Review: Blue Sadie Headphone

Blue recently released two new headphones, the Blue Ella and Blue Sadie. We have recently reviewed the Blue Ella, which is the flagship headphone for the company. So, can the younger sibling, the Blue Sadie live up to its elder sibling’s reputation?

Features:-

• Built-in audiophile amplifier for true high-fidelity sound on any device
• 50mm drivers custom-tuned for a superior soundstage
• Refined personalized fit for superior comfort
• Sealed over-ear design for immersive isolation
• Powers on and off automatically when headphones are opened and closed
• Rechargeable battery provides up to 12 hours of playtime; Sadie continues to play music even when battery has no charge

Review

Design & Build Quality

The Blue Sadie is pretty similar to its elder sibling, the Blue Ella, in terms of design and build quality with the exception of its color. The Blue Sadie comes in a glossy black finish while the Blue Ella has a glossy silver finish. The Blue Sadie is also a little lighter, weighing a little less than 1 lb.

Like the Blue Ella, users will find an enclosed audio jack surrounded by a circular amp switch on the Blue Sadie. The amp control provides three different settings; Off, On and On+. Off puts the headphone in passive mode without using the built-in amplifier. On, on the other hand, turns on the built-in amplifier to provide crisp and natural sound, and On+ turns on the amplifier with an enhanced bass presence. There’s also a micro-USB port for charging the built-in battery.

Blue also included necessary accessories; a 3.5mm to 1/4″ adaptor, a 3.5 mm audio cable with Apple iPhone/iPad control and microphone and a regular 3.5 mm audio cable with no controls. One noticeable difference is that the cables provided with Blue Ella are of premium quality as compared to what’s provided with the Blue Sadie.

Battery Life

Like the Blue Ella, the Blue Sadie comes with a 1,000 mAh non-removable battery. Blue claims that the battery will last up 12 hours. During our test, we found the claim to be quite accurate with the amp control set at On. An indicator can be found on the side; a solid glow indicates the Blue Ella is fully charged, a quick glowing pulse indicates the battery is running low, and a soft glowing pulse indicates the headphone is being charged.

The Blue Ella takes about 4 hours to be fully charged. Note that the headphone can be used even though the battery is drained, without the amp control.

Audio Quality

Unlike the Blue Ella, which is powered by a combination of both planar magnetic technology and a built-in amp, the Blue Sadie uses an updated and custom-designed 50mm dynamic drivers much like Blue’s debut headphone, Mo-Fi. It uses the same driver with a few improvements to deliver improved clarity, more defined low end, highly articulate mids and accurate high frequency response.

For the bass, we tested using Awolnation’s Sail and Imagine Dragon’s Radioactive. With the amp turned off, the bass on the Blue Sadie seems weak, but once we switch the amp on, we can definitely tell the difference; the bass does not sound distorted nor muddy. There wasn’t much of a difference in bass level when listening to bass heavy music when the amp control was set to “On+”.

As for mids, we played the track Payphone by Maroon 5. The overall audio sounds great. The background music, especially the keyboard, can be heard clearly without the drum overpowering it.

Lastly, for the high, we played Celine Dion’s How Does a Moment Last Forever. Like the Blue Ella, every instruments used can be heard perfectly, accompanied by the high vocals and clarity from the artist. However, we feel that Ella provides more warmth in both mids and highs.

Final Thoughts 

The Blue Sadie headphone definitely offers a pleasant listening experience with a lower price point. With its unique design and great build quality, the Blue Sadie is a great dynamic driver headphone. The Blue Sadie is currently priced at $399.99.