The Polk Audio Buckle are well-made, sturdy headphones that sound a little dark and bass-heavy. They look and feel high-end, and they're sufficiently comfortable for most listeners. Unfortunately, they have a rigid design that's not very portable and they don't block a lot of noise, so they won't be the ideal option for commuting. On the upside, they barely leak even at higher volumes.
Our Verdict
The Polk Audio Buckle are mediocre-at-best for mixed usage. They're well-built premium looking headphones with a decently comfortable design and very low leakage. This makes them a decent option for office use and they have a good enough sound to be average for critical listening. Unfortunately, they don't block a lot of noise and they're not portable, so they won't be the best headphones for commuting or sports.
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Minimal leakage.
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Sturdy and durable build quality.
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Poor noise isolation.
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Cumbersome and rigid design.
The Polk Audio Buckle are decent for neutral listening. They have a slightly elevated bass that bleeds into the mid-range, which makes their sound a little muddy and boomy. That and the tapered high-frequencies, as well as the limited soundstage, due to their closed-back design, makes them sound a bit dark overall. They're still balanced and comfortable enough to satisfy most casual listeners, especially fans of a deep rumbling bass-range. Unfortunately, they won't be ideal for more neutral listeners.
Subpar for commuting. They don't block a lot of noise, and they're kind of bulky and cumbersome to carry around on your person. On the upside, they're comfortable and have a good control scheme.
The Polk Audio Buckle are mediocre for sports. They're a bit too bulky and unstable to use while running. They're also not particularly breathable headphones, so your ears will get quite hot when exercising with them on.
The Polk Audio Buckle are mediocre-at-best for office use. They won't block the chatter of a busy office but they don't leak much at high volumes, so they'll rarely distract your colleagues.
The Polk Audio Buckle aren't suitable for wireless gaming.
- 5.8 Mixed Usage
- 6.5 Neutral Sound
- 5.5 Commute/Travel
- 6.0 Sports/Fitness
- 5.8 Office
- 4.9 Wireless Gaming
- 6.7 Wired Gaming
- 5.6 Phone Call
- Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.1.
- Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.
- Updated Feb 16, 2018: Converted to Test Bench 1.2.
- Updated Sep 28, 2017: The microphone has been tested with our new methodology, as explained here
- Updated Sep 19, 2017: Review published.
- Updated Sep 17, 2017: Our testers have started testing this product.
- Updated Sep 17, 2017: Early access published.
- Updated Sep 15, 2017: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
- Updated Jul 24, 2017: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
Test Results
The Polk Audio Buckle have a premium aesthetic that makes the headphones look high-end and expensive. The headband is covered with faux leather and the ear cup padding is soft and well-made. The ear cups are mounted on a swivel hinge on the inside of the headband which gives the headphones an old-school design. They come in two color schemes: black with silver accents, and brown. They'll easily stand out in a crowd, although they may not look as good for all listeners.
The Polk Audio Buckle are well-padded, decently comfortable headphones that feel a bit tight on the head. They're also somewhat heavy for their size but thanks to the amply padded headband and ear cups, the weight and tension are more evenly distributed around your ears.
The Polk Audio Buckle have a good and efficient control scheme. There's only one general-purpose toggle that provides the basic functions for call/music, track skipping, and volume control. It's easy to use, but feedback isn't always the best. When trying to pause tracks, you can accidentally turn up the volume, which isn't ideal but doesn't take too long to get familiar with.
The Polk Audio Buckle are relatively small for an over-ear design but don't fold, which makes them slightly cumbersome to carry around on your person. The ear cups don't lay flat either, so unless you have a bag they won't be the most practical headphones that you can keep on you at all times.
The Polk Audio Buckle come with a stylized cloth pouch that will protect them from minor scratches and scuffs while they're in your bag. Unfortunately, since it's a soft pouch, it won't shield them against impacts and accidental drops, which is slightly disappointing.
The Polk Audio Buckle have a sturdy design and use a lot of premium materials in their build quality. They won't break from a few accidental drops, and the cable is replaceable in case it gets damaged through regular wear and tear. Unfortunately, the ear cup hinges are the most susceptible points where they could get damaged. The multi-purpose toggle is also mounted on a spring mechanism, which may get worn out after repeated use.
These headphones are decently stable. They're tight enough that they don't move much during casual listening sessions and even during a light jog. However, the bulky design and heavy ear cups do sway a bit under more strenuous conditions, so they won't be the best to take to the gym.
- Polk Audio Buckle headphones
- 1/8" to 1/4" adapter
- Audio cable
- Carrying pouch
- Manual
The Polk Audio Buckle have average consistency performance. The bass range performance is susceptible to inconsistencies due to the positioning preferences and head shape/size of the listener, especially if they're wearing glasses. However, the amount of deviation in the treble range is low and within good limits.
The Polk Audio Buckle have good bass range performance. The low-frequency extension is at 10Hz, which is excellent. The entire bass response is flat but consistently over our target by more than 3dB, making these headphones slightly bass-heavy.
The Polk Audio Buckle have a very good mid-range. Low-mid and mid are relatively flat, but emphasized by 3dB. This makes the mid-range slightly muddy and forward-sounding, bringing vocals/leads to the front of the mix.
The Polk Audio Buckle have sub-par treble range performance. Low-treble is under target by more than 3dB, decreasing the intensity and projection of vocals/leads. Treble is underemphasized by more than 7dB, negatively affecting the presence and brightness of vocals/leads.
The Polk Audio Buckle have poor isolation. They don't have active noise cancelling and don't isolate in the bass range. In the mid-range, they achieve about 4dB of isolation, which is poor. In the treble range, they isolate the outside noise by about 27dB, which is decent.
The Polk Audio Buckle has very good leakage performance. A significant portion of the leakage is spread between 300Hz and 4KHz, which is a relatively broad range. However, the overall level of leakage is quite low.
The Polk Audio Buckle doesn't have a compatible app.
