Recording - December 2013 - 27

Myth Labs Eclipse
$259.99; www.mythlabs.com

The Eclipse from Myth Labs is based on an unusual
premise. When you order a pair, you get two separate
boxes, one with the Mythband headband and the other
with a pair of circumaural Eclipse speakers, and you put
the headphones together yourself.
Why do this? Two reasons: the first and more obvious
one is for fashion purposes; Mythbands and speakers
come in different color schemes, so you can customize
the look of the headphones to your taste. The second
and somewhat less obvious reason is that the Mythband
works not only with the Eclipse speakers, but also with
the company's two other earcup designs, the supraaural
Genesis and the not-yet-shipping dual-driver circumaural
A.I. You can change out your speaker elements for far
less than the cost of an entirely new set of headphones.
Myth Labs also makes a free app for iOS and
Android called iMythLabs, which scans and analyzes
your music collection for the sorts of music you listen to,
stylistically and in terms of music format (low vs. high bit
rate), and makes a recommendation as to which speakers will best suit you. Our readers are more likely to
choose their speakers based on comfort, supra/circumaural preference, and intended use, but the app is a fun
extra for casual listeners finding their way into the realm
of serious headphones for the first time.
The Mythband is available in four colors: black and
white, with a leather-covered foam-filled headband pad,
and orange and blue, with a rubberized pad. Speakers
are available in black or white. While you can customize your choices when buying online (without paying

extra for the privilege), certain popular color combinations are sold
prepackaged and given names. I received the Eclipse Trill, with a white
Mythband and white speakers.
Unboxing and assembling the Eclipse takes just a minute or three. First you
remove the Mythband from its box (the accessories are underneath) and
unfold half of it, peeling off the safety tape to expose the ingenious metal
joint; you then find the corresponding
Eclipse speaker, place it against the
Mythband with the red dots aligned,
and carefully give it two full clockwise turns. It clicks into place, and
you have a solidly connected joint
with a bit of swivel to conform to your
headshape. Very neat!
The Mythband itself is jointed to fold
for storage, with hidden extensors for
larger heads, and the leather-covered
foam headband pad is luxurious. The
Mythband box comes with a velour carry
bag, a carabiner for belt carry, and a dualmono airline adapter-no 1/4" adapter,
though. The soft, pliable cable is about 1 meter
long and has a single inline button that can
play, pause, or skip forward/back in iTunes or
on an iPod or iPhone playing music. It has a
TRS miniplug on the end that plugs into the left
earcup, and a TRRS miniplug on the end that
plugs into your audio source.
The Eclipse speakers are a circumaural design
with leather-covered foam pads similar in feet to the
one on the Mythband. Myth Labs states that the drivers

http://www.mythlabs.com http://www.frontendaudio.com

Recording - December 2013

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