SOL Republic is a new audio company started by the Kevin Lee, son of the founder and CEO of Monster Cables, Noel Lee. It stands for “Soundtrack of Life,” and the company’s inaugural line-up of products focuses on headphones. The SOL Republic Tracks, at $99.99 list, sound far better than you'd expect from headphones in this price range. They are supra-aural headphones, meaning they sit on the ear instead creating a seal around it, and put out an impressive amount of deep bass. The built-in iPhone and iPod controls are a plus, but some unique design choices end up holding the Tracks back from being a budget masterpiece. Bass lovers looking to save money should definitely consider the powerful Tracks, but the design flaws result in some discomfort for prolonged listening periods.

Design

The Tracks look like a product the design team spent a long time polishing. The entire design is black with silver lettering, with the cleverly symmetrical SOL logo emblazoned on each ear, in the center of a glossy plastic circle. The headband has the words SOL Republic written across it, and has some plush padding that touches the top of the head. What appears to be faux-leather padding lines the ear cups. IPhone controls (that also work for most iPods and the iPad) sit along the cable about mid-chest, making it easy to see the controls for Volume Up, Volume Down, Play/Pause, and Menu navigation. A microphone, which sounds so-so, like almost all iPhone microphones built into headphone cables, is located on the back panel of the control compartment.

The bad news is: They are not terribly comfortable. The ear cups start to feel warm on your ears after a while, and eventually your ears can get downright hot. The other issue is that the ear cups seem to exert more pressure on the ear than most supra-aural pairs I am used to, like the Bose QuietComfort 3 ($349.95, 4 stars). Particularly if you wear glasses, the Tracks can become uncomfortable over long listening periods, as your glasses frames get pressed harder against your head (behind the ear) due to the pressure from the ear cups. It’s a shame; the Tracks look and sound great, but the lack of comfort can’t be ignored.

Another design issue is, unfortunately, the headband. It’s unique in that it’s made from a proprietary material called FlexTech, that can be bent and twisted into ridiculous positions without breaking. Also unique: it's nothing more than a flat strip of material that each earcup can independently slide up and down. Most headbands adjust using a retractable sliding mechanism, and the Tracks do away with this in the name of simplicity. But things aren’t always so simple; it's possible to slide the ear cups right off (though it's unlikley you'd do so accidentally), so you can swap out bands for replacements of different colors, but adjusting them to properly fit your head while wearing them is a bit challenging. It’s easy to adjust one side far more than the other without realizing, which seems to have no real audio ramifications but looks silly.

One design victory: The cable is detachable, and thus replaceable if it snaps or is damaged, which is far better than having to buy another new pair of headphones entirely.

Performance

The headphones offers an exciting frequency response, but the bass is definitely enhanced drastically. It almost sounds like there’s a subwoofer inside. But plenty of people love low-end, and the SOL Republic Tracks does bass frequencies justice by pushing out a powerful, distortion-free response that is never muddy. Hip hop and electronic pieces sound fantastic, and even at maximum volume levels on songs with tremendous deep bass, like The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” we encountered no distortion. Beyond not distorting and having ample low-end, the Tracks sound great, in general. The mid-to-high frequency ranges are not ignored nor are they so sculpted much that that songs take on a character not intended by the mix engineer. I wouldn’t describe the Tracks as overly bright, but they did bring out some of the higher frequencies of orchestral instruments when listening to modern classical pieces, like John Adams’ “The Chairman Dances."

Compared to the recent V-Moda Crossfade M-80 ($230, 3.5 stars), the Tracks, which are a full $130 less expensive, handle bass at high volumes far more gracefully. When listening at moderate levels, the Tracks can sound a bit too focused on low frequencies—not muddy, as mentioned before, but as if someone turned up all the low end EQ beyond where it needed to be. For deep bass, it’s a great effect—even at low volumes, kick drums have a serious thud—but low-mid frequencies tend to sound a bit too present at times, especially on acoustic guitar-based tracks. Regardless, most fans of popular music will truly enjoy the overall sonic performance, which makes the discomfort issue all the more annoying. It should also be noted: People sitting next to you on the plane or bus will definitely hear your music if you blast the Tracks—they can get loud, and there’s no strong seal to keep the audio in.

I grew up listening to my dad’s old Koss headphones—they were massive, heavy, and unbelievably uncomfortable, but in the late '70s, that was par for the course for most consumer-level headphones. Sonically, the SOL Republic Tracks produce far more low-end than the old Koss headphones and sound nothing like them, but it’s not a great thing when my ears are reminded of my dad’s old headphones because of the discomfort they cause. I love the way the Tracks sound, so I sincerely hope that we hear more from SOL Republic, and that the next pair I test feels as good as it sounds. Honestly, it weren't for the fit issue, the Tracks would be our Editors' Choice low-cost headphone. If you’re turned off by the uncomfortable design, but still want a pair of headphones in this price range with some strong low-end, the Skullcandy Roc Nation Aviators ($149.99, 3 stars) offer serious bass—and style—but a less enjoyable overall audio experience. And if price is not an issue, and bass is definitely something you need, check out the Beats Pro by Dr. Dre from Monster ($449.95, 4 stars)—they are bassy and bulky, but much more comfortable. Heads and ears are all shaped differently, however, so it’s worth trying on a pair of SOL Republic Tracks before you decide they won’t work for you. 

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