Will new ROAM earbuds put Beats on the Ropes?

Beats co-creator, Steven Lamar, is coming straight for Apple’s newest brand with Ropes.

Steven Lamar actually filed a lawsuit against Beats saying that the headphone cobbler had cut him and some others out of the potential of earning millions in royalties. He also says that he came up with the idea for Beats and was instrumental in developing three of its first models, as well as the company’s logo and branding.

Needless to say, Lamar intends to taking a huge slice out of the Beats pie with his new brand ROAM.

ROAM has just launched its first portable offering in the shape of the Ropes earbuds.

Just as Beats, to me anyhow, is more of a fashion brand rather than being aimed at audiophiles ROAM seems to have a similar target consumer. The Ropes touch of fashionista is that they’re designed to dangle around your neck like a high tech pendant when you’re not using them. The amount of people I’ve seen walking around with a pair of Beats cans around their neck is innumerable.

The ROAM Ropes are also priced more like jewelry too with an asking price of $299 ($100 more than Beats).

ROAM is claiming the best in ergonomics, sound and “Noise Equalization,” the latter being brought by some proprietary tech that claims to deliver “the best sound quality on the market today.”

Ropes has an adjustable five-band equalizer and presets for different types of music, similar to what you’d find bundled in your phone or MP3 player’s settings. The difference here is that you can adjust the sound straight to the headphones using a mobile app, then carry those presets to any other audio source.

Making those changes to the sound involves plugging the earbuds into that small pendant that dangles from the headphones. Inside this box of tricks is a rechargeable battery, amp, and Bluetooth to let the headphones work wirelessly. The pendant powers the sound into the headphones (which work on their own when plugged in, though passively), as well as the EQ settings, which can be adjusted through a companion app.

So, these are wired wireless earbuds…? I thought the whole point of Bluetooth in headphones was so that you didn’t get caught up in wires. Or am I missing something?

Until I get my ears close to a pair I can’t comment on how they perform but Lamar is hoping that they’ll be as noticeable as Apple’s white buds and Beats cans which are a regular feature around the necks and lugholes of my fellow commuters.

The Ropes in-ears will arrive in time for your Christmas shopping list with that $299 price tag. You will have the choice of graphite/black or orange/grey (which donates to Stand Up to Cancer) colour options.