This is not a love song. This is not a love story either. At least not about this product. This is the story of Revols’ Kickstarter project, which was about a great idea, but somehow it didn’t turn into a success story. In January 2016, I co-funded Revols’ Kickstarter campaign, $219 for headphones that automatically adapt to my ear. A great story, I thought, because my ear protection, which I always wear at concerts or when playing the drums, I had made by the hearing aid acoustician for just under 200€ at the time, and I am still very convinced of it after many years. For the same money then get wireless headphones? Wonderful idea.
Here is the Kickstarter video that convinced me:
The headphones were supposed to arrive in June 2016. With a little more than two years delay, the product actually arrived. Almost 40€ customs on top. Do I get annoyed about that? No, not a bit, this is a completely new product, and one can only admire the founders for persevering despite all the resistance. In between, they were bought by Logitech, so the probability of seeing nothing more was low. It’s also not my first product that I’ve bought on Kickstarter, the Vi was also one of those projects that had to survive a few teething problems. That’s just the risk of an early adopter
What is suboptimal about the Revols
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So it bothers me? First of all, the headphones are huge. Yes, I should have noticed that in the video. But when you really have them in your hand, they somehow look bigger. For comparison, I put them on a Reclam booklet, which has the advantage that probably everyone knows the size of a Reclam booklet and can thus estimate for themselves how big the earphones are. I wonder if it couldn’t have been smaller.
And then… they don’t even fit very well. They fall out of my ear. And yes, I followed the instructions exactly. The sound is not great. Of course, this may be due to the fact that they do not fit properly. But even if I press them into my ear, they sound rather well. The sound seems quiet to me, the bass doesn’t come right, even the Vi headphones are better.
The announced 8+6 hours of battery life (8 hours for the headphones themselves and 6 hours for the additional battery) have become 5+5 hours. I get about 4+4 hours. As far as I know, the reduced battery life was not communicated.
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There are a lot of cables to be seen here despite the wireless. The charging cable does not seem very stable, and since the cable has to be pulled if you want to separate the charging shells from the charging rods, then I am always afraid that the dry cable will break. Although this is said to have been checked, it does not seem really stable.
I spent a total of 250€, and for that money I would probably have had less cable clutter, more quality and faster delivery, but no adapted headphones, which don’t fit well with me anyway. In fact, I’m not alone in my opinion when I look at other reviews on YouTube:
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Why I still love Kickstarter
What I find exciting is the fact that Kickstarter innovators encounter a parasitic industry of vendors who have little experience with the production of such products and drive up prices as soon as the order is there. This also explains why some projects get into so much trouble.
But as the author himself says there, I wouldn’t do without Kickstarter despite some disappointments. Because you have the chance to experience new technologies before the masses get their hands on them. Or sometimes simply to finance a smart idea that makes life easier. In total, I have already supported a small double-digit number of Kickstarter and Indiegogo projects. Some were canceled like the MOTI, some companies went bankrupt after delivery like the manufacturers of the backbone, the Hangbird was one of the best purchases ever (and not really high-tech), I’m looking forward to the documentary about Dieter Rams like a toddler, and even if the reward of Mine Kafon Drone was more symbolic, the idea of ridding the world of landmines, is just wonderful.