Blue Ella
Blue hails from the United States, and is perhaps best known for its microphones. (Heard of the Blue Yeti?) But it also does a bunch of headphones. We have the wireless NC Blue Satellite model currently under review for next issue, but here we spent time with the cabled Blue Ella, the top of Blue’s range.
They are unusual in a number of ways. First, they have dual modes available: active and passive. They have a 250mW amplifier built in (it’s unclear whether that’s total, or per channel) and a lithium-ion battery to store power. But they are not Bluetooth headphones; they are purely wired. Furthermore, they’re primarily intended for plugging into headphone outputs, even when you’re using active mode. They have no volume control. The only control is a three-position switch: Off, On and On+. The last
