Reviews

Review: Sol Republic Master Tracks XC

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Committed to changing the world one listener at a time, Sol Republic is a company founded by music lovers and audiophiles. Their love for their craft shows on their products. Today, we will be looking at the Sol Republic Master Tracks XC. Studio tuned by Calvin Harris, it is advertized to “deliver professional sound from the studio to the street.” We’re here to find out if this is the case.

“Together [with Calvin Harris] we identified everything we’d want in a studio headphone for modern music producers. The design, custom tuning and myriad of details required took more than a year to develop, but were paramount for the quintessential studio headphone. The result is a headphone unlike any we have ever created. The style is sexy and the sound is so powerfully pure, you won’t just hear everything the artist wanted you to hear – you’ll feel it.” – Kevin Lee, CEO and Co-Founder of Sol Republic

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Design and Comfort:

The first thing I noticed when I opened the box was that the headphones were disassembled. You had to mount the ear cups on the FlexTech Sound Track headband, and then connect the cables to the ear cups. It seemed odd, but I realized the rationale behind the design. Besides changing the Sound Track headband, you can replace parts of the headphones if it gave out. This beats replacing the whole thing.

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The package comes with two different cables, a 6 foot long pro cable with a ¼ inch (6.35 mm) headphone jack adapter, and another with controls for volume and pause/play to use with an Apple device. It also comes with a nice carrying case.

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The SonicSoft Isolating ear cushions are nice and softs covered by a thin faux leather material. It was not a surprise that they were very comfortable to wear, even in extended use. It looks big, but it’s not at all bulky.  It blocks out most outside sounds and noises. The sides of the ear cushions have nice gunmetal accents, along with Sol Republic’s simple, yet stylish logo. The only problem I felt was sometimes, the cushions can get a little warm, most likely due to the leather and the weather.

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The Sound Track headband that came with the Master Tracks XC has a nice matte finish. It has a cushion for the top of your head, and a nice leather accent. It’s also touted to be almost unbreakable. I tried to twist it around to a point where I was concerned of breaking it. It held up. And just like all other Sol Republic Tracks headphones, you can replace the headband, cables and Sound Engines with other Sol Republic Tracks Sound Track headbands, cables and Sound Engines.

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The Master Tracks XC is very comfortable to wear. The ear cups are just the right size for my ears (I’d say my ears are around medium to large in size), and the headbands exert the right amount of pressure that it doesn’t uncomfortably squeeze my head too much.

Performance:

Powered by two powerful XC Sound Engine Speakers, the Master Tracks XC is advertized to “deliver professional sound from the studio to the street” with their “studio tuned by Calvin Harris” tag line. And I agree. Not that I would know what “professional sound” is, but it really does sound good.

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I played different types of music to test how it would perform. I played pop, rock, alternative, RNB and acoustic music and it fared very well. I even played “Summer” by Calvin Harris.

The dynamic range was impressive. You could hear the small sounds and beats you don’t normally notice on other headphones. The bass was deep and rich, and the vocals were clear. I even thought to myself that this is probably how the artist intended for me to hear their music.

Wrap Up:

All in all, the Sol Republic Master Tracks XC is a beautifully designed head phones. The gunmetal accents and matte finish give it an elegant look. And the SonicSoft Isolating ear cushions and Sound Track headband make it very comfortable to wear.  And most important, it delivers powerful, rich quality sound.

Bottom line: It looks great, and it sounds great.

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The Sol Republic Master Tracks XC is available at the following stores and outlets, and retails for P15,000.

  • Pismo, Shangri La Plaza Mall
  • Powermac
  • Astroplus / Astrovision
  • Automatic Centre
  • Landmark
  • Duty Free

For more information about Sol Republic’s full line of products in the Philippines, please visit www.eleksis.com.  

About SOL REPUBLIC:

Sol Republic is a global consumer electronics company dedicated to enhancing people’s lives through style, sound and technology. Comprised of music lovers and audiophiles, Sol Republic develops its products from the ground up to look, sound and feel unlike anything else in the market. For more information, please visit www.solrepublic.com.

Bryan is a geek at heart and a tech enthusiast by choice. He has a strong background in corporate communications, marketing services, and customer relations having worked in the telecommunications and banking sectors for over two decades. In his spare time, he enjoys watching clips on YouTube and binge watching shows on Netflix.

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