Seems Paradigm has an E3i model which is identical to the E3m except the remote is “Apple approved” somehow. Same for E2i and E2m. Any reason the the m versioms wouldn’t work properly with an Apple device?
I believe the plug pinout differs between Apple specs and everyone else. Likely the headphone part will work regardless, but the mic will only work with the intended platform.
EDIT: Pinout also applies to remote control functions.
Careful with these California headphones. The cord is failing for a lot of people, and the company isn’t responsive to customers. And despite being “all metal”, there is plastic at one of the most critical locations on the headphone (the hinges). See the post-kickstarter comments
I’ve got the Silverado model, and while your points may be accurate for the Laredo I don’t agree that they are accurate for the both.
I’ve had no problems with my cord thus far and it’s removable/replaceable even if I have trouble in the future. I also don’t see any point in any hinge that is plastic.
Also, they sound fantastic even at full price. I’ve bounced around a bunch of different $200+ models of over-the-ear, and I keep coming back to these. The bass is a little pronounced and the treble can sound a little tinny, but unless you’re willing to go into the $400+ range there are always going to be compromises.
I will say that when I’m at risk of falling asleep listening in bed I opt for a different set, but that’s only because I don’t want to roll over and put stress on the point where the cord plugs in. At this price-point for these great sounding headphones though, I might just pick up another set and see if they can take some abuse.
While the cord on mine has not failed, I would not discount a headphone solely on a faulty cord. It is detachable and easily replaced. Is it ideal? No. Is it more forgivable than internal failures? Yes (especially from a start-up). Granted there is never an excuse for bad customer service.
And aren’t Laredos the ones with plastic hinges? The Silverados are metal (can’t double check since I am at work).
Overall, for price point they have been a very good to excellent sounding paid of headphones with a more fun/consumer orientation rather than analytical/reference one. I had no reservations about recomending them. Obviously, they are no Senn HD 600, Beyer DT990, or AKG K702 that are in my collections, but those cost 3-4x as much (and require to be amped).
Does anyone know if there is a comparable deal for the Klipsch Image S4A (android-compatible) version of the earbuds? I feel like I never see those on sale anymore, and mine were unfortunately stolen earlier this month 
A while back I bought a different model of Maximo on Woot and I love them, although they do not have the volume control feature, which is important for me.
So when these “Maximo iMetal Earphones w/ Remote+Mic” came up on Woot, and - they had volume control - I jumped in for 3.
When they came, I learned that they were built only for the iPhone - and not even every model of the iPhone.
They don’t work at all as regular earphones. I had to hold down a button to hear anything. Let it go - hear nothing.
The phones don’t even provide all the features to every iPhone version. How do you know this in advance? You can’t.
So, get all the iPhone manuals you can, buy the phones, then see if they are compatible. If they are you’re in luck, if not you are s**t out of luck, like me.
My real complaint is that - NOWHERE - did WOOT say anything about this requirement - read their writeup - do it now. Do they think that a little “i” in a product name means Mac? It doesn’t.
I made several woot buys and have always been satisfied, but I can’t trust them after this.
edited to add:
I just read the packing list and it says, “MAXIMO IP-595 iMetal Enhanced Definition Earphones with Remote & Mic Made for iPod iPhone iPad”.
So, you get to find this out on the damn PACKING LIST. That’s way too late, don’t you agree?
The bad taste of getting scrwd lasts a lot longer than the thrill of a bargain. WOOTERS BEWARE OF WOOT!
I don’t know if those Silverados are GAWDY or AWESOME! For that price, I’ll stick with my ATH-50s. But they look more Corvette than Silverado. IMHO…
To make this post more useful, I can vouch for the JLab products, at least the J6M earbuds. They sound great, stay in my ears better than most, and the basic control thingy works with my proudly i-Less Android phone.
The Sennheiser HD219s are no slouch either, for $20 headphones. They don’t squeeze my ears too hard, which is sometimes a problem for me with the on-ear phones.
Sounds to me like you might have a defective product. I love my iMetals and don’t have to hold anything down when using them with my PC. They work great with my iPod touch and classic.
Ditto to jmalone.
I bought into the original Kickstarter and have been nothing but impressed with both the quality of sound and construction in the Silverados.
These are my go-to’s for long listening sessions because of their comfort.
You can ask my wife too. She just wore them today for a 4 hour plane flight and loved them.
These always travel with me in their case as my backups for when my bluetooth set goes dead.
these headphones are designed by people who wanted looks but don’t know anything about sound. Grado headphones at half its price will blow them out of the water.
Perhaps the California headphone cords break because they are ceramic based superconductors that have to be kept really, really, cold. Or perhaps someone in marketing is out of line with their description.
I have the California Headphones Laredo and the Sennheiser HD219. I can’t speak too much for the Sennheisers as I haven’t used them much, but here’s my review posted on Amazon for the Laredo’s:
First off, let me preface this review by saying I got these Laredo’s for $59.99, so my expectations and stars given will be conveyed with this price point in mind. I had a pair of all metal and leather headphones from Koss, their DJ Pro 100, and felt they would be a decent comparison point (I got the Koss for $35, so again, keep in mind that price point during these comparisons).
