REVIEWED: Fresh ‘n Rebel Clam ANC DGTL headphones
These colorful wireless over-ears are lightweight and fold-up easily
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Bye-bye black headphones. The future, according to Dutch brand Fresh ‘n Rebel, is everything but black, with its latest lightweight headphones coming in … wait for it … Ice Grey, Misty Mint, Dusty Pink, Petrol Blue, Ruby Red, and Storm Grey. Is ice a kind of grey? Is there such a thing as a ‘dusty pink’? Whatever the weirdness of its color names, the Clam ANC DGTL is all about one thing; active noise canceling, far and away TravGear‘s favorite travel tech. So are they any good?
Fresh ‘n Rebel Clam ANC DGTL headphones: features
These are really lightweight cans. At just 260g, they also fold up into a nice travel size, and come with a very lightweight mesh pouch that’s really well designed. It even has a zipped pocket for two high-quality braided cables in the box; a micro USB cable for recharging the Clam ANC DGTL, and a 3.5mm cable for using them in non-wireless. As a travel package, the Clam ANC DGTL is excellent, though the lightweight nature does make us wonder if they’re up to the rigors of travel for long. Most headphones break after a few trips, and we’re not super-confident about the Clam ANC DGTLs longevity, though they did OK on during our test.
Fresh ‘n Rebel Clam ANC DGTL headphones: in use
Worn on a four-hour flight, the Fresh ‘n Rebel Clam ANC DGTL headphones performed reasonably well. Did they ‘cancel’ the white noise on in the cabin? Yes, they did, though the over-ear design already blocked a portion of it. So ANC is a kind of top-up. Did TravGear‘s ears get hot? Also yes. That latter problem with all over-ear headphones hasn’t been overcome here, but we’ve no complaints about sound quality. It’s not reference-level, with some treble detail slightly clipped, but there’s plenty of bass and the mid-range is strong. Overall, it’s a warm soundscape, and the best news is that it actually improves when you activate the ANC mode. Now that is unusual.
Fresh ‘n Rebel Clam ANC DGTL headphones: conclusion
If you like convenient headphones that are lightweight, great with bass and volume, and help out with reducing cabin noise — and are not black! — the Clam ANC DGTL are a good value option.