Review by Kelly Keltner
Before encountering Altec Lansing’s women-specific Bliss Platinum earphones ($70), I had never considered the idea that my ears might be too feminine and precious to handle having a larger earpiece forcibly shoved into their delicate canals. Now I know that, like many things, most earpieces are made for men and we poor, sweet ladies must go about life making do with too-big things. Altec Lansing hopes to solve that issue by giving ultra-precious lady ears a much-needed rest from all the bigness with the Bliss Platinum.
Cosmetically, the earpieces are already gunning for the “I want my ear canals to look pretty while listening to my music” market with earpieces that look a bit like diamond ear studs (if diamond ear studs were made out of plastic). Admittedly, I did experience a moment of “ooh shiny!” upon seeing the look of the earpieces. They are, well, cute.
Luckily for the Bliss Platinum, Altec Lansing didn’t sacrifice audio quality for a female-friendly design. Once I had the earpieces positioned properly in my ears, all my unladylike music sounded just as rich and full as it did in any of the Bliss’ tough, rugged, manly-man counterparts. Most importantly, the bass didn’t sound watered-down as it sometimes does with other IEMs.
The cloth-covered cables do leave the cable tangle-free just as the sales copy promises. However, they are also very attractive to cats — more so than any other cable I’ve ever owned, so make sure to hide these from your feline friends.
Verdict:
Overall, the Bliss Platinum provides a quality audio experience and does seem to be a bit easier on the ear canals than other IEMs, leaving your canals open and ready for any audio you wish to insert into them.