Sound:
- I’m no audiophile, so here’s my layman speak as to the sound: The Laredo’s have decent sound with a Xonar DS card, and offer decent clarity with mids and highs, but not as detailed and crisp sounding as the Koss.
- Much like the Koss, I needed to adjust the EQ to boost the bass, and this resulted in a much more powerful sounding set of cans.
- I purchased these for work, so they will be used on a computer with onboard sound (low end). The difference between sound quality was striking. The bass pretty much all but disappeared, with very muddled mids, and highs that just do not provide details. A nice sound card matters for these headphones more than anything, even more than the Koss. Even with EQ adjustments to try and boost bass, the Laredo’s started sounding like they were “bottoming out”. I’m not sure if this was inherent from the headphones, the song quality (Spotify), or the sound card. What I can say is I didn’t hear the bottom out rattle sound on the Laredo’s at home, with only the sound card being different.
Fit:
- This is where the Laredo’s really pale, the Koss are over ear style headphones and are extremely comfortable. The Laredo’s have a very awkward size padding cups, where it’s supposed to be on ear, but too big to give me an actual on ear fit. The pad kind of either sticks 25% off the front or the back of my ear lobes. The tension on these headphones is meant to keep the sound from leaking, but with the size of the pads, it makes them fairly uncomfortable. You will have non-uniform tension being distributed unevenly on your ear and 25% on your face/neck. Basically, this results in a very squished earlobe.
- The pads are fairly firm, and with the problem described in the previous point, it makes the uneven tension and ear squishing all the more pronounced.
- The strap length adjustment is fairly unique in that it has those metal loops that do not go into the leather headband itself like most other headphones. It took a little getting used to, but I feel like I actually have better fine tune control than the traditional adjustment by bracing my fingers on the top of my head and using my thumb and index to really tune the size.
Quality:
- Regarding the concerns about the plastic from other reviews, it has a design that does not put any articulation/torsion stress on those plastic bracing pieces. Most of strain will be on the top of the leather strap. Additionally, the plastic pieces are solid and thick, which if were made metal and kept at the same price point would likely be weaker (see next point on metal thickness), and for this application does not appear to pose any risk of being the first thing to break.
- The rest of these headphones are decent. I say decent only because of the thin sheet metal used on the ear cups. When compared to the Koss, these things feel like aluminum foil versus a solid pot or pan. It seems likely a drop in the wrong place would severely dent, scratch, or even break these metal cups. A strong candidate for the “wrong place” would be something as trivial as dropping on a piece of lego on carpeted flooring.
For the normal price of $99, the Laredo’s are overpriced. I might even go so far as to say the value factor of a set of Bose might be higher. Do NOT buy at this price!! The Koss DJ Pro 100 I got for $35, and would say they are worth the full price of $64 they usually go for. I’d strongly suggest a dedicated audio card ($20) regardless of which headphones you get; both were vastly improved, although I know it matters less with other headphone types (something about impedance?). But even at $59, the Laredo were similar in sound and comfort to my MEElectronics cheap $15 travel headphones (with onboard audio). The only real justification for $59 price tag is if I had dedicated audio card at work, and to look cool with the slick design.
UPDATE 11.14.13
Upon using these for a while now, I’m really not liking them. I use them at work (with the onboard sound) and it’s actually bad enough sounding that it is distracting rather than helping me concentrate. Also, the poor fit is getting to me as well, and I struggle to find comfortable positions. Down to 2 stars.
Hi albertmdh,
Thank you for your comment.
You may be right however, the instructions that came with the phones only had instructions for certain iPhones. Not even any instructions for other use - all too damn vague - just like the woot promo.
(btw - I’m not a tech newbie. I’m an IT pro since 1987 and not an old frt either.)
Best to you and yours for the holidays.
edited to add:
I just read the packing list and it says, “MAXIMO IP-595 iMetal Enhanced Definition Earphones with Remote & Mic Made for iPod iPhone iPad”.
So, you get to find this out on the damn PACKING LIST. That’s way too late, don’t you agree?
The bad taste of getting scrwd lasts a lot longer than the thrill of a bargain. WOOTERS BEWARE!
Hey UncleStu, I’m sorry for the bad experience. If you feel like you didn’t get what was advertised, please email support@woot.com for assistance. Include your Woot username and order number for faster service.
I see that all the actually good headphones are sold out. damn.
$35 for NEW HD518s was a STEAL. I bought mine a year ago for around $100. they’re fantastic at full price and the best deal on new, current-model over the ear headphones i’ve ever seen.
Sony does make some good headphones but are hit or miss. I’m not sure about the model still available.
I have fallen in love with the Iluvs.
Thanks for the reply, but you missed my point - maybe I didn’t make myself clear enough.
The point is that woot, for whatever reason, did not advertise that the item was for iPhones/ipods/ipads in the first place. I’m probably not alone in this, but I don’t want to go through the complaint/return process because woot or anyone else did a bad job of advertising a product. Woot is not a store where people can ask a salesperson questions. The items must have FULL info up front.
I gave my three iphones to people who could use them.
Sin no more.