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I’ve heard a lot of sub-$100 headphone recently, and I’ll be honest, most are horrid. Like, astonishingly bad. So finding a pair that’s even remotely listenable is a feat. The Forte Impacts go well beyond that. Sure, more expensive headphones might sound more open, with a more neutral response, but for $50 I think these are an excellent value. For the price the bass is well controlled, the sound overall is good, and they have a cool design. They’re a little gem for little money.

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Solar HeavyElectronic Musician

When Madeon's technicolor came on, I caught myself saying wow out loud. Mostly due to the insane amount of energy and bass these things were putting out. I was blown away by their ability to stay in par with my full sized over ear headphones that are using 50mm magnets to replicate the bass [...].

This weekend I had the privilege to test out the prototype version of Forte's latest ear buds. To compare the frequency response, clarity, bass, and overall experience of sound, I referenced these against my MDR700 stereo dynamic studio headphones, and your run of the mill apple ear buds.

How did I test them all?

1. Loaded up the following songs in my DAW, with a standard Voxengo analyzer.

I used songs with a variety of sound design.

Phaeleh - In The Twilight
Madeon - Technicolor
Solar Heavy - Zero Gravity
Seven Lions - Isis
ZHU - Faded
Dj Fresh - Gold Dust (Flux Pavilion Remix)
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Sweet Home Alabama
Beethoven - Piano Sonata No. 14

2. Monitored visually the frequency spectrum of what was being played during each song, compared to what I could clearly hear.

3. Listened to them without checking any visual analyzers and judging solely by ear as a listener stand point.

After a few hours and lots of headphone switching I was impressed. The very first thing I noticed was the lack of harmonic interference, usually your frequency ranges get muddied up at high volumes, even in general with ear buds, things distort and its hard to differentiate the various elements. Since these are using some type of advanced HIF (Harmonic Interference Free) tech, it made for a wonderfully obvious separation of lows, mids and highs throughout the test songs. The version Forte sent me are made for bass enthusiasts like myself, more focused on highlighting the low end range, but retaining a fair amount of mid and high end. It was noted when sent the prototype version that the high and mid end are recognizable but still getting slight adjustments for even more clarity.

Regardless when Madeon's technicolor came on, I caught myself saying wow out loud. Mostly due to the insane amount of energy and bass these things were putting out. I was blown away by their ability to stay in par with my full sized over ear headphones that are using 50mm magnets to replicate the bass. At the end of the day, these are welcomed into my collection, and I tip my hat off to the team over at Forte who are revolutionizing signal processing and setting a new standard of sound quality for listeners.

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Alan NievesDJ & Producer

Forte Impact in-ear should provide a nice option for audiophiles as well as another reference for DJs/producers to check their tracks on. In my opinion, it is a much better option versus a competitor like the Beats by Dre series, of which I am personally not a fan, as the Beats line has excessive coloration of the low end and distorted sound at higher levels which I hear much less of in the Forte edition.

All in all, Forte Impact are solid headphones that I think could be attractively marketed and priced to compete with whatever else is out there [...].

First from a more technical standpoint, Forte Impact in-ear headphones exhibit audible coloration of the bass in the low end, but this is normal for consumer/dj headphones. Their response is not as flat for mixing or sound engineering. There is good clarity in the mid range and higher frequencies; sounded to me like a single driver cone or possibly two. Their look and feel is great. The carrying case is also protective which is hugely advantageous. The black color is a favorite color of many musicians and it will match most dj/production equipment, but I'm excited to also see future lines that I assume will have different colors. The mid range demonstrates good clarity, somewhat of a "disco smile" effect similar to the famous Yamaha NS10 series that counters fletcher munson to increase low and high ends respectively while twisting down the mid range.

Overall, there's not too much limiting from the headphones themselves which is nice as so much of the sound we get today is loud enough already. Most commercial music is over-compressed and has very little dynamic range to begin with while speakers and headphones have a tendency to exaggerate this effect; not to mention, there's always frustration with how songs will be flattened via compressors and limiters through phone apps, clubs, and radio stations.

Forte Impact in-ear should provide a nice option for audiophiles as well as another reference for djs/producers to check their tracks on. In my opinion, it is a much better option versus a competitor like the Beats by Dre series, of which I am personally not a fan, as the Beats line has excessive coloration of the low end and distorted sound at higher levels which I hear much less of in the Forte edition.

All in all, Forte Impact are solid headphones that I think could be attractively marketed and priced to compete with whatever else is out there. For reference to what I am comparing them, I mix in my home on a pair of Mackie 600's. As for headphones, I also own a pair of Ultimate Ears reference monitors built by Capitol Studios, a pair of Sennheiser 550's, Pioneer HDJ-2000's for djing, and of course, some good ole' fashion white Apple earbuds.

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