotify, Tidal and internet radio and the odd phone call.

Performance

Since the Level On Pros are designed to be used when travelling, we were glad to discover they proved comfortable to wear over extended periods. That's always good news but especially important if you end up wearing them on a long train journey or plane flight. The option to use a wired connection is useful, especially on planes or if you want the battery to last longer, but the wireless connection also proved highly effective and robust with no problems with dropouts. The headphones are also very easy to pair with another Bluetooth device and controlling them was a breeze thanks to the touch sensitive controls on the side of the ear cup; meaning you can leave your smart device in your pocket or bag. Obviously you can also control everything from the device itself and the Level app for Android devices proved useful when we ran it on the Samsung Edge S6.

We had the opportunity to use the noise-cancelling feature on a number of train journeys and the Level On Pro was highly effective at blocking out any ambient noise. Since this is a major selling point of the headphones it was pleasing to discover that they did exactly what they claimed to and is especially impressive since it's harder for on-ear headphones to block out ambient noise when compared to over-ear headphones that obviously have an advantage from the start. The multiple-microphone approach clearly worked very well and also made the audio clear when using the headphones with phone calls. The 'Talk-In' mode also worked well but since we didn't have a second pair of Samsung headphones, we couldn't test the 'Sound with Me' feature, although in all other respects the Level On Pros delivered exactly what they're designed to do.

Of course all the features in the world are meaningless if the headphones don't sound good and thankfully that isn't an issue with the Level On Pros. They produced a lively and enjoyable performance and we were especially impressed by the level of clarity that they retained on lossless files. Samsung have certainly done a great job of creating a pair of headphones that can hold their own in a very competitive market place. They may not sound quite as good as similarly priced headphones from Grado or Focal but they offer other features, so it depends on what you're looking for. If it's just critical listening there might be better options but if you want to take advantage of the wireless, portable and noise cancelling features then the Samsung headphones are ideal. The ability to use UHQ also makes them a great choice if you own a supporting Samsung smart device, which obviously a lot of people do.

We tested the headphones using both a wired and wireless connection via Bluetooth and the results were largely the same, there was no appreciable difference between the two methods; although by using the wireless connection, you obviously avoid the inconvenience of being physically connected to your source device. The sound quality with UHQ was very impressive but if that isn't an option, you can still connect to your smart device using aptX or SBC and the results were just as good. If you have a lot of high quality lossless files and a Samsung smart device then UHQ is a great option to have but for the majority of people just using regular Bluetooth, as we did with our iPhone 6, will get equally as impressive results. When it came to critical listening we found that the Level On Pro headphones certainly proved very capable, especially when being used in noisier environments.

We were able to compare an older pair of Bose on-ear noise-cancelling headphones and the Level On Pros delivered a better performance when using a wired connection but, unlike the Bose, could also use a wireless connection. The Samsung headphones had a well-defined sound quality, with very good detail retrieval and a nicely integrated bass. Obviously given the size and design of the headphones themselves, the bass wasn't as impressive as the Level Over model but when listening to an album like The Waterboys Modern Blues, the headphones remained spacious and open without leaking sound that might annoy others. A well recorded live album like Roger Waters The Wall Live also sounded great, giving you a sense of the scale of the production whilst retaining the smaller details. When it came to something more restrained like Don Henley's Cass County, the Level On Pros did a great job of delivering those world weary vocals.
The Level On Pros delivered a fun performance, with effective noise cancelling and great sound quality.

Conclusion

Pros

  • High quality sound
  • Attractive design and well built
  • Excellent wireless functionality
  • Impressive noise cancelling
  • Extensive features

Cons

  • Price puts it up against a lot of competition

Samsung Level On Pro Headphones Review

The Samsung Level On Pro headphones have been designed to a very specific brief and in terms of their specifications they're a great success. They combine a classical and minimalist design with a touch of the modern and plenty of useful features. The Active Noise Cancelling mechanism worked extremely well, especially given the limitations of being an on-ear rather than over-ear design, and the use of four microphones paid dividends. Ambient noise was effectively blocked out, whilst there was virtually no noise leakage from the headphones themselves, so they won't annoy others. Those microphones also came in handy when taking phone calls and the 'Talk-In' mode is equally as useful. There are also touch sensitive controls, a 'Sound with Me' sharing feature and a handy app for Android users.

You can use a wired connection with the Level On Pros but obviously their big selling point is their wireless capabilities with Bluetooth 4.1 that supports UHQ/aptX/SBC. If you have a suitable Samsung smart device you can take advantage of UHQ and it works well but the audio via aptX/SBC also sounded great and overall the wireless connection was stable and robust. Setup and control is easy and Samsung have delivered a pair of headphones that not only sound great but offer a certain degree of fun. The audio was well-defined, with great detail retrieval and well-integrated bass; although given the nature of the design the bass could have been deeper. However in terms of the kind of use the headphones are designed for the sound quality was excellent and retained that level of clarity when used with the noise-cancelling feature.

The headphone market has grown exponentially over the last few years, with a multitude of companies joining in the hope of tapping into those potential sales. Samsung have wisely tried to develop models for very specific parts of that market rather than just a general range and so far that approach has worked well. There are plenty of noise cancelling headphones available, with Bose probably being the market leader, but at a price of £225 that puts the Level On Pros at the higher end of the price scale. However once you factor in the features and performance, that price starts to look quite competitive and the Samsung headphones can certainly hold their own against the competition. So if you're looking for a pair of flexible and portable wireless noise-cancelling headphones, the Samsung Level on Pro should definitely be on your short list.

Scores

Build Quality

.
.
8

Ease of Use

.
9

Sensitivity

.
.
8

Design and usability

.
9

Sound Quality

.
9

Value For Money

.
.
8

Verdict

.
9
9
AVForumsSCORE
OUT OF
10

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