Meant to be used with a smartphone but technically usable with any compatible device, the Tonino Lamborghini Quantum EL-01 in-ear headphones are my first in-ear headphone experience in years with anything but standard iPhone headphones. I never had a problem with my iPhone headphones, except that they didn’t stay in properly. But that’s because I didn’t know what I was missing.
It turns out that I was missing a lot. Like, entire musical notes. Music through the Lamborghini Quantum headphones is much more complex than my everyday pair. Methinks these are now my everyday pair. Until now, listening to music in my car, through my computer, or through my iPhone, I’ve contented myself with the general sound of it, not being terribly picky about the smaller details. But when I plugged the Lamborghini Quantum headphones into my iPhone and put on “Brand New Day” from the Dr. Horrible soundtrack, I heard parts of the song that I didn’t know existed. I tried another song from a different artist. Same thing. And this was with the lowest end Quantum headphones. They range in sophistication from the EL-01 to the ML-01 to the HL-01, at the top.
It’s safe to say that I was very quickly spoiled by the quality of these earbuds, and likely will not use my stock iPhone ones again, except as a pair to loan out.
As with most noise-isolating earbuds, the Quantum comes with several ear cushion sizes. Make sure to choose the cushions that best fit your ears and do the best job isolating the sound. Fortunately, mine fit wonderfully with the already-installed cushions. The headphones also come with an itty bitty clip for you to attach the headphones to your clothes, and a hard-sided triangular zippered case for storing the headphones. The case also has an elastic pocket for holding accessories such as the aforementioned clip, and additional ear cushions. The enclosed Quick Guide describes, in 12 languages, how the headphones work. They have a microphone/remote control on the right cord, with support for Android, but it also works just fine with my iPhone. It is used for voice control, answering calls, play/pause, and changing audio tracks.
Being used to my iPhone headphones, the cord material for these Lamborghini ones was pretty novel. It feels like, well, cord. A metallic fabric cord. It’s marvelous. Because the ambient noise was so well blocked off, though, I could easily hear myself breathe, and as I wore the headphones while I exercised, I could hear the cord rub against my clothes. I suppose this is to be expected, though, and it wasn’t too distracting after a while.
I’m not a sound expert, and my best description of the quality of these headphones is that they bring sound to life, putting you in the middle of an ocean of sound. But for you audiophiles out there, here are some more detailed specs:
- Drivers 10 mm
- Impedance 16 ohm
- Frequency response 18-20000 Hz
- Sensitivity 100 dB
- Cable length 1.2 m
- Weight with cable 15 g
From the Lamborghini website:
The powerful 10 mm driver with TFAT technology features a deep and full bass reproduction coupled with extremely accurate upper- and mid-range sound. And the 3.5 mm gold-plated connector ensures a reliable connection.
TFAT (Thin Film Acoustic Technology), a state of the art proprietary technology developed by TFAT Audio, allows high-resolution sound tuning. Thin-film dampening materials with special acoustic properties provide the desired tonal quality. With the TFAT technology, the relatively small driver produces the same powerful sound as large overhead headphones.
The Lamborghini Quantum EL-01 headphones retail for €69.00 (about $101) (with the ML-01 at €99.00 and the HL-01 at €149.00) and are an affordable huge step up from run-of-the-mill earbuds. They have incredibly clear sound, and stay put while I’m on the elliptical. I couldn’t ask for more.
Note: I received a pair of earbuds for the purposes of this review.
