The AmazonBasics Lightweight On-Ear are a decent low-budget pair of headphones with a satisfying sound quality. Unfortunately, they're not the most versatile. They struggle in loud environments, and their build quality feels a little cheap and susceptible to wear and tear. They're also a bit uncomfortable.
Our Verdict
The AmazonBasic Lightweight On-Ear mediocre mixed usage headphones. They have a surprisingly decent sound but feel a bit cheap and poorly isolate listeners from ambient noise. They're a low budget pair for casual or critical listening but lack too many features to be versatile enough for all use cases.
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Above-average audio reproduction.
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Lightweight, stable design.
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Poor noise isolation.
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Plasticky build quality.
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Bass delivery varies significantly across users. Sensitive to glasses.
AmazonBasic Lightweight On-Ear, have a well-balanced and unexpectedly decent sound quality. The bass is punchy, and instruments and vocals are not drowned out or pushed to the back of the mix. They won't offer as much detail, and clarity as some the better performing neutral listening headphones but their audio reproduction is more than sufficient for casual listening.
Not ideal for commuting. The small ear cups don't efficiently prevent ambient noise from entering your audio.
Mediocre at best for sports. They're lightweight, and stable thanks to their tight fit. However, They don't have a decent control scheme, and the non-detachable cable could bothersome during strenuous exercise.
Below-average for office use. They're slightly leaky at higher volumes, which is not ideal for quiet offices. They also, don't block enough noise for lively offices either.
- 5.5 Mixed Usage
- 6.5 Neutral Sound
- 5.2 Commute/Travel
- 5.7 Sports/Fitness
- 5.5 Office
- 3.9 Wireless Gaming
- 5.7 Wired Gaming
- 2.0 Phone Call
- Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.1.
- Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.
- Updated Feb 16, 2018: Converted to Test Bench 1.2.
- Updated Aug 10, 2017: Converted to Test Bench 1.1.
- Updated Mar 01, 2017: Converted to Test Bench 1.0.
- Updated Oct 10, 2016: Review published.
- Updated Oct 08, 2016: Our testers have started testing this product.
- Updated Sep 19, 2016: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
Test Results
The AmazonBasics On-Ear as the name implies, have a minimalist design with no controls or a detachable cable. They're entirely made out of plastic and have a build reminiscent of the Sony MDR-ZX110NC. They have small circular ear cups and a fairly ordinary but thin headband. They're lightweight and come in three varying color schemes; white, black and blue. These headphones won't stick out in a crowd and don't look especially eye-catching, but the understated aesthetic will work for some.
These headphones are uncomfortably tight and not sufficiently well padded. They're lightweight but they're too tight out of the box, which coupled with the on-ear design makes them exert a painful amount of pressure on the ears.
The AmazonBasics on-ear are mid-sized headphones that somewhat portable but are a still a bit of a hassle to carry around. The ear cups swivel and lay flat to take less space, but they don't fold into a more compact format and won't be easy to transport without a bag.
Comes with a straightforward fabric pouch that will protect the headphones from minor scratches. However, it won't shield them from water damage or hard falls.
The build quality of these headphones feels cheap and plasticky. They're marketed as low-budget on-ear headphones, which is reflected in their all-plastic design. They're lightweight and the plastic is sufficiently dense to withstand a couple of drops without getting damaged. However, the cheap plastic build is not as durable as some other on-ear headphones, even within the low budget price range. This means they won't handle physical stress as well and shouldn't be put under too much strain because they will break. The audio cable also feels thin and susceptible to wear and tear.
Although they're a bit uncomfortable, they won't slip off your head during casual listening sessions thanks to their tight fit. Unfortunately, they won't be the most stable under strenuous conditions. You should be able to jog with them, but they won't be ideal for strenuous exercise. Also, the non-detachable cable will yank the headphones off your head if it gets hooked on something.
The frequency response consistency of the Lightweight On Ear is mediocre. These headphones showed inconsistencies in bass delivery across our human subjects. The maximum amount of deviation in the bass range is more than 5dB, which is noticeable. In the treble range, they show better consistency but seem to be sensitive to positioning and placement.
Poor isolation. These on-ears provide no isolation in the Bass Range, and achieve average isolation in Mid and Treble Ranges. The overall amount of isolation achieved in the Mid Range is about 10dB, and in the Treble Range about 27dB.
Average leakage performance, which is expected of on-ear headphones. The significant portion of the leakage is between 600Hz and 2KHz, which is about average. The overall level of the leakage is also about average compared to the other on-ears.
No compatible app.
